Cars.com (CARS Quick QuoteCARS - Free Report) reported $178.89 million in revenue for the quarter ended June 2024, representing a year-over-year increase of 6.4%. EPS of $0.38 for the same period compares to $1.37 a year ago.

The reported revenue represents a surprise of -1.44% over the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $181.51 million. With the consensus EPS estimate being $0.47, the EPS surprise was -19.15%.

While investors closely watch year-over-year changes in headline numbers -- revenue and earnings -- and how they compare to Wall Street expectations to determine their next course of action, some key metrics always provide a better insight into a company's underlying performance.

Since these metrics play a crucial role in driving the top- and bottom-line numbers, comparing them with the year-ago numbers and what analysts estimated about them helps investors better project a stock's price performance.

Here is how Cars.com performed in the just reported quarter in terms of the metrics most widely monitored and projected by Wall Street analysts:

• Monthly Average Revenue Per Dealer

  : $2,474 compared to the $2,525 average estimate based on two analysts.

• Dealer Customers

  : 19,390 versus 19,425 estimated by two analysts on average.

• Revenue- Dealer

  : $159.84 million versus $163.12 million estimated by two analysts on average.

• Revenue- Other

  : $3.22 million versus the two-analyst average estimate of $3 million.

• Revenue- OEM and National

  : $15.83 million compared to the $15.75 million average estimate based on two analysts.

View all Key Company Metrics for Cars.com here>>>

Shares of Cars.com have returned -2.2% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's -6.5% change. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), indicating that it could outperform the broader market in the near term.