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Here are 1-3 brief analogies for CarGurus:

• Zillow for cars
• Expedia/Kayak for cars

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• CarGurus Online Marketplace: Connects car buyers with dealerships and private sellers for new and used vehicles through its extensive online platform, providing tools for vehicle search, comparison, and pricing.
• CarOffer Wholesale Platform: Facilitates instant wholesale vehicle transactions between dealerships using a proprietary automated platform for buying and selling inventory.
• Dealer Digital Advertising & Solutions: Provides dealerships with comprehensive digital advertising solutions, data analytics, and inventory management tools to enhance their online presence, lead generation, and sales processes.

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CarGurus (CARG) primarily sells its services to other companies, specifically automotive dealerships.

CarGurus' customer base is highly fragmented, consisting of tens of thousands of individual dealerships across the globe that subscribe to its various advertising, listing, and digital retailing products. While CarGurus does not typically disclose specific major customer companies due to the vast number of dealerships it serves, major customers in terms of scale and market presence would include large, publicly traded automotive dealership groups that operate numerous dealerships, many of which are likely subscribers to CarGurus' platform. Examples of such companies include:

• AutoNation (NYSE: AN)
• Penske Automotive Group (NYSE: PAG)
• Lithia Motors (NYSE: LAD)
• Group 1 Automotive (NYSE: GPI)
• Sonic Automotive (NYSE: SAH)

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• Amazon Web Services (a subsidiary of Amazon.com, Inc., Symbol: AMZN)
• Google Cloud Platform (a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc., Symbol: GOOGL)

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Jason Trevisan Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Principal Accounting Officer & Director

Jason Trevisan joined CarGurus in 2015 as Chief Financial Officer and was appointed Chief Executive Officer in 2021. As of March 7, 2025, he also temporarily assumed the roles of principal financial officer and principal accounting officer following the departure of Elisa Palazzo, and continues to serve in these capacities as of November 2025. Prior to CarGurus, he spent twelve years at Polaris Partners, a venture capital firm, where he served as a General Partner since 2010, indicating a pattern of involvement with companies backed by private equity firms. He previously held various management roles in Analytics and Client Services at aQuantive, which was acquired by Microsoft in 2007. He also worked as a consultant with Bain & Company.

Samuel Zales President & Chief Operating Officer

Sam Zales joined CarGurus in 2014 and has served as President and Chief Operating Officer since 2019. In this role, he leads the company's revenue and go-to-market functions, CarGurus' International business, and oversees the digital wholesale business, including CarOffer. Before joining CarGurus, Mr. Zales held executive management roles at several technology companies, including ZoomInfo, Clicksquared (where he was CEO), and Buyerzone.com. He also holds directorships at Invaluable and Locu.

Ismail Elshareef Chief Product Officer

Ismail Elshareef joined CarGurus in February 2024 as Chief Product Officer, bringing over 20 years of experience in building and scaling platforms. His prior roles include serving as Chief Product Officer for OneFootball and leading product, engineering, and infrastructure as Chief Product Officer at UpKeep. Mr. Elshareef has also held leadership positions at Ticketmaster and Edmunds.com.

Langley Steinert Founder, Executive Chairman

Langley Steinert founded CarGurus in 2006. Before establishing CarGurus, he co-founded and served as Chairman of TripAdvisor, Inc., an online travel marketplace. He also held management positions at Viaweb, which was sold to Yahoo! Inc., as well as at Papyrus and Lotus Development Corp. In addition to his roles at CarGurus, Mr. Steinert is a Board member at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College and is the co-founder and Chairman of the Board at ApartmentAdvisor.

Dafna Sarnoff Chief Marketing Officer

Dafna Sarnoff joined CarGurus as Chief Marketing Officer on December 8, 2021. She brings extensive experience in accelerating business growth through brand and marketing execution. Previously, she led marketing and operations for Aura, a consumer digital security company. Her experience also includes leading marketing for Intersection, a Google-backed technology and media company, and for Yodle, a digital marketing SaaS business that was acquired by Web.com. Ms. Sarnoff spent a decade as a consumer and B2B marketing leader at American Express and began her career in management consulting at Bain & Company.

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The key risks to CarGurus (CARG) include its significant reliance on dealer relationships in a highly competitive market, the persistent underperformance of its Digital Wholesale segment, and the overarching impact of macroeconomic factors on consumer demand.

1. Dependence on Dealer Relationships and Intense Competition: A substantial portion of CarGurus' revenue is derived from subscription fees paid by dealers for its marketplace services. The online automotive marketplace is highly competitive, with numerous players vying for market share, including other established platforms like Autotrader and Cars.com, as well as OEM and large retailer platforms. Any termination of dealer agreements, dealer consolidations, or dealers opting for freemium versions or competing platforms could materially affect CarGurus' financial results. The company must continuously innovate and provide compelling value to maintain and expand its dealer engagement.
2. Underperformance of the Digital Wholesale Segment (CarOffer): The CarOffer business segment, intended as a key growth driver and a means to diversify revenue streams, has experienced a significant and consistent decline in revenue. This segment saw substantial year-over-year decreases in wholesale marketplace revenue in Q4 2024 and Q1 2025, with transaction volumes also falling. The continued underperformance and uncertainty surrounding the future growth of CarOffer pose a significant risk to CarGurus' overall growth trajectory, potentially offsetting gains made in the more successful marketplace business.
3. Macroeconomic Factors and Consumer Demand: CarGurus' business is highly sensitive to broader automotive industry trends and macroeconomic conditions. Factors such as high inflation, rising interest rates, and deteriorating consumer credit quality (particularly among subprime borrowers) can lead to reduced consumer demand for vehicles. An economic slowdown can negatively impact CarGurus by decreasing the number of consumers using its platform, prompting dealers to cut marketing budgets, and potentially delaying the adoption of digital retail solutions. Rising vehicle ownership costs could also deter buyers, affecting overall market stability and CarGurus' sales.

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The clear emerging threat to CarGurus (CARG) is the increasing shift by automotive manufacturers towards direct-to-consumer sales or agency models, particularly for electric vehicles. This strategic move bypasses the traditional dealership network, which forms the core customer base for CarGurus' advertising and listing services.

Evidence for this trend includes:

• Companies like Tesla, Rivian, and Lucid exclusively utilize a direct-to-consumer sales model, avoiding traditional dealerships entirely.
• Established manufacturers such as Ford have announced plans to transition to an agency model for their EV sales, which would give the manufacturer more control over pricing and inventory, reducing the traditional role of dealerships.
• Other major automakers, including General Motors, are also exploring or implementing similar direct-to-consumer or agency models, particularly for their growing EV portfolios, in various markets globally.

If a significant portion of new vehicle sales, especially high-growth segments like EVs, transitions away from the traditional dealership model, it would directly reduce the demand for and effectiveness of platforms like CarGurus that primarily serve and derive revenue from dealerships.

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• Online Marketplace Services: The addressable market for U.S. dealers spending on online marketplaces is estimated to be $3.5 billion annually. This market is specific to the U.S. region.
• Dealer Software and Data Products: CarGurus is expanding its offerings to capture a market of approximately $4 billion annually that U.S. dealers spend on software and data products. This market is also specific to the U.S. region.

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CarGurus (CARG) is expected to drive future revenue growth over the next 2-3 years through several key initiatives:

1. Expansion of Software and Data Solutions: CarGurus is actively innovating and launching new AI-powered products and software solutions for dealers, such as PriceVantage and Dealership Mode. These tools, which include features like pricing optimization and merchandising insights, aim to enhance dealer workflows and capture a larger share of the substantial U.S. dealer spend on software and data products. The adoption of existing tools like "Next Best Deal Rating" and "Merchandising Insights" has also shown significant growth, contributing to increased dealer engagement and efficiency.
2. Growth in Dealer Adoption and Upgrades: The company continues to see sustained growth in its core Marketplace business by adding new dealers globally and encouraging existing dealers to upgrade to higher subscription tiers. This expands the customer base and increases the average revenue per dealer through enhanced listings and value-added products and services. CarGurus added 1,989 net new dealers globally year-over-year in Q3 2025.
3. International Market Expansion: Strong performance in international markets, particularly Canada and the U.K., is a significant contributor to revenue growth. CarGurus has reported robust international revenue growth, indicating successful market penetration and expansion beyond its U.S. operations.
4. Like-for-Like Price Increases: CarGurus has demonstrated the ability to implement price increases for its marketplace offerings, which directly contributes to revenue growth from its existing dealer base.
5. Enhanced Consumer Engagement via AI: The introduction of an AI-powered search experience for car shoppers aims to provide a more personalized and intuitive buying journey. By improving the consumer experience and helping buyers find their ideal vehicle more efficiently, CarGurus can increase engagement on its platform, which in turn enhances the value proposition for dealers and supports long-term revenue generation.

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Share Repurchases

• CarGurus' Board approved an additional $150 million share repurchase, increasing the 2025 authorization to $350 million, extended through July 2026.
• The company repurchased $295 million worth of shares year-to-date in 2025.
• Since the initiation of its buyback program in December 2022, CarGurus has repurchased 23% of its shares outstanding.

Share Issuance

• Minimal share issuance occurred from the exercise of stock options, generating proceeds of $10 thousand in Q2 2025 and $15 thousand for the six months ended June 30, 2025.

Outbound Investments

• CarGurus announced plans to wind down its CarOffer transactions business by the end of 2025.
• This strategic shift focuses on enhancing technology and analytics for smarter sourcing and pricing decisions rather than facilitating transactions.
• The company expects to incur approximately $14.0 million to $19.0 million in expenditures related to the CarOffer wind-down, primarily in the second half of 2025.