Highlights

  • The electric vehicle angle is documented in the company's own FY26 presentation rather than inferred.
  • Directors declared a final Dividend of 43.5 cents, up from 41.5 cents, taking the full-year payout to 86.0 cents.
  • Behind the growth sits a heavy Investment programme in artificial intelligence, which the company frames as a defence rather than a threat.
  • Net Debt stood at AUD 1,198 million at year end, equivalent to 1.7 times Leverage , with cash conversion of 100 %…

CAR Group, owner of carsales.com.au and a clutch of overseas vehicle marketplaces, delivered its FY26 result on 10 August 2026 and the market's reaction was emphatic. Shares jumped 9.92 % to close at AUD 29.70, adding more than AUD 900 million of Market Value in a session, after the company reported proforma Revenue of AUD 1.253 billion and lifted its…

Company Overview

CAR Group began life as carsales.com.au and remains the dominant online vehicle marketplace in Australia, where it also runs bikesales, boatsales, trucksales and the Redbook valuation Business . Over the past decade it has assembled one of the more genuinely international portfolios on the ASX, operating across four reporting regions: Australia; North America, through Trader Interactive, which specialises in recreational vehicles, powersports, trucks and marine; Latin America, principally webmotors in Brazil plus…

Recent Developments

The FY26 numbers landed comfortably. Proforma revenue of AUD 1,253 million rose 12 % in constant currency, proforma EBITDA reached AUD 700 million, also up 12 %, and adjusted net profit after tax came in at AUD 407 million, an 11 % constant-currency gain. Reported net profit rose 14 % to AUD 314 million. The EBITDA Margin held at 56 %.

Every region grew. Australia produced AUD 519 million of revenue, up 7 %, with EBITDA of AUD 345 million on a 66 % margin. Trader Interactive contributed AUD 327 million of revenue and AUD 197 million of EBITDA, both up 12 %, with lead volumes ahead 22 %. Latin America was the growth standout, revenue up 19 % to AUD 251 million and EBITDA up 23 %…

Financial Snapshot

Behind the growth sits a heavy investment programme in artificial intelligence, which the company frames as a defence rather than a threat. CAR built a proprietary platform it calls the CG Engine, drawing on vehicle transaction data across its five markets. Disclosed results include a 26 % uplift in session-to-lead conversion in Australia from conversational search, a 20 % lift in engagement…

Net debt stood at AUD 1,198 million at year end, equivalent to 1.7 times leverage, with cash conversion of 100 % and growth Capital Expenditure at about 10 % of revenue. Across FY22 to FY26 the group compounded revenue at 13 %, EBITDA at 14 % and adjusted NPAT at 20 %.

What to Watch

Management guided FY27 to constant-currency revenue growth of 11 to 14 %, adjusted EBITDA growth of 10 to 13 % and adjusted NPAT growth of 9 to 12 %, with an expected currency headwind of roughly 2 %, mainly from the US and Korea. Delivery against that range, particularly at Trader Interactive where second-half revenue growth decelerated slightly on media campaign timing…

Risks

Currency remains a live drag given a majority of revenue now sits offshore. The Australian business saw a second-half slowdown in private listings, attributed partly to removing stale listings and a temporary dip in consumer sentiment. Brazil's exit from Car10 factoring helps margins but suppresses reported revenue growth. Leverage of 1.7 times is manageable but not trivial. And the AI question is genuinely unresolved: CAR is spending to own…

Outlook

FY26 gave the bulls what they needed, growth in all four regions, a maintained 56 % margin and a higher dividend. Whether that closes a valuation gap opened by a thesis about the future rather than the present is a separate question. Attention now turns to FY27 guidance delivery, the trajectory of Trader Interactive, and evidence that…