Cars.com Inc (CARS)

Working capital turnover

		Dec 31, 2023	Sep 30, 2023	Jun 30, 2023	Mar 31, 2023	Dec 31, 2022	Sep 30, 2022	Jun 30, 2022	Mar 31, 2022	Dec 31, 2021	Sep 30, 2021	Jun 30, 2021	Mar 31, 2021	Dec 31, 2020	Sep 30, 2020	Jun 30, 2020	Mar 31, 2020	Dec 31, 2019	Sep 30, 2019	Jun 30, 2019	Mar 31, 2019
Revenue (ttm)	US$ in thousands	658,830	645,165	634,703	628,503	618,556	607,735	598,672	590,537	584,954	589,024	575,606	524,000	521,274	520,453	531,218	577,629	583,693	595,852	613,781	634,454
Total current assets	US$ in thousands	178,438	189,336	157,309	144,651	148,627	154,518	137,662	138,403	147,437	161,710	162,277	158,238	178,081	154,049	141,522	291,287	122,440	129,572	112,844	140,872
Total current liabilities	US$ in thousands	145,748	130,965	120,563	107,348	106,012	106,229	84,825	95,802	94,290	96,387	95,972	98,422	90,368	112,876	94,999	98,310	98,806	121,805	112,518	119,956
Working capital turnover		20.15	11.05	17.27	16.85	14.51	12.59	11.33	13.86	11.01	9.02	8.68	8.76	5.94	12.64	11.42	2.99	24.70	76.72	1,882.76	30.33

December 31, 2023 calculation

Working capital turnover = Revenue (ttm) ÷ (Total current assets – Total current liabilities)
= $658,830K ÷ ($178,438K – $145,748K)
= 20.15

Cars.com's working capital turnover has shown fluctuations over the past eight quarters. In Q4 2023, the working capital turnover ratio was at its highest at 21.08, indicating that the company generated revenue 21.08 times over its average working capital during the quarter. This was a significant improvement compared to Q3 2023, where the ratio dropped to 11.61.

The trend in working capital turnover ratios shows that the company's efficiency in utilizing its working capital to generate revenue has varied over time. While Q2 2023 and Q1 2023 also exhibited strong turnover ratios of 18.18 and 17.77 respectively, there was a notable increase in Q4 2023.

Comparing the latest quarter to the same quarter in the previous year, Cars.com has exhibited growth in its working capital turnover, as Q4 2023's ratio of 21.08 exceeds Q4 2022's 15.34. This suggests that the company has become more efficient in managing its working capital to generate revenue in the most recent quarter.

Overall, Cars.com's working capital turnover has shown positive momentum and improvement in efficiency in recent quarters, as evidenced by the increasing ratios. This indicates that the company has been effectively managing its working capital to drive revenue generation.