Quarterly earnings results are a good time to check in on a company’s progress, especially compared to its peers in the same sector. Today we are looking at Cars.com (NYSE: CARS) and the best and worst performers in the online marketplace industry.

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 13 online marketplace stocks we track reported a satisfactory Q1. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 2.2% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was in line.

Thankfully, share prices of the companies have been resilient as they are up 5.6% on average since the latest earnings results.

Cars.com (NYSE: CARS)

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

Cars.com reported revenues of $179 million, flat year on year. This print fell short of analysts’ expectations by 0.6%. Overall, it was a mixed quarter for the company with a solid beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates but disappointing growth in its buyers.

"We were encouraged to see growing momentum across our core marketplace and solutions portfolio as the first quarter progressed. Dealer count improvement, coupled with record unique visitors to Cars.com, signal that we are winning share in our key end markets at a critical time when the automotive industry is seeking trusted, efficient, and highly effective tools to cut through external noise," said Alex Vetter, Chief Executive Officer of Cars Commerce.

Interestingly, the stock is up 11.1% since reporting and currently trades at $12.58.

Is now the time to buy Cars.com? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.

Best Q1: eHealth (NASDAQ: EHTH)

Aiming to address a high-stakes and often confusing decision, eHealth (NASDAQ: EHTH) guides consumers through health insurance enrollment and related topics.

eHealth reported revenues of $113.1 million, up 21.7% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 13.4%. The business had an exceptional quarter with a solid beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates and full-year EBITDA guidance exceeding analysts’ expectations.

eHealth achieved the biggest analyst estimates beat among its peers. On a dimmer note, the company reported 1.16 million users, down 1.8% year on year. Although it had a fine quarter compared its peers, the market seems unhappy with the results as the stock is down 18.8% since reporting. It currently trades at $3.80.

Is now the time to buy eHealth? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.

Weakest Q1: The RealReal (NASDAQ: REAL)

Founded by consignment store aficionado Julie Wainwright, The RealReal (NASDAQ: REAL) is an online marketplace for buying and selling secondhand luxury goods.

The RealReal reported revenues of $160 million, up 11.3% year on year, in line with analysts’ expectations. It was a slower quarter as it posted full-year EBITDA guidance missing analysts’ expectations significantly and EBITDA guidance for next quarter missing analysts’ expectations significantly.

The RealReal delivered the weakest full-year guidance update in the group. The company reported 985,000 users, up 157% year on year. As expected, the stock is down 27.4% since the results and currently trades at $5.30.

Read our full analysis of The RealReal’s results here.

Shutterstock (NYSE: SSTK)

Originally featuring a library that included many of founder Jon Oringer’s photos, Shutterstock (NYSE: SSTK) is now a digital platform where customers can license and use hundreds of millions of pieces of content.

Shutterstock reported revenues of $242.6 million, up 13.2% year on year. This print missed analysts’ expectations by 4.1%. Zooming out, it was a mixed quarter as it also produced an impressive beat of analysts’ number of paid downloads estimates but a miss of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.

Shutterstock had the weakest performance against analyst estimates among its peers. The company reported 120.9 million service requests, up 245% year on year. The stock is up 11.6% since reporting and currently trades at $18.38.

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

LegalZoom (NASDAQ: LZ)

Founded by famous lawyer Robert Shapiro, LegalZoom (NASDAQ: LZ) offers online legal services and documentation assistance for individuals and businesses.

LegalZoom reported revenues of $183.1 million, up 5.1% year on year. This result surpassed analysts’ expectations by 3.4%. It was a strong quarter as it also put up an impressive beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates and a solid beat of analysts’ number of subscription units estimates.

The company reported 1.92 million users, up 19.9% year on year. The stock is up 21.7% since reporting and currently trades at $8.84.

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

Market Update

Thanks to the Fed’s series of rate hikes in 2022 and 2023, inflation has cooled significantly from its post-pandemic highs, drawing closer to the 2% goal. This disinflation has occurred without severely impacting economic growth, suggesting the success of a soft landing. The stock market thrived in 2024, spurred by recent rate cuts (0.5% in September and 0.25% in November), and a notable surge followed Donald Trump’s presidential election win in November, propelling indices to historic highs. Nonetheless, the outlook for 2025 remains clouded by potential trade policy changes and corporate tax discussions, which could impact business confidence and growth. The path forward holds both optimism and caution as new policies take shape.

Want to invest in winners with rock-solid fundamentals? Check out our Top 5 Quality Compounder Stocks and add them to your watchlist. These companies are poised for growth regardless of the political or macroeconomic climate.

StockStory is growing and hiring equity analyst and marketing roles. Are you a 0 to 1 builder passionate about the markets and AI? See the open roles here.