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

CarGurus (NASDAQ:CARG) posted its earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.02, FiscalAI reports. CarGurus had a return on equity of 41.31% and a net margin of 16.41%. CarGurus updated its Q1 2026 guidance to 0.520-0.580 EPS.

CarGurus Trading Up 3.2%

Shares of NASDAQ CARG traded up $0.90 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $29.20. The company had a trading volume of 2,855,736 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,098,534. CarGurus has a 52 week low of $24.65 and a 52 week high of $39.42. The business’s 50-day moving average is $34.61 and its 200-day moving average is $34.85. The stock has a market cap of $2.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.35.

Key CarGurus News

Here are the key news stories impacting CarGurus this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Beat on quarterly results: CarGurus reported $0.63 EPS vs. $0.61 expected and highlighted strong margins and ROE, supporting profitability story and valuation. Press Release
• Positive Sentiment: Revenue guidance ahead of consensus: Q1 revenue guided to $240.5M–$245.5M (consensus ~$238.8M) and FY revenue guided to ~$997.7M–$1.0B (consensus ~$970.9M) — revenue strength may offset modest EPS guide risk and supports top‑line growth expectations. (Guidance issued 2/19)
• Positive Sentiment: Large buybacks and strong FY results: CarGurus reported 2025 revenue +14% YoY, GAAP net income +53% YoY, and repurchased ~$350M of shares in 2025 while launching a new $250M repurchase program for 2026 — a clear capital‑return signal that can support the share price. GlobeNewswire Release
• Positive Sentiment: Investor/analyst interest in AI initiatives: Multiple outlets note upside from accelerating AI adoption at CarGurus, which investors view as a growth and efficiency lever. Investing.com MSN AI Coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: Q1 EPS guide ~0.520–0.580 vs. consensus 0.560 — midpoint slightly below consensus but the range overlaps Street estimates; impact depends on how investors weight revenue vs. EPS. (Guidance issued 2/19)
• Neutral Sentiment: Short interest data in the feed appears to be incomplete or inaccurate (zeros/NaN) and shows no clear signal for increased short pressure at this time.
• Negative Sentiment: Alleged data breach: Reports claim the “ShinyHunters” group obtained ~1.7M CarGurus records; potential reputational, customer‑notification, remediation and regulatory costs could surface if confirmed. MSN: Data Breach

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of CarGurus from $37.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on CarGurus from $44.00 to $37.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. DA Davidson set a $37.50 target price on CarGurus in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of CarGurus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of CarGurus from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, CarGurus presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.23.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CarGurus news, insider Ismail Elshareef sold 1,645 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.21, for a total transaction of $52,985.45. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 91,822 shares in the company, valued at $2,957,586.62. This trade represents a 1.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Ladd Hanson sold 2,358 shares of CarGurus stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.10, for a total value of $89,839.80. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 50,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,922,754.60. This trade represents a 4.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 49,003 shares of company stock worth $1,858,494 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 16.99% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of CarGurus

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CARG. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in CarGurus by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,702,402 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,287,000 after acquiring an additional 24,788 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its holdings in CarGurus by 35.4% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 12,936 shares of the company’s stock valued at $496,000 after buying an additional 3,385 shares during the period. Vident Advisory LLC raised its stake in CarGurus by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 155,205 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,952,000 after buying an additional 2,207 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new stake in CarGurus during the 4th quarter valued at $900,000. Finally, Kensington Investment Counsel LLC purchased a new position in shares of CarGurus in the 4th quarter valued at $1,182,000. 86.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.