Press Release: Cars.Com Launches Powerful New Solutions, Helping Dealers Turn Smarter Technology Into Real Profit

Earnings results often indicate what direction a company will take in the months ahead. With Q3 behind us, let’s have a look at LegalZoom and its peers.

Marketplaces have existed for centuries. Where once it was a main street in a small town or a mall in the suburbs, sellers benefitted from proximity to one another because they could draw customers by offering convenience and selection. Today, a myriad of online marketplaces fulfill that same role, aggregating large customer bases, which attracts commission-paying sellers, generating flywheel scale effects that feed back into further customer acquisition.

The 12 online marketplace stocks we track reported a strong Q3. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 2.3% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was in line.

Amidst this news, share prices of the companies have had a rough stretch. On average, they are down 5.7% since the latest earnings results.

LegalZoom

Founded by famous lawyer Robert Shapiro, LegalZoom offers online legal services and documentation assistance for individuals and businesses.

LegalZoom reported revenues of $190.2 million, up 12.8% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 3.9%. Overall, it was a satisfactory quarter for the company with revenue guidance for next quarter beating analysts’ expectations but a significant miss of analysts’ number of subscription units estimates.

"Our results further validate the strategic shift we made in our business. Importantly, the proof points we’re seeing across the business give us confidence that we’ve built a strong foundation for our next phase of growth," said Jeff Stibel, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of LegalZoom.

Unsurprisingly, the stock is down 11.1% since reporting and currently trades at $9.05.

Best Q3: EverQuote

Aiming to simplify a once complicated process, EverQuote is an online insurance marketplace where consumers can compare and purchase various types of insurance from different providers

EverQuote reported revenues of $173.9 million, up 20.3% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 4.3%. The business had an exceptional quarter with a solid beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates and revenue guidance for next quarter exceeding analysts’ expectations.

The market seems content with the results as the stock is up 3.5% since reporting. It currently trades at $23.19.

Weakest Q3: ACV Auctions

Founded in 2014, ACV Auctions (NASDAQ:ACVA) is an online auction marketplace for car dealers and wholesalers to buy and sell used cars.

ACV Auctions reported revenues of $199.6 million, up 16.5% year on year, in line with analysts’ expectations. It was a disappointing quarter as it posted full-year revenue guidance slightly missing analysts’ expectations and full-year EBITDA guidance missing analysts’ expectations significantly.

ACV Auctions delivered the highest full-year guidance raise but had the weakest performance against analyst estimates in the group. The company reported 218,065 units sold, up 9.9% year on year. Interestingly, the stock is up 2.5% since the results and currently trades at $8.35.

Read our full analysis of ACV Auctions’s results here.

MercadoLibre

Originally started as an online auction platform, MercadoLibre is a one-stop e-commerce marketplace and fintech platform in Latin America.

MercadoLibre reported revenues of $7.41 billion, up 39.5% year on year. This number surpassed analysts’ expectations by 2.9%. Aside from that, it was a mixed quarter as it also logged impressive growth in its users but a miss of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.

MercadoLibre delivered the fastest revenue growth among its peers. The company reported 76.8 million daily active users, up 26.3% year on year. The stock is flat since reporting and currently trades at $2,296.

Read our full, actionable report on MercadoLibre here, it’s free.

Cars.com

Originally started as a joint venture between several media companies including The Washington Post and The New York Times, Cars.com is a digital marketplace that connects new and used car buyers and sellers.

Cars.com reported revenues of $181.6 million, up 1.1% year on year. This print was in line with analysts’ expectations. Aside from that, it was a mixed quarter as it underperformed in some other aspects of the business.

The company reported 19,526 active buyers, up 1.4% year on year. The stock is up 12.1% since reporting and currently trades at $11.67.

Read our full, actionable report on Cars.com here, it’s free.

What Happened?

Shares of online new and used car marketplace Cars.com jumped 3% in the afternoon session after broader market sentiment improved as it was announced that planned tariffs on European allies would not proceed, easing trade tensions. 

This news led to a surge in global equities, with European markets posting strong gains. Germany's DAX 40 index, for example, rose over 1%, supported by strength in the automotive sector. Automakers including VW, Porsche, Mercedes, and BMW rallied on the news. The positive sentiment from the removal of tariff threats likely boosted investor confidence in the auto industry as a whole, benefiting auto-related stocks.

After the initial pop the shares cooled down to $12.34, up 2.8% from previous close.

What Is The Market Telling Us

Cars.com’s shares are very volatile and have had 20 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.

The previous big move we wrote about was 2 days ago when the stock dropped 2.8% on the news that the U.S. announced potential tariffs on several European countries. 

The sell-off was a reaction to news that the White House planned to impose a 10% tariff on imports from eight European nations, including France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, starting February 1. Reports indicated the tariffs were intended to pressure Denmark over the potential sale of Greenland to the U.S. and could rise to 25% if a deal was not reached. The announcement caused a significant downturn in U.S. stocks, with the S&P 500 and Dow Jones falling more than 1.4% as investors returned from a holiday weekend and reacted to the heightened trade uncertainty. The downturn was further exacerbated by a spike in Treasury yields. Higher rates particularly hurt growth stocks such as tech names since investors must discount financials further out in the future back to the present.

Cars.com is up 2.5% since the beginning of the year, but at $12.34 per share, it is still trading 34.6% below its 52-week high of $18.86 from January 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Cars.com’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $906.99.

What Happened?

A number of stocks fell in the afternoon session after the U.S. announced potential tariffs on several European countries. 

The sell-off was a reaction to news that the White House planned to impose a 10% tariff on imports from eight European nations, including France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, starting February 1. Reports indicated the tariffs were intended to pressure Denmark over the potential sale of Greenland to the U.S. and could rise to 25% if a deal was not reached. 

The announcement caused a significant downturn in U.S. stocks, with the S&P 500 and Dow Jones falling more than 1.4% as investors returned from a holiday weekend and reacted to the heightened trade uncertainty. 

The downturn was further exacerbated by a spike in Treasury yields. Higher rates particularly hurt growth stocks such as tech names since investors must discount financials further out in the future back to the present.

The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks.

Among others, the following stocks were impacted:

• Online Marketplace company Cars.com fell 2.8%. Is now the time to buy Cars.com? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• Online Retail company Chewy fell 3.1%. Is now the time to buy Chewy? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.

Zooming In On Chewy (CHWY)

Chewy’s shares are somewhat volatile and have had 11 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.

The previous big move we wrote about was 8 days ago when the stock gained 5.6% as the stock's positive momentum continued as hedge fund Viking Global Investors sharply increased its position in the company, signaling strong conviction in its long-term potential. 

The investment firm boosted its stake in Chewy by nearly 147%, adding over 8 million shares. This move brought its total ownership to approximately 13.5 million shares, with a value of around $437 million. The significant increase in the stake suggested that Viking saw a disconnect between Chewy's current stock price and the durability of its core business model. The fund's action highlighted a particular belief in the strength of the company's subscription-heavy revenue stream as it navigated recent challenges.

Chewy is down 2.2% since the beginning of the year, and at $32.74 per share, it is trading 32.1% below its 52-week high of $48.21 from June 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Chewy’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $313.62.