CarGurus (NASDAQ:CARG) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.02 EPS

CarGurus (NASDAQ:CARG) posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.02, FiscalAI reports. The firm had revenue of $243.56 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $243.12 million. CarGurus had a return on equity of 48.98% and a net margin of 15.57%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.46 EPS. CarGurus updated its Q2 2026 guidance to 0.570-0.640 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from CarGurus’ conference call:

• Q1 revenue grew 15% YoY to $244 million and adjusted EBITDA rose 17% to $80 million with a 33% EBITDA margin; management reiterated 2026 revenue growth guidance of 10–13%.
• Dealer-facing AI products are driving adoption and engagement — PriceVantage reached several hundred paying dealers with top users seeing a 117% faster turn time and 47% higher VDP views, Shopper Signals engaged over 8,000 dealers since its April launch, and Discover leads grew 52% QoQ.
• International momentum was strong, with U.K. and Canada revenue up 39% YoY, which management says is driving share gains in those markets.
• The company repurchased about $175 million in Q1 under a $250 million program (leaving $72 million in cash) and expects full‑year adjusted EBITDA margins to compress ~1.5–2.5 percentage points as it increases product, tech and AI investments.

CarGurus Stock Down 9.0%

CarGurus stock traded down $3.42 during trading on Friday, hitting $34.74. The stock had a trading volume of 1,907,451 shares, compared to its average volume of 988,883. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $34.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $34.63. CarGurus has a 1 year low of $26.39 and a 1 year high of $39.42. The stock has a market cap of $3.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.28.

Insider Buying and Selling at CarGurus

In other CarGurus news, Director Stephen Kaufer purchased 30,766 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $32.50 per share, for a total transaction of $999,895.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 323,939 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,528,017.50. This represents a 10.49% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CTO Matthew Todd Quinn sold 4,341 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.04, for a total transaction of $143,426.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 246,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,131,077.92. This trade represents a 1.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 12,852 shares of company stock valued at $431,053 in the last three months. 16.99% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CARG. UBS Group AG boosted its holdings in CarGurus by 158.2% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,537,856 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,254,000 after purchasing an additional 942,199 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of CarGurus by 6.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,636,671 shares of the company’s stock worth $358,773,000 after purchasing an additional 594,670 shares during the last quarter. No Street GP LP increased its position in shares of CarGurus by 108.9% in the third quarter. No Street GP LP now owns 835,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,087,000 after purchasing an additional 435,340 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its position in shares of CarGurus by 1,457.7% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 403,447 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,503,000 after buying an additional 377,547 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new stake in CarGurus during the third quarter valued at about $12,175,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.90% of the company’s stock.

More CarGurus News

Here are the key news stories impacting CarGurus this week:

• Positive Sentiment: CarGurus reported Q1 2026 EPS of $0.58, topping estimates, while revenue of $243.6 million was also slightly above expectations and up 8.2% year over year. Q1 Earnings Report and Conference Call
• Positive Sentiment: The company said Q1 adjusted EBITDA came in above the high end of guidance, and it repurchased $175 million of stock during the quarter, signaling strong cash generation and capital return. CarGurus Announces First Quarter 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Needham raised its price target on CarGurus from $37 to $43 and kept a Buy rating, while JPMorgan also lifted its target from $36 to $38, reinforcing optimism around the stock. Analyst price target updates
• Neutral Sentiment: CarGurus’ Q2 guidance calls for EPS of $0.57 to $0.64 and revenue of $247 million to $252 million, which is broadly in line with Street expectations and suggests steady near-term growth. Q1 Results and Guidance
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the earnings beat, some market commentary noted the stock sold off after the report, suggesting investors may be focusing on guidance and valuation rather than just the headline beat. Market reaction article

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on CARG. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on CarGurus from $40.00 to $34.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 20th. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on shares of CarGurus from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of CarGurus from $33.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of CarGurus from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, BTIG Research lowered their target price on shares of CarGurus from $44.00 to $37.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 20th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $38.14.

CarGurus Company Profile

CarGurus, Inc operates an online automotive marketplace designed to connect buyers and sellers of new and used vehicles. Through its proprietary search engine and data-driven pricing tools, the platform enables consumers to compare listings, assess fair market values and locate local dealers offering competitive deals. CarGurus also provides detailed vehicle history reports, dealer reviews and financing options to streamline the car-shopping process for both private parties and franchised dealerships.

The company’s core product offerings include Instant Market Value (IMV), which leverages pricing algorithms to help buyers identify over- or under-priced vehicles, as well as dealer subscription services that grant automotive retailers access to lead generation tools, targeted advertising and dynamic pricing insights.