UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

(Mark One)

ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the fiscal year ended December 31 2017, 2023

OR

TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 FOR THE TRANSITION PERIOD FROM                      TO                     

FOR THE TRANSITION PERIOD FROM TO

Commission File Number 001-38233

CarGurus, Inc.

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its Charter)charter)

Delaware

04-3843478

(State or other jurisdiction of

incorporation or organization)

(I.R.S. Employer

Identification No.)

2 Canal Park, 4th55 Cambridge Parkway, 6th Floor

Cambridge, Massachusetts

0214102142

(Address of principal executive offices)

(Zip Code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (617) (617) 354-0068

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Title of Each Class

Trading Symbol

Name of Each Exchange on Which Registered

Class A Common Stock,

par value $0.001 per share

CARG

The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (Nasdaq

(Nasdaq Global Select Market)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

Indicate by check mark if the Registrantregistrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. YES  Yes ☒ No     NO  

Indicate by check mark if the Registrantregistrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Act. YES  Yes     NO  No

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant:registrant: (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the Registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. YES  Yes    NO   No

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrantregistrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the Registrant was required to submit and post such files). YES  Yes    NO   No

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K (§229.405) is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of Registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K.  

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

Large accelerated filer

Accelerated filer

Non-accelerated filer

  (Do not check if a small reporting company)

Small reporting company

Emerging growth company

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrantregistrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report.

If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements.

Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b).

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). YES  Yes     NO   No

As of June 30, 2017, the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter, there was no established public market for the registrant’s Class A common stock, par value $0.001 per share. The registrant’s Class A common stock began trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market on October 12, 2017. The aggregate market value of the registrant’s Class A common stock, par value $0.001 per share, held by non-affiliates of the registrant based on the closing price of the registrant’s common stock as of such date was $771,446,882, based upon the last reported sales price for such date on the Nasdaq Global Select Market.Market on June 30, 2023, was $1,289,254,386. Shares of voting and non-voting stock held by executive officers, directors, and holders of more than 10% of the outstanding stock as of such date have been excluded from this calculation because such persons or institutions may be deemed affiliates. This determination of affiliate status is not a conclusive determination for other purposes.

As of February 23, 2018,22, 2024, the registrant had 77,890,57691,439,976 shares of Class A common stock, and 28,235,29015,999,173 shares of Class B common stock, par value $0.001 per share, outstanding.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Portions of the registrant’s definitive Proxy Statement for its 20182024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders are incorporated by reference in Part III of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Such Proxy Statement will be filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission within 120 days after the end of the fiscal year to which this report relates. Except with respect to information specifically incorporated by reference in this Form 10-K, the Proxy Statement is not deemed to be filed as part of this Form 10-K.



Table of Contents

Page

PART I

Item 1.

Business

23

Item 1A.

Risk Factors

1324

Item 1B.

Unresolved Staff Comments

3343

Item 2.1C.

PropertiesCybersecurity

3343

Item 3.2.

Legal ProceedingsProperties

3344

Item 4.3.

Mine Safety DisclosuresLegal Proceedings

3344

Item 4.

Mine Safety Disclosures

44

PART II

Item 5.

Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

3445

Item 6.

Selected Consolidated Financial Data[Reserved]

3747

Item 7.

Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

4048

Item 7A.

Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk

5876

Item 8.

Financial Statements and Supplementary Data

6077

Item 9.

Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure

91132

Item 9A.

Controls and Procedures

92132

Item 9B.

Other Information

92137

Item 9C.

Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections

137

PART III

Item 10.

Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance

93138

Item 11.

Executive Compensation

93138

Item 12.

Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters

93138

Item 13.

Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence

93138

Item 14.

Principal AccountingAccountant Fees and Services

93138

PART IV

Item 15.

Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules

94139

Item 16.

Form 10-K Summary

94139



SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This Annual Report on Form 10-K, or Annual Report, contains forward‑looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws, which statements involve substantial risks and uncertainties. Forward‑looking statements generally relate to future events or our future financial or operating performance. In some cases, you can identify forward‑looking statements because they contain words such as “aim,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “could,” “estimates,” “expects,” “goal,” “intends,” “may,” “might,” “likely,” “plans,” “potential,” “predicts,” “projects,” “seeks,” “should,” “target,” “will,” “would,” or similar expressions and the negatives of those terms. Forward-looking statements contained in this reportAnnual Report include but are not limited to, statements about:

our future financial performance, including our expectations regarding our revenue, cost of revenue, gross profit or gross margin, operating expenses, ability to generate cash flow, and ability to achieve and maintain future profitability;

our anticipated growth and growth strategies and our ability to effectively manage thatany growth;

the value proposition of our product offerings for dealers and consumers;

the ability of our combined suite of offerings to increase a dealer’s return on investment, add scale to our marketplace network, drive powerful network effects, create powerful synergies for dealers, transform the end-to-end car-shopping journey for both consumers and dealers and become the marketplace for all steps of the vehicle acquisition and sale processes;
our evolution to becoming a transaction-enabled platform where consumers can shop, finance, buy, seek financing, and sell their cars and dealers can source, market, and sell their cars;
our belief that certain of our strengths, including our trusted marketplace for consumers, our strong value proposition for dealers, and our data-driven approach, among other things, will lead to an advantage over our competitors;
the value proposition of the CarOffer, LLC, or CarOffer, online wholesale platform, including our belief that as dealer enrollments increase, dealers will see a corresponding increase in inventory on the platform, further enabling liquidity, selection, choice, and business efficiencies;
our ability to deliver quality leads at a high volume for our dealer customers and to provide the highest return on a dealer’s investment;
our expectations for CarGurus Sell My Car (Instant Max Cash Offer and Top Dealer Offers) as well as our digital retail offerings and continued investments;
our ability to maintain and acquire new customers;
our ability to maintain and build our brand;

our abilitybelief that our partnerships with automotive lending companies provide more transparency to expand internationally;

car shoppers and deliver highly qualified car shopper leads to participating dealers;

our belief that our Geo Expansion offering promotes participating dealers’ delivery capabilities and increases non-local vehicle detail page, or VDP, views;

our outlook for our Restricted Listings product;
the impact of competition in our industry and innovation by our competitors;

our ability to hire and retain qualified employees necessary to expand our operations;

our ability to adapt to technological change and effectively enhance, innovate, and scale our platform and offerings;
our ability to realize benefits from our acquisitions and successfully implement the integration strategies in connection therewith;
our ability to overcome challenges facing the automotive industry ecosystem, including inventory supply problems, global supply chain challenges, changes to trade policies, and other macroeconomic issues;
our expectations regarding cash generation and the sufficiency of our cash to fund our operations;

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our expected returns on investments;
our expectations regarding our deferred tax assets;
global and domestic economic conditions affecting us or our customers;
our expectations regarding the funding of our share repurchase program;
our revolving credit facility;
our ability to adequately protect our intellectual property;

our ability to stay abreast of new or modified lawshire and regulationsretain necessary qualified employees to expand our operations;

our efforts to continue to enhance our diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging initiatives;
the material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting that currently apply or become applicablewe have identified, and our ability to remediate such weakness and enhance our business;

internal control environment;

the increased expenses and administrative workload associated with being a public company;

failureour ability to maintain an effective system of internal controls necessary to accurately report our financial results and prevent fraud; and

the impact of accounting pronouncements;

our ability to stay abreast of, and effectively comply with, new or modified laws and regulations that currently apply or become applicable to our business and our beliefs regarding our compliance therewith;
the impact of litigation; and
the future trading prices of our Class A common stock.

You should not rely upon forward‑looking statements as predictions of future events. We have based the forward‑looking statements contained in this reportAnnual Report primarily on our current expectations and projections about future events and trends that we believe may affect our business, financial condition, operating results, and growth prospects. The outcome of the events described in these forward‑looking statements is subject to risks, uncertainties, and other factors described in the section titled “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this report.Annual Report. Moreover, we operate in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment. New risks and uncertainties emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict all risks and uncertainties that could have an impact on the forward‑looking statements contained in this report.Annual Report. Further, our forward‑looking statements do not reflect the potential impact of any future acquisitions, mergers, dispositions, or joint ventures in which we may be involved, or investments we may make. We cannot assure you that the results, events, and circumstances reflected in the forward‑looking statements will be achieved or will occur, and actual results, events, or circumstances could differ materially from those described in the forward‑looking statements.

The forward‑looking statements made in this reportAnnual Report relate only to events as of the date on which the statements are made.of this Annual Report. We undertake no obligation to update any forward‑looking statementsstatement made in this reportAnnual Report to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this reportAnnual Report or to reflect new information or the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as required by law.

1NOTE REGARDING TRADEMARKS

CarGurus® is a registered trademark of CarGurus, Inc. and CarOffer® is a registered trademark of CarOffer, LLC. All other product names, trademarks, and registered trademarks are property of their respective owners. We have omitted the ® and ™ designations, as applicable, for the trademarks used in this Annual Report.

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PART I

Item 1. Business.

BUSINESSOverview

Overview

CarGurus, Inc. is a global,multinational, online automotive platform for buying and selling vehicles that is building upon its industry-leading listings marketplace connecting buyerswith both digital retail solutions and sellers of newthe CarOffer online wholesale platform. The CarGurus platform gives consumers the confidence to purchase and/or sell a vehicle either online or in person, and used cars. Usingit gives dealerships the power to accurately price, effectively market, instantly acquire, and quickly sell vehicles, all with a nationwide reach. We use proprietary technology, search algorithms, and innovative data analytics we believe we are buildingto bring trust, transparency, and competitive pricing to the world’s most trusted and transparent automotive marketplace and creating a differentiated automotive search experience for consumers. Our trusted marketplace empowers users with unbiased third‑party validation on pricing and dealer reputation as well as other information that aids them in finding “Great Deals from Top-Rated Dealers.” Our selection of car listings provides the largest number of car listings available on any of the major U.S. online automotive marketplaces.shopping experience. In addition to the United States, or the U.S., we operate online marketplaces under the CarGurus brand in Canada and the United Kingdom, or the U.K. In the U.S. and Germany.the U.K., we also operate the Autolist and PistonHeads online marketplaces, respectively, as independent brands.

A core principleIn 2006 Langley Steinert founded CarGurus on the premise of bringing trust and transparency to the automotive marketplace. Our online marketplace platform provides ease of access to prices of vehicles and dealer ratings, both of which are imperative to a consumer’s vehicle purchase. By providing car-shoppers with the tools and insights necessary for their car-shopping journey, we have garnered a large and engaged user base with whom our dealers can transact. We have a high-intent, ready-to-purchase consumer audience of 31.2 million average monthly visitors in the U.S., which has attracted 24,318 paying dealers and over 30,000 dealers including non-paying dealers to list inventory on our U.S. online marketplace as of December 31, 2023. Over time, we have seen an evolution of dealer and consumer needs and preferences as we enter a more digitally enabled world. To best meet our customers’ needs, we evolved our Listings business to an end-to-end transaction-enabled platform by introducing products and solutions that allow consumers to not only embark on a convenient self-selective purchasing journey with a seamless online-to-in-store transition but also the choice to efficiently sell their car 100% online from the comfort of their home or at a local dealership. Dealers now have the ability to reach customers outside of their immediate geographic footprint and source inventory nationwide from both consumers and other dealers. This expanded suite of offerings can help increase our dealer customers’ return on investment, or ROI, adding even more scale to our marketplace network. While we have evolved to an end-to-end transaction-enabled platform where consumers can shop, finance, buy, and sell, and dealers can source, market, and sell vehicles, our ultimate goal remains the same: to empower our customers by giving them all the tools and information they need to buy or sell any car, anywhere, at the right price, and in the right way for them. At CarGurus, we give people the power to reach their destination.

During the year ended December 31, 2023, we managed our business and reported earnings through two reportable segments: U.S. Marketplace and Digital Wholesale. The U.S. Marketplace segment derives revenue from marketplace services for customers within the U.S. The Digital Wholesale segment primarily derives revenue from our Dealer-to-Dealer and Instant Max Cash Offer, or IMCO, services and products sold on our CarOffer platform. Prior to the first quarter of 2022 we had two reportable segments – U.S. and International. Effective as of the first quarter of 2022 we revised our segment reporting from two reportable segments to one reportable segment. Effective as of the fourth quarter of 2022 we revised our segment reporting again from one reportable segment to our two current reportable segments. See Note 14 to our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report for further segment reporting and geographical information.

Consumers' CarGurus Journey

Shop: A car purchase is transparency. Fora milestone in a consumer’s life – whether it is the first set of keys or parting from a memory-filled vehicle. However, shopping for a vehicle can be frustrating instead of empowering. Enter CarGurus, where we provide trust and transparency to the process for consumers considering used vehicles,through our largest dealer network among major online auto marketplaces in the U.S., which provides the largest selection of inventory and the greatest selection of prices. Based on our consumer research, 54% of shoppers view price as the most important factor influencing where to buy a vehicle, and 34% of shoppers view inventory selection as the most important factor. As the consumer moves to purchase a vehicle, we aggregate vehicle inventory from dealers and apply our proprietary analysis to generate a Deal Rating as one of:of the following: Great Deal, Good Deal, Fair Deal, High Priced, or Overpriced. Deal Rating illustrates how competitive a listing is compared to similar cars recently sold in the same region in recent history.region. We determine Deal Rating principally on the basis of both our proprietary Instant Market Value, or IMV, algorithm, which determines the market value of any givena used vehicle in a local market, and Dealer Rating, a measure of a dealer’s reputation as

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determined by reviews of that dealer from our user community. By sorting organicWith the largest selection of inventory in the U.S., our search results are tailored to each customer based on a used car’sconsumer preferences, dozens of vehicle attributes, and the vehicle's Deal Rating, we enable consumers to find the most relevant car for their needs.Rating. For new cars, we help our users understand deal quality by providing price analysis and our Dealer Rating. We also provide our users with information that historically has not been widely available, such as Price History, Time on Site, and Vehicle History.

Finance & Buy: Once a consumer has found a listing they intend to pursue, we provide an omni-channel approach to the purchase of a vehicle partially, principally, or entirely online. Our digital retail products such as Digital Deal provide the consumer with a self-selected car-buying journey to tailor their experience to their specific needs. According to our consumer research, nearly 70% of shoppers want to do more of the buying process online. Digital Deal allows these consumers to build a near penny-perfect deal with options to select either dealer or vehicle-specific finance and insurance products, make an appointment, receive a trade-in estimate, place a deposit on their vehicle of choice, and/or take delivery of the vehicle all while experiencing a seamless online-to-in-store experience. Our consumer research also shows that 58% of shoppers are open to participating in the vehicle-buying process entirely online without seeing the vehicle in person. For those consumers, we are piloting CG Buy Online, an asset-light, end-to-end solution that empowers consumers to complete transactions entirely online, providing dealers with digital transaction capabilities that can boost online sales and facilitate online purchases to out-of-market customers. We believe this approach brings greater transparency,that, through our selection of digitally enabled listings, we will provide consumers with a larger inventory selection, competitive prices, convenience, and a sense of trust through their car-shopping journey, leading to highly engaged, more confident, and efficiencysatisfied car buyers.

Sell: Through our Sell My Car capability, we offer IMCO and Top Dealer Offers, or TDO, which give consumers in participating states the choice to either sell their car entirely online through IMCO or to a consumer’srecommended local dealership through TDO. Consumers who are trading in or selling vehicles receive the most competitive offer sourced from local dealers and nationally. Consumers benefit from the volume of participating dealerships across the CarGurus and CarOffer networks, as well as the instant matches provided by demand from the CarOffer Matrix, which enables the consumer to find the best deal at any time. Once the customer has accepted their offer, they can further customize their intake experience by arranging a pick-up at their home for IMCO offers, while for TDO they can arrange when they bring the car researchto the local dealer. With our largest dealer network and buying process, leadingour two selling options, consumers can have confidence that they are truly receiving the best offer for their vehicle instantly.

Dealers' CarGurus Journey

Source: Through CarOffer, we allow dealers to higher engagementconveniently and efficiently acquire and sell wholesale inventory by utilizing our Dealer-to-Dealer wholesale product and acquiring consumer inventory through our Sell My Car (IMCO and TDO) offerings. CarOffer's technology enables dealers to bid, transact, inspect, and transport vehicles seamlessly and efficiently without geographic limitations. Any dealer, including those who are customers of the CarGurus website, can enroll on the CarOffer platform at no additional cost. For the purchase and sale of vehicles between dealers, or Dealer-to-Dealer transactions, the CarOffer Matrix allows dealers on the platform to buy and sell vehicles using limit orders, saving dealers the time and expense of going to an auction to acquire vehicles via the traditional in-person physical auction model. To ensure that dealers feel confident that their purchase will meet their expectations, we offer detailed mechanical inspections on the vehicles they purchase. Dealers also have a separate option on select vehicles to use a 24-Hour capability, which gives dealers 24 hours to review vehicle condition reports, details, history, and photos before making a purchasing decision. As we look to activate more informeddealers on the CarOffer Matrix, we expect dealers will see a corresponding increase of dealer-to-dealer inventory on the platform, driving improved liquidity, selection, and business efficiencies. Additionally, we enable dealers to acquire consumer who is better prepared to purchase atinventory via IMCO and TDO, both of which utilize the dealership.

Our large, engaged, and predominantly mobile user base presents an attractive audience of in‑market consumers for our dealers. By connecting dealers with more informed consumers,CarOffer Matrix. Over time, we believe weexpect these offerings will provide dealers with an efficient customer acquisition channelgreater access to fresh consumer trade-in inventory and attractive returnswill provide even greater liquidity on the CarOffer platform. IMCO, which allows dealers to purchase vehicles across geographies, is similar to a Dealer-to-Dealer transaction in that CarOffer handles inspections, transportation, titles, and payments in one bill of sale from the consumer. TDO gives dealers the ability to bid on local consumer trade-ins and win exclusive leads, which brings consumers to the dealership, where dealers can inspect the trade-in vehicles themselves while retaining the customer. Our wholesale platform provides a solution for dealers looking to minimize reliance on in-person or online auctions to source their marketing spend with us. vehicle inventory while ensuring they are paying a fair price.

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Market: Dealers can list their inventory in ouron CarGurus’ marketplace for free with our Basic Listing product or with a paid subscription to one of our Enhanced and Featured Listing products. Dealers with our Basic Listing productpaid Listings packages. Non-paying dealers receive a limited number of anonymized email connections and access to a subset of the tools on our Dealer Dashboard at no cost. DealersA dealer with a paid subscription receivereceives much more, depending on their package, including connections towith consumers that are not anonymous and can beare made through a wider variety of methods, includingsuch as phone calls, email, managed text and chat, links to the dealer’s website, and map directions to its dealerships. In addition,Leads are a subcategory of connections that we define as user inquiries via our marketplace to dealers by phone calls, email, or managed text and chat interactions. We define connections as interactions between consumers and dealers via our marketplace through phone calls, email, managed text and chat, and clicks to access the dealer’s website and map directions to the dealership. Dealers with our Enhanced and Featured Listing productspaid Listings packages are able to display their dealerdealership's name, address, and dealership information on their listings on our websites to gain brand recognition, which promotes walk‑inwalk-in traffic to the dealer.dealership. Paying dealers also have access to tools on the Dealer Dashboard, and dealers with our newest and highest-tier subscription packages receive Digital Deal as well as other digital retail add-on product offerings, like Geo Expansion, which enables dealers to expand their geographic footprint to reach out-of-market shoppers. This also provides dealers with more volume and higher lead quality – Digital Deal leads are up to 5 times more likely to close than traditional email leads. Through our high-intent consumer audience, innovative tools, data insights, and a variety of other product offerings, paying dealers on our platform ultimately earn a consistent and compelling ROI.

Sell: By presenting consumers with data such as our Deal Ratings, Price History, Time on Site, Vehicle History, and financing options, we believe our consumer audience is composed of more informed, ready-to-purchase shoppers. By connecting dealers with such consumers, we believe we provide dealers with access to an efficient customer acquisition channel with the highest-intent shoppers generating the highest ROI. Further, as consumer needs evolve to customize aspects of their vehicle purchase, we provide dealers, through a variety of digital offerings, the means to cater to consumers on a personalized level. Consumers can choose to complete their self-selected car-shopping journey with Digital Deal and other digital offerings that we provide through our partnership with dealers, enabling an individualized shopping experience from financing options to placing a deposit. By using Digital Deal with Geo Expansion, dealers get access to a wider audience outside of the physical reach of their dealership. In combination with some of our new Digital Retail capabilities, we provide even more value to dealers by facilitating online sales to out-of-market customers. We are piloting CG Buy Online, which allows a limited number of dealers to sell vehicles online to out-of-market customers using dealer-friendly third-party delivery capabilities. This lets the dealer delegate logistics to CarGurus, and we believe the expanded market for these dealers accelerates turn times on inventory. We also provide paying dealers with full access to our Dealer Dashboard, including inventory pricing tools informed by real‑timereal-time market conditions, which helps them more effectively price, merchandise, and sell their cars. The ability to compare wholesale pricing with retail pricing ultimately allows dealers to price a car with more accuracy. We believe this transparency will create trust, leading to loyal consumers. These combined offerings allow dealers to efficiently drive their business to success from all aspects of sourcing, marketing, and selling. Our success in our partnership with dealers is evidenced by the 23% and 66% growth in the number of paying dealers – 24,318 paying dealers as of December 31, 2023 – in our U.S. marketplace in 2017 compared to 2016the U.S.

CarGurus Value Proposition

With the majority of dealers in the U.S. listing inventory on our platform and our consumer-friendly deal ratings, we have built the most visited online automotive marketplace in 2016 compared to 2015, respectively.

Our scaled online marketplace model drivesthe U.S. (Source: SimilarWeb, Traffic Report, Q4 2023, U.S.)and we believe that our scale creates powerful network effects.effects that reinforce the competitive strength of our business model. This powerful network has only strengthened since our initial acquisition of CarOffer in 2021. The industry‑leadingcombination of Digital Retail, Digital Wholesale, and Listings creates powerful synergies for our dealer customers. Dealers can leverage this one-stop shop to acquire inventory from both consumers and dealers, list the vehicle on our marketplace, and sell it utilizing our digital retail capabilities. Our industry-leading inventory selection offered byfrom our U.S. dealers attracts a large and engaged consumer audience.audience – 31.2 million average monthly U.S. unique users in 2023. The value of robust connections to thisfrom our high-intent consumer audience incentivizes dealers to purchase our Enhanced or Featured Listing products. Having more paying dealers provides consumers with more dealer information and methods to contact them. More consumers and connections drive greater value toand a higher ROI for our paying dealers on our platform.dealers. Driven by these network effects, we continue to amass more data points, which we use not only to continuously improvefurther strengthen our traffic acquisition efforts and marketplace search algorithms, but also to improve the accuracyquality of Deal Ratings, our user experience and ultimately,our partnership with dealers to provide innovative digital data offerings and much more. As we continue to innovate and progress our offerings to meet both consumer and dealer needs, we strive to uphold and improve the quality of the connections between consumers and dealers.dealers and become the preferred platform for all steps of the vehicle acquisition and sale process, ultimately giving dealers and consumers the power to reach their destination.

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Consumers' Challenges

We generate marketplace subscription revenue from dealers through Listing and Dealer Display subscriptions and advertising revenue from auto manufacturers and other auto‑related brand advertisers. Our rapid revenue growth and financial performance overAs consumers complete the last several years exemplifiesend-to-end car-shopping journey, the strength of our marketplace. We generated revenue of $316.9 million in 2017, $198.1 million in 2016, and $98.6 million in 2015, representing year-over-year increases of 60% in 2017 and 101% in 2016. In 2017, we generated net income of $13.2 million and our Adjusted EBITDA was $24.1 million, compared to net income of $6.5 million and Adjusted EBITDA of $11.0 million in 2016 andkey questions they ask are:

Am I getting a net loss of $1.6 million and Adjusted EBITDA of $(0.4) million in 2015. See “Selected Consolidated Financial Data — Adjusted EBITDA”fair price for more information regarding our use of Adjusted EBITDA andmy trade-in?
Should I purchase a reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to our net income (loss).

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Consumer Challenges

Upon determining whatvehicle with my trade-in?

What type of car to purchase, consumers face many questions:

vehicle should I buy?

Which dealer hasWhere can I buy a car like this?

What is a fair price for this particular type of car?

vehicle?

Have others had a good experience buying from this dealer?

How much of the purchase process can I transact online?
Can I obtain financing for this car, and at what cost?
What if this dealer is not local to my area?

In answering these questions, consumers historically had limited access to unbiasedtransparent information on specific vehicles, car pricing, and dealer reputation. Further, consumers who wanted to trade in their vehicle or wanted to complete select elements of their car-shopping journey online typically had very limited options. Every used carcar-shopping journey is a unique experience, and so for consumers searching for used cars, itembarking on this journey, there is difficult to aggregate the relevant inventory of available cars across dealers, a difficulty exacerbated by the lack of consistency in the way that dealers characterizeabsence of consistent information on pricing for both selling and purchasing vehicles. Selling a car’s attributes. Generally, dealers have also had more information about car prices thanvehicle was time-consuming and exhausting for consumers did, as consumers have had limited resourcesthey traveled from dealer to dealer to ensure they were receiving a fair and tools to determine an appropriate price. Finally, selectingaccurate price for their vehicle. Selecting the right dealer haswas also been challenging for consumers as dealer reputations havewere historically been based primarily on word‑of‑word of mouth. The lack of clear, unbiased, transparent information made it difficult for consumers to effectively compare vehicles, find the vehiclevehicles that best suitssuited their needs, and transact with well-regarded dealers. In addition, following the COVID-19 pandemic, consumers are also increasingly interested in understanding which aspects of their buying journey they can complete online and are looking for ways to customize their journey to incorporate both online and in-person components.

DealerDealers' Challenges

Dealers have had to face a new set of challenges over the past few years including as a result of the semiconductor chip shortage and other supply chain disruptions impacting auto manufacturers' production levels. The shortage of both used and new car inventory and rapidly evolving wholesale prices caused dealers to invest in additional methods to source wholesale vehicles, all while dealers have been adapting to the shift from physical to digital marketplaces as consumer needs and wants continue to evolve and competition from online retailers increases. Dealers need to remain competitive in their offers for consumer trade-ins, as consumers have increasing means to source multiple offers in this highly competitive and digitally enabled market. The economics of dealerships depend largely on vehicle acquisition costs, sales volume, gross margin, and customer acquisition efficiency. To achieve a high return on their marketing investments, dealers must find in‑market consumers; yet because car purchasesin-market consumers. Dealers additionally need to be strategic about selling vehicles before they are infrequent, only a small percentage of consumers are shopping for a car at any given point in time.“aged inventory.” Traditional marketing channels that dealers utilize, including television, radio, and newspaper, can effectively target locally but are inefficient in reachingtargeting the smallnarrow percentage of high-intent consumers who are activelyready to purchase and potentially trade in the market to buy a car.vehicle both locally and outside a dealership's immediate geographic footprint. In addition, with used car pricing isbeing fluid because it is based ondue to rapidly shifting supply and demand dynamics. Dealersdynamics, dealers need to find ways to manage constantly changing inventory and adjust pricing and purchasing strategies to adapt to frequently changing market conditions.conditions as evidenced by the past few years.

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Our Strengths

We believe that our competitive advantages are based on the following key strengths:

Trusted Marketplace for Consumers.Consumers. We provide consumers with unbiasedtransparent information, intuitive search results, and other tools that empoweraid them to find “Great Dealsin their car-shopping journey. Furthermore, consumers can have confidence in finding a fair value in the vehicles they search for in our marketplaces since less than one-third of eligible vehicle listings on CarGurus.com earn a Great Deal or Good Deal rating. We also enable bids on vehicle trade-ins and sales from Top Rated Dealers.” In the United States, wethousands of dealers in the CarGurus/CarOffer network, assuring consumers that they are receiving the best offer on their vehicle. We offer the largest online selection of new and used car listings of any major U.S. online automotive marketplace. We aggregate and analyze these listings using proprietary technology and data along with innovative data analytics to create a differentiated automotive search experience for consumers. We believe that providing a transparent consumer experience with unbiased information has instilled greater trust in us among our users, helping us become the most visited online automotive marketplace in the United States accordingconsumers to comScore.bring them great deals from top-rated dealers. In 2017,2023 we experienced over 64.882.3 million average monthly sessions in the United States. We define average monthly sessions as the number of distinct visits to our website that take place each month within a given time frame, as measured and defined by Google Analytics.U.S. We believe this user traffic, an indicator of consumer satisfaction and engagement, is critical to any successfulour marketplace success and will continue to strengthen our market position. We attract our audience from a diverse range of acquisition channels including direct navigation, mobile applications, email, organic search, paid search advertising, social media advertising, on-site advertising, audience targeting, and brand advertising campaigns. In addition, we focus our efforts on attracting users that we believe are near a car-purchasing decision, resulting in a higher-quality audience to which our dealers can market.

Proprietary Search Algorithms and Data‑DrivenData-Driven Approach. We have built an extensive repository of data on cars, prices, dealers, and the interactions between consumers and dealers that is the result of over sevenmany years of data aggregation and regression modeling. Our proprietary search algorithms and data analytics allow us to use this valuable data to bring greater transparency to our platform. The primary product of this analysis is our determination of a used car’s IMV, which, in addition totogether with Dealer Rating, drives our Deal Rating. We calculate IMV by applying more than 20 ranking signals and more than 100 normalization rules to tens of millions of data points, including the make, model, trim, year, features, condition, history, geographic location, and mileage of the car. The growingOur proprietary search algorithms and data analytics also includes the CarOffer Matrix, providing unique insights to dealers regarding their purchases in the wholesale space as well as up-to-date pricing information for the consumers they are servicing. We apply the knowledge gained from analyzing the substantial volume of connections between consumers and dealers on our platform allows us to continually improve the accuracy of our IMV, Dealer Ratings, and used car search results sorted by Deal Rating. We apply the knowledge gained from analyzing this ever‑growing data set to build new productsfeatures for our consumers, IMV technology features on the Dealer Dashboard, and new data-driven initiatives for our dealers, including our Dealer Data Insights. As we continue to develop our suite of products, we aim to use data to help dealers determine which vehicles they should buy, whether that vehicle is available from retail or wholesale channels, and at what price they should list that vehicle to maximize profitability, turn times, or both. For example, Next Best Deal Rating is an Insights tool that provides dealers with the blueprint for the least amount of price reduction needed to achieve the next best deal rating on that vehicle’s listing. Dealers can specify price reduction thresholds on their specific inventory and receive an automated weekly report to inform price changes that will optimize dealer volume and margin. As a result of our history as a data-focused business, we are growing our investment in artificial intelligence, or AI. Rapid advancements in consumer-facing AI have transformed the way that consumers search for and gather information, and recently we introduced functionality based on generative AI to improve the user experience on our website. For consumers, our ChatGPT plug-in generates vehicle description pages based on a consumer’s specific criteria, and the pilot of our “Find My Car” functionality in the U.K. and Canada allows shoppers to search for vehicles using conversational language matching their preferences to relevant listings. These enhancements enable consumers and dealers and to be more efficiently launch marketplaces in new countries.informed from the start of their car-shopping journey to the end.

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Strong Value Proposition to Dealers. We believe that our marketplace offers an efficient customer acquisition channel for dealers, helping them achieve attractive returns on their marketing spend with us. With the initial acquisition of CarOffer in 2021, we increased efficiencies for dealers to source vehicles from both consumers and dealers with the 24/7 online CarOffer Matrix. We provide our dealer base with connections to prospective car buyers;buyers, most of these connectionswhich have historically been for used cars. We define connections as interactions between consumerscars, and dealers into prospective car sellers. The primary objective of our marketplace throughtraffic acquisition and site improvements is to generate high quality consumer leads to our dealers. These leads include phone calls, email, and managed text and chat interactions for dealers, which we believe yield the highest value engagement for dealers. Dealers are able to leverage our large consumer audience, our digital retail offerings, and clicksconsumer trade-in services to accessreceive more quality leads to their dealership, providing the dealer’s website or map directions to the dealership.highest return on their investment. We provide all dealers with tools that are

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informed by real‑timereal-time market conditions that help them acquire inventory, merchandise, and sell their cars, and our paying dealers get access to additional valuable information from our Pricing Tool and Market Analysis tool.tools. Additionally, with our digital retail capabilities we help level the online offering playing field for our dealer partners who are unable to provide these solutions to consumers on their own and/or wish to utilize our large consumer audience to sell additional inventory with CarGurus' digital retail offerings. Our strong value proposition to the dealer community is evidenced by the 23%our 12% growth in the number of paying U.S. dealers and 16% growth inquarterly average annual revenue per subscribing dealer, or AARSD,QARSD, in the United StatesU.S. in 2017the fourth quarter of 2023 compared to 2016.the fourth quarter of 2022.

Network Effects Driven by Scale.  Having engaged with the majority of dealers and built one of the largest consumer audiences among automotive marketplaces in the United States, we believe that our scale creates powerful network effects that reinforce the competitive strength of our business model. Our large consumer audience increases our appeal to dealers and incentivizes more dealers to subscribe to our Enhanced or Featured Listing products to access the numerous benefits unavailable to non‑paying dealers. Having more paying dealers in our marketplace provides consumers with more dealer information and methods to contact those dealers. More consumers and connections drive greater value and a higher return to paying dealers’ marketing spend on our platform. Driven by these network effects, we continue to amass more data, which we use to further strengthen our search algorithms, the utility of analysis complementing each listing, the quality of our user experience, and the value of connections between consumers and dealers.

Attractive Financial Model. We generated revenue of $914.2 million in 2023 compared to $1,655.0 million in 2022. Although our revenue decreased year-over-year, we have historically had a strong track record of revenue growth, profitability, cash flow generation, and capital efficiency. We generated revenue of $316.9 million in 2017, $198.1 million in 2016, and $98.6 million in 2015, representing year-over-year increases of 60% in 2017 and 101% in 2016.  A significant portion of our revenue is recurring due to the subscription nature of our products; in 2017, 2016,products, including from our Listings packages, our Real-time Performance Marketing, or RPM, and 2015, dealer marketplace listing and dealer displayour digital advertising subscription revenue, which we consider to be recurring revenue, comprised 89%, 86% and 76% of total revenue, respectively. Furthermore,suite. At the same time, our revenue base is highly diversified due to the fragmentedsubscription nature of the automotiveour Listings business, transactional nature of our digital wholesale business, and our diverse dealer industry.base. We also have been able to grow and invest in our future growth while improvingas a result of our highly profitable foundational Listings business. This has also historically driven our strong cash flow generation. Furthermore, our 2022 and 2024 share repurchase programs underscore our commitment to using our cash flow to enhance stockholder value. The profitability due toof the operating leverage inListings business, the liquidity of our business model. On a consolidated basis, whilebalance sheet, and our revenue grew 60% in 2017cash flow generation have helped drive growth and 101% in 2016,innovation as we build out our Adjusted EBITDA margin expanded to 8% in 2017 from 6% in 2016 and from 0% in 2015. In the United States, which isvision of creating an end-to-end transaction-enabled automotive platform. We ended 2023 with $291.4 million of cash on hand, as well as $390.4 million available under our most developed market, we grew our revenue by 57% in 2017 and 99% in 2016 while increasing our income from operations to $41.6 million in 2017 from $27.5 million in 2016 and $0.6 million in 2015.2022 Revolver, as defined below.

Founder‑LedExperienced Management Team with Culture of Innovation. Our founder, Chief Executive Officer, President,Chair and Chairman,Chair of our Board of Directors, Langley Steinert, co‑foundedco-founded and was previously chairman of TripAdvisor, an online marketplace for travel‑relatedtravel-related content based on the mission of using technology and a data‑drivendata-driven approach to provide transparency for consumers’ travel planning. Led by Mr. Steinert and a management team with extensive experience guiding technology companies in evolving industries – including Jason Trevisan, our Chief Executive Officer, and Sam Zales, our President and Chief Operating Officer – we bring the same commitment to fostering a culture of innovation and delivering data-driven transparency to the automotive market.

Our Products and Services

U.S. Marketplace and Other

Our product offerings described below are available for the U.S. CarGurus marketplace; their availability on our other marketplaces varies. We also offer paid listings subscriptions for dealers and dealer advertising products for the PistonHeads website as well as paid listings subscriptions for dealers for the Autolist website.

Consumer MarketplaceExperience

We provide consumers with an online automotive marketplace where they can search for new and used car listings from our dealers as well asand sell their car. Through our marketplace, we provide consumers with information that helps them find the most relevant car for their needs.cars to dealers and other consumers. A user accesses our U.S. marketplace through our desktop or mobile‑optimized website at cargurus.comwebsites or by using our mobile app.applications. Most users specify whether they are searching for a used, certified pre‑owned, or new carscar and then provide their desired vehicle make and model and their zippostal code.

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Used and Certified Pre‑OwnedPre-Owned Cars

Using our proprietary search algorithms, we immediately display the results of the consumer's search, with results ranked bythat are tailored to each customer based on consumer preferences, dozens of vehicle attributes, and the vehicle's Deal Rating, on a search results page, or SRP. Nearly everyEligible used listingcar listings in our marketplace isare assigned one of five Deal Ratings: Great Deal, Good Deal, Fair Deal, High Priced, or Overpriced. A Deal Rating illustrates how competitive a listing is compared to the most similar cars sold in the same region in recent history. A listing’s Deal Rating is based primarily upon the IMV of the vehicle and the Dealer Rating of the dealer.

Instant Market Value. IMV is a proprietary algorithm that determinesassesses the market value of a used vehicle in a local market and is a key input for determining a vehicle’s Deal Rating. The IMV algorithm is the product of over sevenmany years of regression modeling utilizing more than seven milliontens of millions of used car data points. IMV takes into account a number of factors, including comparable currently listed and previously sold used cars in the local market and vehicle details including make, model, trim, year, mileage, options,features, condition, history, geographic location, and vehicle history. Ourmileage. The IMV algorithm uses more than 20 ranking signals and more than 100 normalization rules that distill unstructured data from hundreds of sources across thousands of dealers.

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Dealer Ratings. Dealer Ratings are uniquederived from user‑generated content from our users’ experiences with dealers with whomwhich they have connected. To promote high‑quality reviews, we require that a user must havehas interacted with the dealer onvia our sitemarketplace to submit a review. We believe this requirement, together with additional qualification standards, results in a more valuable Dealer Rating. Dealer Rating is an important component of a listing’s Deal Rating and, as a result, can impact the organic search position of a listing.

Search Results Page. In addition to each car’s Deal Rating, our SRP provides users with other useful information, including the difference between the listing price and the IMV that we have determined for the car, Time on Site, mileage, Dealer Rating, and dealer location for paying dealers, dealer location.dealers. We provide in‑depth search filters, including price, year, mileage, trim, color, options, condition, body style, miles per gallon,gas mileage, seating capacity, vehicle ownership andhistory, usage history, seller type, and days on market, among others, which we believe deliver the most comprehensive search capability among major U.S. online automotive marketplaces. We also provide our users with additional features to aid their search, including similar vehicle recommendations, side‑by‑side vehicle comparisons, expert reviews, and user rankings. Our platform also gives users the ability to save searches and receive alerts that keep them informed of relevant developments in the market, including newly available inventory and price changes to cars they are monitoring.

Vehicle Detail Page. If a user clicks on one of the listings on the SRP, the user is taken to that listing’s vehicle detail page, or VDP. VDPs are designed to provide extensivenumerous photos and a comprehensive description of the vehicle, dealer name, address, and dealership information for paying dealers, detailed dealer reviews, methods to contact the dealer, payment calculators, and helpful information about the vehicle, including:

Price History. Changes to a vehicle’s price on our site.platform. We also offer price change alerts to consumers on searches they have saved, which allowsallow them to respond quickly to changes in the market.

Time on Site. Length of time a vehicle has been on our siteplatform and how many users have saved the vehicle to their list of favorite listings, indicators of the likely demand for the car.

vehicle.

Vehicle History. Title check, accident check, owner number of owners, and fleet status of the vehicle, giving consumers data that helps them better understand the car’svehicle’s condition.

Digital Enablement. For dealers on Digital Deal, we allow shoppers to build a personalized vehicle- and dealership-specific deal on the VDP, including trade-in, credit check and application, and appointment or delivery scheduling.

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New Cars

Search results for new car listings are sorted by price of inventory matching the user’s search, with the lowest priced listings sorted first. Our new car VDPs include our Dealer Rating and many of the other features of our used car listings, such as Price History and Time on Site. Deal Rating is not applicable to new car listings because it utilizes data not relevant to new cars. Instead, we analyze data on manufacturers’ suggested retail prices or MSRPs, and recent sales of similar new vehicles, accounting for trade‑ins,trade-ins, incentives, and other factors that can affect the price of a new car, to provide users with comparative price information.

Sell My Car

We also allow our consumer usersconsumers to list their cars for free in both our marketplace. Ourpeer-to-peer and consumer-to-dealer marketplaces in the U.S. Sell My Car offering enables individual car owners to easily merchandise their vehicles, determine an appropriate selling price with our proprietary price guidance, and manage their listings and communications with prospective buyers amongfrom our audience. We collect a fee when a consumer lists a vehicle on Sell My Car and chooses our peer-to-peer option. In 2023 we introduced the next iteration of Sell My Car, referred to as Sell My Car - TDO, which gives consumers the ability to sell their car to a recommended local dealership. Paying dealers are able to subscribe to TDO, which gives them direct access to CarGurus shoppers actively looking to sell their vehicles. See “Digital Wholesale” below for a description of our consumer-to-dealer offering, IMCO.

Autolist

Autolist provides consumers an online automotive marketplace through mobile applications on iOS and Android phones as well as a website. The platform includes inventory from top automotive dealers across the U.S. and gives consumers quick access to manage their search on the go with real-time alerts of newly available inventory and changes that occur on vehicles and saved searches they have configured. An independent editorial staff produces content to keep consumers informed on the latest vehicles and trends in the automotive market.

PistonHeads

PistonHeads is a U.K. automotive marketplace, auction platform, and editorial site geared towards automotive enthusiasts. The platform allows consumers to search across a broad range of dealer and private seller listings and stay informed about automotive news through editorial articles and expert reviews. Paying U.K. dealers who list on the CarGurus platform automatically have their inventory added to the PistonHeads site for greater consumer reach.

Dealer MarketplaceOfferings

Listings

Our marketplace connects dealers to a large audience of informed and engaged consumers. We offer threemultiple types of marketplace Listing productsListings subscriptions to dealers: Basic Listing,dealers for the CarGurus marketplace in the U.S. (availability varies on our other marketplaces): Restricted Listings, which is free, and Enhanced or Featured Listing,various levels of Listings packages, each of which requires a paid subscription. We priceoffer our Enhanced and Featured Listing products asListings product suite through a tiered set of packages. Listings are priced on a monthly, quarterly, semiannual, or annual subscription basis based on the dealer’s inventory size, region, and our assessment of the return on investment, or ROI our solution will provide them.we expect to deliver. For improved performance, dealers can purchase higher Listings suite levels and add-ons available at an existing Listings suite level. Dealers may be renewed at higher rates commensurate with growth and updated performance expectations.

Basic Listing.  Basic Listing allowsRestricted Listings. We allow non‑paying dealers to list their inventory in our marketplace anonymously.as Restricted Listings. Restricted Listings do not display the name, address, website URL, or phone number of the relevant dealer and are subject to other limitations. Consumers can contact these dealers only through an anonymous, CarGurus‑branded email address so the dealer does not receive any of the consumer’s personal contact information from our platform. We do not displayDealers in our Restricted Listings tier are limited in the name, address, website URL, or phone number of any non-payingconsumer connections they can receive in a month, with caps on lead volume based on the dealers’ inventory size.

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Paid Listings Subscriptions. Paying dealers are able to subscribe to one of three Listings package levels: Enhanced, Featured, or Featured Priority. We no longer offer our Standard Listings package to new paying dealers; however, dealers that have historically subscribed to our Standard Listing package are allowed to continue subscribing to the package. These paid Listings packages are designed to provide dealers with a higher volume and quality of connections and leads from consumers than our Restricted Listings option. Dealers that subscribe to a paid Listings package gain the opportunity to connect with consumers directly through email, phone, and – excluding Standard Listings subscriptions – managed text and chat, an offering by which consumers communicate via real-time text message or chat with our agents who act on behalf of dealers. Listings for all paying dealers on our website.

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Enhanced Listing.  Enhanced Listing provides dealers with a higher volume and quality of connections to consumers. Dealers that subscribe to Enhanced Listing gain the opportunity to connect with consumers directly through email, phone, and managed text and chat. Our platform allows paying dealers to provide a link to their website, dealership information such as name, address, and hours of operation, and map directions to their dealership on VDPs, helping consumers easily contact or visit them, which we believe results in increased local brand awareness and walk‑in traffic.

Featured Listing.  websites include a link to their website, dealership branding and information such as name, address, and hours of operation, and map directions to their dealership, helping consumers easily contact or visit the dealer, which we believe results in increased local brand awareness and walk‑in traffic. A dealer that pays the premium subscription rate forsubscribes to our Featured Listing productor Featured Priority Listings package receives all of the same benefits of the Standard and Enhanced Listing product,Listings packages, as well as opportunities for promotion of their Great Deal, Good Deal, and Fair Deal used inventory as well as their new inventory in a clearly labeled section at the top of the search results page.SRP as well as on the VDP of dealers in the Restricted Listings package. Featured Priority listings are specifically promoted in the first position of the SRP. This premium placement for Featured and Featured Priority listings generates increased connection volume relative to Standard or Enhanced Listing.

Listings packages. Dealers in the Featured or Featured Priority Listing packages also receive premium branding in the ad slots on their own VDPs.

Dealer Dashboard and Merchandising Tools

Basic, Enhanced, and Featured ListingAll dealers all havewith inventory on CarGurus may access to the following Dealer Dashboard features and merchandising tools:

Performance Summary. Provides dealers with real‑time and historical data concerning the connections and consumer exposure they have received in our marketplace.marketplace and through our digital marketing products. This enables dealers to analyze connections and SRP and VDP views at a granular level to inform the dealer’s sales and merchandising efforts.

Dealer Data Insights. Provides pricing analysis of the dealer’s inventory, including better access to automated data that fits into a dealer’s workflow, as well as a summary of a vehicle’s missing information such as price, photos, or trim. This data helpsThese insights and information help dealers better merchandise their vehicles.

vehicles, allowing dealers to react more quickly to the market and turn units faster.

User Review Management. Allows dealers to track and manage – but not edit or manipulate – their dealershipdealer reviews from our users. Dealers can respond to users, report potentially fraudulent reviews, and publish positive reviews to social media platforms for broader exposure.

Enhanced and Featured Listing dealersDealers subscribing to a paid Listings package also have access to the following additional features and tools:

Pricing Tool. Helps dealers evaluate the impact of pricing changes for each used vehicle in their inventory and the resulting impact on the car’s Deal Rating, empowering dealers to make informed pricing decisions based on market data in their local area.

Market Analysis. Informs dealers of local market trends in used cars, such as the most searched makes and models in their local market. This information helps dealers align with local consumer preferences and inform strategies for increasing inventory turnover and efficient vehicle acquisition.

IMV Scan. Allows dealers to scan a vehicle identification number, or VIN, using their smartphone, and receive information on the IMV of the vehicle in order to support dealers in deciding what to pay for a vehicle at a wholesale auto auction. IMV Scan is built into the CarGurus mobile app and is currently available to U.S. dealers that are subscribing to our Enhanced, Featured, or Featured Priority Listings packages.
Dealer Mobile App. Allows dealers to access core Dealer Dashboard functionality via an iOS and Android mobile app. Includes reporting on leads, access to several tools, and mobile app notifications that can be customized by the dealer.

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LeadAI. Helps dealers to identify the highest intent users who have submitted leads on their inventory. LeadAI evaluates onsite user behavior to identify, score, and label "Hot" and "Warm" leads within the Dealer Advertising and Customer Acquisition Products

In additionDashboard Leads Report. This feature is available to listing cars in our marketplace through our Listing products, we also provide all dealers with a web widget that allows themsubscribing to place Deal Rating Badges, which show our Deal Rating for cars that have been rated as a Great Deal, Good Deal, or Fair Deal, on their own website. Our Deal Rating serves as trusted, third‑party validation on their website.Enhanced, Featured, and Featured Priority Listings packages.

Digital Marketing Products

We offer dealers subscribing to one of our Enhanced, Featured, and Featured Listing dealers the followingPriority Listings packages access to additional advertising products marketed primarily under our RPM and customer acquisition products:

Dealer Display.  Dealers are able to buy displayour digital advertising that appears insuite. With RPM, dealers can reach our marketplacelarge and engaged audience on other siteswebsites on the internet toand/or on high-converting social media platforms. RPM helps dealers build brand awareness.awareness and acquire customers to their website and dealership. Advertisements can be targeted by the user’s geography, search history, CarGurus website activity, and a number of other targeting factors, allowingfactors. This product suite allows dealers to increase their visibility with relevantin-market consumers and drive consumers to the dealer’s own website.

Dealer Search Engine Marketing and Social Media Advertising.  Leveraging the capabilities we have developed for our own algorithmic traffic acquisition, we offer a product that delivers search engine marketing, or SEM, and social media advertising to programmatically drive qualified traffic to their websites. RPM is sold as a subscription and priced as a percentage of Listings while accounting for factors such as dealership characteristics and performance expectations.

Sell My Car - TDO

In 2023 we introduced the next iteration of Sell My Car, referred to as Sell My Car - TDO. With this product, dealers can now make tailored trade-in offers on CarGurus consumer vehicles, generating valuable trade-in leads for their business. CarGurus dealers have control over their bidding and direct access to consumers actively looking to sell their vehicles. All leads are delivered directly to the dealer websites. Utilizing algorithmic bidding strategies and automated keyword list management,include detailed consumer contact information and other insights to help the dealer close the deal.

Digital Retail

In recent years, both consumer demand and dealer receptiveness to digital retail has increased, as consumers have become more comfortable transacting some or all of their car buying processes online. We are focused on addressing the needs of both consumers and dealers in this growing segment of automotive digital retail.

Finance in Advance

Through our partnerships with automotive lending companies, we help dealersallow eligible consumers on our U.S. marketplace to optimize traffic acquisition.pre-qualify for financing on cars from dealerships that offer financing from these partners. We primarily generate revenue from these partnerships based on the number of funded loans from consumers who pre-qualify with our lending partners through our site. We believe this program both provides more transparency to car shoppers about actual payments to be offered at the dealership specific to participating lenders and delivers highly qualified car shopper leads to participating dealers.

6Digital Deal


We continue to offer consumers the ability to transact additional elements of their car buying experience through our websites as they seek to complete more of this process online. For example, our shoppers can ‘start purchase’ from a VDP on eligible listings and utilize purchase options, including estimating a car’s trade-in value, deciding payment options, selecting finance and insurance products, and placing a reservation deposit. Digital Deal generates revenue by charging fees to dealerships to enroll in this program and from partnerships based on the number of funded loans from consumers.

Geo Expansion

We offer the ability for dealerships to expand their VDP geographic footprint to non-local customers via dealer home delivery services. Revenue is generated through fees charged to the dealership to enable listings beyond the default geographical radius. We believe this program provides additional vehicle options to car shoppers open to home delivery services while promoting participating dealers’ delivery capabilities and increasing non-local VDP views. As a prerequisite to enrolling in Geo Expansion, new dealerships are required to sign up for Digital Deal.

Auto Manufacturer and Other Advertiser Products

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Our platform offers auto manufacturers and others the ability to purchase display advertising on both our sitesites and third‑party websites, including social media platforms, to execute targeted marketing strategies:

Brand Reinforcement. We allow auto manufacturers to buy advertising on both our sitewebsites and third‑party websites, including social media platforms, to target consumers based on the make, model, and zip codelocation of the cars that a specific consumer is searching for in order to increase exposure to interested consumers.

Category Sponsorship. To address evolving priorities influenced by industry dynamics, seasonality, and other factors, we offer the ability to sponsor exclusively prominent high traffichigh-traffic pages on our site,websites, such as the New Car front page, Used Car front page, orand Research Center.

Automobile Segment Exclusivity. To support the introduction of new models or the success of existing models, we allow manufacturers to target specific automobile segments, such as SUV, sedan, hybrid, luxury, truck, orand minivan.

Consumer Segment Exposure. Through our platform, autoAuto manufacturers can target consumers both on our siteCarGurus and on third‑party siteswebsites, including social media platforms, based on various parameters, including estimated household income, and vehicle specifications, such as make or model, and zippostal codes.

MarketingInternational

Our marketing initiatives aim to drive brand awareness andWe also facilitate engagement amongbetween high-intent consumers and automotive dealers in both Canada and the U.K. Like our U.S. offerings, CarGurus provides consumers in Canada and the U.K. with a transparent shopping experience, using our proprietary algorithms to determine market-specific valuations for vehicles and ordinating our organic search results based on Deal Ratings.

In Canada, CarGurus is a leading automotive marketplace that provides consumers a transparent shopping experience whether they are looking for a new or used car. In the U.K., CarGurus is a leading marketplace for dealers’ listings of used vehicles, providing consumers with one of the broadest selections of inventory in the U.K. We also provide automotive shoppers rich expert review content, and offer privately owned inventory through the PistonHeads website.

Digital Wholesale

Dealer-to-Dealer

As the automotive industry continues to move further online, it has become even more important for dealers not only to sell their vehicles effectively at retail, but also to acquire the right inventory in the first place via wholesale transactions. The industry has continued to see an increase in online transactions that are easier, faster, and reduce the effect of geographic constraints.

Through our initial acquisition of CarOffer in 2021, a modern-day automotive inventory transaction platform that allows dealers and dealer groups to position us asuse programmatic buying rules to buy, sell, and trade online with automation and ease, we added wholesale vehicle acquisition and selling capabilities to our portfolio of dealer offerings, creating a trustedpowerful digital solution for dealers to sell and acquire vehicles at both retail and wholesale. Unlike traditional vehicle auctions which require manual bidding and vehicle evaluation, the CarOffer Matrix enables buying dealers to create standing buy orders and provides instant offers to selling dealers.

Sell My Car - IMCO

We offer IMCO, which allows consumers to sell their vehicles to dealers entirely online. This offering provides dealers with access to a fresh source of trade-in inventory and helps ensure liquidity amongst CarOffer’s platform. Through IMCO, consumers who are trading in or selling vehicles enter easy-to-answer questions regarding their vehicle and are instantly presented with the most competitive offer sourced from in-network dealers. Once the customer has saved their offer, they can further customize their experience by using our virtual pre-inspection process and then arranging a location of their choice to have the vehicle picked up and transported. In this model, CarOffer processes the transaction directly and collects transaction and other fees from the dealer.

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CG Buy Online

Through this pilot program, we offer a limited number of dealers the ability to sell vehicles online to out-of-market customers using dealer-friendly third-party delivery capabilities. This pilot program lets the dealer delegate logistics to CarGurus, and we believe the expanded market accelerates turnover times on inventory. We also provide these dealers with full access to our Dealer Dashboard, including inventory pricing tools informed by real-time market conditions, which helps them more effectively price, merchandise, and sell their vehicles. The ability to compare wholesale pricing with retail pricing ultimately allows dealers to price a vehicle with more accuracy. We believe this transparency will create trust, leading to loyal consumers.

Marketing and Brand

Consumer Marketing

In 2023 CarGurus continued to be the most visited online automotive marketplace.

Consumer Marketing

marketplace in the U.S., with more than 82.3 million and 31.2 million average monthly sessions and unique users, respectively. We have built our engaged audience on the strength of our user experience, leveraging the power of technology and we remain focused on delivering an engaging consumer marketplace.data to bring trust and transparency to the automotive platform. Our intuitive search experience, combined with the largest inventory of any major U.S. online automotive marketplace and relevant content, updates, and transaction-enabled tools, provide unparalleled transparency and decision-support to consumers during their car search to help them shop, buy, finance, and sell with confidence and ease. The strength of theour consumer experience that we offer is one of our most powerful marketing tools. By providing an intuitivetools, with 92% of buyers stating they would recommend CarGurus to a friend (July 1, 2023 – December 31, 2023; Net promoter score 9-10; sample size=386). We also attract free website traffic from high-intent car shoppers through search experience in our marketplace and relevant content, updates, and tools to consumers during their car search, we believe that the users who comprise our large and engaged audience provide informal endorsements to other consumers, more powerful than most marketing messages.engines.

Historically,A key pillar of our consumer marketing efforts have been focused primarily onis what we call algorithmic traffic acquisition. We employ a team of strategists, engineers, and data scientists that optimizesoptimize our user acquisition through search engines,engine performance marketing, social media, affiliate, and other digital marketing channels and has tested over 350 millionone billion keywords on various search engines.engines as well as sophisticated, personalized re-marketing and prospecting to nurture high-intent consumers interested in auto-shopping. We continuously integrate new efficient channels and advance the sophistication of our data-driven traffic acquisition across the funnel, with an ongoing focus on increasingly value-driven campaigns that produce high return on advertising spend. We believe our expertise in this area constitutes a competitive advantage over less sophisticated competitors and those who outsource these capabilities.

In parallel with our sophisticated paid and organic traffic acquisition efforts, we invest significant resources in optimizing our site experience and retention marketing efforts; this includes email and app notifications to help consumers find the right car for them, connect with a dealer to make a purchase, or sell their car online. Rigorous conversion rate optimization efforts help increase the ROI on our advertising spend. Our increasing focus on merchandising that drives more shoppers to connect with dealers with high subscription expansion opportunity is intended to create a virtuous cycle of improved monetization that allows for reinvestment in further improvements to our consumer experience.

We have begun augmentingaugment our performance marketing, conversion rate optimization, and retention marketing efforts with brand‑brand building efforts. Our brand marketing efforts are primarily comprised of (i) investments in broadcast media, such asincluding television, radio,online video, and online video. Ourdigital social, (ii) expressing our unique brand value proposition throughout our core site experience, app, and organic social channels, and (iii) a public relations program that allows us to gain significant, high credibility earned media coverage. Despite a shorter tenure, lower investment in brand marketing than our primary competitors, and a hyper-competitive industry, we have grown and maintained our brand awareness is currently lower than many other major U.S. online automotive marketplacessince launching brand marketing in the United States, despite our large monthly audience and high user engagement.2017. We believe that as a result of our trusted product, audience engagement, and relatively low brand awareness, we are well‑well positioned to continue to strengthen our brand by investing in broadcast media.brand-building efforts and refining the articulation of our unique value proposition. As we continue to drive brand awareness and consideration, we believe there is significant opportunity to drive reach with new consumers leveraging new channels and tactics, and a deeper understanding of and preference for our brand, further accelerating the strong consumer engagement and word-of-mouth benefits we already enjoy.

Our vehicle listing data, on‑site user behavior, connections between consumers and dealers, and opinion data from our users create significant opportunities for us to develop and publish car shopping insights. We consistently gain earned media coverage in national, regional, and trade press outlets as well as social channels by leveraging our proprietary data to inform newsworthy content.

Dealer Marketing

The primary goals of our dealer marketing initiatives are to acquire dealers not yet in our marketplace, convert non‑paying dealers into paying dealers, retain and upgrade our existing paying dealers, and expand annual subscription revenuesincrease product adoption and usage from our paying dealers. Our dealer marketing efforts aim to:

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Educate Dealers on the End-to-End Inventory Solutions We Offer, the Quality of Our Audience and Products, and Attractive ROI. We educate dealers on the increased breadth of solutions we offer, including wholesale buying and selling of inventory, marketing via our core Listings products and other tools, and our growing suite of retailing solutions. We promote the quality of our audience by touting our industry‑leading monthly visits,audience, our strong user engagement, and the large number of connections that we facilitate through our marketplace.We also highlight to dealers how unique features of our platform, such as our intuitive user interfaceconsumer financing features, proprietary IMV analytics, and our proprietary technology and data analytics,the ability to do more of the shopping process online, yield consumers that we believe are more informed and better prepared to purchase at the dealership, which can lead to a higher ROI for theirthe dealers’ marketing spend.

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Provide Best Practices to Assist Dealers in Becoming Successful in Our Marketplace.  We provide ongoing communications through webinars, white papers, testimonials, and videos, which show dealers how to use our products to position their inventory for success on our platform. We maintain consistent communication with dealers by email and events to ensure awareness of recent product releases and provide custom account management.

Provide Thought Leadership that Educates Dealers on MarketplaceIndustry Trends. We generate insightful content on market trends and best practices in digital advertising that areis shared through webinars, dealer forums, dealer advisory councils,our website, and our participation in industry conferences and events.

We also help dealers address their ever-changing challenges by sharing the latest research and data-driven insights on how shopper behavior continues to evolve.

Sales

Our

Provide Best Practices to Assist Dealers in Becoming More Successful. We provide ongoing communications through email, webinars, white papers, testimonials, and videos, which show dealers how to use our products to position their inventory for success on our platform and beyond, as well as broader guidance on marketing, sales, team is responsible for bringingoperations, and other aspects of running a more profitable dealership. We maintain consistent communication with dealers ontovia email, events, and our marketplace as paying or non‑paying dealers. We have built an efficient insideDealer Dashboard to ensure awareness of account performance and recent product updates, and we empower our sales and account management team of over 200 employees worldwide who sellteams with resources to directly provide education and assistance to our marketplace products to franchisedealer partners.
Drive Product Engagement. We use our email marketing capabilities and independent dealers. We have built a field sales team that works with strategic franchise and national dealership groups in large metropolitan areas. In addition, we have advertising sales employees based in Cambridge, Massachusetts; Detroit, Michigan; Los Angeles, California; and London, England.

We have a comprehensive dealer account management process to assist dealers in becoming successful in our marketplace. We assign a Customer Success Associate to every new paying dealer to assist with onboarding and integration with any relevant software systems. The designated Customer Success Associate spends time educating dealers on a range of topics, including effectively using the Dealer Dashboard and tracking sales, and measuring ROI for theirother marketing spend. After the onboarding period, a Dealer Relations Account Manager is designated to assist the dealer in utilizing our tools and maximizing ROI from our offerings, including optimizing inventory acquisition, effectively pricing vehicles, vehicle merchandising, and keeping inventory up to date with complete vehicle information. We believe this active communication with our dealers fosters customer satisfaction and increases retention.

Culture and Employees

Our company culture has developed out of our data‑driven and innovative approach to the automotive market. We leverage datachannels to drive innovation across all facets of our business and continuously optimizedealer engagement with our products and processesplatforms. This can include automated, personalized marketing about how dealers can improve vehicle pricing and merchandising by using the tools in our dashboard; performance insights around the leads and connections they are receiving; and prompts to serve our consumers, dealers, advertisers,respond to reviews and partners. Our approach emphasizes original thought, impact, and collaboration across our organization, and we recognize and award employees who drive positive impact across these constituencies.manage their reputation. We encourage collaboration across our entire workforce and invest in creating a work environment that facilitates partnership among our employees. In that spirit, we have identified our core values as follows:

We are pioneering. From the beginning, we set out to radically change how people buy and sell cars. We tackle difficult problems head on. We are curious. We are risk takers. We embrace change even if it’s uncomfortable.

We are transparent. We believe transparency is the foundation of trust and enables better decision making. We communicate clearly and honestly. We deliver unbiased guidance. Our products, services and company culture are builtalso monitor dealer feedback on these principles. 

We are data-driven. We rely on data, not hunches, to make decisions. We listen to our instincts but we validate through rapid testing, learning and optimizing. We translate complex data into actionable insights for our users, our customers and our people. 

We are collaborative. We celebrate our individual strengths and perspectives but know that our success requires teamwork. We partner, we listen and we leverage feedback from each other, our users and our customers.

We move quickly. We believe there’s power in speed. We iterate quickly and often, continuously improving as we go. We are not afraid to break things. If we fail, we do it fast, learn from it and move on. 

We have integrity. We act responsibly and consider the impact of our actions on each other, our partners and the world around us. We believe empathy, respect and fairness are essential. We set high ethical standards and expect principled leadership from our people. 

We have won a number of awards recognizing our strong culture, including Boston Globe’s “Top Place to Work” for three years in a row from 2014 to 2016 and Boston Business Journal’s “Best Places to Work” for four of the past five years in 2017, 2016, 2015 and 2013.

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As of December 31, 2017, we had 549 full‑time employees, 35 of whom were based outside the United States. None of our employees is represented by a labor union or covered by a collective bargaining agreement. We have not experienced any work stoppages, and we consider our relations with our employees to be good.

Technology and Product Development

We are a technology company focused on innovative, actionable data analysis. We design our mobile and web products to create an unbiased, transparent experience for both consumers and dealers. We believe in rapid development and frequent updates and have internal tools and automation that allow us to efficiently evolve our products. Our software is built using a combination of internally developed software, third‑party software and services, and open source software.

Our Search Technology

Our search and ranking technology is served by a proprietary in‑memory search index solution that is scalable, fast, and extensible, allowing us to expand more easily into new markets, as demonstrated by our international marketplace launches. We have highly flexible interfaces that allow dealers to add their inventory to our index without changing data or formats, enabling us to quickly integrate hundreds of inventory sources with minimal effort and easily support inventory growth.

Our Mobile Technology

We have designed our marketplace to appeal to mobile users by developing our products with a mobile‑first mindset. All of our search results pages use a single‑page application type approachthrough surveys and product engagement to eliminate page reloads and improve responsiveness. We also use techniques, including predictive pre‑fetching and infinite scrolling, to load content onto a user’s mobile device more efficiently.assess areas for further development or dealer education.

Competition

Our Integrations

We make available several application program interfaces and web widgets that integrate with customer relationship management and inventory management solutions, among other platforms. These integrations allow dealers to incorporate designated data and tools into the fabric of their marketing and customer engagement strategies. For example, our Deal Rating Badges are used on over one thousand websites and allow our Deal Rating feature to be promoted across the internet.

Infrastructure

Our websites are hosted at third‑party data centers near Boston, Massachusetts; Dallas, Texas; and London, England. We use third‑party content distribution networks to cache and serve many portions of our site at locations across the globe. We monitor and test at the application, host, network, and full site levels to maintain availability and promote performance. Our development servers are located at our corporate headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts. We use third‑party cloud computing services for many data processing jobs.

Competition

We face competition to attract consumers and paying dealers to our marketplacemarketplaces and services and to attract advertisers to purchase our advertising products and services. Our competitors offer various marketplaces, products, and services that compete with us. Some of these competitors include:

major U.S. online automotive marketplaces:marketplaces, such as AutoTrader.com, Cars.com, and TrueCar.com;

other U.S. online automotive content publishers,websites, such as Edmunds.com, KBB.com, and Carfax.com;

online automotive marketplaces and websites in our international markets;

internet search engines;

online dealerships, such as Carvana.com;

peer to peer marketplaces; and

sites operated by individual automobile dealers.dealers;

internet search engines;
social media marketplaces;
peer-to-peer marketplaces, such as Craigslist.com;
vehicle auction companies, including digital wholesale platforms, such as ACVauctions.com, OPENLANE, and E INC; and

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e-commerce sites, such as the recent partnership between Amazon.com, Inc., or Amazon, and Hyundai to sell cars on Amazon.com.

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Competition for Consumers and Dealers

We compete for consumer visits with other online automotive marketplaces, free listing services, general search engines, online dealerships, and dealers’ websites. We compete for consumers primarily on the basis of the quality of the consumer experience.experience and the breadth of offerings that we are able to provide. We believe we competecompare favorably on user experience due to the number of our vehicle listings, the unbiased transparency of the information we provide on cars, prices, and dealers, the intuitive nature of our user interface, and our leading mobile user experience, among other factors.

We compete for dealers’ marketing spend with offline customer acquisition channels, other online automotive marketplaces, dealers’ own customer acquisition efforts on search engines and social media marketplaces, and other internet sites, online dealerships, and vehicle auction companies that attract consumers and dealers searching for vehicles.vehicles, as applicable. We compete primarily on the basis of the ROI that our marketplace provides.offers and the synergies provided by the combination of our foundational listings business with digital wholesale and digital retail offerings. We believe we competecompare favorably due to our large user audience, high user engagement, and the volume and quality of connections we provide to well‑informedwell-informed consumers, which results in an attractive ROI for dealers.

Competition for Advertisers

We compete for a share of advertisers’ total marketing budgets against media sites, websites dedicated to helping consumers shop for cars, major internet portals, search engines, and social media sites, among others. We also compete for a share of advertisers’ overall marketing budgets with traditional media, such as television, radio, magazines, newspapers, automotive guide publications, billboards, and other offline advertising channels. We compete for advertising spend based on the marketing ROI that our marketplace provides. We believe we competecompare favorably due to our large user audience, size, high user engagement, and the effectiveness and relevance of our advertising products.

Seasonality

Across the retail automotive industry, consumer purchases are typically greatest in the first three quarters of each year, due in part to the introduction of new vehicle models from manufacturers and the seasonal nature of consumer spending. Additionally, the volume of wholesale vehicle sales can fluctuate from quarter to quarter driven by several factors, including the timing of used vehicles available for sale from selling customers, the seasonality of the retail market for used vehicles, and/or inventory challenges in the automotive industry, which affect the demand side of the wholesale industry. Macroeconomic conditions, such as slower growth or recession, higher interest rates, unemployment, consumer confidence in the economy, consumer debt levels, labor, disruptions, work stoppages, or strikes, the ongoing military conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the conflict in Israel and surrounding areas and the possible expansion of such conflict, foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations, and other matters that influence consumer spending and preferences, can also impact the volume of wholesale vehicle sales, as was evidenced by the global semiconductor chip shortage and other supply-related shortages. The Digital Wholesale segment operating results have reflected the general seasonality of the wholesale vehicle sales market and macroeconomic conditions of the automotive industry. The U.S. Marketplace segment operating results have reflected the macroeconomic conditions of the automotive industry. However, to date, the U.S. Marketplace segment operating results have not been materially impacted by the general seasonality of the automotive industry. This could possibly change as our business and markets mature.

Sales

Our sales team is responsible for bringing dealers onto our marketplace, converting non-paying dealers to paid subscriptions, and increasing dealer participation in new products that we are bringing to market. We have built an efficient sales and service team of approximately 349 employees worldwide who sell our marketplace products to franchise and independent dealers. We have built a field sales team that works with strategic franchise and national dealership groups in large metropolitan areas in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. In addition, we have advertising sales employees based in the U.S. and Canada.

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We have a comprehensive dealer account management process to assist dealers in becoming successful in our marketplace. We assign an Account Manager to paying Listings dealers to develop strong relationships and customer satisfaction. The designated Account Manager spends time educating dealers at every stage of their lifecycle as a paying customer. They advise dealers on a range of topics, including how to effectively use their CarGurus products and merchandise their inventory, track sales, measure ROI for their marketing spend, and identify ways to grow their profits. We believe our active communication with our dealers fosters customer satisfaction and increases customer retention.

CarOffer has a team of approximately 152 sales and service employees based in Texas, which is dedicated to driving transactions for the business as well as enrolling new dealers on the CarOffer platform.

People and Talent

Our investment in our greatest asset – our people – is integral to our core values, evidenced by our inclusion of employee engagement and cultural efforts as components of our 2023 strategic and organizational initiatives. Our Board of Directors oversees our people and talent efforts and views building our culture – from employee development and retention to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging initiatives – as key to driving long-term value for our business and helping mitigate risks.

As of December 31, 2023, we had 1,343 full-time employees, 67 of whom were based outside the U.S. and 236 of whom were employed through CarOffer. None of our employees are represented by a labor union or covered by a collective bargaining agreement.

Culture, Values, and Standards

Our company culture has developed out of our data-driven and pioneering approach to the automotive market. We leverage data to drive innovation across all facets of our business and continuously optimize our products and processes to serve our consumers, dealers, advertisers, and partners. Our approach emphasizes thought leadership, learning, impact, and collaboration across our organization, and we recognize and award employees who drive positive results across these constituencies. We invest in creating a work environment that facilitates partnership among our employees and promotes diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. In that spirit, we have identified our core values as follows:

We are pioneering. From the beginning, we set out to radically change how people buy and sell cars. We tackle difficult problems head on. We are curious. We are risk takers. We embrace change even if it’s uncomfortable.
We are transparent. We believe transparency is the foundation of trust and enables better decision making. We communicate clearly and honestly. We deliver unbiased guidance. Our products, services, and company culture are built on these principles.
We are data-driven. We rely on data, not hunches, to make decisions. We listen to our instincts but we validate through rapid testing, learning, and optimizing. We translate complex data into actionable insights for our users, our customers, and our people.
We are collaborative. We celebrate our individual strengths and perspectives but know that our success requires teamwork. We partner, we listen, and we leverage feedback from each other, our users, and our customers.
We move quickly. We believe there’s power in speed. We iterate quickly and often, continuously improving as we go. We are not afraid to break things. If we fail, we do it fast, learn from it, and move on.
We have integrity. We act responsibly and consider the impact of our actions on each other, our partners, and the world around us. We believe empathy, respect, and fairness are essential. We set high ethical standards and expect principled leadership from our people.

This year we also introduced five universal leadership capabilities that differentiate us from the market as part of our continued commitment to give employees the power to own their career development and impact. These capabilities outline how we do our jobs, influence how we approach our work, and offer a roadmap for how each employee can continue to grow their skills at CarGurus. They include:

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Catalyst for impact. We set high standards and take full ownership for our work. We are decisive, results-oriented, and have a bias for action.
Coach. We embody a growth mindset and foster an environment of learning, developing, and growing together.​
Communicator. We share our vision and bring people along. We communicate clearly and simply, using data and facts to inform and shape our priorities.
Change leader. We challenge ourselves and others to innovate and experiment. We are comfortable with ambiguity and adapt quickly when priorities change, remaining focused on the big picture.
Caring collaborator. We create meaningful partnerships and a sense of belonging, setting foundations of trust, respect, inclusion, and empathy in how we work.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging and Equal Employment Policy

We are an equal opportunity employer and strive to build and nurture a culture where inclusiveness is a reflex, not an initiative. With support from our Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Council, along with the commitment from our executive team, we seek to foster diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging, and to build a workplace where everyone can come as they are to thrive where they are.

In 2023 we refocused our diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging strategy around four key areas with the goal of continuing to build on our success. These areas leverage best practices, which we believe will further differentiate CarGurus as a leader in diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging and employer of choice. The four key areas are:

Representation. Approach representation more holistically.
Retention and Internal Mobility. Create equity across the organization so that all employees can thrive and succeed in ways that work for them.
Ownership & Accountability. Activate an ownership-oriented approach to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging.
Anti-Racism. Cultivate anti-racism throughout the organization.

Our commitment to these efforts helps us attract and retain the best talent, enables employees to realize their full potential, and drives high performance through innovation and collaboration. In 2023, based on data from U.S. CarGurus employees who chose to self-identify (85.4%), representation among women and non-binary employees decreased year-over-year (37.4% to 36.6%) and we increased representation among traditionally marginalized racial/ethnic groups year-over-year (34.4% to 35.4%) within our U.S. workforce. We also saw year-over-year increases in the U.S. among women and non-binary employees in technical roles (26.2% to 27.3%) and among traditionally marginalized racial/ethnic groups in technical roles (49.4% to 49.9%) as well as a year-over-year decrease in management-level roles (21.6% to 19.0%).

Compensation and Benefits

The success of our business is fundamentally connected to the well-being of our people. Accordingly, we provide our eligible employees with competitive wages and access to flexible and convenient medical programs intended to meet their needs and the needs of their families. In addition to standard medical coverage, we offer the following benefits to our U.S. employees (availability internationally varies): dental and vision coverage; health savings and flexible spending accounts; paid time off; flexible hybrid work schedules or remote work on a case-by-case basis; employee assistance programs; short-term and long-term disability insurance; term life insurance; and fertility health and family-forming benefits; as well as company-paid access to certain wellness and family care resources.

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Employee Engagement

Each year, we conduct an employee engagement survey to help our management team gain insight into and gauge employees’ feelings, attitudes, and behaviors around working at CarGurus. Our latest survey, completed in September 2023, had a participation rate of approximately 90% of our eligible employees worldwide. We recognized strengths related to manager-employee relationships and progress around learning and enablement. Based on employee feedback, we also identified several company-wide opportunity areas to improve engagement and drive long-term success. Our culture and commitment to building a workplace where we can all thrive has been recognized externally with the following awards: Built In Boston’s “Best Places to Work” in 2019 through 2023;Boston Business Journal’s “Best Places to Work” in 2015 through 2019 and 2021 through 2023; Boston Globe’s “Top Place to Work” in 2014 through 2016, 2018, and 2022 through 2023; and multiple awards from Comparably including “Best Perks & Benefits” in 2021 through 2023, “Best Work-Life Balance” in 2021 through 2023, and "Best Company Culture” in 2022 and 2023. In 2023 we were also named among Fortune’s “Best Workplaces in Technology” and were recognized as a “DEI Champion” by The Boston Globe and were awarded the “Human Rights Campaign’s Equality 100 Award: Leader in LGBTQ+ Workplace Inclusion”.

Training and Development

Our people and talent strategy is essential for our ability to continue to develop and market innovative products and customer solutions. We continually invest in our employees’ career growth and provide our team with a wide range of development opportunities, including mandatory quarterly compliance training courses as well as one-on-one, hybrid, social, and self-directed learning, mentoring, coaching, and external development.

Technology and Product Development

We are a technology company focused on innovative, actionable data analysis. We design our mobile and web products to create a transparent experience for both consumers and dealers. We believe in rapid development, release frequent updates, and have internal tools and automation that allow us to efficiently evolve our products. Our software is built using a combination of internally developed software, third-party software and services, and open-source software.

Our Search Technology

Our search and ranking technology is served by a proprietary in‑memory search index solution that is scalable, fast, and extensible. We have highly flexible interfaces that allow dealers to automatically add their inventory to our index, enabling us to quickly integrate hundreds of inventory sources with minimal effort and easily support inventory growth.

Our Mobile Technology

We have designed our marketplace to appeal to mobile users by developing our products with a mobile‑first mindset. All of our search results pages use a single‑page application type approach to eliminate page reloads and improve responsiveness. We also use techniques to load content onto a user’s mobile device more efficiently.

Our Integrations

We make available several application program interfaces and web widgets that integrate with customer relationship management and inventory management solutions, among other platforms. These integrations allow dealers to incorporate designated data and tools into the fabric of their marketing and customer engagement strategies. For example, our Deal Rating Badges are used on dealer websites, which show our Deal Rating for cars that have been rated as a Great Deal, Good Deal, or Fair Deal. Our Deal Rating serves as trusted, third‑party validation on dealer websites.

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Infrastructure

Our development servers and U.S. and Canadian websites are hosted at third-party data centers in the U.S. near Dallas, Texas, as well as through third-party cloud services in the U.S. Our European websites are hosted on third-party cloud computing services near each of London, England, Dublin, Ireland, and Frankfurt, Germany. We use third-party content distribution networks to cache and serve many portions of our sites at locations across the globe. We monitor and test at the application, host, network, and full-site levels to maintain availability and promote performance. We use third-party cloud computing services for many data processing jobs and backup/recovery services.

Intellectual Property

We protect our intellectual property through a combination of patents, copyrights, trademarks, service marks, domain names, trade secret protections, confidentiality procedures, and contractual restrictions.

We have threeone issued U.S. patent with an expiration date of May 2034, one pending U.S. patent applications.application, one pending U.S. provisional patent application, and one pending international patent application. These applications cover proprietary technology that relates to various functionalities on our platform, generally in connection with ordering, adjusting,pricing, ranking, and detecting fraud detection.in online listings. We intend to pursue additional patent protection to the extent we believe it would be beneficial to our competitive position.

We have a number of registered and unregistered trademarks. We registeredtrademarks, including “CarGurus,” the CarGurus logo, the CG logo, and related marks, which we have registered as trademarks in the United StatesU.S. and certain other jurisdictions. Additionally, we have a number of registered and unregistered trademarks, including “CarOffer” and the CarOffer logo, and related marks, which we have registered as trademarks in the U.S. We pursue additional trademark registrations to the extent we believe doing so would be beneficial to our competitive position. Our registered trademarks remain enforceable in the countries in which they are registered for as long as we continue to use the marks, and pay the fees to maintain the registrations, in those countries.

We are the registered holder of several domestic and international domain names that include “CarGurus” and variations of our name.trade names.

In addition to the protection provided by our intellectual property rights, we enter into confidentiality and proprietary rights agreements with our employees and relevant consultants, contractors, and business partners. We control the use of our proprietary technology and intellectual property through provisions in contracts with our customers and partners and our general and product-specific terms of use on our website.websites.

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Regulatory

Various aspects of our business are, may become, or may be viewed by regulators from time to time as subject, directly or indirectly, to U.S. federal, state, local, and foreign laws and regulations. In particular, the advertising and sale of new or used motor vehicles is highly regulated by the states and jurisdictions in which we do business. Although we do not sell motor vehicles and we believe that vehicle listings on our sitesites are not themselves advertisements, state regulatory authorities or third parties could take the position that some of the laws or regulations applicable to dealers or to the manner in which motor vehicles are advertised and sold generally are directly applicable to our business. These state advertising laws and regulations, which often originated decades before the emergence of the internet, are frequently subject to multiple interpretations, are not uniform from state to state,across jurisdictions, sometimes impose inconsistent requirements with respect to new or used motor vehicles, and the manner in which they should be applied to our business model is not always clear. State regulatorsRegulators or other third parties could take, and on some occasions have taken, the position that our marketplace or related products violate applicable brokering, bird‑dog,bird-dog, consumer protection, or advertising laws or regulations.

Our wholesale operations through CarOffer are regulated by the states in which we operate and by the U.S. federal government. These activities may also be subject to state and local licensing requirements. Additionally, we may be subject to regulation by individual state dealer licensing authorities and state and local consumer protection agencies.

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In order to operate in this regulated environment, we develop our products and services with a view toward appropriately managing the risk that our regulatory compliance, or the regulatory compliance of the dealers whose inventory is listed on our website,websites, could be challenged.

We consider applicable advertising and consumer protection laws and regulations in designing our products and services. With respect to paid advertising, other than displayFeatured Listings, Featured Priority Listings, and products marketed under our RPM and digital advertising and Featured Listings,suite, we believe that most of the content displayed on the websites we operate does not constitute paid advertising for the sale of motor vehicles. Nevertheless, we endeavor to design theour website content in a manner that would comply with relevant advertising regulations and consumer protection laws if, and to the extent that, the content is considered to be vehicle sales advertising.

Our websitewebsites and mobile applicationapplications enable us, dealers, and users to send and receive text messages and other mobile phone communications, which requires us to comply with the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, or TCPA.TCPA, in the U.S. The TCPA, as interpreted and implemented by the Federal Communications Commission, or the FCC, and federal and state courts, imposes significant restrictions on utilization of telephone calls and text messages to residential and mobile telephone numbers as a means of communication, particularly when the prior express consent of the person being contacted has not been obtained.

Corporate InformationIn addition, we are subject to numerous federal, national, state, and local laws and regulations in the U.S. and around the world regarding privacy and the collection, processing, storage, sharing, disclosure, use, cross-border transfer, and protection of personal information and other data. While the scope of these laws and regulations is changing and remains subject to differing interpretations, we seek to comply with industry standards and all applicable laws, policies, legal obligations, and industry codes of conduct relating to privacy and data protection. We are also subject to the terms of our privacy policies and privacy-related obligations to third parties.

We were originally organized on November 10, 2005Information about Our Executive Officers (as of February 23, 2024)

Name

Age

Positions(s)

Jason Trevisan

49

Chief Executive Officer and Director

Langley Steinert

60

Executive Chair and Chair of the Board of Directors

Andrea Eldridge

49

Chief People Officer

Ismail Elshareef

48

Chief Product Officer

Zachary Hallowell

48

Chief Executive Officer, CarOffer

Elisa Palazzo

42

Chief Financial Officer

Matthew Quinn

52

Chief Technology Officer

Dafna Sarnoff

60

Chief Marketing Officer

Samuel Zales

60

Chief Operating Officer and President

Javier Zamora

53

General Counsel and Corporate Secretary

Jason Trevisan.Mr. Trevisan has served as our Chief Executive Officer and a member of our Board of Directors since January 2021. Prior to such appointments, he served as our Chief Financial Officer from September 2015, as our Treasurer from July 2016 and as our President, International from January 2020. He served as our interim Principal Financial Officer from October 2022 to December 2023. Prior to joining CarGurus, Mr. Trevisan was a General Partner with Polaris Partners, a venture capital firm, from September 2003 to August 2015. While at Polaris Partners, Mr. Trevisan led investments in and served as a Massachusetts limited liabilitydirector of numerous consumer internet and software companies including LegalZoom, PartsSource, Shoedazzle, and The Roberts Group. Prior to that, from September 1999 to June 2001, Mr. Trevisan held management roles in analytics and client services at aQuantive, a digital marketing service and technology company, underwhich was acquired by Microsoft Corporation in 2007. Earlier in his career, from July 1996 to August 1999, he served as a consultant with Bain & Company, a management consulting company. Mr. Trevisan received a Master of Business Administration degree from the name “Nimalex LLC.” EffectiveTuck School of Business at Dartmouth College and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Duke University.

Langley Steinert. Mr. Steinert is our founder and has served as our Executive Chair since January 2021 and as a member of our Board of Directors since our founding. Mr. Steinert has served as our Chair since September 2017 and served as our Chief Executive Officer from our founding to January 2021 and as our President from June 2015 to February 2019. Mr. Steinert is also the co-founder of ApartmentAdvisor, Inc., an apartment rental marketplace, and has served as Chairman of its board of directors since October 2020. Mr. Steinert also serves as a board member at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. From

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February 2000 through February 2006 Mr. Steinert was Chairman and co-founder of TripAdvisor, Inc., an online marketplace for travel-related content. Mr. Steinert holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Georgetown University.

Andrea Eldridge. Ms. Eldridge has served as our Chief People Officer since February 2020 and, as previously disclosed, will step down from that position effective April 5, 2024. Prior to joining CarGurus, from October 2018 to November 2019, Ms. Eldridge served as Senior Vice President, Talent & Employee Experience for Cengage Learning, Inc., an educational content and technology company. Prior to that, from February 2006 to February 2018, Ms. Eldridge held various positions in talent, marketing, and general management at Ahold USA, a subsidiary of Ahold Delhaize, a global grocery retailing group. Ms. Eldridge holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Wellesley College.

Ismail Elshareef. Mr. Elshareef has served as our Chief Product Officer since February 2024. Prior to joining CarGurus, Mr. Elshareef served as the Chief Product Officer at OneFootball, a platform-based football media company, from January 2022 to January 2024. Prior to that, he served as the Chief Product Officer at UpKeep, Inc., an asset operations management platform company, from August 2019 to December 2021. Previously, Mr. Elshareef served in various roles at Ticketmaster Entertainment, LLC, a ticket sales and distribution company, including SVP, Consumer Products from September 2016 to July 15,2019 and VP, Open Platform and Innovation from July 2015 to September 2016, and in various roles at Edmunds.com Inc., an online resource for automotive inventory and information, including Executive Director, Open Platform from May 2011 to July 2015, Principal Architect from May 2010 to May 2011, and Director, Engineering from December 2007 to May 2010. Mr. Elshareef holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering degree from the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals and a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering degree from California State University, Los Angeles. He also completed the Executive Management Program at Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University.

Zachary Hallowell.Mr. Hallowell has served as the Chief Executive Officer, CarOffer since December 2023 and served as our Head of Industry Transformation from October 2023 to December 2023. Prior to joining CarGurus, Mr. Hallowell served in various roles at Cox Automotive Inc., an automotive services and technology provider, including as Senior Vice President, Manheim Digital from October 2020 to October 2023, Vice President, Manheim Digital Marketplace from January 2018 to October 2020 and General Manager/Head of Operational Excellence at RMS Automotive from November 2015 to December 2017. Prior to that, he served in various roles at OPENLANE, Inc. (formerly known as KAR Auction Services, Inc.), an online auction company for automotive dealers, including as Vice President, Online Product Management, ADESA from December 2014 to October 2015, President/COO Recovery Database Network from January 2013 to October 2015, Business Line Director, OPENLANE from October 2007 to December 2012, Director, Product and Program Management from April 2004 to December 2006, we changedand Product Manager from November 1999 to April 2004. From January 2007 to October 2007, Mr. Hallowell served as a Senior Project Manager at L.L. Bean, a multi-chain retailer. Mr. Hallowell holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science degree from Middlebury College.

Elisa Palazzo. Ms. Palazzo has served as our nameChief Financial Officer since December 2023. Prior to “CarGurus LLC.” On June 26, 2015, we converted intojoining CarGurus, Ms. Palazzo served in various roles at Talkspace, Inc., a Delaware corporationhealthcare software company, including as Deputy Chief Financial Officer, from April 2023 to November 2023, and changed our name to “CarGurus, Inc.”

Our principal executive offices are located at 2 Canal Park, 4th Floor, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02141, and our telephone number is (617) 354-0068. Our website is www.cargurus.com. Information that is contained on, or that can be accessed through, our website is not incorporated by reference into this Annual Report on Form 10-K, and you should not consider information on our website to beas Senior Vice President of Finance, a role she assumed as part of this Annual ReportHudson Executive Capital’s involvement in Talkspace, Inc., from 2021 to April 2023. Between October 2020 and April 2023 she was a Senior Analyst and Managing Director at Hudson Executive Capital, a hedge fund company, overseeing investments in consumer, online, and digital media companies. Previously, from January 2019 to September 2020, she served as an investor and Director at PSP Investments, a pension investment manager company. Prior to that, Ms. Palazzo served as a Senior Investment Analyst at Point72 Asset Management, a hedge fund company, from August 2016 to November 2018, and as an Investment Analyst at Coltrane Asset Management, a hedge fund company, from November 2012 to August 2016. Between 2005 and 2012 she held various roles at Credit Suisse, a financial services company. Ms. Palazzo holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Harvard Business School and a Master of Science in Corporate Finance degree from Bocconi University.

Matthew Quinn. Mr. Quinn has served as our Chief Technology Officer since January 2022. Prior to joining CarGurus, from January 2020 to December 2021, Mr. Quinn was Vice President of Engineering at the small business referral network, Alignable, Inc. He has also led large development teams at technology companies such as Audible, Inc., an Amazon company providing online audiobook and podcast services, where he served in roles from June 2015 to December 2019, including as Vice President of Software Development from May 2018 to December 2019, as well as Vistaprint, a Cimpress plc company providing online marketing and printing services to small businesses, and Amazon, an e-commerce and cloud computing company. Mr. Quinn pioneered Vistaprint’s promotional products business, built and led their digital services engineering team, managed teams on Form 10-K.

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Amazon’s Fire Phone launch, served as the CarGurus logo,site lead for Audible’s Boston office and other trademarks or service marksled teams that launched Audible on Alexa, FireTV, and Kindle. Mr. Quinn holds a Master of CarGurus appearingScience degree in this Annual Report on Form 10-K areManagement from Emmanuel College and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mathematics and Computer Science from the property of CarGurus. Trade names, trademarks, and service marks of other companies appearing in this Annual Report on Form 10-K are the property of their respective holders. We have omitted the ® and ™ designations, as applicable, for the trademarks used in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Information About Segment and Geographic Revenue

We have two reportable segments, United States and International. Information about segment and geographic revenue is set forth in Note 12College of the NotesHoly Cross.

Dafna Sarnoff.Ms. Sarnoff has served as our Chief Marketing Officer since December 2021. Prior to joining CarGurus, Ms. Sarnoff led marketing for several technology and growth companies, including Aura Sub, LLC, a digital security innovator, from September 2020 to November 2021, Intersection Parent, Inc., an experience-driven media and technology company, from August 2016 to September 2020, and Yodle, Inc., a digital marketing software-as-a-service business that was acquired by Web.Com Group, Inc. in 2016, from November 2012 to August 2016. Ms. Sarnoff also held various leadership roles over ten years at American Express Company, a bank holding company and multinational financial services corporation that specializes in payment cards, in both consumer and B2B marketing, after starting her career at Bain & Company, Inc. Ms. Sarnoff holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Harvard Business School and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mathematics from Dartmouth College.

Samuel Zales.Mr. Zales has served as our Chief Operating Officer since September 2017 and as our President since February 2019. Mr. Zales also served as our Chief Revenue Officer from December 2015 to September 2017 and as our President of Dealer Operations and International from November 2014 to December 2015. Prior to joining CarGurus, from January 2014 to October 2014, Mr. Zales was Executive Vice President of Zeta Interactive, a marketing software company that acquired ClickSquared, Inc., a marketing software company, in January 2014. From March 2013 to January 2014, Mr. Zales was Chief Executive Officer of ClickSquared. Prior to that, Mr. Zales was a consultant to multiple technology and software companies and served on the Consolidated Financial Statements under Item 8boards of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.four venture-backed companies. From October 2008 to November 2011 Mr. Zales was President of Zoom Information, Inc., a software-as-a-service company, where he led day-to-day operations and oversaw the company’s growth strategy into the marketing services and sales intelligence arenas. Prior to that, from January 2007 to October 2008, Mr. Zales was Chief Executive Officer of BuyerZone.com LLC, an online marketplace for business purchasing and a division of Reed Business Information, a business unit of Reed Elsevier PLC, which acquired BuyerZone.com in January 2007. From November 1999 to January 2007, Mr. Zales was President and Chief Executive Officer of BuyerZone.com, which he led to its acquisition by Reed Business Information. Mr. Zales holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Dartmouth College.

11Javier Zamora. Mr. Zamora has served as our General Counsel and Corporate Secretary since August 2022. Prior to joining CarGurus, Mr. Zamora was VP, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary of Converse, Inc., a footwear and apparel company, from February 2021 to July 2022. From March 2008 to January 2021 he served as Assistant General Counsel at Nike, Inc., a global footwear and apparel company. Prior to that, Mr. Zamora practiced corporate and securities law at a national law firm based in Chicago and was an officer in the military who served a tour of duty in Iraq. Mr. Zamora holds a Juris Doctor degree from DePaul University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of California, Los Angeles.


Additional Information

The following filings are available on our investor relations website after we file them with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC: Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, andCurrent Reports on Form 8-K, Proxy Statements for our annual meetings of stockholders.stockholders and any amendments to those reports or statements. These filings are also available for download free of charge on our investor relations website. Our investor relations website is located at http://investors.cargurus.com.  You may obtain copies of these documents by mail from the Public Reference Section of the SEC, 100 F Street, N.E., Room 1580, Washington, D.C. 20549. The SEC also maintains a website that contains reports, proxy statements and other information about issuers, like us, that file electronically with the SEC.  The address of that website is https://www.sec.gov.

We webcast our earnings calls and certain events that we participate in or host with members of the investment community on our investor relations website. Additionally, we provide news and announcements regarding our financial performance, including SEC filings, investor events, and press and earnings releases, on our investor relations website. Corporate governance information, including our policies concerning business conduct and ethics, is also available on our investor relations website under the heading “Governance.” No content from any of our websites is intended to be incorporated by reference into this Annual Report on Form 10-K or in any other report or document we file with the SEC, and any reference to our websites is intended to be an inactive textual reference only.

Emerging Growth Company Status

We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, or the JOBS Act, and we may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies. We may take advantage of these exemptions until we are no longer an emerging growth company. Section 107 of the JOBS Act provides that an emerging growth company can take advantage of the extended transition period afforded by the JOBS Act for the implementation of new or revised accounting standards. We have elected to use the extended transition period for complying with new or revised accounting standards; as a result of this election, our financial statements may not be comparable with those of companies that comply with public company effective dates. We may take advantage of these exemptions up until the last day of the fiscal year following the fifth anniversary of our IPO or such earlier time that we are no longer an emerging growth company. We would cease to be an emerging growth company if we have more than $1.07 billion in annual revenue, we have more than $700.0 million in market value of our stock held by non‑affiliates (and we have been a public company for at least 12 months and have filed one annual report on Form 10‑K) or we issue more than $1.0 billion of non‑convertible debt securities over a three‑year period.23



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Item 1A. RiskRisk Factors.

Investing in our Class A common stock involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider carefully the risks and uncertainties described below, some of which have previously occurred and any of which may occur in the future, together with all of the other information contained in this reportAnnual Report, including “Management’s Discussion and inAnalysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and our other public filings inaudited consolidated financial statements and related notes, before evaluating our business. Our business, financial condition, operating results, cash flow, and prospects could be materially and adversely affected by any of these risks or uncertainties. In that event, the trading price of our Class A common stock could decline. See “Special Note Regarding Forward-LookingForward‑Looking Statements.”

Summary Risk Factors

Our business is subject to a number of risks, including risks that may prevent us from achieving our business objectives or may adversely affect our business, financial condition, operating results, cash flow, and prospects. These risks are discussed more fully below and include, but are not limited to, risks related to:

Risks Related to Our Business and Industry

Our business is substantially dependent on our relationships with dealers, and our subscription agreements with these dealers do not contain long-term contractual commitments.dealers. If a significant number of dealers terminate their subscription agreements with us, and/or dealer closures or consolidations occur that reduce demand for our products, our business and financial results would be materially and adversely affected.

Our primary source of revenue consists of subscription fees paid to us by dealers for access to enhanced features on our automotive marketplace. Our subscription agreements with dealers generally may be terminated by us with 30 days’ notice and by dealers with 30 days’ notice at the end of the committed term. While the majority of our contracts with dealers currently provide for one-month committed terms, we are transitioning many of these dealers to contracts with one-year committed terms. The contracts do not contain contractual obligations requiring a dealer to maintain its relationship with us beyond the committed term. Accordingly, these dealers may cancel their subscriptions with us in accordance with the terms of their subscription agreements. If a significant number of our paying dealers terminate their subscriptions with us, our revenue would be materially and adversely affected.

If we fail to maintain or increase the number of dealers that pay subscription fees to us, or fail to maintain or increase the fees paid to us for subscriptions, our business and financial results would be harmed.materially and adversely affected.
Our business is subject to risks related to the larger automotive industry ecosystem, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, revenue, results of operations, and financial condition.
If the CarOffer business and/or our combined offerings do not grow, our revenue and business could be adversely affected.
If we are unable to provide a compelling experience to consumers on our platform, connections between consumers and dealers using our marketplaces may decline and our business and financial results would be materially and adversely affected.
Any inability by us to develop new products, adapt to new technologies, or achieve widespread consumer and dealer adoption of those products, could negatively impact our business and financial results.
We rely, in part, on internet search engines to drive traffic to our websites, and if we fail to appear prominently in the search results, our traffic would decline and our business would be adversely affected.
Our revenue growth rate in the future is uncertain, including due to potential macroeconomic effects.
We may require additional capital to pursue our business objectives and respond to business opportunities, challenges, or unforeseen circumstances. If we are unable to generate sufficient cash flows or if capital is not available to us, our business, operating results, financial condition, and prospects could be adversely affected.
We depend on key personnel to operate our business, and if we are unable to retain, attract, and integrate qualified personnel, or if we experience turnover of our key personnel, our ability to develop and successfully grow our business could be materially and adversely affected.
We may be subject to disputes regarding the accuracy of Instant Market Values, Deal Ratings, Dealer Ratings, New Car Price Guidance, and other features of our marketplaces.
We are subject to a complex framework of laws and regulations, many of which are unsettled, still developing, and contradictory, which have in the past, and could in the future, subject us to claims, challenge our business model, or otherwise harm our business.
A significant disruption in service on our websites or mobile applications could damage our reputation and result in a loss of consumers, which could harm our business, brands, operating results, and financial condition.

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We and our third-party service providers collect, process, store, transfer, share, disclose, and use consumer information and other data, and the actual or perceived failure of us or our third-party service providers to protect such information and data or respect users’ privacy could expose us to liability and adversely affect our reputation, brands, business, and operating results.
Our ability to attract consumers to our own websites and to provide certain services to our customers depends on the collection of consumer data from various sources, which may be restricted by consumer choice, privacy restrictions, and developments in laws, regulations, and industry standards.
Failure to adequately protect our intellectual property could harm our business and operating results.
We may be unable to halt the operations of websites that aggregate or misappropriate our data.
Seasonality and other factors may cause fluctuations in our operating results and our marketing spend.
Failure to deal effectively with fraud or other illegal activity could harm our business.
We have identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting. If we are unable to remediate this material weakness, we may not be able to accurately or timely report our financial condition or results of operations, which may adversely affect our business and the market price of our Class A common stock.
If our goodwill or intangible assets become impaired, we may be required to record a significant charge to earnings.

Risks Related to Our Class A Common Stock

Our founder controls a majority of the voting power of our outstanding capital stock, and, therefore, has control over key decision-making and could control our actions in a manner that conflicts with the interests of other stockholders.
The trading price of our Class A common stock has been and may continue to be volatile and the value of our stockholders’ investment in our stock could decline.
We cannot guarantee that our share repurchase program will be fully implemented or that it will enhance stockholder value, and share repurchases could affect the price of our Class A common stock.

General Risk Factors

We participate in a highly competitive market, and pressure from existing and new companies may adversely affect our business and operating results.
We must maintain proper and effective internal control over financial reporting and any failure to maintain the adequacy of these internal controls may adversely affect investor confidence in us and, as a result, the value of our Class A common stock.
We expect our results of operations to fluctuate on a quarterly and annual basis.

Risks Related to Our Business and Industry

Our business is substantially dependent on our relationships with dealers. If a significant number of dealers terminate their subscription agreements with us, and/or dealer closures or consolidations occur that reduce demand for our products, our business and financial results would be materially and adversely affected.

A significant source of our revenue consists of subscription fees paid to us by dealers for access to enhanced features on our automotive marketplaces. Our subscription agreements with dealers generally may be terminated by us with 30 days’ notice and by dealers with 30 days’ advance notice prior to the commencement of the applicable renewal term. The majority of our contracts with dealers currently provide for one-month committed terms and do not contain contractual obligations requiring a dealer to maintain its relationship with us beyond the committed term. A dealer may be influenced by several factors to cancel its subscription with us, including national and regional dealership associations, national and local regulators, automotive manufacturers, consumer groups, and consolidated dealer groups. If any of these influential groups indicate that dealers should not enter into or maintain subscription agreements with us, dealers could share this belief and we may lose a number of our paying dealers. If a significant number of our paying dealers terminate their subscriptions with us, our business and financial

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results would be materially and adversely affected.

Additionally, in the past, the number of U.S. dealers has declined due to dealership closures and consolidations as a result of industry dynamics and macroeconomic issues. When dealers consolidate, the services they previously purchased separately are often purchased by the combined entity in a lesser quantity or for a lower aggregate price than before, leading to volume compression and loss of revenue. Further dealership consolidations or closures could reduce the aggregate demand for our products and services. If dealership closures and consolidations occur in the future, our business and financial results would be materially and adversely affected.

If we fail to maintain or increase the number of dealers that pay subscription fees to us, or fail to maintain or increase the fees paid to us for subscriptions, our business and financial results would be materially and adversely affected.

If paying dealers do not experiencereceive the volume of consumer connections that they expect during their monthly or annual subscription period, or do not experience the level of car sales they expect from those connections, or fail to attribute consumer connections or sales to our platform, they may terminate their subscriptions atprior to the conclusioncommencement of the committed term or may only be willing to renew their subscriptions at a lower level of fees. Even if dealers do experience increased consumer connections or sales, they may not attribute such increases to our marketplace.applicable renewal term. If we fail to expand our basemaintain or increase the number of paying dealers or fail to maintain or increase the level of fees that we receive from them, our business and financial results would be materially and adversely affected.

We allow dealers to list their inventory in our marketplacemarketplaces for free; however, dealer identity and contact information are not permitted inwe impose certain limitations on such free listingslistings. In the future, we may decide to impose additional restrictions on Restricted Listings or modify the services available to non-paying dealers. These changes to our Restricted Listings product may result in less inventory being displayed to consumers, which may impair our efforts to attract consumers, and thesecause paying and non-paying dealers do notto receive accessfewer leads and connections, which may make it more difficult for us to convert non-paying dealers to paying dealers or maintain or increase the paid featuresnumber of our marketplace. Many dealers start with us on a non-paying basis and then become paying customers in order to take advantage of the features of our Enhanced or Featured Listing products.dealers. If dealers do not subscribe to our paid offerings at the rates we expect, or if a greater than expected number of our paying dealers elect to terminate their subscriptions, our business and financial results would be harmed.materially and adversely affected.

Our business is subject to risks related to the larger automotive industry ecosystem, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, revenue, results of operations, and financial condition.

Decreases in consumer demand could adversely affect the market for automobile purchases and, in turn, reduce the number of consumers using our platform. Consumer purchases of new and used automobiles generally decline during recessionary periods and other periods in which disposable income is adversely affected. Purchases of new and used automobiles are typically discretionary for consumers and have been, and may continue to be, affected by negative trends in the economy, including the cost of energy and gasoline; the availability and cost of credit; increased interest rates; reductions in business and consumer confidence; stock market volatility; unemployment; and the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Further, in recent years the market for motor vehicles has experienced rapid changes in technology and consumer demands. Self-driving technology, ride sharing, transportation networks, and other fundamental changes in transportation could impact consumer demand for the purchase of automobiles. A reduction in the number of automobiles purchased by consumers could adversely affect dealers and car manufacturers and lead to a reduction in other spending by these groups, including targeted incentive programs.

In addition, our business has been and may continue to be negatively affected by challenges to the larger automotive industry ecosystem, including global supply chain challenges, labor, disruptions, work stoppages, or strikes, changes to trade policies, including tariff rates and customs duties, trade relations between the U.S. and China, and other macroeconomic issues, including increased interest rates and the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Increasing global inflation rates have spurred a cycle of monetary policy tightening, including through central bank increases to key short-term lending rates. Both the availability and cost of credit are factors affecting consumer confidence, which is a critical driver of vehicle sales for our consumers and dealers. Additionally, vehicle affordability for our consumers is becoming more challenging due to a combination of factors, including elevated vehicle pricing resulting from inflationary cost increases and vehicle production constraints, rising vehicle finance costs due to increased interest rates, declines in inventory supply, and increases in wholesale auction prices and the prices that dealers charge consumers for vehicles. These factors could have a material adverse effect on our business, revenue, results of operations, and financial condition.

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If the CarOffer business and/or our combined offerings do not grow, our revenue and business could be adversely affected.

Continued achievement of our transaction synergies and our ability to grow the CarOffer business and the revenue associated with it depends on a number of factors, including our ability to expand the number of dealers engaging on the CarOffer platform; retain existing customers and increase the share of wholesale transactions that they complete on the CarOffer platform; attract prospective customers who have historically purchased or sold vehicles through physical auctions and may choose not to transact online; and successfully compete with competitors, including other online vehicle auction companies and large, national offline vehicle auction companies that are expanding into the online channel and have launched online auctions in connection with their physical auctions. Additionally, our ability to grow IMCO and the revenue associated with it also depends on a number of factors, including our ability to continue to effectively scale and market IMCO; attract prospective consumers to sell their vehicles online through IMCO; and successfully compete with competitors, including online dealerships. If our anticipated transaction synergies do not fully materialize, or the CarOffer business and/or IMCO fail to grow at the rate we expect, our revenue and business could be adversely affected.

Industry conditions such as a significant change in retail vehicle prices or a decline in the used vehicle inventory supply coming to the wholesale market could also adversely impact CarOffer’s business and growth. For example, if retail prices for used vehicles rise relative to retail prices for new vehicles, it could make buying a new vehicle more attractive to consumers than buying a used vehicle, which could result in reduced used vehicle wholesale sales on the CarOffer platform. Used vehicle dealers may also decide to retail more of their vehicles on their own, which could adversely impact the volume of vehicles offered for sale on the CarOffer platform. In addition, the decline in the supply of inventory has also led to an increase in wholesale auction prices and the prices that dealers charge consumers for automobiles. We also face inventory risk in connection with vehicles acquired by CarOffer via arbitration, including the risk of inventory obsolescence, a decline in values, and significant inventory write-downs or write-offs. Such inventory risk would be higher if arbitrations increase, which is more likely to occur in connection with declining wholesale market conditions.

Furthermore, activity on the CarOffer platform has in the past fluctuated, and may again in the future fluctuate, from period to period based on macroeconomic conditions and changing demand requirements, which could adversely impact our revenue, results of operations, and financial condition for such period(s). Macroeconomic issues, including increased interest rates and lower consumer confidence, could also adversely impact dealer demand for sourcing inventory and therefore lead to a reduction in the number of vehicle wholesale sales on the CarOffer platform and/or transacted via IMCO, which would adversely impact CarOffer’s business and financial results. Additionally, inventory challenges in the automotive industry have contributed and could continue to contribute to a decrease in the supply of vehicles coming to the wholesale market and reduce the number of vehicles sold on the CarOffer platform and/or transacted via IMCO. An inability by CarOffer to retain customers and/or increase or find alternative sources of vehicle supply could adversely impact our revenue and business.

We may fail to successfully integrate CarOffer and/or fail to fully realize all of the anticipated benefits of the 2023 CarOffer Transaction, which could harm our business, brands, operating results, and financial condition.

On December 1, 2023, we completed the 2023 CarOffer Transaction. Successful integration of CarOffer’s operations and personnel into our existing operations places an additional burden on management and other internal resources. The integration process could distract our management, disrupt our ongoing business, or result in inconsistencies in our services, standards, controls, procedures, and policies, any of which could adversely affect our ability to maintain relationships with customers and employees or to achieve the anticipated benefits of the 2023 CarOffer Transaction, which could, in turn, harm our business, brands, operating results, and financial condition.

If dealers or other advertisers reduce their advertising spendspending with us, our advertising revenue and we are unable to attract new advertisers,business and our businessfinancial results would be harmed.

A significant amountportion of our revenue is derived from advertising revenuesrevenue generated primarily through short-term advertising sales, including on-site advertising and audience targeting services, to dealers, auto manufacturers, and other auto-related brand advertisers. We compete for this advertising revenue with other online automotive marketplaces and with television, print media, and other traditional advertising channels. Our ability to attract and retain advertisers and to generate advertising revenue depends on a number of factors, including:

including our ability to increase the number of consumers using our marketplace; 

our ability tomarketplaces; compete effectively for advertising spending with other online automotive marketplaces;

our ability to continue to develop our advertising products in our marketplace; 

our ability toproducts; keep pace with changes in technology and the practices and offerings of our competitors;competitors, including the use of AI; and

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our ability to

offer an attractive return on investment, or ROI to our advertisers for their advertising spend with us.

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Our agreementsAs a result of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, some advertisers canceled or reduced their advertising with dealersus and it is possible that advertising customers will cancel or reduce their advertising with us in the future for displaya variety of reasons, including macroeconomic issues, such as increased interest rates and other matters that influence consumer spending. In addition, the year-over-year decline in the number of consumer visits to our sites as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic or otherwise resulted in the delivery of fewer impressions for our advertising generally include terms ranging from one month to one yearcustomers than anticipated year-over-year for the years ended December 31, 2022, 2021, and 2020, which caused, and may be terminated by us with 30 days’ notice and by dealers with 30 days’ notice at the end of the committed term. The contracts do not contain contractual obligations requiringcontinue to cause, an advertiser to maintain its relationship with us beyond the committed term. Our other advertising contracts, including those with auto manufacturers, are typically for a defined period of time and do not have ongoing commitments to advertiseadverse impact on our site beyond the committed term.advertising revenue. We may not succeed in capturing a greater share of our advertisers’ spending if we are unable to convince advertisers of the effectiveness or superiority of our marketplaceadvertising offerings as compared to alternative channels. If current advertisers reduce or end their advertising spending with us and we are unable to attract new advertisers,replace such reduced advertising spending, our advertising revenue and business and financial results would be harmed.

If we are unable to provide a compelling vehicle search experience to consumers throughon our platform, the number of connections between consumers and dealers using our marketplacemarketplaces may decline and our business and financial results would be materially and adversely affected.

If we fail to continue to provide a compelling vehicle search experience to consumers, the number of connections between consumers and dealers through our marketplacemarketplaces could decline, which, in turn, could lead dealers to stopsuspend listing their inventory in our marketplace,marketplaces, cancel their subscriptions, or reduce their advertising spendspending with us. If dealers stoppause or cancel listing their inventory in our marketplace,marketplaces, we may not be able to maintain and grow ourattract a large consumer traffic,audience, which may cause other dealers to stop usingpause or cancel their use of our marketplace.marketplaces. This reduction in the number of dealers using our marketplacemarketplaces would likelymaterially and adversely affect our marketplacemarketplaces and our business and financial results. As consumers increasingly use their mobile devices to access the internet and our marketplace, our success will depend, in part, on our ability to provide consumers with a robust and user-friendly experience through their mobile devices. We believe that our ability to provide a compelling vehicle search experience, both on the webdesktop computers and through mobile devices, is subject to a number of factors, including:

including our ability to maintain an attractive marketplacemarketplaces for consumers and dealers, including on mobile platforms;

our ability todealers; continue to innovate and introduce products for our marketplacemarketplaces; anticipate or adapt to new and changing technologies, including the use of AI, and consumer requirements on mobile platforms; 

our ability toa timely basis; launch new products that are effective and have a high degree of consumer engagement;

display a wide variety of automobile inventory to attract more consumers to our ability towebsites; provide mobile applications that engage consumers; maintain the compatibility of our mobile applicationapplications with operating systems, such as iOS and Android, and with popular mobile devices running such operating systems; and

our ability to access and analyze a sufficient amount of data to enable us to provide relevant information to consumers, including pricing information and accurate vehicle details.

Any inability by us to develop new products, adapt to new technologies, or achieve widespread consumer and dealer adoption of those products, could negatively impact our business and financial results.

Our success depends on our continued innovation to provide products that make our marketplaces, websites, and mobile applications useful for consumers and dealers or that otherwise provide value to consumers and dealers. For example, we continue to develop digital retail offerings, including those that expand a dealer’s geographic footprint and others that bring additional elements of the car buying experience online through our websites. A failure by us to capture the benefits that we expect from these digital retail investments could negatively impact our business and financial results.

We also anticipate that over time our investments in our current products may become less productive and the growth of our revenue will require more focus on developing new products. These new products must be widely adopted by consumers and dealers in order for us to continue to attract consumers to our marketplaces and dealers to our products and services. Accordingly, we must continually invest resources in product, technology, and development to improve the attractiveness of our marketplaces and adapt to new and changing technologies and consumer requirements. Our ability to engage in these activities may decline as a result of macroeconomic effects and any cost-savings initiatives on our business. These product, technology, and development expenses may include costs of hiring additional personnel and retaining our current employees, engaging third-party service providers, and conducting other research and development activities. There can be no assurance that innovations to our products like IMCO or TDO, or the development of future products, will increase consumer or dealer engagement, achieve market acceptance, create additional revenue, or become profitable. There can also be no assurance that our future products will meet consumer expectations in light of new technologies offered by others in the marketplace. In addition, revenue relating to new products is typically unpredictable and our new products may have lower gross margins, lower retention rates, and higher marketing and sales costs than our existing products. We are likely to continue to modify our pricing models for both existing and new products so that our prices for our offerings reflect the value those offerings are providing to consumers and dealers. Our pricing models may not effectively reflect the value of products to dealers, and, if we are unable to

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Ifprovide marketplaces and products that consumers and dealers want to use, they may reduce or cease the use of our marketplace, particularly on mobile devices, does not continuemarketplaces and products. Without innovative marketplaces and related products, we may be unable to grow,attract additional, unique consumers or retain current consumers, which could affect the number of dealers that become paying dealers and the number of advertisers that want to advertise in our marketplaces, as well as the amounts that they are willing to pay for our products, which could, in turn, negatively impact our business and operating results would be harmed.financial results.

We rely, in part, on internet search engines to drive traffic to our website,websites, and if we fail to appear prominently in the search results, our traffic would decline and our business would be adversely affected.

We depend,rely, in part, on internet search engines such as Google, Bing, and Yahoo! to drive traffic to our website.websites. The number of consumers we attract to our marketplacemarketplaces from search engines is due in part to how and where our websites rank in unpaid search results. These rankings can be affected by a number of factors, many of which are not under our direct control and may change frequently. For example, when a consumer searches for a vehicle in an internet search engine, we rely on a high organic search ranking of our webpages to refer the consumer to our website.websites. Our competitors’ internet search engine optimization efforts may result in their websites receiving higher search result rankings than ours, or internet search engines could change their methodologies and/or introduce competing products in a way that would adversely affect our search result rankings. If internet search engines modify their search algorithmsmethodologies in ways that are detrimental to us, as they have done from time to time, or if our efforts to improve our search engine optimization are unsuccessful or less successful than our competitors’ efforts, are more successful than ours, overall growth in our ability to attract a large consumer audience could diminish, traffic to our marketplaces could slow ordecline, and the number of leads that we send to our trafficdealers could decline. In addition,be adversely impacted. Additionally, competing products from internet search engine providers, couldsuch as those that provide dealer and vehicle pricing and other information directly in search results or decreases in consumer use of search engines, for example, as a result of the continued development of AI technology, could also adversely impact traffic to our websites and the number of leads that we are able to send to our dealers. Our business would also be adversely affected if internet search engine providers choose to align with our competitors,competitors. Reductions in our own search advertising spend or choose to develop competing products. Search engines may also adopt a more aggressive auction-pricing system for keywords that wouldspending by our competitors could also cause us to incur higher advertising costs and/or reduce our market visibility to prospective users. Our website haswebsites have experienced fluctuations in organic and paid search result rankings in the past, and we anticipate fluctuations in the future. Any reduction in the number of consumers directed to our websitewebsites through internet search engines couldwould harm our business and operating results.

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Any inability by us to develop new products, or achieve widespread consumer and dealer adoption of those products, could negatively impact our business and financial results.

Our success depends on our continued innovation to provide products and services that make our marketplace, website, and mobile application useful for consumers and dealers. These new products must be widely adopted by consumers and dealers in order for us to continue to attract consumers to our marketplace and dealers to our products and services. Accordingly, we must continually invest resources in product, technology, and development in order to improve the attractiveness and comprehensiveness of our marketplace and its related products and effectively incorporate new internet and mobile technologies into them. These product, technology, and development expenses may include costs of hiring additional personnel, engaging third-party service providers and other research and development activities. In addition, revenue relating to new products is typically unpredictable and our new products may have lower gross margins and higher marketing and sales costs than our existing products. We may also change our pricing models for both existing and new products so that our prices for our offerings reflect the value those offerings are providing to consumers and dealers. Our pricing models may not effectively reflect the value of products to consumers and dealers, and, if we are unable to provide a marketplace and products that consumers and dealers want to use, they may become dissatisfied and instead use our competitors’ websites and mobile applications. Without an innovative marketplace and related products, we may be unable to attract additional, unique consumers or retain current consumers, which could affect the number of dealers that become paying dealers and the number of advertisers that want to advertise in our marketplace, which could, in turn, harm our business and financial results.

We may be unable to maintain or grow relationships with data providers, or may experience interruptions in the data they provide, which may create a less valuable or transparent shopping experience and negatively affect our business and operating results.

We obtain data from many third-party data providers, including inventory management systems, automotive website providers, customer relationship management systems, dealer management systems, governmental entities, and third-party data licensors. Our business relies on our ability to obtain data for the benefit of consumers and dealers using our marketplace.marketplaces. For example, our success in international marketseach market is dependent in part upon our ability to obtain and maintain inventory data and other vehicle information for those markets. The large amount of inventory and vehicle information available in our marketplace is critical to the value we provide for consumers. The loss or interruption of such inventory data or other vehicle information could decrease the number of consumers using our marketplace.marketplaces. We could experience interruptions in our data access for a number of reasons, including difficulties in renewing our agreements with data providers, changes to the software used by data providers, efforts by industry participants to restrict access to data, and increased fees we may be charged by data providers. Our marketplacemarketplaces could be negatively affected if any current provider terminates its relationship with us or our service from any provider is interrupted. If there is a material disruption in the data provided to us, the information that we provide to consumers and dealers using our marketplacemarketplaces may be limited. In addition, the quality, accuracy, and timeliness of this information may suffer, which may lead to a less valuable and lessor transparent shopping experience for consumers using our marketplacemarketplaces and could materially and adverselynegatively affect our business and financialoperating results.

The failure to build, maintain, and maintainprotect our brandbrands would harm our ability to grow ourattract a large consumer audience and to expand the use of our marketplacemarketplaces by consumers and dealers.

While we are focused on building our brand recognition, maintainingMaintaining and enhancing our brandbrands will depend largely on the success of our efforts to maintain the trust of consumers and dealers and to deliver value to each consumer and dealer using our marketplace.marketplaces. Our ability to protect our brands is also impacted by the success of our efforts to optimize our significant brand spend and overcome the intense competition in brand marketing across our industry, including competitors that may imitate our messaging. In addition, we have reduced our brand spend in comparison to our pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels, and it is possible that we may in the future decide to further suppress

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such spend depending on macroeconomic conditions. If consumers were to believe that we are not focused on providing them with a better automobile shopping experience, or if we fail to overcome brand marketing competition and maintain a differentiated value proposition in consumers’ minds, our reputation and the strength of our brandbrands may be adversely affected.

Complaints or negative publicity about our business practices and culture, our management team and employees, our marketing and advertising campaigns, our compliance with applicable laws and regulations, the integrity of the data that we provide to consumers, data privacy and security issues, third party content and conduct on our websites, and other aspects of our business, irrespective of their validity, could diminish consumers’ and dealers’ confidence and participation in our marketplacemarketplaces and could adversely affect our brand.brands. There can be no assurance that we will be able to maintain or enhance our brand,brands, and failure to do so would harm our business growth prospects and operating results.

15Our revenue growth rate in the future is uncertain, including due to potential macroeconomic effects.


The “Questions” sectionOur revenue decreased to $914.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 from $1,655.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2022, representing a 45% decrease between such periods. Our revenue in the future is uncertain and could potentially be impacted by macroeconomic issues, such as declining wholesale vehicle prices, increased interest rates, lower consumer confidence, labor, disruptions, work stoppages, or strikes, consumer debt levels, the war in Ukraine and Russian sanctions, the conflict in Israel and surrounding areas and the possible expansion of such conflict, and other matters that influence consumer spending and preferences. We will also not be able to grow as expected, or at all, if we fail to increase the number of consumers using our marketplaces; attract new consumers to sell their vehicles online through IMCO; maintain and expand the number of dealers that subscribe to our marketplaces and maintain and increase the fees that they are paying; expand the number of dealers engaging on the CarOffer platform and increase the share of wholesale transactions which they complete on such platform; attract and retain advertisers placing advertisements in our marketplaces; further improve the quality of our website enablesmarketplaces and introduce high quality new products; and increase the number of connections between consumers and dealers using our sitemarketplaces and connections to communicate with one another and other persons seeking information or advice on the internet. Claims of defamation or other injury could be made against us for content posted on our website. In addition, negative publicity and user sentiment generated as a result of fraudulent or deceptive conduct by users of our marketplace could damage our reputation, reduce our ability to attract new users or retain our current users, and diminish the value of our brand.

While we have historically focused our marketing efforts on internet and mobile channels, we have begun brand-focused campaigns using television and radio and these efforts may not be successful.

As a consumer brand, it is important for us to increase the visibility of our brand with potential users of our marketplace. While we have historically focused our marketing efforts on internet and mobile channels, we have begun to advertise through television, radio, and other channels we have not used previously, with the goal of driving greater brand recognition, trust, and loyalty from a broader consumer audience.paying dealers. If our brand-focused campaigns are not successful and we are unablerevenue declines or fails to recover our marketing costs through increases in user traffic and increased subscription and advertising revenue, or if we discontinue our brand marketing campaigns, it could have a material adverse effect on our business and financial results.

Our recent, rapid growth is not indicative of our future growth, and our revenue growth rate will continue to decline in the future.

Our revenue increased to $316.9 million in 2017 from $198.1 million in 2016, representing a 60% increase between such periods. In the future, our revenue growth rates will decline as we achieve higher market penetration rates, as our revenue increases to higher levels, and as we experience increased competition. As our revenue growth rates decline,grow, investors’ perceptions of our business may be adversely affected, and the market price of our Class A common stock could decline. In

We may require additional capital to pursue our business objectives and respond to business opportunities, challenges, or unforeseen circumstances. If we are unable to generate sufficient cash flows or if capital is not available to us, our business, operating results, financial condition, and prospects could be adversely affected.

If we are unable to generate sufficient cash flows, we would require additional capital to pursue our business objectives and respond to business opportunities, challenges, or unforeseen circumstances, including the effects of macroeconomic issues, as well as to make marketing expenditures to improve our brand awareness, develop new products, further improve our platform and existing products, enhance our operating infrastructure, and acquire complementary businesses and technologies. We may need to engage in equity or debt financings to secure additional funds, in addition to our revolving credit facility associated with the Credit Agreement (as defined below), which we willrefer to as the 2022 Revolver. Additional funds may not be ableavailable when we need them on terms that are acceptable to grow as expected,us or at all, ifall. Volatility in the equity and credit markets, including heightened inflation and interest rate and currency rate fluctuation, may also have an adverse effect on our ability to obtain equity or debt financing. An inability to obtain adequate financing or financing on terms satisfactory to us when we do not accomplish the following:

increase the number of consumers usingrequire it could significantly limit our marketplace; 

maintain and expand the number of dealers that subscribe to our marketplace and maintain and increase the fees that they are paying; 

attract and retain advertisers placing advertisements in our marketplace; 

further improve the quality of our marketplace, and introduce high quality new products; and 

increase the number of connections between consumers and dealers using our marketplace.

If we fail to expand effectively into new markets, both domestically and abroad, our revenue, business, and financial results will be harmed.

We intendability to continue to expandpursue our business objectives and to respond to business opportunities, challenges, or unforeseen circumstances, and could adversely affect our business, operating results, financial condition, and prospects.

Our international operations involve risks that may differ from, or are in addition to, target new markets, both domesticallyour domestic operational risks.

In addition to the U.S., we operate marketplaces in the U.K. and abroad, and there can be no assurance our expansion into these new markets will be successful. Our expansion into new markets places us in unfamiliarCanada, which are less familiar competitive environments and involvesinvolve various risks, including the need to invest significant resources and the likelihood that returns on such investments will not be achieved for several years, or possibly at all. In attempting to establish a presenceWe have incurred losses in new markets, we expect, as we haveprior periods in the past, toU.K. and Canada and may incur significant losses there again in those markets andthe future. We also face various other challenges such as obtaining and maintaining access to inventory data, competition for consumers and dealers using our marketplace, monetizing dealers, new regulatory environments and laws, different consumer shopping habits thanin those we are familiar with, and our ability to expand the number of our account managers to cover those new markets.jurisdictions. Our current and any future expansion plans will require significant resources and management attention. Furthermore, expansion into international markets may not yield results similar to those we have achieved in the United States.

Our international operations involve risks that are different from, or in addition to, the risks we may experience as a result of our domestic operations, and our exposure to these risks will increase as we expand internationally.

We have started to expand our operations internationally and plan to enter additional markets in the next twelve months. We expect to expand our international operations significantly by continuing to enter new markets and expanding our offerings in new languages. In most international markets, we would not be the first entrant, and our competitors may be more established or otherwise better positioned than we are to succeed.succeed in the U.K. and Canada. Our competitors may offer services to dealers that make dealers dependent on them, such as hosting dealers’ webpageswebsites and providing inventory feeds for dealers, which would make it difficult to attract dealers to our marketplace. Dealers may also be parties to agreements with other dealers and

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syndicates that prevent them from being able to access our marketplace. In addition, we may also face litigation from competitors in new markets.marketplaces. Any of these barriers could impede our expansion intooperations in our international markets, which could affect our business and potential growth.

In addition to English, we have made portions of our platform available in French, German, and Spanish, and we will need to make all or portions of our platform available in additional languages as we launch in new countries. We may have difficulty modifying our technology and content for use in non-English speaking markets or fostering new communities in non-English speaking markets. 30


Our ability to manage our business and conduct our operations internationally requires considerable management attention and resources, and is subject to the particular challenges of supporting a rapidly growing business in an environment of multiple languages, cultures, customs, legal and regulatory systems, alternative dispute resolution systems, regulatory systems, and commercial infrastructures. ExpandingOperating internationally may subject us to newdifferent risks or increase our exposure in connection with current risks, including risks associated with:

recruitingadapting our websites and retaining qualified, multilingual employees, including sales personnel; 

adapting the websitemobile applications to conform to local automobile shopping expectations; 

consumer behavior; increased competition from local websites and periodicalsproviders and potential preferences by local populations for local providers;

compliance with applicable foreign laws and regulations, including different privacy, censorship, and liability standards and regulations, and different intellectual property laws;

providing solutions in different languages for different cultures, which may require that we modify our solutions and features so they are culturally relevant in different countries; 

the enforceability of our intellectual property rights;

credit risk and higher levels of payment fraud;

compliance with anti-bribery laws, including compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the U.K. Bribery Act; 

currency exchange rate fluctuations;

adverse changes in trade relationships among foreign exchange controls that might prevent us from repatriating cash earned outsidecountries and/or between the United States; 

politicalU.S. and economic instability in somesuch countries;

double taxation of our international earnings and potentially adverse tax consequences due to changes inarising from the tax laws of the United StatesU.S. or the foreign jurisdictions in which we operate; and

higher costs of doing business internationally.

We participate in a highly competitive market, and pressure from existing and new companies may adversely affect our business and operating results.

We face significant competition from companies that provide listings, information, lead generation, and car-buying services designed to help consumers shop for cars and to enable dealers to reach these consumers. Our competitors offer various marketplaces, products, and services that compete with us. Some of these competitors include:

major U.S. online automotive marketplaces: AutoTrader.com, Cars.com, and TrueCar.com; 

other U.S. automotive websites, such as Edmunds.com, KBB.com, and Carfax.com; 

online automotive marketplaces and websites in international markets;

internet search engines; 

peer to peer marketplaces; and 

sites operated by individual automobile dealers.

We compete with these and other companies for a share of dealers’ overall marketing budget for online and offline media marketing spend. To the extent that dealers view alternative marketing and media strategies to be superior to our marketplace, we may not be able to maintain or grow the number of dealers subscribing to, and advertising on, our marketplace, and our business and financial results may be harmed.

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We also expect that new competitors will continue to enter the online automotive retail industry with competing marketplaces, products, and services, which could have an adverse effect on our business and financial results.

Our competitors could significantly impede our ability to expand the number of dealers using our marketplace. Our competitors may also develop and market new technologies that render our existing or future marketplace and associated products less competitive, unmarketable, or obsolete. In addition, if our competitors develop marketplaces with similar or superior functionality to ours, and our web traffic declines, we may need to decrease our subscription and advertising fees. If we are unable to maintain our current pricing structure due to competitive pressures, our revenue would likely be reduced and our financial results would be negatively affected.

Our existing and potential competitors may have significantly more financial, technical, marketing, and other resources than we have, and the ability to devote greater resources to the development, promotion, and support of their marketplaces, products, and services. They may also have more extensive automotive industry relationships than we have, longer operating histories, and greater name recognition. As a result, these competitors may be able to respond more quickly with new technologies and to undertake more extensive marketing or promotional campaigns than we can. Additionally, to the extent that any competitor has existing relationships with dealers or auto manufacturers for marketing or data analytics solutions, those dealers and auto manufacturers may be unwilling to partner with us. If we are unable to compete with these competitors, the demand for our marketplace and related products and services could substantially decline.

In addition, if one or more of our competitors were to merge or partner with another of our competitors, the change in the competitive landscape could adversely affect our ability to compete effectively. Our competitors may also establish or strengthen cooperative relationships with our existing or future data providers, technology partners, or other parties with whom we have relationships, thereby limiting our ability to develop, improve, and promote our solutions. We may not be able to compete successfully against current or future competitors, and competitive pressures may harm our business and financial results.

Our business could be adversely affected if dealer associations or auto manufacturers were to discourage or otherwise deter dealers from subscribing to our marketplace.

Although the dealership industry is highly fragmented, a small number of interested parties have significant influence over the industry. These parties include state and national dealership associations, state regulators, car manufacturers, consumer groups, independent dealers, and consolidated dealer groups. If and to the extent these parties believe that dealerships should not enter into or maintain subscription agreements with us, this belief could become shared by dealerships and we may lose a number of our paying dealers.

Furthermore, auto manufacturers may provide their franchise dealers with financial or other marketing support conditioned upon such dealers’ adherence to certain marketing guidelines. Auto manufacturers may determine that the manner in which certain of their franchise dealers use our marketplace is inconsistent with the terms of such marketing guidelines, which determination could result in potential or actual loss of the manufacturers’ financial or other marketing support to the dealers whose use of our marketplace is deemed objectionable. The potential or actual loss of such marketing support may cause such dealers to cease paying for our paid features, which may adversely affect our ability to maintain or grow the number of our paying dealers.

Dealer closures or consolidations could reduce demand for our products, which may decrease our revenue.

In the past, the number of U.S. dealers has declined due to dealership closures and consolidations as a result of factors such as global economic downturns. When dealers consolidate, the services they previously purchased separately are often purchased by the combined entity in a lesser quantity or for a lower aggregate price than before, leading to volume compression and loss of revenue. Further dealership consolidations or closures could reduce the aggregate demand for our products and services. If dealership closures and consolidations occur in the future, our business, financial position and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

We rely on third-party service providers for many aspects of our business, and any failure to maintain these relationships could harm our business.

Our success will depend upon our relationships with third parties, including those with our payment processor and data center hosts, our information technology providers, our data providers for dealer inventory and vehicle information, our human resources information system provider, our billing subscription software provider, our customer relationship

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management software provider, and our general ledger provider. If these third parties experience difficulty meeting our requirements or standards, or if the relationships we have established with such third parties expire or otherwise terminate, it could make it difficult for us to operate some aspects of our business, which could damage our business and reputation. In addition, if such third-party service providers were to cease operations, temporarily or permanently, face financial distress or other business disruptions, increase their fees, or if our relationships with these providers deteriorate or terminate, we could suffer increased costs and we may be unable to provide consumers with content or provide similar services until an equivalent provider could be found or we could develop replacement technology or operations. In addition, if we are unsuccessful in identifying or finding high-quality partners, if we fail to negotiate cost-effective relationships with them, or if we ineffectively manage these relationships, it could have an adverse impact on our business and financial results.

If we continue to grow rapidly, we may not be able to manage our growth effectively.

We have experienced rapid growth in our headcount and operations, which places substantial demand on management and our operational infrastructure. As we continue to grow, we must effectively integrate, develop, and motivate a large number of new employees, while maintaining the beneficial aspects of our company culture. If we do not manage the growth of our business and operations effectively, the quality of our services and efficiency of our operations could suffer, which could harm our brand, results of operations, and overall business.

We depend on key personnel to operate our business, and if we are unable to retain, attract, and integrate qualified personnel, or if we experience turnover of our key personnel, our ability to develop and successfully grow our business could be harmed.materially and adversely affected.

We believe our success has depended, and continues to depend, on the efforts and talents of our executives and employees. Our future success depends on our continuing ability to attract, develop, motivate, and retain highly qualified and skilled employees. Qualified individuals are in high demand,We have encountered intense competition for retaining and attracting qualified and skilled employees. Accordingly, we have incurred, and we may continue to incur, significant costs to attract new employees and retain them. existing ones, and we may in the future become less competitive in attracting and retaining employees as a result of any expense reduction efforts that we may initiate. If we do not succeed in attracting well-qualified employees or retaining and motivating existing employees, our business could be materially and adversely affected.

In addition, the loss ofany unplanned turnover, reduced involvement, or our failure to develop an adequate succession plan for any of our executive officers or key employees, or the reduction in their involvement in the management of our business, could materially adversely affect our ability to execute our business plan and strategy, and we may not be able to find adequate replacements on a timely basis, or at all. Our executive officers and other employees are at-will, employees, which means they may terminate their employment relationships with us at any time, and their knowledge of our business and industry would be extremely difficult to replace.time. We cannot ensure that we will be able to retain the services of any members of our senior management or other key employees. If we do not succeedFurthermore, changes in attracting well-qualifiedour senior management team and other key employees or retaining and motivating existing employees,have the potential to disrupt our business, and any such disruption could be materially and adversely affected.

If we are unable to successfully respond to changes in the market,affect our business could be harmed.

While our business has grown rapidly as consumers and dealers have increasingly accessed our marketplace, we expect that our business will evolve in ways which may be difficult to predict. For example, we anticipate that over time we may reach a point when investments in new user traffic are less productive and the continuedoperations, growth, of our revenue will require more focus on developing new products for consumers and dealers, expanding our marketplaces into new international markets to attract new consumers and dealers, and increasing our fees for our products. It is also possible that consumers and dealers could broadly determine that they no longer believe in the value of our marketplace. Our continued success will depend on our ability to successfully adjust our strategy to meet the changing market dynamics. If we are unable to do so, our business could be harmed and ourfinancial condition, or results of operations and financial condition could be materially and adversely affected.operations.

We may be subject to disputes regarding the accuracy of Instant Market Value,Values, Deal Rating,Ratings, Dealer Rating,Ratings, New Car Price Guidance, and other features of our marketplace.marketplaces.

We provide consumers using our marketplaceCarGurus platform and dealers using our CarOffer platform with our proprietary Instant Market Value, or IMV, Deal Rating,Ratings, and Dealer Rating, andRatings, as well as other features to help them evaluate vehicle listings.listings, including price guidance for new car listings, or New Car Price Guidance. Our valuation models depend on the inventory listed on our websites as well as public information regarding automotive sales. If the inventory on our websites declines significantly, or if the number of automotive sales declines significantly or used car sales prices become volatile, whether as a result of macroeconomic effects or otherwise, our valuation models may not perform as expected. Revisions to or errors in our automated valuation models, or the algorithms that underlie them, may cause the IMV, the Deal Rating, New Car Price Guidance, or other features to vary from our expectations regarding the accuracy of these tools. In addition, from time to time, regulators, consumers, dealers, and regulatorsother industry participants may question or disagree with our IMV, Deal Rating, Dealer Rating, or Dealer Rating.New Car Price Guidance. Any such questions or disagreements could result in distraction from our business or potentially harm our reputation, could result in a decline in consumers’ confidence in, or use of, our marketplace ormarketplaces, and could result in legal disputes.

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We are subject to a complex framework of federal, state, and foreign laws and regulations, many of which are unsettled, still developing, and contradictory, which have in the past, and could in the future, subject us to claims, challenge our business model, or otherwise harm our business.

Various aspects of our business are, may become, or may be viewed by regulators from time to time as subject, directly or indirectly, to U.S. federal, state, and statelocal laws and regulations, and to foreign laws and regulations. Failure to comply with such laws or regulations may result in the suspension or termination of our ability to do business in affected jurisdictions, the imposition of significant civil and criminal penalties, including fines or the award of significant damages against us and dealers in class action or other civil litigation, or orders or settlements requiring us to make adjustments to our marketplace and related products and services.

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Local Motor Vehicle Sales, Advertising and Brokering, and Consumer Protection Laws

The advertising and sale of new orand used motor vehicles is highly regulated by the statesjurisdictions in which we do business. Although we do not sell motor vehicles, and although we believe that vehicle listings on our site are not themselves advertisements, state regulatoryRegulatory authorities or third parties could take the position that some of the laws or regulations applicable to dealers or to the manner in which motor vehicles are advertised and sold generally are directly applicable to our business. These state advertising laws and regulations are frequently subject to multiple interpretations and are not uniform from state to state, sometimes imposing inconsistent requirements with respect to new or used motor vehicles. If our marketplacemarketplaces and related products are determined to not comply with relevant regulatory requirements, we or dealers could be subject to significant civil and criminal penalties, including fines, or the award of significant damages in class actions or other civil litigation, as well as orders interfering with our ability to continue providing our marketplacemarketplaces and related products and services in certain states.jurisdictions. In addition, even absent such a determination, to the extent dealers are uncertain about the applicability of such laws and regulations to our business, we may lose, or have difficulty increasing the number of paying dealers, which would affect our future growth. For example, in April 2015 the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles, or the TX DMV, notified us that it believed the Price History and IMV information on our website violated the prohibition on advertising savings clauses on used vehicles. The TX DMV informed us that if we failed to address the issue within 30 days, it would potentially subject dealers it considered to be advertising on our website to fines. After discussions with the TX DMV, we modified our website to remove the Price History and certain references and comparisons to IMV for used vehicles listed on our website that are for sale in Texas.

If state regulators or other third parties take the position in the future that our marketplacemarketplaces or related products violate applicable dealer licensing, brokering, bird-dog, consumer protection, consumer finance, or advertising laws or regulations, responding to such allegations could be costly, could require us to pay significant sums in settlements, could require us to pay civil and criminal penalties, including fines, could interfere with our ability to continue providing our marketplacemarketplaces and related products in certain states,jurisdictions, or could require us to make adjustments to our marketplacemarketplaces and related products or the manner in which we derive revenue from dealers using our marketplace,platform, any or all of which could result in substantial adverse publicity, termination of subscriptions by dealers, decreased revenues,revenue, distraction for our employees, increased expenses, and decreased profitability.

Federal Laws and Regulations

The Federal Trade Commission, or the FTC, has the authority to take actions to remedy or prevent acts or practices that it considers to be unfair or deceptive and that affect commerce in the United States.U.S. For example, in December 2023 the FTC issued the Combating Auto Retail Scams Rule, or the CARS Rule. The CARS Rule sets a framework to ensure transparency throughout the vehicle selling process and could have an impact on our services. If the FTC takes the position in the future that any aspect of our business, including our advertising and privacy practices, constitutes an unfair or deceptive act or practice, responding to such allegations could require us to defend our practices and pay significant damages, settlements, and civil penalties, or could require us to make adjustments to our marketplacemarketplaces and related products and services, any or all of which could result in substantial adverse publicity, distraction for our employees, loss of participating dealers, lost revenues,revenue, increased expenses, and decreased profitability.

Our platform enablesplatforms enable us, dealers, and users to send and receive text messages and other mobile phone communications. The Telephone Consumer Protection Act, or the TCPA, as interpreted and implemented by the Federal Communications Commission, or the FCC and federal and state courts, imposesimpose significant restrictions on utilization of telephone calls and text messages to residential and mobile telephone numbers as a means of communication, particularly if the prior express consent of the person being contacted has not been obtained. Violations of the TCPA may be enforced by the FCC, by state attorneys general, or by others through litigation, including class actions. Statutory penalties for TCPA violations range from $500 to $1,500 per violation, which is often interpreted to mean per phone call or text message. Furthermore, several provisions of the TCPA, as well as applicable rules and orders, are open to multiple interpretations, and compliance may involve fact-specific analyses.

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Any failure by us, or the third parties on which we rely, to adhere to, or successfully implement, appropriate processes and procedures in response to existing or future laws and regulations could result in legal and monetary liability, fines, and penalties, or damage to our reputation in the marketplace, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations. Even if the claims are meritless, we may be required to expend resources and pay costs to defend against regulatory actions or third-party claims. Additionally, any change to the TCPAapplicable laws or its interpretationtheir interpretations that further restricts the way consumers and dealers interact through our platform,platforms, or any governmental or private enforcement actions related thereto, could adversely affect our ability to attract customers and could harm our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.

Federal Antitrust and Other Laws

The antitrustAntitrust and competition laws prohibit, among other things, any joint conduct among competitors that would lessen competition in the marketplace. We believe that we are in compliance with the legal requirements imposed by the antitrust laws. However, aA governmental or private civil action alleging the improper exchange of information, or unlawful participation in price maintenance or other unlawful or anticompetitive activity even if unfounded, could be costly to defend and could harm our business, results of operations, financial condition, orand cash flows.

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Claims could be made against us under both U.S. and foreign laws, including claims for defamation, libel, invasion of privacy, copyrightfalse advertising, or trademarkintellectual property infringement, or claims based on other theories related to the nature and content of the materials disseminated by usersour marketplaces and on portions of our marketplace and the “Questions” section of our websites. In addition, domestic and foreign legislation has been proposed that could prohibit or impose liability for the transmission over the internet of certain types of information. Our defense against any of these actions could be costly and involve significant time and attention of our management and other resources. If we become liable for information provided by our users and transmitted in our marketplace in any jurisdiction in which we operate,marketplaces, we could be directly harmed and we may be forced to implement new measures to reduce our exposure to this liability.

The foregoing description of laws and regulations to which we are or may be subject is not exhaustive, and the regulatory framework governing our operations is subject to continuous change. As we expand our operations internationally, weWe are, and we will continue to be, exposed to legal and regulatory risks including with respect to privacy, tax, law enforcement, content, intellectual property, competition, and other matters. The enactment of new laws and regulations or the interpretation of existing laws and regulations, both domestically and internationally, in an unfavorable way may affect the operation of our business, directly or indirectly, which could result in substantial regulatory compliance costs, civil or criminal penalties, including fines, adverse publicity, loss of participatingsubscribing dealers, lost revenues,revenue, increased expenses, and decreased profitability. Further, investigations by governmental agencies, including the FTC, into allegedly anticompetitive, unfair, deceptive, or other business practices by us or dealers using our marketplace,marketplaces, could cause us to incur additional expenses and, if adversely concluded, could result in substantial civil or criminal penalties and significant legal liability, or orders requiring us to make adjustments to our marketplacemarketplaces and related products and services.

We rely on third-party service providers and strategic partners for many aspects of our business, and any failure to maintain these relationships or to successfully integrate certain third-party platforms could harm our business.

Our business is subject to risks related to the larger automotive industry ecosystem,success depends upon our relationships with third parties, including consumer demand, global supply chain challenges,our transaction processor; our data center hosts; our information technology providers; our data providers for inventory and vehicle information; and our partners for vehicle transportation, inspection, and other logistics associated with our CarOffer business and IMCO. If these third parties experience difficulty meeting our requirements or standards, have adverse audit results, violate the terms of our agreements or applicable law, fail to obtain or maintain applicable licenses, or if the relationships we have established with such third parties expire or otherwise terminate, it could make it difficult for us to operate some aspects of our business, which could damage our business and reputation. In addition, if such third-party service providers or strategic partners were to cease operations, temporarily or permanently, face financial distress or other business disruptions, increase their fees, or if our relationships with these providers or partners deteriorate or terminate, whether as a result of macroeconomic issues.

Decreasesconditions or otherwise, we could suffer increased costs and we may be unable to provide similar services until an equivalent provider could be found or we could develop replacement technology or operations. For example, primarily in consumer demandconnection with our Dealer-to-Dealer transactions, we utilize a single third-party transaction processor that collects customer payments on our behalf and remits them to us, provides payments in advance for certain selling dealers, provides titling services for transactions, and holds auction licenses. If our relationship with this third-party transaction processor were to deteriorate or terminate, we would have to identify a succeeding transaction processor or assume in-house facilitation of these services, which would disrupt our business and could adversely affect the market for automobile purchases and, as a result, reduce the number of consumers using our platform. Consumer purchases of new and used automobiles generally decline during recessionary periods and other periods in which disposable income is adversely affected. Purchases of new and used automobiles are typically discretionary for consumers and have been, and may continue to be, affected by negative trends in the economy, including the cost of energy and gasoline, the availability and cost of credit, reductions in business and consumer confidence, stock market volatility, and increased unemployment. Further, in recent years the market for motor vehicles has experienced rapid changes in technology and consumer demands. Self-driving technology, ride sharing, transportation networks, and other fundamental changes in transportation could impact consumer demand for the purchase of automobiles. A reduction in the number of automobiles purchased by consumers could adversely affect dealers and car manufacturers and lead to a reduction in other spending by these groups, including targeted incentive programs. In addition, our business may be negatively affected by challenges to the larger automotive industry ecosystem, including global supply chain challenges and other macroeconomic issues. These factors could have a material adverse effect on our business,revenue, results of operations, and financial condition.

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Making decisions that we believe are in the best interests of our marketplace may cause us to forgo short-term gains in pursuit of potential but uncertain long-term growth.

In the past, we have forgone, and we will in the future continue to forgo, certain expansion or short-term revenue opportunities that we do not believe are in the long-term best interests of our marketplace, even Furthermore, if such decisions negatively impact our results of operations in the short term. For example, we manage the text-chat feature of our website where consumers can message paying dealers. Our management of this feature has helped improve dealer response times to consumers, which in turn improves the consumer experience. While our management of this feature provides value to both consumers and paying dealers and could be a potential source of short-term revenue for us, we are not currently charging for this feature and are instead focusingunsuccessful in identifying or finding high-quality partners, if we fail to negotiate cost-effective relationships with them, or if we ineffectively manage these relationships, it could have an adverse impact on the potential long-term value of this feature to our marketplace and its users. However, this strategy may not result in the long-term benefits that we expect, in which case our user traffic and engagement, business and financial resultsresults.

Our enterprise systems require that we integrate the platforms hosted by certain third-party service providers. We are responsible for integrating these platforms and updating them to maintain proper functionality. Issues with these integrations, our failure to properly update third-party platforms, or any interruptions to our internal enterprise systems could be harmed.harm our business by causing delays in our ability to quote, activate service, and bill new and existing customers on our platform.

A significant disruption in service on our websitewebsites or our mobile applicationapplications could damage our reputation and result in a loss of consumers, which could harm our business, brand,brands, operating results, and financial condition.

Our brand,brands, reputation, and ability to attract consumers, dealers, and advertisers depend on the reliable performance of our technology infrastructure and content delivery. We have experienced, and we may in the future experience, significant interruptions with our systems in the future.systems. Interruptions in these systems whether due to system failures, computer viruses, ransomware, or physical or electronic break-ins, could affect the security or availability of our marketplace on our website and mobile application,marketplaces, and prevent or inhibit the ability of dealers and consumers to access our marketplace.marketplaces. For example, past disruptions have impacted our ability to activate customer accounts and manage our billing activities in a timely manner. Such interruptions could alsohave resulted, and may in the future result, in third parties accessing our confidential and proprietary information, including our intellectual property. Problems with the reliability or security of our systems could harm our reputation, harm our ability to protect our confidential

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and proprietary information, result in a loss of consumers and dealers, and result in additional costs.

Substantially all of the communications, network, and computer hardware used to operate our platformplatforms is located in the United States in Boston, MassachusettsEastern region of the U.S., and Dallas, Texas,internationally near each of London, England; Dublin, Ireland; and in Europe in London, England.Frankfurt, Germany. These facilities include hosting through Amazon Web Services, a provider of cloud infrastructure services. Although we havecan host our U.S. CarGurus’ marketplace from two alternative locations in the United States and we believe our systems are redundant, there may be exceptions for certain hardware.hardware or software. In addition, we do not own or control the operation of these facilities. Any disruptions or other operational performance problems with these facilities or problems faced by their operators, including our cloud infrastructure service provider, could result in material interruptions in our services, adversely affect our reputation and results of operations, and subject us to liability. We also use Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud Storagethird-party hosting services to back up some data.data but do not maintain redundant systems or facilities for some of the services. A disruption to one or more of these systems has caused, and may in the future cause, us to experience an extended period of system unavailability, which could negatively impact our relationship with consumers, customers, and advertisers. Our systems and operations are vulnerable to damage or interruption from fire, flood, extreme weather conditions, power loss, telecommunications failure, terrorist attacks, acts of war, electronic andbreaches, cyber-attacks, phishing attempts, errors by employees, physical break-ins, computer viruses, earthquakes, and similar events. The occurrence of any of these events could result in damage to our systems and hardware or could cause them to fail. In addition, we may not have sufficient protection or recovery plans in certain circumstances.

Problems faced by our third-party web hosting providers could adversely affect the experience consumers have while using our marketplace. Our third-party web hosting providers could close their facilities without adequate notice. Any financial difficulties, up to and including bankruptcy, faced by our third-party web hosting providers or any of the service providers whose services they use may have negative effects on our business, the nature and extent of which are difficult to predict. If our third-party web hosting providers are unable to keep up with our growing capacity needs, our business could be harmed.

Any errors, defects, disruptions, or other performance or reliability problems with our network operations could cause interruptions in access to our marketplacemarketplaces as well as delays and additional expense in arranging new facilities and services and fixing or replacing any affected systems or hardware and could harm our reputation, business, brands, operating results, and financial condition.

Although we carry business interruption insurance, it may not be sufficient to compensate us for the potentially significant losses, including the potential harm to the future growth of our business, that may result from interruptions in our service as a result of system failures.

We and our third-party service providers collect, process, store, transfer, share, disclose, and use consumer information and other data, and ourthe actual or perceived failure of us or our third-party service providers to protect such information and data or respect users’ privacy could damageexpose us to liability and adversely affect our reputation, and brand and harm ourbrands, business, and operating results.

Use of someSome functions of our marketplace involvesmarketplaces involve the storage and transmission of consumers’ information, such as IP addresses, and contact information of users who connect with dealers, credit applications and other financial data, and profile information of users who create accounts on our marketplace,marketplaces, as well as dealers’ information. We also process and dealers’ information.store personal and confidential information of our vendors, partners, and employees, and we employ third-party service providers, such as payment processing providers, who also regularly have access to customer and consumer data. Some of this information may be private, and security breaches, including the unauthorized acquisition or access, compromise, or loss of such information, against us or our third-party service providers could expose us to a risk of loss or exposure of this information, which could result in potential liability, litigation, and remediation costs. For example, hackers could steal our users’ profile passwords, names, email addresses, phone numbers, and zip codes.other personal information. We rely

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on encryption and authentication technology licensed from third parties to effect secure transmission of such information, and we also rely on our third-party service providers to use sufficient security measures to protect such information. Despite all of our efforts to protect this information and data, none of our security measures or those of our third-party service providers provide absolute security, and they may not be effective in preventing a future failure of our systems. Like all information systems and technology, our website,websites, mobile application,applications, and information systems, may beand those of our third-party service providers, are subject to computer viruses, break-ins, phishing attacks, attempts to overload our serversthe systems with denial-of-service or other attacks, ransomware, and similar incidents or disruptions from unauthorized use of our or our third-party service providers’ computer systems, any of which could lead to interruptions, delays, or website shutdowns, orand could cause loss of critical data orand the unauthorized disclosure, access, acquisition, alteration, orand use of personal or other confidential information. If we or our third-party service providers experience compromises to ourdata security that result in website or mobile application performance or availability problems, the complete shutdown of our websitewebsites or mobile application,applications, or the loss or unauthorized disclosure, access, acquisition, alteration, or use of confidential information, consumers, customers, advertisers, partners, vendors, and advertisersemployees may lose trust and confidence in us, and consumers may decrease the use of our websitewebsites or stop using our websitewebsites entirely, dealers may stop or decrease their subscriptions with us, and advertisers may decrease or stop advertising on our website. websites.

Further, outside parties mayhave attempted and will likely continue to attempt to fraudulently induce employees, consumers,

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or advertisers to disclose sensitive information in order to gain access to our information or our consumers’ or, dealers’, advertisers’, and employees’ information. BecauseAs cyber-attacks increase in frequency and sophistication, our cyber-security and disaster recovery plans may not be effective in anticipating, preventing, and effectively responding to all potential cyber-risk exposures. In addition, because the techniques used to obtain unauthorized access, disable or degrade service, or sabotage systems change frequently,constantly evolve, often are not recognized until after beinghaving been launched against a target, and may originate from less regulated and remote areas around the world, we may be unable to proactively address these techniques or to implement adequate preventative measures.measures for prevention and detection. For example, as AI continues to evolve, cyber-attackers could also use AI to develop malicious code and sophisticated phishing attempts.

Any or all of the issues above could adversely affect our brand reputation, negatively impact our ability to attract new consumers and increase engagement by existing consumers, cause existing consumers to curtailreduce or stop the use of our marketplacemarketplaces or close their accounts, cause existing dealers and advertisers to cancel their contracts, cause employees to terminate their employment, cause employment candidates to be unwilling to pursue employment opportunities or accept employment offers, and/or subject us to governmental or third-party lawsuits, investigations, regulatory fines, or other actions or liability, thereby harming our business, results of operations, and financial condition. Although we carry privacy, data breach and network security liability insurance, we cannot be certain that our coverage will be adequate for liabilities actually incurred or sufficient to compensate us for the potentially significant losses, or that insurance will continue to be available to us on economically reasonable terms or at all.

There are numerous federal, national, state, and local laws and regulations in the United StatesU.S. and around the world regarding privacy and the collection, processing, storing,storage, sharing, disclosing, using,disclosure, use, cross-border transfer, and protectingprotection of personal information and other data, the scope of whichdata. These laws and regulations are changing,evolving, are subject to differing interpretations, and which may be costly to comply with, may result in regulatory fines or penalties, andmay subject us to third-party lawsuits, may be inconsistent between countries and jurisdictions, orand may conflict with other requirements.

We seek to comply with industry standards and are subject to the terms of our privacy policies and privacy-related obligations to third parties. We strive to comply withparties, as well as all applicable laws policies, legal obligations, and industry codes of conductregulations relating to privacy and data protection, to the extent possible.protection. However, it is possible that these obligations may be interpreted and applied in new ways or in a manner that is inconsistent from one jurisdiction to another and may conflict with other rules or our practices orand that new regulations could be enacted. Several proposals have recently become effective or are pending, as applicable, before federal, state, local, and foreign legislative and regulatory bodies that could significantly affect our business.business, which we refer to collectively as the Privacy Regulations. The Privacy Regulations include the European Union's, or EU, General Data Protection Regulation and the California Consumer Privacy Act. Certain of the Privacy Regulations have already required, and certain others may further require, us to change our policies and procedures and may in the European Union,future require us to make changes to our marketplaces and other products. These and other requirements could reduce demand for our marketplaces and other offerings, require us to take on more onerous obligations in our contracts and restrict our ability to store, transfer, and process data, which will go into effect on May 25, 2018,may seriously harm our business. Similarly, Brexit and the Schrems II decision of the Court of Justice of the EU, which effectively invalided the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield Framework, may require us to change our policies and procedures and, if we are not in compliance, may also seriously harm our business. We may not be entirely successful in our efforts to comply with the evolving regulations to which we are subject due to various factors within our control, such as limited internal resource allocation, or outside our control, such as a lack of vendor cooperation, new regulatory interpretations, or lack of regulatory guidance in respect of certain Privacy Regulations and other statutory requirements.

Any failure or perceived failure by us to comply with U.S. and international data protection laws and regulations, our privacy policies, or our privacy-related obligations to consumers, orcustomers, employees, and other third parties, or our privacy-related legal obligations, or any compromise of security that results in the unauthorized release or transfer of sensitive information,data, which could include personally identifiablepersonal information or other user data, may result in governmental investigations, enforcement actions, regulatory fines, litigation, criminal penalties, or public statements against us by consumer advocacy groups or others, and could cause consumers and dealers to lose trust in us, which could significantly impact our brand reputation and have an adverse effect on our business. Additionally, if any third party that we share information with experiences a security breach or fails to comply with its privacy-related legal obligations or commitments to us, such matters may put employee, consumer, or dealer information at risk and could, in turn, expose us to claims for damages or regulatory fines or penalties and harm our reputation, business, and operating results.

For information on our cybersecurity risk management, strategy, and governance, see the “Cybersecurity” section of this Annual Report.

Our ability to attract consumers to our own websites and to provide certain services to our customers depends on the

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collection of consumer data from various sources, which may be restricted by consumer choice, privacy restrictions, and developments in laws, regulations, and industry standards.

The success of our consumer marketing and the delivery of internet advertisements for our customers depends on our ability to leverage data, including data that we collect from our customers, data we receive from our publisher partners and third parties, and data from our operations. Using cookies and non-cookie-based technologies, such as mobile advertising identifiers, we collect information about the interactions of users with our customers’ and publishers’ digital properties (including, for example, information about the placement of advertisements and users’ shopping or other interactions with our customers’ websites or advertisements). Our ability to successfully leverage such data depends on our continued ability to access and use such data, which could be restricted by a number of factors, including increasing consumer adoption of “do not track” mechanisms as a result of legislation; privacy restrictions imposed by web browser developers, advertising partners, or other software developers that impair our ability to understand the preferences of consumers by limiting the use of third-party cookies or other tracking technologies or data indicating or predicting consumer preferences; and new developments in, or new interpretations of, privacy laws, regulations, and industry standards. Each of these developments could materially impact our ability to collect consumer data and deliver relevant internet advertisements to attract consumers to our websites or to deliver targeted advertising for our advertising customers. If we are unsuccessful in evolving our advertising and marketing strategies to adapt to and mitigate these evolving consumer data limitations, our business could be materially impacted.

We have been, and may in the futureagain be, subject to intellectual property disputes, which are costly to defend and could harm our business and operating results.

We have been, and may from timein the future be, subject to time face allegationsclaims and litigation alleging that we have infringedor content on our websites infringe others’ intellectual property rights, including the trademarks, copyrights, patents, and other intellectual property rights of third parties, including from our competitors or non-practicing entities, orentities. We may also learn of possible infringement to our trademarks, copyrights, patents, and other intellectual property. We could also be subject to lawsuits where consumers and dealers posting content on the “Questions” section of our website disseminate materials that infringe the intellectual property rights of third parties. We have encountered lawsuits in the past containing allegations of intellectual property infringement. For example, in December 2015, Trader Corporation, or Trader, alleged that we infringed its copyright in 196,740 photos of cars that were uploaded onto our Canadian website. Trader sought statutory and punitive damages of approximately CAD$ 99 million along with a permanent injunction prohibiting us from reproducing any other photos in which Trader owns copyright without Trader’s consent. On April 6, 2017, the Commercial List of the Ontario Superior Court, or the Commercial List, granted an order declaring that we infringed Trader’s copyright in 152,532 photos and awarded Trader statutory damages of CAD$ 305,064 in the aggregate, but dismissed Trader’s claim for punitive damages

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and a permanent injunction. Following release of the decision, the parties agreed that there would be no legal fees or interest payable. In addition, the parties agreed that neither would appeal the decision of the Commercial List.

Patent and other intellectual property litigation may be protracted and expensive, and the results are difficult to predict and may requireresult in significant settlement costs or payment of substantial damages. Many potential litigants, including patent holding companies, have the ability to dedicate substantially greater resources to enforce their intellectual property rights and to defend claims that may be brought against them. Furthermore, a successful claimant could secure a judgment that requires us to stop offering some features purchase licenses, or prevents us from conducting our business as we have historically done or may desire to do in the future. We might also be required to seek a license and pay royalties for the use of such intellectual property, which may not be available on commercially acceptable terms, or at all. Alternatively, we may be required to modify our marketplacemarketplaces and features, while we develop non-infringing substitutes orwhich could require significant effort and expense and may result in significant settlement costs.ultimately not be successful.

In addition, we use open source software in our platform and will use open source software in the future. From time to time, we may face claims from companies that incorporate open source software into their products, claimingregarding ownership of, or demanding release of, the source code, the open source software, or derivative works that were developed using such software, or otherwise seeking to enforce the terms of the applicable open source license. These claims could also result in litigation, require us to purchase a costly license, or require us to devote additional product, technology, and development resources to change our platformplatforms or services, any of which would have a negative effect on our business and operating results.

Even if these matters do not result in litigation or are resolved in our favor or without significant cash settlements, these matters, and the time and resources necessary to litigate or resolve them, could harm our business, our operating results, and our reputation.

Failure to adequately protect our intellectual property could harm our business and operating results.

Our business depends on our intellectual property, the protection of which is crucial to the success of our business. We rely on a combination of patent, trademark, trade secret, and copyright law and contractual restrictions to protect our intellectual property. In addition, we attempt to protect our intellectual property, technology, and confidential information by requiring our employees and consultants to enter into confidentiality and assignment of inventions agreements and third parties to enter into nondisclosure agreements as we deem appropriate. Despite our efforts to protect our proprietary rights, unauthorized parties may attempt to copy aspects of our websiteplatform’s features, software, and functionality or obtain and use information that we consider proprietary.

Competitors may adopt servicetrademarks or trade names similar to ours, thereby harming our ability to build brand identity and possibly leading to user confusion. In addition, there could be potential trade name or trademark infringement claims brought

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asserted against us by owners of other registered or unregistered trademarks logos or slogans, for our use of registered or unregistered trademarks, logos or slogans, or third-party trademarks that incorporate variations of the term “CarGurus.” If we are restricted in any way in registering our CARGURUS mark in international markets, it could impact our ability to establish and grow our business in Europe and other countries. For example, O2 Holdings Limited (now O2 Worldwide Limited, or O2 Worldwide), based in the United Kingdom, previously opposed our UK application to register the mark CARGURUS based on its prior registered rights for the mark GURU in the United Kingdom. We have reached an agreement with O2 Worldwide that permits us to continue to use our CARGURUS mark and logos in the United Kingdom and the European Union for our services in the automotive field in the manner we have to date, and to register such mark in the United Kingdom and the European Union for such services. However, the agreement with O2 Worldwide sets forth certain limitations on our use of the CARGURUS mark and logos in the United Kingdom and in the European Union, or the EU.  Also, while we have registered the CARGURUS and CG logos in the EU, we are not able to register the word-mark CARGURUS in the EU as the mark was deemed to be non-distinctive, and thus unregisterable.  We may be unable to register CARGURUS, the word mark, in any country in the EU, other than the United Kingdom.  If we are unable to register the CARGURUS word mark in any country, it may limit our ability to challenge unauthorized users of marks that are the same as or similar to CARGURUS.  trademarks.

We currently hold the “CarGurus.com”various internet domain name and various other related domain names.names relating to our brands. The regulation of domain names is subject to change. Regulatory bodies could establish additional top-level domains, appoint additional domain name registrars, or modify the requirements for holding domain names. As a result, we may not be able to acquire or maintain all domain names that use the name CarGurus.names of our brands. In addition, third parties have created and may in the future create copycat or squatter domains to deceive consumers, which could harm our brand,brands, interfere with our ability to register domain names, and result in additional costs.

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We may acquire other companies or technologies, which could divert our management’s attention, result in additional dilution to our stockholders, and otherwise disrupt our operations and harm our operating results.

Our success will depend, in part, on our ability to grow our business in response to the demands of consumers, dealers, and other constituents within the automotive industry as well as competitive pressures. In some circumstances, we may determine to do so through the acquisition of complementary businesses and technologies rather than through internal development. The identification of suitable acquisition candidates can be difficult, time-consuming, and costly, and we may not be able to successfully complete identified acquisitions. The risks we face in connection with acquisitions include:

diversion of management time and focus from operating our business to addressing acquisition integration challenges; 

coordination of technology, product, research, and development, and sales and marketing functions; 

transition of the acquired company’s consumers and data to our marketplace and products; 

retention of employees from the acquired company; 

cultural challenges associated with integrating employees from the acquired company into our organization; 

integration of the acquired company’s accounting, management information, human resources, and other administrative systems; 

the need to implement or improve controls, procedures, and policies at a business that prior to the acquisition may have lacked effective controls, procedures, and policies; 

potential write-offs of intangibles or other assets acquired in such transactions that may have an adverse effect on our operating results in a given period; 

potential liabilities for activities of the acquired company before the acquisition, including patent and trademark infringement claims, violations of laws, commercial disputes, tax liabilities, and other known and unknown liabilities; and 

litigation or other claims in connection with the acquired company, including claims from terminated employees, consumers, former stockholders, or other third parties.

Our failure to address these risks or other problems encountered in connection with future acquisitions and investments could cause us to fail to realize the anticipated benefits of these acquisitions or investments, cause us to incur unanticipated liabilities, and harm our business generally. Future acquisitions could result in dilutive issuances of our equity securities, the incurrence of debt, contingent liabilities, amortization expense, or impairment charges associated with acquired intangible assets or goodwill, any of which could harm our financial condition. Also, the anticipated benefits of any acquisitions may not materialize.

Confidentiality agreements with employees and others may not adequately prevent disclosure of trade secrets and other proprietary information.

In order to protect our technologies and processes, we rely in part on confidentiality agreements with our employees, independent contractors, and other advisors. These agreements may not effectively prevent disclosure of confidential information, including trade secrets, and may not provide an adequate remedy in the event of unauthorized disclosure of confidential information. Others may also independently discover our trade secrets and proprietary information, and in such cases we may not be able to assert our trade secret rights against such parties. To the extent that our employees, contractors, or other third parties with whom we do business use intellectual property owned by others in their work for us, disputes may arise as to the rights to related or resulting know-how and inventions. The loss of confidential information or intellectual property rights, including trade secret protection, could make it easier for third parties to compete with our products. In addition, any changes in, or unexpected interpretations of, intellectual property laws may compromise our ability to enforce our trade secret and intellectual property rights. Costly and time-consuming litigation could be necessary to enforce and determine the scope of our proprietary rights, and failure to obtain or maintain protection of our trade secrets or other proprietary information could harm our business, results of operations, reputation, and competitive position.

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We may be unable to halt the operations of websites that aggregate or misappropriate our data.

From time to time, third parties may misappropriate our data through website scraping, robots, or other means and aggregate this data on their websites with data from other companies.sources. In addition, copycat websites may misappropriate data in our marketplacemarketplaces and attempt to imitate our brandbrands or the functionality of our website. If we become aware of such activities, we intend to employ technological or legal measures in an attempt to halt their operations. However, wewebsites. We may be unable to detect and remedy all such activities in a timely manner and even if we could, technological and legal measures may be insufficient to halt their operations. In some cases, particularly in the case of entities operating outside of the United States, our available remedies may not be adequate to protect us against the impact of the operation of such websites.manner. Regardless of whether we can successfully enforce our rights against the operators of these websites,third parties, any measures that we may take could require us to expend significant financial or other resources, which could harm our business, results of operations, orand financial condition. In addition, to the extent that such activity creates confusion among consumers or advertisers, our brandbrands and business could be harmed.

We have incurred operating losses in the past and we may generate losses in the future.

We have incurred net operating losses in the past. Although we did not experience such losses in fiscal year 2016 or 2017 and we have experienced significant growth in revenue, our revenue growth rate is likely to decline in the future as a result of a variety of factors. Our international expansion may cause our costs to increase in future periods as we continue to expend substantial financial resources to enter into those markets. Our costs may also increase due to our continued new product development and general administrative expenses, such as legal and accounting expenses related to being a public company. If we fail to increase our revenue or manage these additional costs, we may incur losses in the future.

Complying with the laws and regulations affecting public companies has increased and will continue to increase our costs and the demands on management and could harm our operating results.

Now that we are a public company, we expect to incur significant legal, accounting,Seasonality and other expenses that we did not incur as a private company and these expenses will increase after we cease to be an “emerging growth company,” as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, or the JOBS Act. In addition, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, or the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, and rules subsequently implemented by the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, and Nasdaq impose various requirements on public companies, including requiring certain corporate governance practices. Our management and other personnel expect to devote a substantial amount of time to these compliance initiatives. Moreover, these rules and regulations have increased and will continue to increase our legal, accounting, and financial compliance costs and have made and will continue to make some activities more time consuming and costly. For example, these rules and regulations have made it more difficult and more expensive for us to obtain director and officer liability insurance. These rules and regulations could also make it more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified persons to serve on our board of directors or our board committees or as executive officers.

In addition, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires, among other things, that we assess the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting annually and the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures quarterly. In particular, beginning with the year ending December 31, 2018, we will need to perform system and process evaluation and testing of our internal control over financial reporting to allow management to report on, and our independent registered public accounting firm potentially to attest to, the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting, as required by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, or Section 404. As an emerging growth company, we have elected to avail ourselves of the exemption from the requirement that our independent registered public accounting firm attest to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting under Section 404. However, we may no longer avail ourselves of this exemption when we cease to be an emerging growth company and, when our independent registered public accounting firm is required to undertake an assessment of our internal control over financial reporting, the cost of our compliance with Section 404 will correspondingly increase. Our compliance with applicable provisions of Section 404 will require that we incur substantial accounting expense and expend significant management time on compliance-related issues as we implement additional corporate governance practices and comply with reporting requirements.

Failure to establish and maintain effective internal controls in accordance with Section 404 of the SarbanesOxley Act could have a material adverse effect on our stated operating results and harm our reputation.

We are not currently required to comply with the rules of the SEC implementing Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and are therefore not required to make a formal assessment of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting for that purpose.  As a newly public company, we are required to comply with the SEC’s rules implementing

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Section 302 of the SarbanesOxley Act, which require management to certify financial and other information in our quarterly and annual reports and provide an annual management report on the effectiveness of controls over financial reporting.  Though we are required to disclose changes made in our internal controls and procedures on a quarterly basis, we are not required to make our first annual assessment of our internal control over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404 until the year following our first annual report required to be filed with the SEC.  As an emerging growth company, our independent registered public accounting firm will not be required to formally attest to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404 until after we are no longer an emerging growth company.  At such time, our independent registered public accounting firm may issue a report that is adverse in the event it is not satisfied with the level at which our controls are documented, designed or operating.

To comply with the requirements of being a public company, we have undertaken various actions, and may need to take additional actions, such as implementing new internal controls and procedures and hiring additional accounting or internal audit staff.  Testing and maintaining internal control can divert our management’s attention from other matters that are important to the operation of our business.  Additionally, when evaluating our internal control over financial reporting, we may identify material weaknesses that we may not be able to remediate in time to meet the applicable deadline imposed upon us for compliance with the requirements of Section 404.  If we identify any material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting, if we are unable to comply with the requirements of Section 404 in a timely manner or to assert that our internal control over financial reporting is effective, or if our independent registered public accounting firm is unable to express an opinion as to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting once we are no longer an emerging growth company, investors may lose confidence in the accuracy and completeness of our financial reports and the market price of our Class A common stock could be materially adversely affected, and we could become subject to investigations by Nasdaq, the SEC or other regulatory authorities, which could require additional financial and management resources.

Seasonalityfactors may cause fluctuations in our operating results.results and our marketing spend.

Across the retail automotive industry, consumer purchases are typically increase throughgreatest in the first three quarters of each year, due in part to the introduction of new vehicle models from manufacturers and the seasonal nature of consumer spending, and our consumer-marketing spend growsgenerally fluctuates accordingly. As consumer purchases slow in the fourth quarter,In addition, any reduction of our rate of marketing spend typically also slows. This seasonality has not been immediately apparent historically duein response to macroeconomic-related expense management or otherwise, and shifts in demand from dealers and consumers could impact the overall growthefficiency of other operating expenses.our marketing spend. As our growth rates begin to moderate or cease, the impact of these seasonality trends and other influences on our results of operations could become more pronounced.

We expect our results In addition, the volume of operationswholesale vehicle sales can fluctuate from quarter to fluctuate on a quarterly and annual basis.

Our revenue and results of operations could vary significantly from period to period and may fail to match expectationsquarter as a result of macroeconomic issues, which may have a varietycorresponding impact on our results of operations. This variability is due to several factors someincluding the timing of which are outsideused vehicles available for sale from selling customers, the seasonality of our control. Our results may vary as a result of fluctuationsthe retail market for used vehicles, and/or inventory challenges in the numberautomotive industry, which affect the demand side of dealers subscribingthe wholesale industry. This variability has affected our Digital Wholesale segment in the past, and may continue to in the future.

Failure to deal effectively with fraud or other illegal activity could harm our business.

We are exposed to potential fraudulent and illegal activity in our marketplaces, including listings of automobiles that are not owned by the purported dealer or that the dealer has no intention of selling at the listed price; receipt of fraudulent leads that we may send to our marketplacedealers; and the size and seasonal variability of our advertisers’ marketing budgets. As a result of the potential variationsdeceptive practices in our revenuepeer-to-peer marketplace. The measures we have in place to detect and resultslimit the occurrence of operations, period-to-period comparisonssuch fraudulent and illegal activity in our marketplaces may not always be effective or account for all types of fraudulent or other illegal activity now or in the future. Failure to limit the impact of fraudulent and illegal activity on our websites could lead to potential legal liability, harm our business, cause us to lose paying dealer customers, and adversely affect our reputation, financial performance, and growth prospects.

We have identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting. If we are unable to remediate this material weakness, we may not be meaningful and theable to accurately or timely report our financial condition or results of any one period should not be relied on as an indication of future performance. In addition, our results of operations, may not meet the expectations of investors or public market analysts who follow us, which may adversely affect our stock price.

Our management team has limited experience managing a public company.

Most membersbusiness and the market price of our Class A common stock.

We have identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting. A material weakness is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of a company's annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. We have identified deficiencies in controls at our CarOffer subsidiary. The deficiencies include IT general control deficiencies over certain information technology systems. Consequently, we were not able to have consistent, effective operation of manual business controls that rely on data produced by and maintained within these affected information technology systems, which in the aggregate constitute a material weakness. While this material weakness did not result in a

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material misstatement of our consolidated financial statements, it could impact the effectiveness of our segregation of duties controls, as well as the effectiveness of IT-dependent controls, which could result in misstatement(s) impacting financial statement accounts and disclosures, resulting in a material misstatement of our annual or interim financial statements that we would have failed to prevent or detect. As a result of this material weakness, our management teamconcluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were not effective as of December 31, 2023.

We have limited experience managingimplemented a publicly traded company, interacting with public companyremediation plan designed to improve our internal control over financial reporting to remediate this material weakness. We cannot assure you that the measures we have taken to date, and actions we may take in the future, will be sufficient to remediate the control deficiencies that led to the material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting or that they will prevent or avoid potential future material weaknesses. If we are unable to successfully remediate the material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting, the accuracy and timing of our financial reporting may be adversely affected, investors could lose confidence in the accuracy and complying withcompleteness of our financial reports, the increasingly complex laws pertaining to public companies.  Our management team may not successfully or efficiently managemarket price of our transition to being a public companyClass A common stock could decline, we could be subject to significantsanctions or investigations by Nasdaq, the SEC, or other regulatory oversightauthorities, and reporting obligations underour ability to access the federal securities lawscapital markets could be limited.

The 2022 Revolver contains certain covenants and the scrutinyother restrictions on our actions that may limit our operational flexibility or otherwise adversely affect our results of securities analystsoperations.

The 2022 Revolver includes a number of covenants that limit our ability to, among other things, grant or incur liens, incur additional indebtedness, make certain restricted investments or payments, enter into certain mergers and investors.  These new obligationsacquisitions, or engage in certain asset sales, subject in each case to certain exceptions. The 2022 Revolver also subjects us to financial covenants in respect of minimum liquidity and constituents will require significant attention fromrequires that we maintain a net leverage ratio. The 2022 Revolver may restrict our management teamcurrent and future operations and could divert their attention away from the dayadversely affect our ability today management of finance our future operations or capital needs. Complying with these covenants may make it more difficult for us to successfully execute our business strategy and compete against companies which couldare not subject to such restrictions. Further, interest rate fluctuations may materially adversely affect our business,results of operations and financial conditionconditions due to the variable interest rate on the 2022 Revolver, in the event that we draw down funds thereunder.

A failure by us to comply with the covenants or payment requirements specified in the 2022 Revolver could result in an event of default, which would give the lenders the right to terminate their commitments to provide loans under the 2022 Revolver and operating results.

Weto declare any borrowings outstanding, together with any accrued and unpaid interest and fees, to be immediately due and payable. If any debt under the 2022 Revolver were to be accelerated, we may require additional capitalnot have sufficient cash or be able to pursueborrow sufficient funds to refinance the debt or sell sufficient assets to repay the debt, which could immediately adversely affect our business, objectives and respond to business opportunities, challenges, or unforeseen circumstances. If capital is not available to us, our business, operatingcash flows, results of operations, and financial condition may be harmed.

Althoughcondition. Even if we have not neededwere able to raise substantial equity in the past to support the growth of our business, we intend to continue to make investments to support our growth and may require additional capital to pursue our business objectives and

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respond to business opportunities, challenges, or unforeseen circumstances, including to increase our marketing expenditures to improve our brand awareness, developobtain new products, further improve our marketplace and existing products, enhance our operating infrastructure, and acquire complementary businesses and technologies. Accordingly, we may need to engage in equity or debt financings to secure additional funds. However, additional fundsfinancing, it may not be available when we need them,on commercially reasonable terms or on terms that are acceptable to us. As of December 31, 2023, there were no borrowings and $9.6 million in letters of credit outstanding under the 2022 Revolver.

If our goodwill or intangible assets become impaired, we may be required to record a significant charge to earnings.

We evaluate the recoverability of recorded goodwill amounts annually or when evidence of potential impairment exists. Intangible assets are reviewed for impairment at least annually and whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value of the asset may not be recoverable. These impairment tests are based on several factors requiring management’s judgment, including identification of triggering events for reassessment and determination of the fair value of related assets. If such goodwill or intangible assets are deemed to be impaired, an impairment loss equal to the amount by which the carrying amount exceeds the fair value of the assets would be recognized. We may be required to record a significant charge in our consolidated financial statements during the period in which any impairment of our goodwill or intangible assets is determined, which would negatively affect our results of operations.

Expectations relating to environmental, social, and governance considerations expose us or at all. Volatility in the credit markets may also have anto potential liabilities, increased costs, reputational harm, and other adverse effecteffects on our abilitybusiness.

Many governments, regulators, investors, employees, customers, and other stakeholders are increasingly focused on environmental, social, and governance, or ESG, considerations relating to obtain debt financing.

If we raise additional funds through further issuances of equity or convertible debt securities, our existing stockholders could suffer significant dilution, and any new equity securities we issue could have rights, preferences, and privileges superior to those of holders of our Class A common stock. If we are unable to obtain adequate financing or financing on terms satisfactory to us, when we require it, our ability to continue to pursue our business, objectivesincluding climate change and greenhouse gas emissions, human capital, and diversity, equity, and inclusion. We make statements about our ESG goals and initiatives through information provided on our website. Responding to respondthese ESG considerations and implementation of these

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goals and initiatives involves risks and uncertainties, requires investments, and are impacted by factors that may be outside our control. In addition, some stakeholders may disagree with our ESG goals and initiatives and the focus of stakeholders may change and evolve over time. Stakeholders also may have very different views on where ESG focus should be placed, including differing views of regulators in various jurisdictions in which we operate. Any failure, or perceived failure, by us to business opportunities, challenges,achieve our ESG goals, further our initiatives, adhere to our public statements, comply with federal, state, or unforeseen circumstancesinternational ESG laws and regulations, or meet evolving and varied stakeholder expectations and standards could be significantly limited,result in legal and regulatory proceedings against us and materially adversely affect our business, operatingreputation, results of operations, financial condition, and prospects could be adversely affected.stock price. Additionally, meeting evolving and varied stakeholder expectations and standards may require management time and expense and may result in a significant increase in costs, which may negatively impact our business and financial results.

Risks Related to Our Class A Common Stock

Our founder controls a majority of the voting power of our outstanding capital stock, and, therefore, has control over key decision-making and could control our actions in a manner that conflicts with the interests of other stockholders.

Primarily by virtue of his holdings in shares of our Class B common stock, which has a ten-to-one voting ratio compared to our Class A common stock, Langley Steinert, our founder Chiefand Executive Officer, President, and Chairman,Chair, is able to exercise voting rights with respect to a majority of the voting power of our outstanding capital stock and therefore has the ability to control the outcome of matters submitted to our stockholders for approval, including the election of directors and any merger, consolidation, or sale of all or substantially all of our assets. This concentrated control could delay, defer, or prevent a change of control, merger, consolidation, or sale of all or substantially all of our assets that our other stockholders support, or conversely this concentrated control could result in the consummation of such a transaction that our other stockholders do not support. This concentrated control could also discourage a potential investor from acquiring our Class A common stock, which has limited voting power relative to the Class B common stock, and might harm the trading price of our Class A common stock. In addition, Mr. Steinert has the ability to controlsignificant influence in the management and major strategic investments of our company as a result of his positionsposition as our Chief Executive Officer, President, and Chairman,Chair, and his ability to control the election or replacement of our directors. As a board member and officer,our Executive Chair, Mr. Steinert owes a fiduciary duty to our stockholders and must act in good faith in a manner he reasonably believes to be in the best interests of our stockholders. If Mr. Steinert’s status as an officer and a director is terminated, his fiduciary duties to our stockholders will also terminate, but his voting power as a stockholder will not be reduced as a result of such termination unless such termination is either made voluntarily by Mr. Steinert or due to Mr. Steinert’s death, or if the sum of the number of shares of our capital stock held by Mr. Steinert, by any Family Member of Mr. Steinert, and by any Permitted Entity of Mr. Steinert (as such capitalized terms are defined in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation)incorporation, included as Exhibit 3.1 to this Annual Report), assuming the exercise and settlement in full of all outstanding options and convertible securities and calculated on an as-converted to Class A common stock basis, is less than 9,091,484 shares.shares. As a stockholder, even a controlling stockholder, Mr. Steinert is entitled to vote his shares in his own interests, which may not always be aligned with the interests of our other stockholders.

We believe that Mr. Steinert’s continued control of a majority of the voting power of our outstanding capital stock is beneficial to us and is in the best interests of our stockholders. In the event that Mr. Steinert no longer controls a majority of the voting power, whether as a result of the disposition of some or all his shares of Class A or Class B common stock, the conversion of the Class B common stock into Class A common stock in accordance with its terms, or otherwise, our business or the trading price of our Class A common stock may be adversely affected.

The multiple class structure of our common stock has the effect of concentrating voting control with our founder and certain other holders of our Class B common stock, which will limit or preclude yourthe ability of our stockholders to influence corporate matters.

Our Class B common stock has ten votes per share and our Class A common stock has one vote per share. Stockholders whoOur founder and certain of his affiliates hold a substantial number of the outstanding shares of our Class B common stock including certain of our executive officers, employees, and directors and their affiliates, togethertherefore hold a substantial majority of the voting power of our outstanding capital stock. Because of the ten-to-one voting ratio between our Class B and Class A common stock, the holders of our Class B common stock collectively control a majority of the combined voting power of our common stock and therefore are able to control all matters submitted to our stockholders for approval so long as the shares of Class B common stock represent at least 9.1% of all outstanding shares of our Class A and Class B common stock. This concentrated control will limit or preclude yourthe ability of our other stockholders to influence corporate matters for the foreseeable future.

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Transfers Additionally, transfers by holders of Class B common stock will generally result in those transferred shares converting into Class A common stock, subject to limited exceptions, such as certain transfers effected for estate planning or charitable purposes. The conversion of Class B common stock into Class A common stock has had and will continue to have

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the effect, over time, of increasing the relative voting power of those holders of Class B common stock who retain their shares in the long term.such shares. If, for example, Mr. Steinert retains a significant portion of his holdings of Class B common stock, for an extended period of time, he could in the future, continue to control a majority of the combined voting power of our outstanding capital stock.

The price of our Class A common stock may be volatile and the value of your investment could decline.

The trading price of our Class A common stock may be volatile and fluctuate substantially. The trading price of our Class A common stock depends on a number of factors, including those described in this “Risk Factors” section, many of which are beyond our control and may not be related to our operating performance. Factors that could cause fluctuations in the trading price of our Class A common stock include the following:

price and volume fluctuations in the overall stock market from time to time; 

changes in operating performance and stock market valuations of other technology companies generally, or those in our industry in particular; 

sales of shares of our Class A common stock by us or our stockholders; 

failure of securities analysts to maintain coverage of us, changes in financial estimates by any securities analysts who follow our company, or our failure to meet these estimates or the expectations of investors; 

announcements by us or our competitors of new products; 

the public’s reaction to our press releases, other public announcements, and filings with the SEC; 

rumors and market speculation involving us or other companies in our industry; 

actual or anticipated changes in our operating results or fluctuations in our operating results; 

actual or anticipated developments in our business, our competitors’ businesses, or the competitive landscape generally;

litigation involving us, our industry or both, or investigations by regulators into our operations or those of our competitors; 

developments or disputes concerning our intellectual property or other proprietary rights; 

announced or completed acquisitions of businesses or technologies by us or our competitors; 

new laws or regulations or new interpretations of existing laws or regulations applicable to our business; 

changes in accounting standards, policies, guidelines, interpretations, or principles; 

any significant change in our management; 

conditions in the automobile industry; and 

general economic conditions and slow or negative growth of our markets.

In addition, the stock market in general, and the market for technology companies in particular, have experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have often been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of those companies. Broad market and industry factors may seriously affect the market price of our Class A common stock, regardless of our actual operating performance. In addition, in the past, following periods of volatility in the overall market and the market prices of a particular company’s securities, securities class action litigations have often been instituted against these companies. Litigation of this type, if instituted against us, could result in substantial costs and a diversion of our management’s attention and resources.

Sales of substantial amounts of our Class A common stock in the public markets, or the perception that such sales might occur, could depress the market price of our Class A common stock.

The market price for our Class A common stock could decline as a result of the sale of substantial amounts of our Class A common stock, particularly sales by our directors, executive officers, and significant stockholders, a large number of

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shares of our Class A common stock becoming available for sale, or the perception in the market that holders of a large number of shares intend to sell their shares. Based on shares outstanding at December 31, 2017, we had outstanding 77,884,754 shares of Class A common stock. Of these shares, the 10,810,000 shares of our Class A common stock sold in our initial public offering, or IPO, are freely tradable, and the balance of the outstanding shares will be available for sale in the public market following the expiration of lock-up agreements entered into in connection with our IPO, which is expected to occur on April 10, 2018. The representatives of the underwriters in our IPO may release these stockholders from their lock-up agreements at any time and without notice, which would allow for earlier sales of shares in the public market. Sales of a substantial number of such shares upon expiration of the lock-up, the perception that such sales may occur, or early release of these agreements, could cause our market price to fall or make it more difficult for you to sell your Class A common stock at a time and price that you deem appropriate.

On April 10, 2018, the holders of 54,998,789 shares of our Class A common stock will have rights, subject to some conditions, to require us to file registration statements covering their shares of Class A common stock or to include their shares in registration statements that we may file for ourselves or our stockholders.

In addition, the shares of Class A common stock subject to outstanding options and restricted stock units for Class A common stock under our equity incentive plans and the shares reserved for future issuance under our equity incentive plans, which we registered on a registration statement on Form S-8 which we filed with the SEC on October 24, 2017, will become eligible for sale in the public market in the future, subject to certain legal and contractual limitations.

If a substantial number of shares are sold, or if it is perceived that they will be sold, in the public market, before or after the expiration of the contractual lock-up period, the trading price of our Class A common stock could decline substantially.

The exclusion of our Class A common stock from major stock indexes could adversely affect the trading market and price of our Class A common stock.

Several major stock index providers have announced they will begin to exclude, or are considering plans to exclude, from their indexes the securities of companies with unequal voting rights such as ours.  Exclusion from stock indexes could make it more difficult, or impossible, for some fund managers to buy the excluded securities, particularly in the case of index tracking mutual funds and exchange traded funds.  The exclusion of our Class A common stock from major stock indexes could adversely affect the trading market and price of our Class A common stock.

Anti-takeover provisions contained in our certificate of incorporation and bylaws, as well as provisions of Delaware law, could impair a takeover attempt.

The provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws, and provisions of Delaware law, may have the effect of rendering more difficult, delaying, or preventing an acquisition deemed undesirable by our board of directors. Our corporate governance documents include provisions:

creating a classified board of directors whose members serve staggered three-year terms; 

authorizing “blank check” Preferred Stock, which may contain voting, liquidation, dividend, and other rights superior to our Class A common stock and which, from and after the date, referred to as the threshold date, on which the votes applicable to the Class A common stock and Class B common stock controlled by Mr. Steinert, represent less than a majority of the aggregate votes applicable to all shares of the outstanding Class A common stock and Class B common stock, could be issued by our board of directors without stockholder approval; 

limiting the liability of, and providing indemnification to, our directors and officers; 

limiting the ability of our stockholders to call and bring business before special meetings; 

requiring advance notice of stockholder proposals for business to be conducted at meetings of our stockholders and for nominations of candidates for election to our board of directors; 

limiting the ability, from and after the threshold date, of stockholders to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation; 

limiting the ability, from and after the threshold date, of stockholders to fill vacant directorships and remove directors; and 

prohibiting cumulative voting by stockholders.

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These provisions, alone or together, could delay or prevent hostile takeovers and changes in control or changes in our management.

As a Delaware corporation, we are also subject to provisions of Delaware law, including Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation law, which prevents some stockholders holding more than 15% of our outstanding common stock from engaging in certain business combinations without approval of the holders of substantially all of our outstanding common stock.

Any provision of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, amended and restated bylaws, or Delaware law that has the effect of delaying or deterring a change in control could limit the opportunity for our stockholders to receive a premium for their shares of our Class A common stock, and could also affect the price that some investors are willing to pay for our Class A common stock.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation includes a forum selection clause, which could limit our stockholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware will, to the fullest extent permitted by law, be the sole and exclusive forum for any stockholder to bring: (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on behalf of us; (ii) any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any of our directors, officers or other employees or agents to us or to our stockholders; (iii) any action asserting a claim against us arising pursuant to any provision of the Delaware General Corporation Law or our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or amended and restated bylaws; (iv) any action to interpret, apply, enforce or determine the validity of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or our amended and restated bylaws; or (v) any action asserting a claim against us or any of our directors, officers, or other employees or agents governed by the internal affairs doctrine. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in shares of our capital stock is deemed to have notice of and consented to the foregoing provisions. This forum selection provision in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation may limit our stockholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us. It is also possible that, notwithstanding the forum selection clause included in our certificate of incorporation, a court could rule that such a provision is inapplicable or unenforceable.

If securities or industry analysts do not publish, or cease publishing, research or reports about us, our business or our market, or if they change their recommendations regarding our stock adversely, our stock price and trading volume could decline.

The trading market for our Class A common stock is influenced by the research and reports that industry or securities analysts may publish about us, our business, our market, or our competitors. If any of the analysts who may cover us change their recommendation regarding our stock adversely, or provide more favorable relative recommendations about our competitors, our stock price would likely decline. If any analyst that covers us were to cease coverage of our company or fail to regularly publish reports on us, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which in turn could cause our stock price or trading volume to decline.

We do not intend to pay cash dividends for the foreseeable future.

We have never declared or paid cash dividends on our capital stock. We currently intend to retain any future earnings to finance the operation and expansion of our business, and we do not expect to declare or pay any cash dividends in the foreseeable future. As a result, you may only receive a return on your investment in our Class A common stock if the trading price of your shares increases.

Our status as a “controlled company” could make our Class A common stock less attractive to some investors or otherwise harm the trading price of our stock price.Class A common stock.

More than 50% of our voting power is held by Mr. Steinert. As a result, we are a “controlled company” under the corporate governance rules for Nasdaq-listed companies. Under these rules, a company of which more than 50% of the voting power is held by an individual, a group or another company is a “controlled company”companies and may elect not to comply with certain Nasdaq corporate governance requirements, including:

the requirement that a majority of our board of directors consist of “independent directors” as defined under the rules of Nasdaq; 

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the requirement that we have a compensation committee that is composed entirely of directors meeting Nasdaq independence standards applicable to compensation committee members with a written charter addressing the committee’s purposerequirements. We rely and responsibilities; 

the requirement that our compensation committee be responsible for the hiring and overseeing of persons acting as compensation consultants and be required to consider certain independence factors when engaging such persons; and 

the requirement that director nominees either be selected, or recommended for board of directors’ selection, either by “independent directors” as defined under the rules of Nasdaq constituting a majority of the board of director’s “independent directors” in a vote in which only “independent directors” participate, or by a nominations committee comprised solely of “independent directors.”

We have relied on certain or all of these exemptions. Accordingly, should the interests of our controlling stockholder differ from those of other stockholders, the other stockholders may not have the same protections afforded to stockholders of companies that are subject to all of the corporate governance rules for Nasdaq-listed companies. Our status as a controlled company could make our Class A common stock less attractive to some investors or otherwise harm our stock price.

We are an “emerging growth company,” and the reduced disclosure requirements applicable to emerging growth companies may makeThe trading price of our Class A common stock has been and may continue to be volatile and the value of our stockholders’ investment in our stock could decline.

The trading price of our Class A common stock has been and may continue to be volatile and fluctuate substantially. The trading price of our Class A common stock depends on a number of factors, including those described in this “Risk Factors” section, many of which are beyond our control and may not be related to our operating performance. Factors that could cause fluctuations in the trading price of our Class A common stock include changes in the operating performance and stock market valuations of other technology companies generally, or those in our industry in particular; sales of shares of our Class A common stock by us or our stockholders; adverse changes to recommendations regarding our stock by covering securities analysts; failure of securities analysts to maintain coverage of us, changes in financial estimates by any securities analysts who follow us, or our failure to meet these estimates or the expectations of investors; announcements by us or our competitors of new products; the public’s reaction to our issuances of earnings guidance or other public announcements and filings; real or perceived inaccuracies in our key metrics; actions of an activist stockholder; actual or anticipated changes or fluctuations in our operating results or developments in our business, our competitors’ businesses, or the competitive landscape generally; litigation involving us or investigations by regulators into our operations or those of our competitors; developments or disputes concerning our proprietary rights; announced or completed acquisitions of businesses or technologies by us or our competitors; new laws or regulations or new interpretations of existing laws or regulations applicable to our business; changes in accounting standards, policies, or guidelines; any significant change in our management; changes in the automobile industry; public health emergencies; and general economic conditions.

We cannot guarantee that our share repurchase program will be fully implemented or that it will enhance stockholder value, and share repurchases could affect the price of our Class A common stock.

In November 2023 we announced that our Board of Directors authorized a share repurchase program, or the 2024 Share Repurchase Program, pursuant to which we may, from time to time, purchase shares of our Class A common stock for an aggregate purchase price not to exceed $250.0 million, with an expiration date of December 31, 2024. Repurchases under the 2024 Share Repurchase Program may be made through a variety of methods and are subject to market and business conditions, levels of available liquidity, cash requirements for other purposes, regulatory, and other relevant factors. The timing, pricing, and size of share repurchases will depend on a number of factors, including price, corporate and regulatory requirements, and general market and economic conditions. The 2024 Share Repurchase Program does not obligate us to repurchase any minimum dollar amount or number of shares, and may be suspended or discontinued by our Board of Directors at any time, which may result in a decrease in the price of our Class A common stock.

Repurchases under the 2024 Share Repurchase Program will decrease the number of outstanding shares of our Class A common stock and therefore could affect the price of our Class A common stock and increase its volatility. The existence of the 2024 Share Repurchase Program could also cause the price of our Class A common stock to be higher than it would be in the absence of such a program and could reduce the market liquidity for our Class A common stock. Repurchases under the 2024 Share Repurchase Program will diminish our cash reserves, which could impact our ability to further develop our business and service our indebtedness. There can be no assurance that any share repurchases will enhance stockholder value because the market price of our Class A common stock may decline below the levels at which we repurchased such shares. Any failure to repurchase shares after we have announced our intention to do so may negatively impact our reputation and investor

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confidence in us and may negatively impact our Class A common stock price. Although the 2024 Share Repurchase Program is intended to enhance long-term stockholder value, short-term price fluctuations could reduce the program’s effectiveness.

General Risk Factors

We participate in a highly competitive market, and pressure from existing and new companies may adversely affect our business and operating results.

We face significant competition from companies that provide listings, car-shopping information, lead generation, marketing, wholesale, and digital car-buying and -selling services designed to help consumers and dealers shop for cars and to enable dealers to reach these consumers. Our competitors include online automotive marketplaces and websites; internet search engines; peer-to-peer marketplaces; social media marketplaces; sites operated by automobile dealers; online dealerships; and vehicle auction companies. We compete with these and other companies for a share of dealers’ overall marketing budget for online and offline media marketing spend and we compete with these and other companies in attracting consumers to our websites. To the extent that dealers view alternative marketing and media strategies to be superior to our marketplaces, we may not be able to maintain or grow the number of dealers subscribing to, and advertising on, our marketplaces, and our business and financial results may be adversely affected. We also expect that new competitors will continue to enter the online automotive retail and wholesale industries with competing marketplaces, products, and services, and that existing competitors will expand to offer competing products or services, which could have an adverse effect on our business and financial results.

Our competitors could significantly impede our ability to expand the number of dealers using our marketplaces or could offer discounts that could significantly impede our ability to maintain our pricing structure. Our competitors may also develop and market new technologies that render our existing or future platforms and associated products less attractivecompetitive, unmarketable, or obsolete. In addition, if our competitors develop platforms with similar or superior functionality to investors.ours, or if our web traffic declines, we may need to decrease our subscription and advertising fees. If we are unable to maintain our current pricing structure due to competitive pressures, our revenue would likely be reduced and our financial results would be negatively affected. Furthermore, our existing and potential competitors may have significantly more financial, technical, marketing, and other resources than we have, which may allow them to offer more competitive pricing and the ability to devote greater resources to the development, promotion, and support of their marketplaces, products, and services. They may also have more extensive automotive industry relationships than we have, longer operating histories, and greater name recognition. In addition, these competitors may be able to respond more quickly with technological advances and to undertake more extensive marketing or promotional campaigns than we can. To the extent that any competitor has existing relationships with dealers or auto manufacturers for marketing or data analytics solutions, those dealers and auto manufacturers may be unwilling to partner with us. If we are unable to compete with these competitors, the demand for our marketplaces and related products and services could substantially decline.

We must maintain proper and effective internal control over financial reporting and any failure to maintain the adequacy of these internal controls may adversely affect investor confidence in us and, as a result, the value of our Class A common stock.

We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined inrequired, pursuant to Section 404 of the JOBSSarbanes-Oxley Act and may remain an emerging growth company until the last day of our fiscal year followingrelated rules adopted by the fifth anniversary of our IPO, subjectSEC, to specified conditions. For so long as we remain an emerging growth company, we are permitted and intend to relyfurnish a report by management on, exemptions from some disclosure requirements that are applicable toamong other public companies that are not emerging growth companies. These exemptions include:

being permitted to provide only two years of audited financial statements, in addition to any required unaudited interim financial statements, with correspondingly reduced “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” disclosure; 

not being required to comply withthings, the auditor attestation requirements in the assessmenteffectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting; 

reporting on an annual basis. This assessment includes disclosure of any material weaknesses identified by our management in our internal control over financial reporting, such as those described above. In addition, our independent registered public accounting firm must attest to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting under Section 404. Our independent registered public accounting firm may issue a report that is adverse to us in the event it is not being requiredsatisfied with the level at which our controls are documented, designed, or operating. We may not be able to comply withremediate the material weakness described above and/or any requirementfuture material weaknesses that may be adopted byidentified, or to complete our evaluation, testing, and required remediation in a timely fashion. Our compliance with Section 404 requires us to incur substantial accounting expense and expend significant management efforts. Any failure to maintain internal control over financial reporting could severely inhibit our ability to accurately report our financial condition or results of operations. If we are unable to assert that our internal control over financial reporting is effective or our independent registered public accounting firm is unable to express an opinion on the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board regarding mandatory audit firm rotation or a supplement toeffectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting, we could lose investor confidence in the auditor’s report providing additional information aboutaccuracy and completeness of our financial reports, the audit and the financial statements; 

reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation; and 

exemptions from the requirementsmarket price of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved.

We have taken advantage of reduced reporting burdens in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. We cannot predict whether investors will find our Class A common stock less attractive becausecould decline, and we relycould be subject to sanctions or investigations by Nasdaq, the SEC, or other regulatory authorities. Failure to remedy the material weakness

41


described above and/or any future material weaknesses that may be identified, or to implement or maintain other effective control systems required of public companies, could also restrict our future access to the capital markets.

We expect our results of operations to fluctuate on these exemptions. Ifa quarterly and annual basis.

Our revenue and results of operations could vary significantly from period to period and may fail to match expectations as a result of a variety of factors, some of which are outside of our control, including macroeconomic issues, such as increased interest rates. Our results may vary as a result of fluctuations in the number of dealers subscribing to our marketplaces, the size and seasonal variability of our advertisers’ marketing budgets, and the impact of vehicle arbitrations, volume, and prices in a given period in connection with our IMCO product and the wholesale sale of automobiles. As a result of the potential variations in our revenue and results of operations, period-to-period comparisons may not be meaningful and the results of any one period should not be relied on as an indication of future performance. In addition, our results of operations may not meet the expectations of investors findor covering analysts, which may adversely affect the trading price of our Class A common stock less attractivestock.

We could be subject to adverse changes in tax laws, regulations, and interpretations, plus challenges to our tax positions.

We are subject to taxation in the U.S. and certain other jurisdictions in which we operate. Changes in applicable tax laws or regulations may be proposed or enacted that could materially and adversely affect our effective tax rate, tax payments, results of operations, financial condition, and cash flows. In addition, tax laws and regulations are complex and subject to varying interpretations. There is also uncertainty over sales tax liability as a result thereof recent U.S. Supreme Court and Massachusetts Supreme Court decisions, which could precipitate reactions that could adversely increase our tax administrative costs and tax risk, and negatively affect our overall business, results of operations, financial condition, and cash flows. We are also regularly subject to audits by tax authorities. Any adverse development or outcome in connection with any such tax audits, and any other audits or litigation, could materially and adversely impact our effective tax rate, tax payments, results of operations, financial condition, and cash flows.

Our results could be adversely affected by events beyond our control, such as natural disasters, public health crises, political crises, negative global climate patterns, or other catastrophic events.

Our operations, or those of third-party service providers or dealers, could be negatively impacted by various events beyond our control, including natural disasters, such as hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, earthquakes, extreme cold events, and other adverse weather conditions; public health crises, such as pandemics and epidemics; political crises, such as terrorist attacks, war, labor unrest, and other political instability (including the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine); negative global climate patterns, especially in water stressed regions; or other catastrophic events, such as fires or other disasters. These events could disrupt our operations and those of our third-party service providers and dealers. Further, if a natural disaster occurs in a region in which a significant number of dealers are located, such dealers may suspend listing their inventory, cancel or delay their subscriptions, or reduce their spending with us, which may materially and adversely impact our results of operations for a particular period. In addition, these types of events could negatively impact consumer spending in the impacted regions. To the extent any of these events occur, our operations and financial results could be a less active trading market for our Class A common stock and our stock price may be more volatile.adversely affected. In addition, the JOBS Act provides that an emerging growth company can take advantageimpacts of an extended transition period for complying with new or revised accounting standards. This allows an emerging growth company to delay the adoption of these accounting standards until they would otherwise apply to private companies. climate change could result in changes in regulations, which could, in turn, affect our business, operating results, and financial condition.

42


Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments.

Not applicable.

Item 1C. Cybersecurity.

We have electedpolicies, procedures, and processes for assessing, identifying, and managing cybersecurity risks, which are built into our overall information technology function and are designed to avail ourselveshelp protect our information assets and operations from internal and external cyber threats as well as secure our networks and systems. Such processes include procedural and technical safeguards, response plans, regular vulnerability and penetration tests on our systems and product applications, incident simulations, and routine review of this exemptionour policies and therefore, while we are an emerging growth company we willprocedures to identify risks and improve our practices. Our security incident response plan is designed to help coordinate our response to, and recovery from, cybersecurity incidents, and includes processes to assess the severity of, escalate, contain, investigate, and remediate incidents as well as to comply with applicable legal obligations. We maintain cyber insurance coverage; however, such insurance may not be subjectsufficient in type or amount to newcover us against claims related to security breaches, cyber-attacks, and other related breaches.

We engage certain external parties to enhance our cybersecurity processes and strategies. Depending on the nature of the services provided, the sensitivity and quantity of information processed, and the identity of the service provider, we evaluate the security and risk posture according to the perceived level of risk and in accordance with industry standard best practices.

The Audit Committee of the Board of Directors provides direct oversight over cybersecurity risk and provides regular updates to the Board of Directors regarding such oversight. The Audit Committee regularly meets with members of management responsible for data privacy, technology, and information security risks to discuss these risks, risk management activities, incident response plans, best practices, the effectiveness of our security measures, and other related matters.

Our Vice President, Information Security and Technology, who reports to our Chief Technology Officer, leads the operational oversight of company-wide cybersecurity strategy, policy, standards, and processes and works across relevant departments to assess and help prepare us and our employees to address cybersecurity risks. Specific cybersecurity related responsibilities include overseeing our processes and strategies for the detection, mitigation, and remediation of cybersecurity incidents. Our Vice President, Information Security and Technology has extensive experience assessing and managing cybersecurity and risk programs having served in the current position for us since December 2020 and prior Senior Director level positions in Security and Privacy at several private and public Software as a Service, or revised accounting standards atSaaS, companies. Specialized knowledge also results from our Vice President, Information Security and Technology holding a Master of Information Security and Assurance from Norwich University.

In an effort to deter and detect cyber threats, we annually provide all employees, including part-time employees, with a data protection, cybersecurity, and incident response and prevention training program, which covers timely and relevant topics, including social engineering, phishing, password protection, confidential data protection, asset use, and mobile security, and educates employees on the same timeimportance of reporting all incidents immediately. We also use technology-based tools to mitigate cybersecurity threats and risks and to bolster our employee-based cybersecurity programs.

Despite our cybersecurity efforts, we may not be successful in preventing or mitigating a cybersecurity incident that they become applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies.


32


could have a material adverse effect on us. See Part I, Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments.1A, Risk Factors, in this Annual Report for a discussion of cybersecurity risks.

Not applicable.43


Item 2. Properties.

We do not own any material real property. Our principal executive offices are located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where we lease a total of approximately 99,982169,764 square feet of space in twovarious parcels in three buildings under leases that expire in November 2022 and January 2024.with lease terms through 2033. We also lease office space in Addison, Texas; Dublin, Ireland,Ireland; and San Francisco, California, for our CarOffer, European, and Autolist operations, respectively. We sublease two of our leased office spaces for part of the remaining terms of the leases. Our U.S. Marketplace segment utilizes the offices in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and San Francisco, California. Our Digital Wholesale segment primarily utilizes the office in Detroit, Michigan, forAddison, Texas. The Other category of segment reporting utilizes the office in Dublin, Ireland. We believe that our current facilities are suitable and adequate to meet our current needs. We believe that suitable additional space or substitute space will be available in the future to accommodate our operations as needed. In 2019 we entered into a lease for our advertising sales employees.office space at 1001 Boylston Street in Boston, Massachusetts, which we expect to occupy in 2024.

From time to time, we may become involved in legal proceedings or be subject to claims arising in the ordinary course of our business. We are not presently subject to any pending or threatened litigation that we believe, if determined adversely to us, would individually, or taken together, would reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on our business or financial results.

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures.

Not applicable.


44


33


PART II

Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities.

Market Information for Common Stock

Our Class A common stock has been listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol “CARG” since October 12, 2017. Prior to that date, there was no public trading market for our Class A common stock. Our initial public offering, or IPO, was priced at $16.00 per share on October 11, 2017. The following table sets forth for the periods indicated the high and low sales prices per share of our Class A common stock as reported on the Nasdaq Global Select Market:

 

 

High

 

 

Low

 

Fourth Quarter (from October 12, 2017 to December 31,

   2017)

 

$

35.42

 

 

$

25.85

 

On February 28, 2018,23, 2024, the last reported sale price of our Class A common stock on the Nasdaq Global Select Market was $32.28$23.84 per share.

Holders

Holders

As of February 23, 2018,22, 2024, we had 130six record holders of record of our Class A common stock. The actual number of stockholders is greater than this number of record holders, and includes stockholders who are beneficial owners but whose shares are held in street name by brokers and other nominees. The number of record holders of record does not include stockholders whose shares may be held in trust by other entities.

Dividends

We have never declared or paid any cash dividends on our common stock. We currently anticipate that we will retain future earnings to fund development and growth of our business, and we do not anticipate paying cash dividends in the foreseeable future.

45


Performance Graph

This performance graph shall not be deemed “soliciting material” or to be “filed” with the Securities and Exchange CommissionSEC for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, (“or the Exchange Act”),Act, or otherwise be subject to the liabilities under that Section,section, and shall not be deemed to be incorporated by reference into any filing of CarGurus Inc. under the Exchange Act or the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Exchange Act.amended.

34


The following graph shows a comparison from October 12, 2017 (the date our Class A common stock commenced trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market)December 31, 2018 through December 31, 20172023 of the cumulative total return for our Class A common stock, the Nasdaq Composite Index, and the S&P 500 Index. On December 31, 2018, the last reported sale price of our Class A common stock on the Nasdaq Global Select Market was $33.73 per share. All values assume a $100 initial cash investment and data for the Nasdaq Composite Index and the S&P 500 Index assume reinvestment of dividends, if any. Such returns are based on historical results and are not intended to suggest future performance.

img197440312_0.jpg 

 

 

 

12/31/2018

 

 

12/31/2019

 

 

12/31/2020

 

 

12/31/2021

 

 

12/31/2022

 

 

12/31/2023

 

CARG

 

 

 

100

 

 

 

104

 

 

 

94

 

 

 

100

 

 

 

42

 

 

 

72

 

S&P 500 Index

 

 

 

100

 

 

 

137

 

 

 

198

 

 

 

242

 

 

 

163

 

 

 

236

 

Nasdaq Composite Index

 

 

 

100

 

 

 

131

 

 

 

156

 

 

 

200

 

 

 

164

 

 

 

207

 

46


Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities

From January 1, 2017 throughNone.

Purchases of Equity Securities

The following table summarizes information about our purchases of our equity securities for each of the filingmonths during the quarter ended December 31, 2023:

Period

 

Total Number of Shares of Common Stock Purchased

 

 

Weighted Average Price Paid per Share of Common Stock(1)

 

 

Total Number of Shares of Common Stock Purchased as Part of Publicly Announced Plans or Programs(2)

 

 

Maximum Approximate Dollar Value of Shares of Common Stock that May Yet be Purchased Under the Plans or Programs
(in thousands)
(2)

 

 October 1, 2023 through October 31, 2023

 

 

632,817

 

 

$

17.42

 

 

 

632,817

 

 

$

116,051

 

 November 1, 2023 through November 30, 2023

 

 

2,568,577

 

 

$

20.71

 

 

 

2,568,577

 

 

$

62,856

 

 December 1, 2023 through December 31, 2023

 

 

1,617,865

 

 

$

22.05

 

 

 

1,617,865

 

 

$

 

 Total

 

 

4,819,259

 

 

$

20.73

 

 

 

4,819,259

 

 

$

 

(1)
On December 8, 2022, we announced that our Registration Statement on Form S-8 on October 24, 2017,Board of Directors authorized a share repurchase program, or the 2022 Share Repurchase Program, pursuant to which we issuedcould, from time to employees (i) an aggregate of 85,684time, purchase shares of our Class A common stock and 169,012 shares of Class B common stock upon the exercise of options granted under our Amended and Restated 2006 Equity Incentive Plan and Amended and Restated 2015 Equity Incentive Plan, with exercise prices ranging from $0.05 to $6.78 per share, for an aggregate exercisepurchase price not to exceed $250.0 million. The 2022 Share Repurchase Program expired on December 31, 2023. The 2022 Share Repurchase Program did not obligate us to repurchase any minimum dollar amount or number of approximately $288,000shares. All repurchased shares under the 2022 Share Repurchase Program were retired. We funded share repurchases under the 2022 Share Repurchase Program through cash on hand and (ii) an aggregatecash generated from operations.
(2)
The total number of 848,634 restricted stock units relating to 848,634 shares of Class A common stock.

Nonestock purchased as part of the foregoing transactions involved any underwriters, underwriting discounts or commissions, or any public offering, and we believe that each such transaction2022 Share Repurchase Program was exempt from the registration requirementsinclusive of the Securities Act of 1933,shares purchased but not settled as amended, or the Securities Act, in reliance on Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act, Rule 701 promulgated under the Securities Act, as transactions pursuant to a compensatory benefit plan approved by our board of directors, and Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act, as transactions by an issuer not involving a public offering, or transactions which did not constitute sales of securities under the Securities Act. Each recipient of securities issued in the transactions that were deemed to be exempt in reliance upon Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act acquired the securities for investment only and not with a view to, or for resale in connection with, any distribution thereof, and appropriate legends were affixed to any share certificates issued in each such transaction. In each case, the recipient received adequate information regarding us or had adequate access, through his or her relationship with us, to information about us.

Use of Proceeds from Public Offering of Common Stock

On October 11, 2017, our registration statement on Form S-1, as amended (File No. 333-220495), filed in connection with our initial public offering, or IPO, was declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, and, on October 16, 2017, we closed our IPO consisting of 10,810,000 shares of Class A common stock, which included the full exercise by the underwriters of their option to purchase 1,410,000 additional shares of Class A common stock, at a public offering price of $16.00 per share, before underwriting discounts. We issued and sold 3,205,000 shares of Class A common stock and the selling stockholders sold an additional 7,605,000 shares of Class A common stock.  The aggregate offering price for shares sold in our IPO was approximately $173.0 million.  

35


Following the sale of the shares in connection with the closing of our IPO, the offering was concluded.  We received $43.2 million in net proceeds, after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions of $3.6 million and $4.5 million of other offering expenses.  The selling stockholders received, in the aggregate, $113.2 million in net proceeds, after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions of $8.5 million.  Certain of the underwriting discounts and commissions paid in our IPO were paid to Allen & Company LLC, an entity that beneficially owned more than 10% of our Preferred Stock prior to our IPO and that is affiliated with Ian Smith, a member of our board of directors.  Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC and Allen & Company LLC acted as joint lead book-running managers of our IPO.

As of December 31, 2017, we have retained proceeds from the IPO for working capital requirements.2023.

There has been no material change in the planned use of proceeds from our initial public offering as described in our final prospectus filed with the SEC pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act on October 12, 2017.  

Purchases of Equity Securities

We did not purchase any of our registered equity securities during the period covered by this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

36


Item 6. Selected Consolidated Financial Data.Reserved.

The following Selected Consolidated Financial Data should be read in conjunction with “Management’s47


Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations”, the consolidated financial statements and related notes, and other financial information included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.Operations.

We derived the consolidated statements of operations data for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016, and 2015 and the consolidated balance sheet data as of December 31, 2017 and 2016 from our audited consolidated financial statements, which are included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. We derived the consolidated balance sheet data as of December 31, 2015 from our audited consolidated financial statements, which are not included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Historical results are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected in future periods.

 

 

Year Ended

December 31,

 

 

 

2017

 

 

2016

 

 

2015

 

 

 

(in thousands, except share and per share data)

 

Consolidated Statements of Operations Data:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Revenue:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marketplace subscription

 

$

282,664

 

 

$

171,302

 

 

$

75,142

 

Advertising and other

 

 

34,197

 

 

 

26,839

 

 

 

23,446

 

Total revenue

 

 

316,861

 

 

 

198,141

 

 

 

98,588

 

Cost of revenue(1)

 

 

17,609

 

 

 

9,575

 

 

 

4,234

 

Gross profit

 

 

299,252

 

 

 

188,566

 

 

 

94,354

 

Operating expenses:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sales and marketing

 

 

236,165

 

 

 

154,125

 

 

 

81,877

 

Product, technology, and development

 

 

22,470

 

 

 

11,453

 

 

 

8,235

 

General and administrative

 

 

22,688

 

 

 

12,783

 

 

 

5,801

 

Depreciation and amortization

 

 

2,655

 

 

 

1,634

 

 

 

969

 

Total operating expenses

 

 

283,978

 

 

 

179,995

 

 

 

96,882

 

Income (loss) from operations

 

 

15,274

 

 

 

8,571

 

 

 

(2,528

)

Other income (expense), net

 

 

563

 

 

 

374

 

 

 

(12

)

Income (loss) before income taxes

 

 

15,837

 

 

 

8,945

 

 

 

(2,540

)

Provision for (benefit from) income taxes

 

 

2,638

 

 

 

2,448

 

 

 

(904

)

Net income (loss)

 

$

13,199

 

 

$

6,497

 

 

$

(1,636

)

Net income (loss) per share attributable to common

   stockholders, basic and diluted:(2)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Basic

 

$

0.13

 

 

$

(0.58

)

 

$

(0.41

)

Diluted

 

$

0.12

 

 

$

(0.58

)

 

$

(0.41

)

Weighted—average shares used to compute net income

   (loss) per share attributable to common

   stockholders:(2)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Basic

 

 

55,835,265

 

 

 

44,138,922

 

 

 

43,141,236

 

Diluted

 

 

60,637,584

 

 

 

44,138,922

 

 

 

43,141,236

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other Financial Information:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Adjusted EBITDA(3)

 

$

24,097

 

 

$

10,965

 

 

$

(366

)

(1)

Includes depreciation and amortization expense for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016, and 2015 of $1,140, $438, and $153, respectively.

(2)

See Note 9 of the notes to our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this report for an explanation of the calculations of our net income (loss) per share attributable to common stockholders.

37


(3)

See “— Adjusted EBITDA” below for more information and for a reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to net income (loss), the most directly comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP.

 

 

December 31,

 

 

 

2017

 

 

2016

 

 

2015

 

 

 

(in thousands)

 

Consolidated Balance Sheet Data:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cash, cash equivalents, and investments

 

$

137,709

 

 

$

74,250

 

 

$

61,363

 

Property and equipment, net

 

 

16,563

 

 

 

12,780

 

 

 

7,147

 

Working capital

 

 

114,238

 

 

 

56,457

 

 

 

52,751

 

Total assets

 

 

176,594

 

 

 

100,331

 

 

 

77,781

 

Total liabilities

 

 

49,569

 

 

 

35,605

 

 

 

20,534

 

Convertible preferred stock

 

 

 

 

 

132,698

 

 

 

73,378

 

Total stockholders’ equity (deficit)

 

 

127,025

 

 

 

(67,972

)

 

 

(16,131

)

Adjusted EBITDA

To provide investors with additional information regarding our financial results, we monitor and have presented within this Annual Report on Form 10-K Adjusted EBITDA, which is a non‑GAAP financial measure. This non‑GAAP financial measure is not based on any standardized methodology prescribed by U.S. generally accepted accounting principles, or GAAP, and is not necessarily comparable to similarly titled measures presented by other companies.

We define Adjusted EBITDA as net income (loss), adjusted to exclude: depreciation and amortization, stock‑based compensation expense, other (income) expense, net, the provision for (benefit from) income taxes, and certain one‑time, non‑recurring items, if and when applicable. We have presented Adjusted EBITDA in this Annual Report on Form 10-K because it is a key measure used by our management and board of directors to understand and evaluate our operating performance, generate future operating plans, and make strategic decisions regarding the allocation of capital. In particular, we believe that the exclusion of certain items in calculating Adjusted EBITDA can produce a useful measure for period‑to‑period comparisons of our business.

We use Adjusted EBITDA to evaluate our operating performance and trends and make planning decisions. We believe Adjusted EBITDA helps identify underlying trends in our business that could otherwise be masked by the effect of the expenses that we exclude. Accordingly, we believe that Adjusted EBITDA provides useful information to investors and others in understanding and evaluating our operating results, enhancing the overall understanding of our past performance and future prospects, and allowing for greater transparency with respect to key financial metrics used by our management in its financial and operational decision‑making. In addition, we evaluate our Adjusted EBITDA in relation to our revenue. We refer to this as Adjusted EBITDA margin and define it as Adjusted EBITDA divided by total revenue.

Our Adjusted EBITDA is not prepared in accordance with GAAP, and should not be considered in isolation of, or as an alternative to, measures prepared in accordance with GAAP. There are a number of limitations related to the use of Adjusted EBITDA rather than net income (loss), which is the most directly comparable GAAP equivalent. Some of these limitations are:

Adjusted EBITDA excludes stock‑based compensation expense, which will be, for the foreseeable future, a significant recurring expense for our business and an important part of our compensation strategy;

Adjusted EBITDA excludes depreciation and amortization expense and, although these are non‑cash expenses, the assets being depreciated may have to be replaced in the future;

Adjusted EBITDA does not reflect interest expense, or the cash requirements necessary to service interest, which reduces cash available to us;

Adjusted EBITDA does not reflect income tax payments or tax benefits that reduce cash available to us; and

other companies, including companies in our industry, may calculate Adjusted EBITDA differently, which reduces its usefulness as a comparative measure.

Because of these limitations, we consider, and you should consider, Adjusted EBITDA together with other operating and financial performance measures presented in accordance with GAAP.

38


The following table presents a reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to net income (loss), the most directly comparable measure calculated in accordance with GAAP, for each of the periods presented.

 

 

Year Ended

December 31,

 

 

 

2017

 

 

2016

 

 

2015

 

 

 

(in thousands)

 

Reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net income (loss)

 

$

13,199

 

 

$

6,497

 

 

$

(1,636

)

Depreciation and amortization

 

 

3,795

 

 

 

2,072

 

 

 

1,122

 

Stock-based compensation expense

 

 

5,028

 

 

 

322

 

 

 

1,040

 

Other (income) expense, net

 

 

(563

)

 

 

(374

)

 

 

12

 

Provision for (benefit from) income taxes

 

 

2,638

 

 

 

2,448

 

 

 

(904

)

Adjusted EBITDA

 

$

24,097

 

 

$

10,965

 

 

$

(366

)

39


Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.

You should read the following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations together with our consolidated financial statements and the related notes and other financial information included elsewhere in this report.Annual Report. Some of the information contained in this discussion and analysis or elsewhere in this report,Annual Report, including information with respect to our plans and strategy for our business and our performance and future success, includes forward‑looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. See “Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.” You should review the “Risk Factors” section of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for a discussion of important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results described in or implied by the forward‑looking statements contained in the following discussion and analysis.

In this discussion, we use financial measures that are considered non‑GAAPnon-GAAP financial measures under Securities and Exchange CommissionSEC rules. These rules regarding non-GAAP financial measures require supplemental explanation and reconciliation, which isare included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.Report. Investors should not consider non‑GAAPnon-GAAP financial measures in isolation from or in substitution for, financial information presented in compliance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles, or GAAP.

This section of this Annual Report discusses 2023 and 2022 items and year-to-year comparisons between 2023 and 2022. This section of this Annual Report also discusses 2022 and 2021 segment revenue and segment operating income (loss) from operations and year-to-year comparisons between 2022 and 2021 segment revenue and segment operating income (loss) from operations. Discussions of all other 2021 items and year-to-year comparisons between 2022 and 2021 can be found in “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in Part II, Item 7 of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022. The period‑to‑period comparison of financial results is not necessarily indicative of future results.

Company Overview

CarGurus, Inc. is a global,multinational, online automotive platform for buying and selling vehicles that is building upon its industry-leading listings marketplace connecting buyerswith both digital retail solutions and sellers of newthe CarOffer online wholesale platform. The CarGurus platform gives consumers the confidence to purchase and/or sell a vehicle either online or in person, and used cars. Usingit gives dealerships the power to accurately price, effectively market, instantly acquire, and quickly sell vehicles, all with a nationwide reach. We use proprietary technology, search algorithms, and innovative data analytics to bring trust, transparency, and competitive pricing to the automotive shopping experience.

We operate principally in the U.S. In the U.S., we provide informationalso operate as independent brands the Autolist online marketplace and analysis that create a differentiated automotive search experience for consumers. Our trusted marketplace empowers users with unbiased third‑party validation on pricing and dealer reputation as well as other information that aids them in finding “Great Deals from Top-Rated Dealers.”the CarOffer online wholesale platform, both of which we wholly own. In addition to the United States,U.S., we operate online marketplaces under the CarGurus brand in Canada and the United Kingdom, and Germany.

On October 16, 2017,U.K. In the U.K., we completed our initial public offering, oralso operate as an independent brand the IPO, inPistonHeads online marketplace, which we issuedwholly own.

We have subsidiaries in the U.S., Canada, Ireland, and sold 3,205,000 sharesthe U.K. During the year ended December 31, 2023, we managed our business and reported earnings through two reportable segments: U.S. Marketplace and Digital Wholesale. Prior to the first quarter of our Class A common stock at a public offering price of $16.00 per share for aggregate gross proceeds of $51.3 million. We received $43.2 million in net proceeds after deducting $3.6 million of underwriting discounts2022 we had two reportable segments – U.S. and commissions and $4.5 million in offering costs. Upon the closingInternational. Effective as of the IPO, allfirst quarter of 2022 we revised our segment reporting from two reportable segments to one reportable segment. Effective as of the outstanding sharesfourth quarter of 2022 we again revised our Preferred Stock automatically converted into 20,188,226 sharessegment reporting from one reportable segment to our two current reportable segments. See Note 14 to our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report for further segment reporting and geographic information.

48


We derive our revenue from marketplace revenue, wholesale revenue, and product revenue. Marketplace revenue is included in the U.S. Marketplace segment and Other category of Class A common stocksegment reporting. Wholesale revenue and 40,376,452 shares of Class B common stock. The 40,376,452 shares of Class B common stock subsequently converted into 40,376,452 shares of Class A common stock resultingproduct revenue are included in a total conversion of all outstanding shares of Preferred Stock into 60,564,678 shares of Class A common stock at the conversion rates then in effect. At the closing of the IPO, there were no shares of Preferred Stock outstanding.

Digital Wholesale segment. We generate marketplace subscription revenue primarily from dealers through Listing(i) dealer subscriptions to our Listings packages, RPM, digital advertising suite, Digital Retail, and Dealer Display subscriptions, andSell My Car - TDO, (ii) advertising revenue from automobileauto manufacturers and other auto‑related brand advertisers. Our rapidadvertisers, and (iii) revenue growthfrom partnerships with financing services companies. We generate wholesale revenue primarily from (x) transaction fees earned from Dealer-to-Dealer transactions, (y) transaction fees earned from the sale of vehicles to dealers that we acquire at other marketplaces, and financial performance over(z) transaction fees earned from performing inspection and transportation services, inclusive of Dealer-to-Dealer transactions, other marketplace-to-dealer transactions, and IMCO transactions (as defined below). We generate product revenue primarily from (A) aggregate proceeds received from the last several years exemplifysale of vehicles to dealers that were acquired directly from customers, or CarGurus Instant Max Cash Offer, or IMCO transactions, and (B) proceeds received from the strengthsale of our marketplace. Wevehicles that were acquired through arbitration.

For the year ended December 31, 2023, we generated revenue of $316.9$914.2 million, in 2017, $198.1a 45% decrease from $1,655.0 million in 2016, and $98.6 million in 2015, representing year-over-year increases of 60% in 2017 and 101% in 2016. revenue for the year ended December 31, 2022.

In 2017,For the year ended December 31, 2023, we generated consolidated net income of $13.2$22.1 million and ourConsolidated Adjusted EBITDA was $24.1of $195.8 million, compared to aconsolidated net income of $6.5$79.0 million and Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA of $187.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2022.

See “Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, and Adjusted EBITDA of $11.0 million in 2016 and a net loss of $1.6 million and Adjusted EBITDA of $(0.4) million in 2015. See “Selected Consolidated Financial Data — Adjusted EBITDA”attributable to redeemable noncontrolling interest” below for more information regarding our use of Adjusted EBITDA, a non-GAAP financial measure, and a reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to our consolidated net income (loss).income.

CarOffer Purchase Agreement

On November 6, 2023, we entered into a Membership Interest Purchase Agreement, or the 2023 Purchase Agreement, with CarOffer, CarOffer Investors Holding, LLC, CarOffer Midco, LLC, each of the persons set forth on Schedule 1.1(a) to the 2023 Purchase Agreement, which we refer to as the Indirect Members, Bruce T. Thompson, an individual residing in Texas, as the sellers’ representative, and the responsible party signatory thereto.

Pursuant to the 2023 Purchase Agreement we acquired the remaining minority equity interests in CarOffer for an aggregate consideration of $75.0 million in cash, or the 2023 Consideration, subject to certain adjustments set forth in the 2023 Purchase Agreement. A portion of the 2023 Consideration is held in escrow to secure certain payment and indemnification obligations of the Indirect Members in accordance with the terms of the 2023 Purchase Agreement. The acquisition was completed on December 1, 2023. We have two reportable segments, United Statesrefer to this acquisition as the 2023 CarOffer Transaction.

Following the 2023 CarOffer Transaction, CarOffer is a wholly-owned subsidiary and International. we entered into the Fourth Amended and Restated Limited Liability Company Agreement, or the 2023 CarOffer Operating Agreement, pursuant to which, among other matters, the existing put and call rights were terminated.

See Note 12 of4 to our Consolidated Financial Statementsconsolidated financial statements included elsewhere in Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for more information.further information regarding the 2023 CarOffer Transaction.

Key Business Metrics

We regularly review a number of metrics, including the key metrics listed below, to evaluate our business, measure our performance, identify trends affecting our business, formulate financial projections, and make operating and strategic decisions. We believe it is important to evaluate these metrics for the United StatesU.S. and International segments.geographic regions. The International is defined as all non-U.S. markets in which we operate.region derives revenue from marketplace revenue from customers outside of the U.S. International markets will likely perform differently from the U.S. market due to a variety of factors, including our operating history in theeach market, our rate of investment, market size, market maturity, competition, and other dynamics unique to each country.

49


Monthly Unique Users

WeFor each of our websites (excluding the CarOffer website), we define a monthly unique user as an individual who has visited ourany such website within a calendar month, based on data as measured by Google Analytics. We calculate average monthly unique users as the sum of the monthly unique users of each of our websites in a

40


given period, divided by the number of months in that period. We count a unique user the first time a computer or mobile device with a unique device identifier accesses any of our websitewebsites during a calendar month. If an individual accesses oura website using a different device within a given month, the first access by each such device is counted as a separate unique user. If an individual uses multiple browsers on a single device and/or clears their cookies and returns to our website within a calendar month, each such visit is counted as a separate unique user. We view our average monthly unique users as a key indicator of the quality of our user experience, the effectiveness of our advertising and traffic acquisition, and the strength of our brand awareness. Measuring unique users is important to us and we believe it provides useful information to our investors because our marketplace subscription revenue depends, in part, on our ability to provide dealers with connections to our users and exposure to our marketplace audience. We define connections as interactions between consumers and dealers on our marketplace through phone calls, email, managed text and chat, and clicks to access the dealer’s website andor map directions to the dealership.

 

Year Ended

December 31,

 

 

Year Ended December 31,

 

Average Monthly Unique Users

 

2017

 

 

2016

 

 

2015

 

 

2023

 

 

2022

 

 

(in thousands)

 

 

(in thousands)

 

United States

 

 

24,469

 

 

 

20,120

 

 

 

14,986

 

 

 

31,205

 

 

 

29,083

 

International

 

 

2,451

 

 

 

1,396

 

 

 

198

 

 

 

7,135

 

 

 

6,645

 

Total

 

 

38,340

 

 

 

35,728

 

Monthly Sessions

We define monthly sessions as the number of distinct visits to our websitewebsites (excluding the CarOffer website) that take place each month within a given time frame, as measured and defined by Google Analytics. We calculate average monthly sessions as the sum of the monthly sessions in a given period, divided by the number of months in that period. A session is defined as beginning with the first page view from a computer or mobile device and ending at the earliest of when a user closes their browser window, after 30 minutes of inactivity, or each night at midnight (i) Eastern Time each night.for our U.S. and Canada websites, other than the Autolist website, (ii) Pacific Time for the Autolist website, and (iii) Greenwich Mean Time for our U.K. websites. A session can be made up of multiple page views and visitor actions, such as performing a search, visiting vehicle detail pages, and connecting with a dealer. We believe that measuring the volume of sessions in a time period, when considered in conjunction with the number of unique users in that time period, is an important indicator to us of consumer satisfaction and engagement with our marketplace.marketplace, and we believe it provides useful information to our investors because the more satisfied and engaged consumers we have, the more valuable our service is to dealers.

 

Year Ended

December 31,

 

 

Year Ended December 31,

 

Average Monthly Sessions

 

2017

 

 

2016

 

 

2015

 

 

2023

 

 

2022

 

 

(in thousands)

 

 

(in thousands)

 

United States

 

 

64,758

 

 

 

46,706

 

 

 

31,531

 

 

 

82,340

 

 

 

77,724

 

International

 

 

5,365

 

 

 

2,627

 

 

 

342

 

 

 

16,503

 

 

 

15,219

 

Total

 

 

98,843

 

 

 

92,943

 

Number of Paying Dealers

AWe define a paying dealer isas a dealer, based on a distinct associated inventory feed, that subscribes to our Enhanced or Featured Listing product account with an active, paid marketplace subscription at the end of a defined period. We believe that theThe number of paying dealers we have is important to us and we believe it provides valuable information to investors because it is indicative of the value proposition of our Listingmarketplace products, andas well as our sales and marketing success and opportunity, including our ability to retain paying dealers and develop new dealer relationships.

 

 

As of December 31,

 

Number of Paying Dealers

 

2023

 

 

2022

 

United States

 

 

24,318

 

 

 

24,567

 

International

 

 

6,617

 

 

 

6,740

 

Total

 

 

30,935

 

 

 

31,307

 

 

 

As of

December 31,

 

Number of Paying Dealers

 

2017

 

 

2016

 

 

2015

 

United States

 

 

25,122

 

 

 

20,349

 

 

 

12,276

 

International

 

 

2,548

 

 

 

952

 

 

 

53

 

50


Transactions

41We define Transactions within the Digital Wholesale segment as the number of vehicles processed from car dealers, consumers, and other marketplaces through the CarOffer website within the applicable period. Transactions consists of each unique vehicle (based on vehicle identification number) that reaches "sold and invoiced" status on the CarOffer website within the applicable period, including vehicles sold to car dealers, vehicles sold at third-party auctions, vehicles ultimately sold to a different buyer, and vehicles that are returned to their owners without completion of a sale transaction. We exclude vehicles processed within CarOffer's intra-group trading solution (Group Trade) from the definition of Transactions, and we only count any unique vehicle once even if it reaches sold status multiple times. Digital Wholesale includes Dealer-to-Dealer transactions and IMCO transactions. We view Transactions as a key business metric, and we believe it provides useful information to investors, because it provides insight into growth and revenue for the Digital Wholesale segment. Transactions drive a significant portion of Digital Wholesale segment revenue. We believe growth in Transactions demonstrates consumer and dealer utilization and our market share penetration in the Digital Wholesale segment.


 

 

Year Ended December 31,

 

Transactions

 

2023

 

 

2022

 

Transactions

 

 

65,418

 

 

 

190,594

 

Quarterly Average Annual Revenue per Subscribing Dealer (AARSD)(QARSD)

We measure the average annual revenue we receive from each paying dealer. We define AARSD,QARSD, which is measured at the end of a defined period,fiscal quarter, as the total marketplace subscription revenue primarily from subscriptions to our Listings packages, RPM, our digital advertising suite, and other digital add-on products during thethat trailing 12 monthsquarter divided by the average number of paying dealers in that marketplace during the same trailing 12-month period. Ourquarter. We calculate the average number of paying dealers for a period by adding the number of paying dealers at the end of such period and the end of the prior period and dividing by two. This information is important to us, and we believe it provides useful information to investors, because we believe that our ability to grow AARSDQARSD is an indicator of the value proposition of our products and the return on investment, or ROI that our paying dealers realize from our products. IncreasesIn addition, increases in AARSDQARSD, which we believe reflect the value of exposure to our engaged audience in relation to subscription cost, are driven in part by our ability to grow the volume of connections to our users and the quality of those connections, effectively illustrate the value of brand exposurewhich result in increased opportunity to our engaged audience in relation to subscription cost, upsell package levels and cross-sell additional products to our paying dealers.

 

As of

December 31,

 

Average Annual Revenue per

Subscribing Dealer (AARSD)

 

2017

 

 

2016

 

 

2015

 

 

As of December 31,

 

Quarterly Average Revenue per Subscribing Dealer (QARSD)

 

2023

 

 

2022

 

United States

 

$

12,055

 

 

$

10,383

 

 

$

8,835

 

 

$

6,532

 

 

$

5,842

 

International

 

$

4,904

 

 

$

3,830

 

 

n/a*

 

 

$

1,773

 

 

$

1,522

 

Consolidated

 

$

5,503

 

 

$

4,921

 

*

International revenues were not generated before October 2015 and, therefore, sufficient data for the trailing 12‑month calculation is not available.

Adjusted EBITDA

We defineConsolidated Adjusted EBITDA, as net income (loss), adjusted to exclude: depreciation and amortization, stock‑based compensation expense, other (income) expense, net, the provision for (benefit from) income taxes, and certain one‑time, non‑recurring items, if and when applicable. We monitor and have presented Adjusted EBITDA, in this Annual Report on Form 10-K as a non‑GAAP financial measureand Adjusted EBITDA attributable to supplement the financial information we present on a GAAP basis toredeemable noncontrolling interest

To provide investors with additional information regarding our financial results.results, we have presented within this Annual Report, Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, and Adjusted EBITDA attributable to redeemable noncontrolling interest, each of which is a non-GAAP financial measure. These non-GAAP financial measures are not based on any standardized methodology prescribed by GAAP, and are not necessarily comparable to any similarly titled measures presented by other companies.

We define Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA as consolidated net income, adjusted to exclude: depreciation and amortization, impairment of long-lived assets, stock‑based compensation expense, stock-based compensation expense for CarOffer, LLC Units, as defined below, transaction-related expenses, other income, net, and provision for income taxes.

We define Adjusted EBITDA as Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA adjusted to exclude Adjusted EBITDA attributable to redeemable noncontrolling interest.

51


We define Adjusted EBITDA attributable to redeemable noncontrolling interest as net loss attributable to redeemable noncontrolling interest, adjusted to exclude: depreciation and amortization, impairment of long-lived assets, stock‑based compensation expense, stock-based compensation expense for CarOffer, LLC Units, as defined below, other expense, net, and provision for income taxes. These exclusions are adjusted for redeemable noncontrolling interest of 38% by taking the noncontrolling interest's full financial results and multiplying each line item in the reconciliation by 38%. We note that we use 38%, versus 49%, to allocate the share of income (loss) because it represents the portion attributable to the redeemable noncontrolling interest. The 38% is exclusive of CO Incentive Units, Subject Units, and 2021 Incentive Units (as each term is defined in Note 2 to our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report) liability-classified awards which do not participate in the share of income (loss). Adjusted EBITDA attributable to redeemable noncontrolling interest is reflective of the 2023 CarOffer Transaction completed on December 1, 2023. Following the 2023 CarOffer Transaction, there is no redeemable noncontrolling interest as of December 1, 2023.

We have presented Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA within this Annual Report because they are key measures used by our management and Board of Directors to understand and evaluate our operating performance, generate future operating plans, and make strategic decisions regarding the allocation of capital. In particular, we believe that the exclusion of certain items in calculating Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA can produce a non‑useful measure for period‑to‑period comparisons of our business. We have presented Adjusted EBITDA attributable to redeemable noncontrolling interest because it is used by our management to reconcile Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA to Adjusted EBITDA. It represents the portion of Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA that is attributable to our redeemable noncontrolling interest. Adjusted EBITDA attributable to redeemable noncontrolling interest is not intended to be reviewed on its own.

We use Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA to evaluate our operating performance and trends and make planning decisions. We believe Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA help identify underlying trends in our business that could otherwise be masked by the effect of the expenses that we exclude. Accordingly, we believe that Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA provide useful information to investors and others in understanding and evaluating our operating results, enhancing the overall understanding of our past performance and future prospects, and allowing for greater transparency with respect to key financial metrics used by our management in its financial and operational decision‑making. We use Adjusted EBITDA attributable to redeemable noncontrolling interest to reconcile Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA to Adjusted EBITDA. It enables an investor to gain a clearer understanding of the portion of Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA that is attributable to our redeemable noncontrolling interest.

Our Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, and Adjusted EBITDA attributable to redeemable noncontrolling interest are not prepared in accordance with GAAP, financial measure,and should not be considered in isolation from,of, or as an alternative to, measures prepared in accordance with GAAP. WeThere are a number of limitations related to the use of Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, and Adjusted EBITDA attributable to redeemable noncontrolling interest rather than consolidated net income and net loss attributable to redeemable noncontrolling interest, respectively, which are the most directly comparable GAAP equivalents. Some of these limitations are:

Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, and Adjusted EBITDA attributable to redeemable noncontrolling interest exclude depreciation and amortization expense and, although these are non‑cash expenses, the assets being depreciated may have to be replaced in the future;
Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, and Adjusted EBITDA attributable to redeemable noncontrolling interest exclude impairment of long-lived assets and, although these are non-cash adjustments, the assets being impaired may have to be replaced in the future;
Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, and Adjusted EBITDA attributable to redeemable noncontrolling interest exclude stock‑based compensation expense, which will be, for the foreseeable future, a significant recurring expense for our business and an important part of our compensation strategy;
Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, and Adjusted EBITDA attributable to redeemable noncontrolling interest exclude stock‑based compensation expense for CarOffer, LLC Units, which consists of one-time modifications and expense associated with our CO Incentive Units and Subject Units, as defined in Note 2 to the consolidated financial statements, and Noncontrolling Interest Units, as defined in Note 4 to the consolidated financial statements,

52


Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA exclude transaction and one-time acquisition-related expenses incurred by us during a reporting period, which are inclusive of certain transaction and integration costs associated with the 2023 CarOffer Transaction and which may not be reflective of our operational performance during such period, for acquisitions that have been completed as of the filing date of our annual or quarterly report (as applicable) relating to such period;
Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, and Adjusted EBITDA attributable to redeemable noncontrolling interest exclude other income, net, which consists primarily of interest income earned on our cash and cash equivalents, foreign exchange gains, and losses and interest expense;
Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, and Adjusted EBITDA attributable to redeemable noncontrolling interest exclude the provision for income taxes;
Adjusted EBITDA excludes Adjusted EBITDA attributable to redeemable noncontrolling interest, which is calculated as the net loss attributable to redeemable noncontrolling interest, adjusted for all exclusions used to calculate Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA as described above; and
other companies, including companies in our industry, may calculate Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, and Adjusted EBITDA attributable to redeemable noncontrolling interest differently, which reduces their usefulness as a comparative measure.

Because of these limitations, we consider, and you should consider, Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, and Adjusted EBITDA attributable to redeemable noncontrolling interest together with other operating and financial performance measures presented in accordance with GAAP. Also, our non‑GAAP measure may not necessarily be comparable to similarly titled measures presented by other companies.

We believe that Adjusted EBITDA is a key indicator of our operating results. For further explanation of the usesyears ended December 31, 2023 and limitations of this measure and2022, the following table presents a reconciliation of ourConsolidated Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA to consolidated net income, the most directly comparable measure calculated in accordance with GAAP for each of the periods presented.

 

 

Year Ended December 31,

 

 

 

2023

 

 

2022(1)

 

 

 

(in thousands)

 

Reconciliation of Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Consolidated net income

 

$

22,053

 

 

$

78,954

 

Depreciation and amortization

 

 

48,474

 

 

 

45,334

 

Impairment of long-lived assets

 

 

184

 

 

 

165

 

Stock-based compensation expense

 

 

57,913

 

 

 

54,777

 

Stock-based compensation expense for CarOffer, LLC Units

 

 

55,543

 

 

 

(21,095

)

Transaction-related expenses

 

 

1,044

 

 

 

 

Other income, net

 

 

(19,060

)

 

 

(2,884

)

Provision for income taxes

 

 

29,634

 

 

 

32,408

 

Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA

 

 

195,785

 

 

 

187,659

 

Adjusted EBITDA attributable to redeemable noncontrolling interest

 

 

83

 

 

 

1,006

 

Adjusted EBITDA

 

$

195,702

 

 

$

186,653

 

(1)
We have updated the table above to separately disclose the stock-based compensation expense for CarOffer, LLC Units and, as such, have updated the three months and year ended December 31, 2022 for comparative purposes.

53


For the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, the following table presents a reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA attributable to redeemable noncontrolling interest to net loss attributable to redeemable noncontrolling interest, the most directly comparable measure net income (loss), please see “Selected Consolidated Financial Data — Adjusted EBITDA.”calculated in accordance with GAAP, for each of the periods presented.

 

 

Year Ended December 31,

 

 

 

2023

 

 

2022(1)

 

 

 

(in thousands)

 

Reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA attributable to redeemable noncontrolling interest:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net loss attributable to redeemable noncontrolling interest

 

$

(14,889

)

 

$

(5,433

)

Depreciation and amortization (2)

 

 

10,863

 

 

 

11,702

 

Impairment of long-lived assets (2)

 

 

67

 

 

 

63

 

Stock-based compensation expense (2)

 

 

783

 

 

 

731

 

Stock-based compensation expense for CarOffer, LLC Units (2)

 

 

2,249

 

 

 

(8,043

)

Other expense, net (2)

 

 

985

 

 

 

2,007

 

Provision for income taxes (2)

 

 

25

 

 

 

(21

)

Adjusted EBITDA attributable to redeemable noncontrolling interest

 

$

83

 

 

$

1,006

 

(1)
We have updated the table above to separately disclose the stock-based compensation expense for CarOffer, LLC Units and, as such, have updated the three months and year ended December 31, 2022 for comparative purposes.
(2)
These exclusions are adjusted to reflect the noncontrolling interest of 38% for the period prior to the 2023 CarOffer Transaction.

Components of Consolidated Income Statements of Operations

Revenue

OurWe derive our revenue from marketplace revenue, wholesale revenue, and product revenue. Marketplace revenue is derivedincluded in the U.S. Marketplace segment and Other category of segment reporting. Wholesale revenue and product revenue are included in the Digital Wholesale segment. We generate marketplace revenue primarily from two primary sources: marketplace subscription revenue, which consists of listing(i) dealer subscriptions to our Listings packages, RPM, digital advertising suite, Digital Retail, and display advertising subscriptions from dealers, and advertising and other revenue, which consists primarily of displaySell My Car - TDO, (ii) advertising revenue from auto manufacturers and other auto‑related brand advertisers.advertisers, and (iii) revenue from partnerships with financing services companies. We generate wholesale revenue primarily from (x) transaction fees earned from Dealer-to-Dealer transactions, (y) transaction fees earned from the sale of vehicles to dealers that we acquire at other marketplaces, and (z) transaction fees earned from performing inspection and transportation services, inclusive of Dealer-to-Dealer transactions, other marketplace-to-dealer transactions, and IMCO transactions. We generate product revenue primarily from (A) aggregate proceeds received from the sale of vehicles that were acquired through IMCO transactions, and (B) proceeds received from the sale of vehicles that were acquired through arbitration.

Marketplace Subscription Revenue

We offer threemultiple types of marketplace Listing productsListings packages to our dealers: Basic Listing,dealers for our CarGurus U.S. platform (availability varies on our other marketplaces): Restricted Listings, which is free; and Enhanced or Featured Listing,various levels of Listings packages, which each require a paid subscription under a monthly, quarterly, semiannual, or annual subscription basis.

Our subscriptions for customers generally auto-renew on a monthly basis and are cancellable by dealers with 30 days' advance notice prior to the commencement of the applicable renewal term. Subscription pricing is determined based on a dealer’s inventory size, region, and our assessment of the connections and ROI ourthe platform will provide them.them and is subject to discounts and/or fee reductions that we may offer from time to time. We also offer Listingall dealers on the platform access to our Dealer Dashboard, which includes a performance summary, Dealer Insights tool, and user review management platform,platform. Only dealers subscribing to a paid Listings package have access to the Pricing Tool, and Market Analysis tool. The Pricing Tool and Market Analysis tool, are available only to paying dealers.and IMV Scan tool.

We also offer paid Listings packages for the Autolist and PistonHeads websites.

54


In addition to listing theirdisplaying inventory in our marketplace and providing them access to ourthe Dealer Dashboard, we offer Enhanced and Featured Listing dealers subscribing to certain of our Listings packages other subscription advertising and customer acquisition products including displayand enhancements marketed under RPM and our digital advertising suite. Through RPM, dealers can buy advertising that appears in our marketplace, and on other sites on the internet, whichand/or on high-converting social media platforms. Such advertisements can be targeted by the user’s geography, search history, CarGurus website activity, and a number of other targeting factors, allowing dealers to increase their visibility with in-market consumers and drive qualified traffic for dealers.

We also offer dealer advertising products for the PistonHeads website.

We also offer dealers subscribing to certain of our Listings packages other subscription advertising and customer acquisition products and enhancements such as Digital Retail, which allows shoppers to complete much of the vehicle-purchase process online through the Dealers’ Listings page. Digital Retail is comprised of (i) the Digital Deal Platform, which gives dealers higher quality leads through upfront consumer-provided information, (ii) Geo Expansion, which expands the visibility of a dealer’s inventory in the search engine marketing,results beyond its local market, and (iii) Hard Pull Financing, which helpsprovides loan information.

We also offer dealers more effectivelysubscribing to certain of our Listings packages other subscription advertising and customer acquisition products and enhancements such as TDO, which allows dealers to pay for leads to receive direct access to shoppers actively looking to sell their vehicles. Dealers can acquire customersinventory from shoppers who are looking to sell directly through paid search, social media, and retargeted advertising.the CarGurus Sell My Car page.

42


Marketplace subscription revenue is recognized on a monthly basis as the service is delivered to the dealer.

Advertising and Other Revenue

Advertising and other revenuealso consists primarily of non‑dealer displaynon-dealer advertising revenue from auto manufacturers and other auto‑relatedauto-related brand advertisers sold on a cost per thousandcost-per-thousand impressions basis, or CPM basis. An impression is an advertisement loaded on a web page. In addition to advertising sold on a CPM basis, we also have advertising sold on a cost-per-click basis. Pricing is primarily based on advertisement size and position on our websites and mobile applications. Auto manufacturers and other brand advertisers can execute advertising campaigns that are targeted across a wide variety of parameters, including demographic groups, behavioral characteristics, specific auto brands, categories such as Certified Pre‑Owned,Pre-Owned, and segments such as hybrid vehicles. We do not provide minimum impression guarantees or other types of minimum guarantees in our contracts with customers. Advertising is also sold indirectly through revenue sharing arrangements with advertising exchange partners.

ForWe also offer non-dealer advertising products for the Autolist and PistonHeads websites.

Marketplace revenue also includes revenue from partnerships with certain financing services companies pursuant to which we enable eligible consumers on our CarGurus U.S. website to pre-qualify for financing on cars from dealerships that offer financing through such companies. We primarily generate revenue from these partnerships based on the number of funded loans from consumers who pre-qualify with our lending partners through our site.

Wholesale Revenue

The CarOffer Matrix enables buying dealers to create standing buy orders and provides instant offers to selling dealers. Wholesale revenue includes transaction fees earned from Dealer-to-Dealer transactions, where we collect fees from both the buying and selling dealers. We also sell vehicles to dealers that we acquire at other marketplaces, where we collect a descriptiontransaction fee from the buying dealers.

Wholesale revenue also includes fees earned from performing inspection and transportation services, where we collect fees from the buying dealer. Inspection and transportation service revenue is inclusive of ourDealer-to-Dealer transactions, other marketplace to dealer transactions, and IMCO transactions.

Wholesale revenue accounting policies, see “— Critical Accounting Policiesalso includes arbitration in which the vehicle is rematched to a new buyer and Significant Estimates.”not acquired by us. Arbitration is the process by which we investigate and resolve claims from buying dealers.

Wholesale revenue also includes fees earned from certain guarantees offered to dealers (which include 45-Day Guarantee and OfferGuard products), where we collect fees from the buying dealer or selling dealer, as applicable.

55


Product Revenue

The CarOffer Matrix enables consumers who are selling vehicles to be instantly presented with an offer. Product revenue includes the aggregate proceeds received from the sale of vehicles through IMCO transactions, including vehicle sale price and transaction fees collected from the buying dealers. Product revenue also includes proceeds received from the sale of vehicles acquired through arbitration, including vehicle sale price and transaction fees collected from buying dealers. Arbitration is the process by which we investigate and resolve claims from buying dealers. We control the vehicle in these transactions and therefore act as the principal.

Cost of Revenue

Marketplace Cost of Revenue

Marketplace cost of revenue primarily consists of costsincludes expenses related to supporting and hosting our productmarketplace service offerings. These costsexpenses include personnel and related expenses for our customer support team, including salaries, benefits, incentive compensation, and stock‑based compensation expense related to the customer support team and third‑partystock-based compensation; third-party service provider costsexpenses such as advertising, data, center and networking expenses, allocated overhead, depreciation andhosting expenses; amortization expense associated with our property and equipment, andof developed technology; amortization of capitalized website development costs.development; amortization of capitalized hosting arrangements; and allocated overhead expenses. We allocate overhead costs,expenses, such as rent and facility costs,expenses, information technology costs,expense, and employee benefit costs,expense, to all departments based on headcount. As such, general overhead expenses are reflected in cost of revenue and each operating expense category.

Wholesale Cost of Revenue

Wholesale cost of revenue includes expenses related to supporting and hosting Digital Wholesale service offerings, including Dealer-to-Dealer transactions and vehicles sold to dealers acquired at other marketplaces on the CarOffer Matrix. These expenses include vehicle transportation and inspection expenses; net losses on vehicles related to guarantees offered to dealers through Dealer-to-Dealer transactions; personnel and related expenses for employees directly involved in the fulfillment and support of transactions, including salaries, benefits, incentive compensation, and stock-based compensation; third-party service provider expenses; amortization of developed technology; amortization of capitalized website development; and allocated overhead expenses. We expect theseallocate overhead expenses, such as rent and facility expenses, information technology expense, and employee benefit expense, to increase as we continueall departments based on headcount. As such, general overhead expenses are reflected in cost of revenue and each operating expense category.

Product Cost of Revenue

Product cost of revenue includes expenses related to grow our businessvehicles sold to dealers through IMCO transactions and introduce new products.vehicles sold to dealers acquired through arbitration. These expenses include the cost of the vehicle and transportation expenses.

Operating Expenses

Sales and Marketing

Sales and marketing expenses consist primarily of personnel and related expenses for our sales and marketing staff,team, including salaries, benefits, incentive compensation, commissions, stock‑based compensation, and travel costs; costsstock-based compensation; expenses associated with consumer marketing, such as traffic acquisition, brand building, and public relations activities; costsexpenses associated with dealer marketing, such as content marketing, customer and promotional events, and industry events; consulting services; software subscription expenses; travel expenses; amortization of capitalized hosting arrangements; and allocated overhead.overhead expenses. A portion of our commissions that are related to obtaining a new contract are capitalized and amortized over the estimated benefit period of customer relationships. All other sales and marketing expenses are expensed as incurred. We expect sales and marketing expenses to increase as we grow our audience and attempt to strengthen our brand awareness and, as informed by trends in our business and the competitive landscape of our market, fluctuate from quarter to quarter as we respond to changes in the macroeconomic and competitive landscapes affecting our existing dealers, consumer audience, and brand awareness, which will impact our quarterly results of operations.

56


Product, Technology, and Development

Product, technology, and development expenses which include research and development costs, consist primarily of personnel costs ofand related expenses for our research and development team, including payroll,salaries, benefits, stock‑basedincentive compensation, expenseand stock-based compensation; software subscription expenses; consulting services; and allocated overhead costs.expenses. Other than website development, costs that qualify for capitalization,internal-use software, and hosting arrangement expenses, research and development costsexpenses are expensed as incurred. We expect product, technology, and development expenses to increase as we invest in additional engineering resources to develop new solutions and make improvements to our existing platform.

General and Administrative

General and administrative expenses consist primarily of personnel costs and related expenses for our executive, finance, legal, human resources,people & talent, and administrative personnel,teams, including salaries, benefits, incentive compensation, and stock‑based compensationstock-based compensation; expenses in addition to the costs associated with professional fees for audit, tax, external legal, accounting and other consulting services, insurance premiums,services; payment processing and billing costs,expenses; insurance expenses; software subscription expenses; and allocated overhead costs.expenses. General and administrative expenses are expensed as incurred. We expect general and administrative expenses to increase as we incur the costs of compliance associated with being a publicly traded company, including legal, audit, and consulting fees.continue to scale our business.

Depreciation and Amortization

Depreciation and amortization expenses consist of depreciation on property and equipment and leasehold improvements.amortization of intangible assets and internal-use software.

43


Other Income, (Expense)Net

Other income, (expense)net consists primarily of interest income earned on our cash and cash equivalents, and investments, interest expense on lease obligations, and net foreign exchange gains and losses.losses, interest expense for undrawn fees related to our credit facility and amortization of deferred financing costs, and gains and losses associated with our investments.

Provision for (Benefit from) Income Taxes

We are subject to federal and state income taxes in the United StatesU.S. and taxes in foreign jurisdictions in which we operate. We have recordedFor the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, a provision for income taxes for the periods ended December 31, 2017 and 2016was recognized as a result of ourthe consolidated taxable income position. We have recognized a benefit from income taxes for the period ended December 31, 2015 due to our taxable loss position for that period.

We recognize deferred tax assets and liabilities based on temporary differences between the financial reporting and income tax bases of assets and liabilities using statutory rates. enacted tax rates in effect for the year in which the temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled.

We regularly assess the need to recordrecognize a valuation allowance against net deferred tax assets if, based upon the available evidence, it is more likely than not that some or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. We have not provided a valuation allowance against our net deferred tax assets atAs of December 31, 20172023 and 2022, valuation allowances were immaterial.

We assess our income tax positions and recognize an income tax benefit or 2016.expense based upon our evaluation of the facts, circumstances, and information available at the reporting date. For the year ended December 31, 2023, there was $0.2 million income tax expense related to uncertain tax provisions. As of December 31, 2023, the income tax liability related to uncertain tax positions, exclusive of immaterial interest or penalties related to uncertain tax provisions, was $0.8 million, which would favorably affect our effective tax rate, if recognized. For the year ended December 31, 2022, income tax expense and liability related to uncertain tax positions, exclusive of immaterial interest or penalties related to uncertain tax provisions, was $0.6 million, which would favorably affect our effective tax rate, if recognized.

57


Results of Operations

The following table sets forthFor the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, our selected consolidated income statements ofare as follows:

 

 

Year Ended December 31,

 

 

 

2023

 

 

2022

 

 

 

(dollars in thousands)

 

Revenue:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marketplace

 

$

698,236

 

 

$

658,771

 

Wholesale

 

 

100,908

 

 

 

237,635

 

Product

 

 

115,098

 

 

 

758,629

 

Total revenue

 

 

914,242

 

 

 

1,655,035

 

Cost of revenue:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marketplace

 

 

60,020

 

 

 

56,040

 

Wholesale

 

 

90,066

 

 

 

176,446

 

Product

 

 

112,702

 

 

 

764,996

 

Total cost of revenue

 

 

262,788

 

 

 

997,482

 

Gross profit

 

 

651,454

 

 

 

657,553

 

Operating expenses:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sales and marketing

 

 

304,070

 

 

 

336,708

 

Product, technology, and development

 

 

146,169

 

 

 

123,768

 

General and administrative

 

 

152,757

 

 

 

73,117

 

Depreciation and amortization

 

 

15,831

 

 

 

15,482

 

Total operating expenses

 

 

618,827

 

 

 

549,075

 

Income from operations

 

 

32,627

 

 

 

108,478

 

Other income, net:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Interest income

 

 

18,430

 

 

 

3,845

 

Other income (expense), net

 

 

630

 

 

 

(961

)

Total other income, net

 

 

19,060

 

 

 

2,884

 

Income before income taxes

 

 

51,687

 

 

 

111,362

 

Provision for income taxes

 

 

29,634

 

 

 

32,408

 

Consolidated net income

 

 

22,053

 

 

 

78,954

 

Net loss attributable to redeemable noncontrolling interest

 

 

(14,889

)

 

 

(5,433

)

Net income attributable to CarGurus, Inc.

 

$

36,942

 

 

$

84,387

 

For the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, our segment revenue and our segment income (loss) from operations data for each ofare as follows:

 

 

Year Ended December 31,

 

 

 

2023

 

 

2022

 

 

 

(dollars in thousands)

 

Segment Revenue:

 

 

 

 

 

 

U.S. Marketplace

 

$

647,284

 

 

$

614,136

 

Digital Wholesale

 

 

216,005

 

 

 

996,264

 

Other

 

 

50,953

 

 

 

44,635

 

Total

 

$

914,242

 

 

$

1,655,035

 

Segment Income (Loss) from Operations:

 

 

 

 

 

 

U.S. Marketplace

 

$

127,724

 

 

$

128,455

 

Digital Wholesale

 

 

(96,383

)

 

 

(11,834

)

Other

 

 

1,286

 

 

 

(8,143

)

Total

 

$

32,627

 

 

$

108,478

 

58


For the periods indicated. The period‑to‑period comparison of financial results is not necessarily indicative of future results.

 

 

Year Ended

December 31,

 

 

 

2017

 

 

2016

 

 

2015

 

 

 

(in thousands)

 

Revenue:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marketplace subscription

 

$

282,664

 

 

$

171,302

 

 

$

75,142

 

Advertising and other

 

 

34,197

 

 

 

26,839

 

 

 

23,446

 

Total revenue

 

 

316,861

 

 

 

198,141

 

 

 

98,588

 

Cost of revenue

 

 

17,609

 

 

 

9,575

 

 

 

4,234

 

Gross profit

 

 

299,252

 

 

 

188,566

 

 

 

94,354

 

Operating expenses:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sales and marketing

 

 

236,165

 

 

 

154,125

 

 

 

81,877

 

Product, technology, and development

 

 

22,470

 

 

 

11,453

 

 

 

8,235

 

General and administrative

 

 

22,688

 

 

 

12,783

 

 

 

5,801

 

Depreciation and amortization

 

 

2,655

 

 

 

1,634

 

 

 

969

 

Total operating expenses

 

 

283,978

 

 

 

179,995

 

 

 

96,882

 

Income (loss) from operations

 

 

15,274

 

 

 

8,571

 

 

 

(2,528

)

Other income (expense), net

 

 

563

 

 

 

374

 

 

 

(12

)

Income (loss) before income taxes

 

 

15,837

 

 

 

8,945

 

 

 

(2,540

)

Provision for (benefit from) income taxes

 

 

2,638

 

 

 

2,448

 

 

 

(904

)

Net income (loss)

 

$

13,199

 

 

$

6,497

 

 

$

(1,636

)

 

 

Year Ended

December 31,

 

 

 

2017

 

 

2016

 

 

2015

 

 

 

(in thousands)

 

Additional Financial Data

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Revenue

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

United States

 

$

307,472

 

 

$

195,824

 

 

$

98,566

 

International

 

 

9,389

 

 

 

2,317

 

 

 

22

 

Total

 

$

316,861

 

 

$

198,141

 

 

$

98,588

 

Income (loss) from Operations

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

United States

 

$

41,586

 

 

$

27,461

 

 

$

637

 

International

 

 

(26,312

)

 

 

(18,890

)

 

 

(3,165

)

Total

 

$

15,274

 

 

$

8,571

 

 

$

(2,528

)

44


The following table sets forthyears ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, our selected consolidated income statements of operations data as a percentage of total revenue for eachare as follows (amounts in the table below may not sum due to rounding):

 

 

Year Ended December 31,

 

 

 

2023

 

 

2022

 

Revenue:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marketplace

 

 

76

%

 

 

40

%

Wholesale

 

 

11

 

 

 

14

 

Product

 

 

13

 

 

 

46

 

Total revenue

 

 

100

 

 

 

100

 

Cost of revenue:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marketplace

 

 

7

 

 

 

3

 

Wholesale

 

 

10

 

 

 

11

 

Product

 

 

12

 

 

 

46

 

Total cost of revenue

 

 

29

 

 

 

60

 

Gross profit

 

 

71

 

 

 

40

 

Operating expenses:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sales and marketing

 

 

33

 

 

 

20

 

Product, technology, and development

 

 

16

 

 

 

7

 

General and administrative

 

 

17

 

 

 

4

 

Depreciation and amortization

 

 

2

 

 

 

1

 

          Total operating expenses

 

 

68

 

 

 

33

 

Income from operations

 

 

4

 

 

 

7

 

Other income, net:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Interest income

 

 

2

 

 

 

0

 

Other income (expense), net

 

 

0

 

 

 

(0

)

Total other income, net

 

 

2

 

 

 

0

 

Income before income taxes

 

 

6

 

 

 

7

 

Provision for income taxes

 

 

3

 

 

 

2

 

Consolidated net income

 

 

2

 

 

 

5

 

Net loss attributable to redeemable noncontrolling interest

 

 

(2

)

 

 

(0

)

Net income attributable to CarGurus, Inc.

 

 

4

 

 

 

5

 

For the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, our segment revenue as a percentage of total revenue and our segment income (loss) from operations as a percentage of segment revenue are as follows (amounts in the periods indicated.table below may not sum due to rounding):

 

 

Year Ended December 31,

 

 

 

2023

 

 

2022

 

Segment Revenue:

 

 

 

 

 

 

U.S. Marketplace

 

 

71

%

 

 

37

%

Digital Wholesale

 

 

24

 

 

 

60

 

Other

 

 

6

 

 

 

3

 

Total

 

 

100

%

 

 

100

%

Segment Income (Loss) from Operations:

 

 

 

 

 

 

U.S. Marketplace

 

 

20

%

 

 

21

%

Digital Wholesale

 

 

(45

)

 

 

(1

)

Other

 

 

3

 

 

 

(18

)

Total

 

 

4

%

 

 

7

%

 

 

Year Ended

December 31,

 

 

 

2017

 

 

2016

 

 

2015

 

Revenue:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marketplace subscription

 

 

89

%

 

 

86

%

 

 

76

%

Advertising and other

 

 

11

 

 

 

14

 

 

 

24

 

Total revenue

 

 

100

%

 

 

100

%

 

 

100

%

Cost of revenue

 

 

6

 

 

 

5

 

 

 

4

 

Gross profit

 

 

94

 

 

 

95

 

 

 

96

 

Operating expenses:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sales and marketing

 

 

74

 

 

 

78

 

 

 

83

 

Product, technology, and development

 

 

7

 

 

 

6

 

 

 

9

 

General and administrative

 

 

7

 

 

 

6

 

 

 

6

 

Depreciation and amortization

 

 

1

 

 

 

1

 

 

 

1

 

Total operating expenses

 

 

89

 

 

 

91

 

 

 

99

 

Income (loss) from operations

 

 

5

 

 

 

4

 

 

 

(3

)

Other income (expense), net

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Income (loss) before income taxes

 

 

5

 

 

 

4

 

 

 

(3

)

Provision for (benefit from) income taxes

 

 

1

 

 

 

1

 

 

 

(1

)

Net income (loss)

 

 

4

%

 

 

3

%

 

 

(2

)%

59


 

 

Year Ended

December 31,

 

 

 

2017

 

 

2016

 

 

2015

 

Additional Financial Data

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Revenue

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

United States

 

 

97

%

 

 

99

%

 

 

100

%

International

 

 

3

 

 

 

1

 

 

 

 

Total

 

 

100

%

 

 

100

%

 

 

100

%

Income (loss) from Operations

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

United States

 

 

13

%

 

 

14

%

 

—%

 

International

 

 

(8

)

 

 

(10

)

 

 

(3

)

Total

 

 

5

%

 

 

4

%

 

 

(3

)%

Year Ended December 31, 20172023 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 20162022

Revenue

Revenue by Source

 

 

Year Ended

December 31,

 

 

Change

 

 

 

2017

 

 

2016

 

 

Amount

 

 

%

 

 

 

(dollars in thousands)

 

Revenue

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marketplace subscription

 

$

282,664

 

 

$

171,302

 

 

$

111,362

 

 

 

65

%

Advertising and other

 

 

34,197

 

 

 

26,839

 

 

 

7,358

 

 

 

27

 

Total

 

$

316,861

 

 

$

198,141

 

 

$

118,720

 

 

 

60

%

Percentage of total revenue:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marketplace subscription

 

 

89

%

 

 

86

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Advertising and other

 

 

11

 

 

 

14

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total

 

 

100

%

 

 

100

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Year Ended December 31,

 

 

Change

 

 

 

2023

 

 

2022

 

 

Amount

 

 

%

 

 

 

(dollars in thousands)

 

Revenue:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marketplace

 

$

698,236

 

 

$

658,771

 

 

$

39,465

 

 

 

6

%

Wholesale

 

 

100,908

 

 

 

237,635

 

 

 

(136,727

)

 

 

(58

)

Product

 

 

115,098

 

 

 

758,629

 

 

 

(643,531

)

 

 

(85

)

Total

 

$

914,242

 

 

$

1,655,035

 

 

$

(740,793

)

 

 

(45

)%

Percentage of total revenue:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marketplace

 

 

76

%

 

 

40

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wholesale

 

 

11

 

 

 

14

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Product

 

 

13

 

 

 

46

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total

 

 

100

%

 

 

100

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

45


Overall revenue increased $118.7decreased $740.8 million, or 60%45%, in the year ended December 31, 20172023 compared to the year ended December 31, 2016. 2022.

Marketplace subscription revenue increased by 65% while advertising and other revenue grew by 27%.

Marketplace subscription revenue increased $111.4$39.5 million, or 6%, in the year ended December 31, 20172023 compared to the year ended December 31, 2016,2022 and represented 89%76% of total revenue in 2017 compared to 86%for the year ended December 31, 2023 and 40% of total revenue in 2016. Thisfor the year ended December 31, 2022. The increase was due to an increase in marketplace subscriptionListings revenue, was attributable primarily toinclusive of certain digital add-on products, as a 30%result of growth in the number of U.S.QARSD, which was driven by signing on new dealers with higher average monthly recurring revenue and International paying dealers, to 27,670 as of December 31, 2017 from 21,301 as of December 31, 2016, and to a 16% growth in our AARSDrevenue expansion through product upgrades for U.S. dealers to $12,055existing dealers.

Wholesale revenue decreased $136.7 million, or 58%, in the year ended December 31, 2017 from $10,383 in the year ended December 31, 2016. We believe that this increase in paying dealers was driven by the overall growth in the number of unique users to our website and mobile applications and the efforts of our sales and marketing teams to subscribe dealers to our Enhanced and Featured Listing paid products.

Advertising and other revenue increased $7.4 million in the year ended December 31, 20172023 compared to the year ended December 31, 2016,2022 and represented 11% of total revenue in 2017 compared tofor the year ended December 31, 2023 and 14% of total revenue in 2016.for the year ended December 31, 2022. The increase in advertising and other revenuedecrease was due primarily to a 16% increase66% decrease in Transactions, which includes Dealer-to-Dealer transactions and IMCO transactions, to 65,418 for the year ended December 31, 2023 from 190,594 for the year ended December 31, 2022, as a result of unfavorable market conditions and operational challenges in the number of impressions deliveredprior year which resulted in 2017 and a 28% increaseour focus in the average price per thousand impressionscurrent year on optimization of internal policies and procedures over volume of Transactions. The decrease in 2017 compared to 2016.  The increase was also partially offset byTransactions resulted in a reductiondecrease in other advertisingtransaction fee revenue, transportation revenue, inspection revenue, and guarantee revenue.

Revenue by Segment

 

 

Year Ended

December 31,

 

 

Change

 

 

 

2017

 

 

2016

 

 

Amount

 

 

%

 

 

 

(dollars in thousands)

 

Revenue

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

United States

 

$

307,472

 

 

$

195,824

 

 

$

111,648

 

 

 

57

%

International

 

 

9,389

 

 

 

2,317

 

 

 

7,072

 

 

 

305

 

Total

 

$

316,861

 

 

$

198,141

 

 

$

118,720

 

 

 

60

%

Percentage of total revenue:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

United States

 

 

97

%

 

 

99

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

International

 

 

3

 

 

 

1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total

 

 

100

%

 

 

100

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

U.S.Product revenue increased $111.6decreased $643.5 million, or 57%85%, in the year ended December 31, 20172023 compared to the year ended December 31, 2016,2022 and represented 13% of the total revenue for the year ended December 31, 2023 and 46% of total revenue for the year ended December 31, 2022. The decrease was due primarily to a 23% increasedecrease in proceeds received from the sale of vehicles through IMCO transactions, including vehicle sale price and transaction fees, as a result of decreased Transactions resulting from the purposeful slowdown in volume as we emphasize operational rigor, as well as a decrease in the numberaverage selling price, as a result of economic conditions. The decrease in product revenue was also due in part to a decrease in proceeds received from the sale of vehicles acquired through arbitration, including a decrease in the average vehicle sale price, as a result of decreased arbitration claims primarily due to decreased Transactions and process improvements focused on higher quality inspections.

60


Segment Revenue

 

 

Year Ended December 31,

 

 

Change

 

 

 

2023

 

 

2022

 

 

Amount

 

 

%

 

 

 

(dollars in thousands)

 

Revenue:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

U.S. Marketplace

 

$

647,284

 

 

$

614,136

 

 

$

33,148

 

 

 

5

%

Digital Wholesale

 

 

216,005

 

 

 

996,264

 

 

 

(780,259

)

 

 

(78

)

Other

 

 

50,953

 

 

 

44,635

 

 

 

6,318

 

 

 

14

 

Total

 

$

914,242

 

 

$

1,655,035

 

 

$

(740,793

)

 

 

(45

)%

Percentage of total revenue:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

U.S. Marketplace

 

 

71

%

 

 

37

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

Digital Wholesale

 

 

24

 

 

 

60

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other

 

 

6

 

 

 

3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total

 

 

100

%

 

 

100

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

U.S. paying dealers and a 16% increase in AARSD for U.S. dealers.

InternationalMarketplace segment revenue increased $7.1$33.1 million, or 5%, in the year ended December 31, 20172023 compared to the year ended December 31, 2016,2022 and represented 71% of total revenue for the year ended December 31, 2023 and 37% of total revenue for the year ended December 31, 2022. This increase was due primarily to an increasegrowth in U.S. QARSD throughout the numberyear, as a result of International payingsigning on new dealers with higher average monthly recurring revenue and revenue expansion through product upgrades for existing dealers. International paying dealers grew to 2,548 at December 31, 2017 from 952 at December 31, 2016.

CostDigital Wholesale segment revenue, which is comprised of Revenue

 

 

Year Ended

December 31,

 

 

Change

 

 

 

2017

 

 

2016

 

 

Amount

 

 

%

 

 

 

(dollars in thousands)

 

Cost of revenue

 

$

17,609

 

 

$

9,575

 

 

$

8,034

 

 

 

84

%

Percentage of total revenue

 

 

6

%

 

 

5

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

46


Cost ofwholesale revenue increased $8.0and product revenue, decreased $780.3 million, or 84%78%, in the year ended December 31, 20172023 compared to the year ended December 31, 2016.2022 and represented 24% of total revenue for the year ended December 31, 2023 and 60% of total revenue for the year ended December 31, 2022. The decrease in Digital Wholesale segment revenue was due to a decrease in wholesale revenue and product revenue, as described above.

Cost of Revenue

 

 

Year Ended December 31,

 

 

Change

 

 

 

2023

 

 

2022

 

 

Amount

 

 

%

 

 

 

(dollars in thousands)

 

Cost of revenue:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marketplace

 

$

60,020

 

 

$

56,040

 

 

$

3,980

 

 

 

7

%

Wholesale

 

 

90,066

 

 

 

176,446

 

 

 

(86,380

)

 

 

(49

)

Product

 

 

112,702

 

 

 

764,996

 

 

 

(652,294

)

 

 

(85

)

Total

 

$

262,788

 

 

$

997,482

 

 

$

(734,694

)

 

 

(74

)%

Percentage of total revenue:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marketplace

 

 

7

%

 

 

3

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wholesale

 

 

10

 

 

 

11

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Product

 

 

12

 

 

 

46

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total

 

 

29

%

 

 

60

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

Overall cost of revenue decreased $734.7 million, or 74%, in the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to the year ended December 31, 2022.

Marketplace cost of revenue increased $4.0 million, or 7%, in the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to the year ended December 31, 2022 and represented 7% of total revenue for the year ended December 31, 2023 and 3% of total revenue for the year ended December 31, 2022. The increase was due primarily to a $2.4 millionan increase in employee-relateddata and hosting costs foras a result of our customer support team to support the growth in customers,migration onto a $1.9 millioncloud-based hosting platform and an increase in fees related to provisioning advertising campaigns on our websites a $1.3 million increase in costs relatedfrom changing to connecting consumers with dealers through a varietymore effective, higher cost service providers.

61


Wholesale cost of methods, including phone calls, email, and managed text and chat, a $0.9 million increase in costs to improve the content on our website, a $0.8 million increase for data center and hosting costs, and a $0.5 million increase in amortization of website development costs.

Operating Expenses

Sales and Marketing Expenses

 

 

Year Ended

December 31,

 

 

Change

 

 

 

2017

 

 

2016

 

 

Amount

 

 

%

 

 

 

(dollars in thousands)

 

Sales and marketing

 

$

236,165

 

 

$

154,125

 

 

$

82,040

 

 

 

53

%

Percentage of total revenue

 

 

74

%

 

 

78

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sales and marketing expenses increased $82.0revenue decreased $86.4 million, or 53%49%, in the year ended December 31, 20172023 compared to the year ended December 31, 2016. This increase was due primarily to an increase in advertising costs2022 and represented 10% of $61.0 million, a $12.8 million increase in salaries, commissions, and related expenses due to our increasedtotal revenue and a 21% increase in headcount, a $2.0 million increase in expenses related to marketing events and activities, a $1.7 million increase in consulting fees, a $1.0 million increase in rent due to the expansion of our office space, and a $0.8 million increase in software subscriptions. The increase for the year ended December 31, 20172023 and 11% of total revenue for the year ended December 31, 2022. The decrease was due primarily to less favorable market conditions and operational challenges in the prior year which resulted in our focus in the current year on optimization of internal policies and procedures over volume of Transactions. This decrease in volume resulted in a decrease in transportation expense, third-party service provider expense, inspection expense, personnel expense, and guarantee expense.

Product cost of revenue decreased $652.3 million, or 85%, in the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to the year ended December 31, 2022 and represented 12% of the total revenue for the year ended December 31, 2023 and 46% of total revenue for the year ended December 31, 2022. The decrease was due primarily to a decrease in expenses related to vehicles sold to dealers through IMCO transactions as a result of decreased Transactions resulting from the purposeful slowdown in volume as we emphasize operational rigor, as well as a decrease in the average purchase price, as a result of economic conditions. The decrease in product cost of revenue was also due in part to a $1.7decrease in expenses related to vehicles sold to dealers acquired through arbitration as a result of decreased arbitration claims primarily due to decreased Transactions and process improvements focused on higher quality inspections.

Operating Expenses

Sales and Marketing Expense

 

 

Year Ended December 31,

 

 

Change

 

 

 

2023

 

 

2022

 

 

Amount

 

 

%

 

 

 

(dollars in thousands)

 

Sales and marketing

 

$

304,070

 

 

$

336,708

 

 

$

(32,638

)

 

 

(10

)%

Percentage of total revenue

 

 

33

%

 

 

20

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sales and marketing expense decreased $32.6 million, or 10%, in the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to the year ended December 31, 2022. The decrease was due primarily to a $22.3 million decrease in advertising expense due to decreased spend as a result of a change in advertising strategy implemented in the fourth quarter of 2022. The decrease was also due in part to a $15.3 million decrease in marketing expense due primarily to lower IMCO marketing spend and a $10.5 million decrease in commissions expense due primarily to fewer Transactions as well as an 8% decrease in headcount. The decrease in commissions expense was also due in part to increased capitalization of commissions. The decrease in sales and marketing expense was offset in part by a $6.2 million increase in rent expense due to the commencement of the 1001 Boylston Street lease. The decrease in sales and marketing expense was also offset by a $6.0 million increase in stock-based compensation expense, primarily due to the recognitionprior year valuation of the liability-based stock awards, following mark-to-market valuation adjustments, as well as modifications resulting from the 2023 CarOffer Transaction. The decrease in sales and marketing expense was also offset by a $1.0 million increase in software subscriptions, inclusive of amortization of hosting arrangements. Additionally, the decrease in sales and marketing expense was offset by a $0.9 million increase in salaries and employee-related expense, exclusive of stock-based compensation expense and commissions expense, due to increases related to RSUs with a performance condition satisfied on the effectiveness401(k) expense, as well as higher attainment of the registration statement for our IPO.  Although the performance-based vesting condition was satisfied, under the terms of the awards, the settlement of such vested RSUs and the issuance of common stock with respect to such vested RSUs will occur on April 10, 2018, one hundred eighty-one days after the satisfaction of the performance condition.bonus targets.

Product, Technology, and Development ExpensesExpense

 

 

Year Ended December 31,

 

 

Change

 

 

 

2023

 

 

2022

 

 

Amount

 

 

%

 

 

 

(dollars in thousands)

 

Product, technology, and development

 

$

146,169

 

 

$

123,768

 

 

$

22,401

 

 

 

18

%

Percentage of total revenue

 

 

16

%

 

 

7

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Year Ended

December 31,

 

 

Change

 

 

 

2017

 

 

2016

 

 

Amount

 

 

%

 

 

 

(dollars in thousands)

 

Product, technology, and development

 

$

22,470

 

 

$

11,453

 

 

$

11,017

 

 

 

96

%

Percentage of total revenue

 

 

7

%

 

 

6

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

62


Product, technology, and development expensesexpense increased $11.0$22.4 million, or 96%18%, in the year ended December 31, 20172023 compared to the year ended December 31, 2016.2022. The increase was due primarily to ana $13.7 million increase in salaries and related employmentemployee-related expenses, exclusive of stock-based compensation, due primarily to a 68%6% increase in headcount to support our growth and product innovations. as well as merit increases. The increase for the year ended December 31, 2017 was also due in part to a $1.7$5.7 million increase in rent expense due to the commencement of the 1001 Boylston Street lease and a $5.7 million increase in stock-based compensation expense primarily due to the recognition of expense related to RSUs with a performance condition satisfied on the effectivenessprior year valuation of the registration statementliability-based stock awards, following mark-to-market valuation adjustments, as well as modifications resulting from the 2023 CarOffer Transaction. The increase was offset in part by a $4.1 million decrease in product, technology, and development expense as a result of increased capitalization for our IPO.website development.

General and Administrative ExpensesExpense

 

Year Ended

December 31,

 

 

Change

 

 

Year Ended December 31,

 

 

Change

 

 

2017

 

 

2016

 

 

Amount

 

 

%

 

 

2023

 

 

2022

 

 

Amount

 

 

%

 

 

(dollars in thousands)

 

 

(dollars in thousands)

 

General and administrative

 

$

22,688

 

 

$

12,783

 

 

$

9,905

 

 

 

77

%

 

$

152,757

 

 

$

73,117

 

 

$

79,640

 

 

 

109

%

Percentage of total revenue

 

 

7

%

 

 

6

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

17

%

 

 

4

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

47


General and administrative expensesexpense increased $9.9$79.6 million, or 77%109%, in the year ended December 31, 20172023 compared to the year ended December 31, 2016.2022. The changeincrease was due primarily reflected anto a $66.2 million increase in stock-based compensation due to modifications resulting from the 2023 CarOffer Transaction, as well as the impact of $5.0the prior year revaluation of the liability-based stock awards, following mark-to-market valuation adjustments. This increase was also due in part to a $6.7 million ofincrease in salaries and employee-related costs asexpenses, exclusive of stock-based compensation, due primarily to a result of our 81%7% increase in headcount as we continued to grow our business and require additional personnel to support our expanded operations,well as merit increases, a $1.4$2.8 million increase in payment processinglegal, audit, and billing costsinsurance fees due in part to increased customer transactions with higher billings,the 2023 CarOffer Transaction, and a $1.1$2.5 million increase in external consultingrent expense due to the commencement of the 1001 Boylston Street lease.

Depreciation and insurance fees driven by costs incurred to comply with public company requirements,Amortization Expense

 

 

Year Ended December 31,

 

 

Change

 

 

 

2023

 

 

2022

 

 

Amount

 

 

%

 

 

 

(dollars in thousands)

 

Depreciation and amortization

 

$

15,831

 

 

$

15,482

 

 

$

349

 

 

 

2

%

Percentage of total revenue

 

 

2

%

 

 

1

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

Depreciation and a $0.6 million increaseamortization expense remained relatively consistent in bad debt expense. The increase for the year ended December 31, 2017 was also due to a $1.3 million increase in stock-based compensation expense primarily due2023 compared to the recognition of expense related to RSUs with a performance condition satisfied on the effectiveness of the registration statement for our IPO.year ended December 31, 2022.

Depreciation and Amortization ExpensesOther Income, net

 

 

Year Ended

December 31,

 

 

Change

 

 

 

2017

 

 

2016

 

 

Amount

 

 

%

 

 

 

(dollars in thousands)

 

Depreciation and amortization

 

$

2,655

 

 

$

1,634

 

 

$

1,021

 

 

 

62

%

Percentage of total revenue

 

 

1

%

 

 

1

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Year Ended December 31,

 

 

Change

 

 

 

2023

 

 

2022

 

 

Amount

 

 

%

 

 

 

(dollars in thousands)

 

Other income, net:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Interest income

 

$

18,430

 

 

$

3,845

 

 

$

14,585

 

 

 

379

%

Other income (expense), net

 

 

630

 

 

 

(961

)

 

 

1,591

 

 

 

166

 

Total other income, net

 

$

19,060

 

 

$

2,884

 

 

$

16,176

 

 

 

561

%

Percentage of total revenue:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Interest income

 

 

2

%

 

 

0

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other expense, net

 

 

0

 

 

 

(0

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total other income, net

 

 

2

%

 

 

0

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

Depreciation and amortization expensesOther income, net increased $1.0$16.2 million, or 62%561%, in the year ended December 31, 20172023 compared to the year ended December 31, 2016,2022. The $14.6 million increase in interest income was due primarily to increased depreciationinterest rate increases since December 31, 2022, as well as an increase related to new interest-bearing accounts. The $1.6 million increase in other income (expense), net was due primarily to a $2.2 million decrease in realized and unrealized loss associated with the fluctuation of additional leasehold improvements.certain foreign currencies offset in part by an increase in interest expense.

63


Provision for Income Taxes

Other Income, net

 

 

Year Ended December 31,

 

 

Change

 

 

 

2023

 

 

2022

 

 

Amount

 

 

%

 

 

 

(dollars in thousands)

 

Provision for income taxes

 

$

29,634

 

 

$

32,408

 

 

$

(2,774

)

 

 

(9

)%

Percentage of total revenue

 

 

3

%

 

 

2

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Year Ended

December 31,

 

 

Change

 

 

 

2017

 

 

2016

 

 

Amount

 

 

%

 

 

 

(dollars in thousands)

 

Other income, net

 

$

563

 

 

$

374

 

 

$

189

 

 

 

51

%

Percentage of total revenue

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

OtherProvision for income net increased $0.2taxes decreased $2.8 million, or 51%9%, in the year ended December 31, 20172023 compared to the year ended December 31, 2016, due primarily to the investment of cash2022. The decrease in certificates of deposit and money market funds arising from our increased cash from operations.

Provision for Income Taxes

 

 

Year Ended

December 31,

 

 

Change

 

 

 

2017

 

 

2016

 

 

Amount

 

 

%

 

 

 

(dollars in thousands)

 

Provision for income taxes

 

$

2,638

 

 

$

2,448

 

 

$

190

 

 

 

8

%

Percentage of total revenue

 

 

1

%

 

 

1

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The provision for income taxes recognized during the year ended December 31, 2023 was due primarily to decreased profitability and increased $0.2federal and state research and development tax credits. This was offset by a $4.7 million tax expense related to excess stock-based compensation deductions recognized during 2023, compared to $1.5 million tax expense recognized during 2022. In addition, a $6.9 million deferred state tax expense was recorded during 2023 in association with the recently passed Massachusetts apportionment tax rule. Furthermore, a $2.5 million tax expense was recognized during 2023 in connection with the 2023 CarOffer Transaction.

Segment Income (Loss) from Operations

 

 

Year Ended December 31,

 

 

Change

 

 

 

2023

 

 

2022

 

 

Amount

 

 

%

 

 

 

(dollars in thousands)

 

Segment Income (Loss) from Operations:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

U.S. Marketplace

 

$

127,724

 

 

$

128,455

 

 

$

(731

)

 

 

(1

)%

Digital Wholesale

 

 

(96,383

)

 

 

(11,834

)

 

 

(84,549

)

 

 

(714

)

Other

 

 

1,286

 

 

 

(8,143

)

 

 

9,429

 

 

 

116

 

Total

 

$

32,627

 

 

$

108,478

 

 

$

(75,851

)

 

 

(70

)%

Percentage of segment revenue:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

U.S. Marketplace

 

 

20

%

 

 

21

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

Digital Wholesale

 

 

(45

)

 

 

(1

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other

 

 

3

 

 

 

(18

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total

 

 

4

%

 

 

7

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

U.S. Marketplace segment income from operations decreased $0.7 million, or 8%1%, in the year ended December 31, 20172023 compared to the year ended December 31, 2016. In 2017, we recorded a tax provision on earnings with an effective tax rate2022 and represented 20% of 16.7% comparedU.S. Marketplace segment revenue for the year ended December 31, 2023 and 21% of U.S. Marketplace segment revenue for the year ended December 31, 2022. The decrease was due to 27.4%increases in 2016. Our lower effective tax rate during 2017 is primarily the resultrevenue of discrete items recorded including IPO deductible costs$33.1 million, offset by increases in cost of revenue of $3.2 million and higher excess tax deductions relating to stock-based compensation awards. Our lower effective tax rate during 2017 was also driven by higher R&D tax credits.increases in operating expenses of $30.6 million.

48


Income (Loss) from Operations by Segment

 

 

Year Ended

December 31,

 

 

Change

 

 

 

2017

 

 

2016

 

 

Amount

 

 

%

 

 

 

(dollars in thousands)

 

United States

 

$

41,586

 

 

$

27,461

 

 

$

14,125

 

 

 

51

%

International

 

 

(26,312

)

 

 

(18,890

)

 

 

(7,422

)

 

 

(39

)

Total

 

$

15,274

 

 

$

8,571

 

 

$

6,703

 

 

 

78

%

Percentage of segment revenue:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

United States

 

 

14

%

 

 

14

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

International

 

NM

 

 

NM

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NM — Not Meaningful

U.S. incomeDigital Wholesale segment loss from operations increased $14.1$84.5 million, or 51%714%, in the year ended December 31, 20172023 compared to the year ended December 31, 2016. This increase2022 and represented (45)% of Digital Wholesale segment revenue for the year ended December 31, 2023 and (1)% of Digital Wholesale segment revenue for the year ended December 31, 2022. The decrease was due to an increasedecreases in revenue of $111.6$780.3 million, offset in part by the increasesdecreases in cost of revenue of $6.5$738.7 million and increases in operating expenses of $91.0$42.9 million. The increase in operating expenses was primarily driven by the impact of the approximately $50.0 million stock-based compensation charge that resulted from the 2023 CarOffer Transaction.

64


Year Ended December 31, 2022 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2021

Revenue

International lossSegment Revenue

 

 

Year Ended December 31,

 

 

Change

 

 

 

2022

 

 

2021

 

 

Amount

 

 

%

 

 

 

(dollars in thousands)

 

Segment Revenue:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

U.S. Marketplace

 

$

614,136

 

 

$

594,602

 

 

$

19,534

 

 

 

3

%

Digital Wholesale

 

 

996,264

 

 

 

314,431

 

 

 

681,833

 

 

 

217

 

Other

 

 

44,635

 

 

 

42,340

 

 

 

2,295

 

 

 

5

 

Total

 

$

1,655,035

 

 

$

951,373

 

 

$

703,662

 

 

 

74

%

Percentage of segment revenue:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

U.S. Marketplace

 

 

37

%

 

 

62

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

Digital Wholesale

 

 

60

 

 

 

33

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other

 

 

3

 

 

 

4

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total

 

 

100

%

 

 

100

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

U.S. Marketplace segment revenue increased $19.5 million, or 3%, in the year ended December 31, 2022 compared to the year ended December 31, 2021 and represented 37% of segment revenue for the year ended December 31, 2022 and 62% of segment revenue for the year ended December 31, 2021. The increase was due primarily to a $28.6 million increase in Listings revenue, as a result of 4% growth in U.S. QARSD for paying dealers to $5,842 at December 31, 2022 from operations$5,633 at December 31, 2021. The increase in U.S. QARSD was due primarily to signing on new dealers with higher average monthly recurring revenue and revenue expansion through product upgrades for existing dealers. The increase in U.S. Marketplace segment revenue was offset in part by a $9.7 million decrease in advertising revenue as a result of economic conditions and lower spend by our advertisers.

Digital Wholesale segment revenue increased $7.4$681.8 million, or 217%, in the year ended December 31, 2022 compared to the year ended December 31, 2021 and represented 60% of segment revenue for the year ended December 31, 2022 and 33% of segment revenue for the year ended December 31, 2021. Wholesale revenue increased $42.5 million in the year ended December 31, 20172022 compared to the year ended December 31, 2016.2021. The increase in International losswholesale revenue was due primarily to a 21% increase in Transactions to 190,594 for the year ended December 31, 2022 from 157,062 for the year ended December 31, 2021. The increase in Transactions resulted in an increase in transaction fee revenue as well as an increase in transportation revenue, inspection revenue, and guarantee revenue. Fee increases also contributed to the increase in transportation revenue. Product revenue increased $639.3 million in the year ended December 31, 2022 compared to the year ended December 31, 2021, due primarily to an increase in proceeds received from the sale of vehicles through IMCO transactions, including vehicle sale price and transaction fees, as a result of the IMCO offering becoming available to approximately 93% of the U.S. population. The increase in product revenue was also due in part to an increase in proceeds received from the sale of vehicles acquired through arbitration, including vehicle sale price and transaction fees, as a result of increased arbitration claims due primarily to increased volume.

65


Segment Income (loss) from Operations

 

 

Year Ended December 31,

 

 

Change

 

 

 

2022

 

 

2021

 

 

Amount

 

 

%

 

 

 

(dollars in thousands)

 

Segment Income (Loss) from Operations:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

U.S. Marketplace

 

$

128,455

 

 

$

152,006

 

 

$

(23,551

)

 

 

(15

)%

Digital Wholesale

 

 

(11,834

)

 

 

6,526

 

 

 

(18,360

)

 

 

(281

)

Other

 

 

(8,143

)

 

 

(10,264

)

 

 

2,121

 

 

 

21

 

Total

 

$

108,478

 

 

$

148,268

 

 

$

(39,790

)

 

 

(27

)%

Percentage of segment revenue:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

U.S. Marketplace

 

 

21

%

 

 

26

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

Digital Wholesale

 

 

(1

)

 

 

2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other

 

 

(18

)

 

 

(24

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total

 

 

7

%

 

 

16

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

U.S. Marketplace segment income from operations reflects our continued investment into international markets and expansion into new countries.

Year Ended December 31, 2016 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2015

Revenue

Revenue by Source

 

 

Year Ended

December 31,

 

 

Change

 

 

 

2016

 

 

2015

 

 

Amount

 

 

%

 

 

 

(dollars in thousands)

 

Revenue

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marketplace subscription

 

$

171,302

 

 

$

75,142

 

 

$

96,160

 

 

 

128

%

Advertising and other

 

 

26,839

 

 

 

23,446

 

 

 

3,393

 

 

 

14

 

Total

 

$

198,141

 

 

$

98,588

 

 

$

99,553

 

 

 

101

%

Percentage of total revenue:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marketplace subscription

 

 

86

%

 

 

76

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Advertising and other

 

 

14

 

 

 

24

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total

 

 

100

%

 

 

100

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Overall revenue increased by $99.6decreased $23.6 million, or 101%15%, in the year ended December 31, 20162022 compared to the year ended December 31, 2015.2021 and represented 21% of U.S. Marketplace subscriptionsegment revenue increasedfor the year ended December 31, 2022 and 26% of U.S. Marketplace segment revenue for the year ended December 31, 2021. The decrease was due to increases in revenue of $19.5 million, offset by 128% while advertisingincreases in cost of revenue of $8.1 million and other revenue grew by 14%.increases in operating expenses of $35.0 million.

Marketplace subscription revenue increased $96.2Digital Wholesale segment income (loss) from operations decreased $18.4 million, or 281%, in the year ended December 31, 20162022 compared to the year ended December 31, 2015,2021 and represented 86%(1)% of totalDigital Wholesale segment revenue in 2016 compared to 76% of total revenue in 2015. This increase in marketplace subscription revenue was attributable primarily to a 73% growth in the number of paying dealers, to 21,301 as of December 31, 2016 from 12,329 as of December 31, 2015, and to an 18% growth in our AARSD to $10,383 in the year ended December 31, 2016 from $8,835 in the year ended December 31, 2015. We believe that this increase in paying dealers was driven by the overall growth in the number of unique users to our website and mobile applications and the efforts of our sales and marketing teams to convert Basic Listing dealers to Enhanced and Featured Listing paying dealers.

49


Advertising and other revenue increased $3.4 million in the year ended December 31, 2016 compared to the year ended December 31, 2015, and represented 14% of total revenue in 2016 compared to 24% of total revenue in 2015. The increase in advertising and other revenue was due primarily to a 53% increase in the number of impressions in 2016 compared to 2015. This increase was partially offset by a 19% decrease in the average price per thousand impressions in 2016 compared to 2015. The increase was also partially offset by a reduction in other advertising revenue.

Revenue by Segment

 

 

Year Ended

December 31,

 

 

Change

 

 

 

2016

 

 

2015

 

 

Amount

 

 

%

 

 

 

(dollars in thousands)

 

Revenue

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

United States

 

$

195,824

 

 

$

98,566

 

 

$

97,258

 

 

 

99

%

International

 

 

2,317

 

 

 

22

 

 

 

2,295

 

 

NM

 

Total

 

$

198,141

 

 

$

98,588

 

 

$

99,553

 

 

 

101

%

Percentage of total revenue:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

United States

 

 

99

%

 

 

100

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

International

 

 

1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total

 

 

100

%

 

 

100

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NM — Not Meaningful

U.S. revenue increased $97.3 million, or 99%, in the year ended December 31, 2016 compared to the year ended December 31, 2015, due primarily to a 66% increase in the number of U.S. paying dealers.

International revenue increased $2.3 million in the year ended December 31, 2016 compared to the year ended December 31, 2015. The first international paying dealers began their subscriptions in the fourth quarter of 2015 and grew to 952 paying dealers at December 31, 2016.

Cost of Revenue

 

 

Year Ended

December 31,

 

 

Change

 

 

 

2016

 

 

2015

 

 

Amount

 

 

%

 

 

 

(dollars in thousands)

 

Cost of revenue

 

$

9,575

 

 

$

4,234

 

 

$

5,341

 

 

 

126

%

Percentage of total revenue

 

 

5

%

 

 

4

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cost of revenue increased $5.3 million, or 126%, in the year ended December 31, 2016 compared to the year ended December 31, 2015. The increase was due primarily to a $1.7 million increase in employee‑related costs for our customer support team to support the growth in customers, a $1.5 million increase in fees related to provisioning advertising campaigns on our websites, a $1.1 million increase in costs related to connecting consumers with dealers through a variety of methods, including phone calls, email, and managed text and chat, a $0.4 million increase for data center and hosting costs, a $0.3 million increase in costs to improve the content on our website, and a $0.2 million increase in amortization of website development costs.

Operating Expenses

Sales and Marketing Expenses

 

 

Year Ended

December 31,

 

 

Change

 

 

 

2016

 

 

2015

 

 

Amount

 

 

%

 

 

 

(dollars in thousands)

 

Sales and marketing

 

$

154,125

 

 

$

81,877

 

 

$

72,248

 

 

 

88

%

Percentage of total revenue

 

 

78

%

 

 

83

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

50


Sales and marketing expenses increased $72.2 million, or 88%, in the year ended December 31, 2016 compared to the year ended December 31, 2015. This increase was due primarily to an increase in advertising costs of $50.3 million, a $16.0 million increase in salaries, commissions, and related expenses due to our increased revenue and an 84% increase in headcount, a $1.3 million increase in expenses related to marketing events and activities, a $0.9 million increase in  rent due to the expansion of our office space, and a $0.8 million increase in consulting fees.

Product, Technology, and Development Expenses

 

 

Year Ended

December 31,

 

 

Change

 

 

 

2016

 

 

2015

 

 

Amount

 

 

%

 

 

 

(dollars in thousands)

 

Product, technology, and development

 

$

11,453

 

 

$

8,235

 

 

$

3,218

 

 

 

39

%

Percentage of total revenue

 

 

6

%

 

 

8

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Product, technology, and development expenses increased $3.2 million, or 39%, in the year ended December 31, 2016 compared to the year ended December 31, 2015. The increase was due primarily to an increase in salaries and related employment expenses due to our 66% increase in headcount to support our growth and product innovations.

General and Administrative Expenses

 

 

Year Ended

December 31,

 

 

Change

 

 

 

2016

 

 

2015

 

 

Amount

 

 

%

 

 

 

(dollars in thousands)

 

General and administrative

 

$

12,783

 

 

$

5,801

 

 

$

6,982

 

 

 

120

%

Percentage of total revenue

 

 

6

%

 

 

6

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

General and administrative expenses increased $7.0 million, or 120%, in the year ended December 31, 2016 compared to the year ended December 31, 2015. The change primarily reflected an increase of $2.3 million of salaries and employee‑related costs as a result of our 157% increase in headcount as we continued to grow our business and required additional personnel to support our expanded operations, a $1.5 million increase in payment processing and billing costs due to increased customer transactions from higher revenue, a $1.5 million increase in legal fees for litigation and other services, and a $0.5 million increase from external consulting fees including audit and tax services.

Depreciation and Amortization Expenses

 

 

Year Ended

December 31,

 

 

Change

 

 

 

2016

 

 

2015

 

 

Amount

 

 

%

 

 

 

(dollars in thousands)

 

Depreciation and amortization

 

$

1,634

 

 

$

969

 

 

$

665

 

 

 

69

%

Percentage of total revenue

 

 

1

%

 

 

1

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Depreciation and amortization expenses increased $0.7 million, or 69%, in the year ended December 31, 2016 compared to the year ended December 31, 2015, due primarily to increased depreciation and amortization of additional leasehold improvements.

Other Income (Expense)

 

 

Year Ended

December 31,

 

 

Change

 

 

2016

 

 

2015

 

 

Amount

 

 

%

 

 

(dollars in thousands)

Other income (expense), net

 

$

374

 

 

$

(12

)

 

$

386

 

 

NM

Percentage of total revenue

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NM — Not Meaningful

51


Other income (expense), increased $0.4 million in the year ended December 31, 2016 compared to the year ended December 31, 2015, due primarily to the investment of cash in certificates of deposit and money market funds due to our increased cash from operations and the issuances of Preferred Stock in financing transactions.

Provision for (Benefit from) Income Taxes

 

 

Year Ended

December 31,

 

 

Change

 

 

2016

 

 

2015

 

 

Amount

 

 

%

 

 

(dollars in thousands)

Provision for (benefit from) income taxes

 

$

2,448

 

 

$

(904

)

 

$

3,352

 

 

NM

Percentage of total revenue

 

 

1

%

 

 

(1

)%

 

 

 

 

 

 

NM — Not Meaningful

The provision for income taxes increased $3.4 million in the year ended December 31, 2016 compared to the year ended December 31, 2015. In 2016, we recorded a tax provision on earnings with an effective tax rate of 27.4%. In 2015, we recorded a tax benefit of $0.9 million, or 35.6% effective tax benefit, as a result of our taxable loss position for that period. The Company’s effective tax rate for the year ended December 31, 2016 is lower than the U.S. federal statutory rate primarily due to research2022 and development income tax credits. The Company anticipates credits, primarily related to research and development tax credits, to continue to impact the effective tax rate in the future.

Income (Loss) from Operations by Segment

 

 

Year Ended December 31,

 

 

Change

 

 

2016

 

 

2015

 

 

Amount

 

 

%

 

 

(dollars in thousands)

United States

 

$

27,461

 

 

$

637

 

 

$

26,824

 

 

NM

International

 

 

(18,890

)

 

 

(3,165

)

 

 

(15,725

)

 

NM

Total

 

$

8,571

 

 

$

(2,528

)

 

$

11,099

 

 

NM

Percentage of segment revenue:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

United States

 

 

14

%

 

 

1

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

International

 

NM

 

 

NM

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NM — Not Meaningful

U.S. income from operations increased $26.8 million inrepresented 2% of Digital Wholesale segment revenue for the year ended December 31, 2016 compared to the year ended December 31, 2015. This increase2021. The decrease was due to an increaseincreases in revenue of $97.3$681.8 million, offset in part by the increases in cost of revenue of $4.3$694.5 million and increases in operating expenses of $66.2$5.7 million.

International loss from operations increased $15.7 million in the year ended December 31, 2016 compared to the year ended December 31, 2015. The increase in International loss from operations reflected our investment into international markets and expansion into new countries.

52


Liquidity and Capital Resources

Cash, Cash Equivalents, Short-term Investments, and InvestmentsBorrowing Capacity

AtAs of December 31, 2017 and 2016,2023, our principal sources of liquidity were cash and cash equivalents of $87.7$291.4 million and $29.5 million, respectivelyshort-term investments of $20.7 million. As of December 31, 2022, our principal sources of liquidity were cash and investments in certificatescash equivalents of deposit with terms$469.5 million. As of greater than 90 days but less than one year of $50.0 million and $44.8 million, respectively.December 31, 2023, our borrowing capacity under the 2022 Revolver was $390.4 million.

Sources and Uses of Cash

OurDuring the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, our cash flows from operating, investing, and financing activities, as reflected in the consolidated statements of cash flows, are summarized in the following table:were as follows:

 

 

Year Ended

December 31,

 

 

 

2017

 

 

2016

 

 

2015

 

 

 

(in thousands)

 

Net cash provided by operating activities

 

$

25,691

 

 

$

20,004

 

 

$

12,915

 

Net cash used in investing activities

 

 

(12,598

)

 

 

(51,992

)

 

 

(7,615

)

Net cash provided by financing activities

 

 

44,780

 

 

 

690

 

 

 

49,965

 

Impact of foreign currency on cash

 

 

159

 

 

 

(45

)

 

 

 

Net increase (decrease) in cash, cash equivalents, and

   restricted cash

 

$

58,032

 

 

$

(31,343

)

 

$

55,265

 

 

 

Year Ended December 31,

 

 

 

2023

 

 

2022

 

 

 

(in thousands)

 

Net cash provided by operating activities

 

$

124,527

 

 

$

256,106

 

Net cash (used in) provided by investing activities

 

 

(61,564

)

 

 

72,730

 

Net cash used in financing activities

 

 

(253,644

)

 

 

(92,620

)

Impact of foreign currency on cash

 

 

475

 

 

 

(364

)

Net (decrease) increase in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash

 

$

(190,206

)

 

$

235,852

 

Our operations were initially financed by a capitalization of approximately $5 million from external capital and subsequentlyhave been financed primarily byfrom operating profitsactivities. During the years ended December 31, 2023 and sales of capital stock. We2022, we generated cash from operating activities of $25.7$124.5 million during 2017, $20.0and $256.1 million, during 2016 and $12.9 million during 2015, and we expect to generate cash from operations for the foreseeable future.respectively.

In addition, on October 16, 2017, we closed our initial public offering, in which we issued and sold 3,205,000 shares of our Class A common stock at a public offering price of $16.00 per share for aggregate gross proceeds of $51.3 million. We received $43.2 million in net proceeds after deducting $3.6 million of underwriting discounts and commissions and $4.5 million in offering costs. 

We believe that our existing sources of liquidity, including access to the 2022 Revolver, will be sufficient to fund our operations for at least the next 12 months from the date of the filing of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. However, ourReport.

66


Our future capital requirements will depend on many factors, including our rate of revenue growth, the expansion ofrevenue; expenses associated with our sales and marketing activities and the support of our product, technology, and development efforts,efforts; expenses associated with our facilities build-out under our 1001 Boylston Street lease in excess of tenant allowance; payments received in advance from a third-party transaction processor; activity under the timing2024 Share Repurchase Program; and extentour investments in international markets. In connection with the 1001 Boylston Street lease, we expect to spend approximately $69.8 million, net of tenant reimbursements. As of December 31, 2023, we have incurred $40.6 million in gross incurred expenses, of which $2.9 million was reimbursed as part of the tenant improvement allowance for the 1001 Boylston Street lease. Of the total incurred expenses, $40.3 million was capitalized, consisting of $39.8 million in capitalized incurred expenses recognized in property and equipment, net and $0.5 million in capitalized incurred expenses recognized in prepaid expenses, prepaid income taxes and other current assets on the consolidated balance sheets. As of December 31, 2023, we have signed $46.5 million in gross contract commitments which have not yet been incurred.

Cash from operations could also be affected by various risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, macroeconomic effects and other risks detailed in the “Risk Factors” section of this Annual Report.

On September 26, 2022, we entered into a Credit Agreement with PNC Bank, National Association, as administrative agent and collateral agent and an L/C Issuer (as defined in the Credit Agreement), and the other lenders, L/C Issuers and parties thereto from time to time, or the Credit Agreement. The Credit Agreement consists of the 2022 Revolver, which is a revolving credit facility that allows us to borrow up to $400.0 million, $50.0 million of which may be comprised of a letter of credit sub-facility. The borrowing capacity under the Credit Agreement may be increased in accordance with the terms and subject to the adjustments as set forth in the Credit Agreement. Specifically, the borrowing capacity may be increased by an amount up to the greater of $250.0 million or 100% of Four Quarter Consolidated EBITDA (as defined in the Credit Agreement) if certain criteria are met and subject to certain restrictions. Any such increase requires lender approval. Proceeds of any borrowings may be used for general corporate purposes. The 2022 Revolver is scheduled to mature on September 26, 2027. As of December 31, 2023, there were no borrowings and $9.6 million in letters of credit outstanding under the 2022 Revolver, which reduces the borrowing capacity under the 2022 Revolver to $390.4 million. As of December 31, 2022, there were no borrowings and no letters of credit outstanding under the 2022 Revolver.

On December 8, 2022, we announced that our Board of Directors authorized the 2022 Share Repurchase Program pursuant to which we could, from time to time, purchase shares of our investment in international marketsClass A common stock for an aggregate purchase price not to exceed $250.0 million. The 2022 Share Repurchase Program expired on December 31, 2023. The 2022 Share Repurchase Program did not obligate us to repurchase any minimum dollar amount or number of shares. All repurchased shares under the 2022 Share Repurchase Program were retired. We funded share repurchases under the 2022 Share Repurchase Program through cash on hand and cash generated from operations. During the year ended December 31, 2023, we repurchased and retired 11,076,755 shares for $204.1 million, exclusive of commissions and excise tax, at an average cost of $18.43 per share under the 2022 Share Repurchase Program.

On November 7, 2023, we announced that our investment in mergersBoard of Directors authorized the 2024 Share Repurchase Program pursuant to which we may, from time to time, purchase shares of our Class A common stock for an aggregate purchase price not to exceed $250.0 million. Share repurchases under the 2024 Share Repurchase Program may be made through a variety of methods, including but not limited to open market purchases, privately negotiated transactions, and acquisition opportunities. transactions that may be effected pursuant to one or more plans under Rule 10b5-1 and/or Rule 10b-18 of the Exchange Act. The 2024 Share Repurchase Program does not obligate us to repurchase any minimum dollar amount or number of shares. The 2024 Share Repurchase Program has an effective date of January 1, 2024, and an expiration date of December 31, 2024, and prior to its expiration may be modified, suspended, or discontinued by our Board of Directors at any time without prior notice. All repurchased shares under the 2024 Share Repurchase Program will be retired. We expect to fund share repurchases under the 2024 Share Repurchase Program through cash on hand and cash generated from operations.

To the extent that our operating income, existing cash, cash equivalents, andshort-term investments, and cash from operationsour borrowing capacity under the 2022 Revolver are insufficient to fund our future activities, we may need to raise additional funds through a public or private equity or debt financing. Additional funds may not be available on terms favorable to us, or at all. See “Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Business and Industry—We may require additional capital to pursue our business objectives and respond to business opportunities, challenges, or unforeseen circumstances. If we are unable to generate sufficient cash flows or if capital is not available to us, our business, operating results, financial condition, and prospects could be adversely affected.” in Part I, Item 1A within this Annual Report.

67


Operating Activities

CashNet cash provided by operating activities of $124.5 million during 2017the year ended December 31, 2023 was $25.7 million, due primarily to consolidated net income of $13.2$22.1 million, non-cash items including $5.0adjusted for $63.7 million of stock-based compensation expense, and $3.8$48.5 million of depreciation and amortization, $11.8 million of amortization of deferred contract costs, and $0.5 million of amortization of deferred financing costs, offset in part by $37.9 million of deferred taxes. Net cash provided by operating activities was also attributable to a $6.2$15.2 million increase in lease obligations, a $11.0 million decrease in accounts receivable, a $9.1 million increase in deferred revenue, a $2.1 million increase in accounts payable, and a $5.2$2.0 million decrease in inventory. The increases in cash flow from operations were partially offset by an $18.4 million increase in deferred contract costs, a $3.4 million decrease in accrued expenses. Theseexpenses, accrued income taxes, and other liabilities, and a $1.5 million increase in prepaid expenses, prepaid income taxes, and other assets.

Net cash provided by operating activities of $256.1 million during the year ended December 31, 2022 was due primarily to consolidated net income of $79.0 million, adjusted for $54.8 million of stock-based compensation expense, $45.3 million of depreciation and amortization, $11.1 million of amortization of deferred contract costs, and $1.8 million of provision for doubtful accounts, offset in part by $22.1 million of deferred taxes. Net cash provided by operating activities was also attributable to a $153.0 million decrease in accounts receivable and a $14.4 million decrease in inventory. The increases in cash flow from operations were partially offset by a $7.0$35.4 million decrease in accounts payable, a $25.1 million decrease in accrued expenses, accrued income taxes, and other liabilities, a $13.7 million increase in accounts receivable anddeferred contract costs, a $2.3$6.6 million increase in prepaid expenses, prepaid income taxes, and other assets.assets, a $0.5 million decrease in lease obligations, and a $0.5 million decrease in deferred revenue.

Cash provided by operatingInvesting Activities

Net cash used in investing activities of $61.6 million during 2016 was $20.0 million. This the year ended December 31, 2023 was due primarily to our$24.6 million in purchases of property and equipment, $20.6 million of purchases of short-term investments, net income of $6.5sales, and $16.6 million an increase in accounts payable of $5.8capitalized website development costs.

Net cash provided by investing activities of $72.7 million primarily related to higher marketing costs, an increase in accrued expenses of $4.1 millionduring the year ended December 31, 2022 was due to higher accrued bonuses$90.0 million of maturities in certificates of deposit, offset in part by $11.3million of capitalization of website development costs and commissions, an increase of $1.9$5.9 million in deferred revenue related to customer prepayments, and an increase in deferred rent of $1.9 million related to new office space. These increases were partially offset by a $2.2 million increase in prepaid expenses primarily related to income tax payments and a $1.4 million increase in accounts receivable due to revenue growth.

Cash provided by operating activities during 2015 was $12.9 million. This was primarily due to increases in accounts payable, deferred rent, and accrued expenses of $6.1 million, $4.7 million, and $2.5 million, respectively.

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Investing Activities

Our investing activities consist primarily of purchases of property and equipment, capitalized website development costs, and short‑term investments.equipment.

CashFinancing Activities

Net cash used in investing activities of $12.6 million during 2017 was due to $50.0 million of investments in certificates of deposit, net of maturities of $44.8 million, $5.2 million of investments in furniture, computer equipment, and leasehold improvements, and $2.2 million related to the capitalization of website development costs.

Cash used in investing activities of $52.0 million during 2016 resulted primarily from $59.8 million of investments in certificates of deposit, net of maturities of $15.0 million, $5.8 million of investments in furniture, computer equipment, and leasehold improvements, and $1.4 million related to the capitalization of website development costs.

Cash used in investing activities of $7.6 million during 2015 resulted primarily from $6.4 million of investments in furniture, computer equipment, and leasehold improvements and $1.3 million related to the capitalization of website development costs.

Financing Activities

Cash provided by financing activities of $44.8$253.6 million during 2017the year ended December 31, 2023 was due primarily reflects $44.4to $208.5 million of initial public offering proceeds,payment for repurchase of our Class A common stock under the 2022 Share Repurchase Program, $25.0 million of payment for repurchase of redeemable noncontrolling interest, $15.6 million of payment of withholding taxes on net share settlements of offering costsrestricted stock units, and $0.4$4.5 million related to the proceedsof change in gross advance payments received from the exercise of stock options.third-party transaction processor.

Cash provided byNet cash used in financing activities of $0.7$92.6 million during 2016the year ended December 31, 2022 was due primarily reflects $59.7to a $40.3 million decrease in gross advance payments received from third-party transaction processor, $19.9 million of payment of tax distributions to redeemable noncontrolling interest holders, $16.0 million of payment of withholding taxes on net share settlements of restricted stock units, $14.4 million of payment for the repurchase of our Class A common stock under the 2022 Share Repurchase Program, and $2.6 million of payment of deferred financing costs, partially offset by $0.7 million of proceeds from the issuance of Series E Preferred Stock, net of issuance costs, and a tax benefit of $0.8 million related to theClass A common stock upon exercise of stock options, which was partially offset by the $60.0 million used for the repurchase of previously issued Preferred Stock, common stock, vested options, and restricted stock units.options.

Cash provided by financing activities of $50.0 million during 2015 primarily reflects $67.9 million of proceeds from the issuance of Series D Preferred Stock, net of issuance costs. The proceeds were partially offset by the $18.0 million used for the repurchase of previously issued Preferred Stock, common stock and vested options.

Contractual Obligations and Known Future Cash Requirements

Our leaseSee Note 10 to our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report for our contractual obligations consistand commitments.

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Seasonality

Across the retail automotive industry, consumer purchases are typically greatest in the first three quarters of various leaseseach year, due in part to the introduction of new vehicle models from manufacturers and the seasonal nature of consumer spending. Additionally, the volume of wholesale vehicle sales can fluctuate from quarter to quarter driven by several factors, including the timing of used vehicles available for office spacesale from selling customers, the seasonality of the retail market for used vehicles, and/or inventory challenges in Massachusetts, Detroitthe automotive industry, which affect the demand side of the wholesale industry.

Macroeconomic conditions, such as slower growth or recession, higher interest rates, unemployment, consumer confidence in the economy, consumer debt levels, labor, disruptions, work stoppages, or strikes, the ongoing military conflict between Russia and Dublin with various lease terms through January 2024. Ukraine, the conflict in Israel and surrounding areas and the possible expansion of such conflict, foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations, and other matters that influence consumer spending and preferences, can also impact the volume of wholesale vehicle sales, as was evidenced by the global semiconductor chip shortage and other supply related shortages.

The termsDigital Wholesale segment operating results have reflected the general seasonality of the wholesale vehicle sales market and macroeconomic conditions of the automotive industry. The U.S. Marketplace segment operating results have reflected the macroeconomic conditions of the automotive industry. However, to date, the U.S. Marketplace segment operating results have not been materially impacted by the general seasonality of the automotive industry. This could possibly change as our Massachusetts lease agreements provide for rental payments that increase on an annual basis. We recognize rent expensebusiness and markets mature.

As a result, revenue and cost of revenue related to volume will fluctuate accordingly on a straight‑line basis overquarterly basis. Typical seasonality trends may not be observed in periods where other external factors more significantly impact the lease period. We do not have any debt or material capital lease obligations as of December 31, 2017 and all of our property, equipment, and software have been purchased with cash, with the exception of $0.5 million of unpaid property and equipment costs at December 31, 2017. We have no material long‑term purchase obligations outstanding with any vendors or third parties.wholesale industry.

Set forth below is information concerning our known contractual obligations at December 31, 2017 that are fixed and determinable.

 

 

Total

 

 

Less than

1 year

 

 

2­3 years

 

 

4­5 years

 

 

More than

5 years

 

 

 

(in thousands)

 

Operating lease obligations

 

$

40,279

 

 

$

7,363

 

 

$

15,347

 

 

$

15,232

 

 

$

2,337

 

Total contractual obligations

 

$

40,279

 

 

$

7,363

 

 

$

15,347

 

 

$

15,232

 

 

$

2,337

 

Off‑Balance Sheet Arrangements

As of December 31, 20172023 and 2016,2022, we did not have any off‑balanceoff-balance sheet arrangements, except for operatingor material leases entered intothat are less than 12 months in the normal courseduration, that have or are reasonably likely to have a current or future material effect on our financial condition, changes in financial condition, revenue or expenses, results of business as discussed above.operations, liquidity, capital expenditures, or capital resources.

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Critical Accounting Policies and Significant Estimates

OurThe preparation of the consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordanceconformity with GAAP. The preparation of these consolidated financial statementsGAAP requires usmanagement to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses and related disclosures.during the reporting period.

Although we regularly assess these estimates, actual results could differ materially from these estimates. We evaluatebase our estimates and assumptions on an ongoing basis. Our estimates are based on historical experience and various other assumptions that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances. Our actualActual results couldmay differ from management's estimates if these estimates.results differ from historical experience, or other assumptions do not turn out to be substantially accurate, even if such assumptions are reasonable when made. Changes in estimates are recognized in the period in which they become known.

WeCritical estimates relied upon in preparing the consolidated financial statements include the determination of sales allowance and variable consideration in our revenue recognition, allowance for doubtful accounts, the impairment of long-lived assets, the capitalization of product, technology, and development costs for website development, internal-use software, and hosting arrangements, the valuation of acquired assets and liabilities, the valuation and recoverability of intangible assets and goodwill, the valuation of redeemable noncontrolling interest, the recoverability of our net deferred tax assets and related valuation allowance, the valuation of inventory, and the valuation of equity and liability-classified compensation awards. Accordingly, we consider these to be our critical accounting estimates and believe that of our significant accounting policies, these involve the greatest degree of judgment and complexity.

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Revenue Recognition – Sales Allowance and Variable Consideration

Our accounting policy relating to revenue recognition reflects the impact of the adoption of Accounting Standards Codification 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, or ASC 606, which are describedis discussed further in Note 2 to the notes to our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual ReportReport. As prescribed by ASC 606, we recognize revenue based on Form 10-K, the following accounting policies involve a greater degree of judgmentfive-step approach. We derive our revenue from marketplace revenue, wholesale revenue, and complexity. Accordingly, these are the policies we believe are the most critical to aid in fully understanding and evaluating our consolidated financial condition and results of our operations.

Revenue Recognition

Ourproduct revenue. Marketplace revenue is derivedincluded in the U.S. Marketplace segment and Other category of segment reporting. Wholesale revenue and product revenue are included in the Digital Wholesale segment. We generate marketplace revenue primarily from two primary sources: marketplace subscription revenue, which consists of listing(i) dealer subscriptions to our Listings packages, RPM, digital advertising suite, Digital Retail, and display advertising subscriptions from dealers, and advertising and other revenue, which consists primarily of displaySell My Car - TDO, (ii) advertising revenue from auto manufacturers and other auto‑related brand advertisers.

advertisers, and (iii) revenue from partnerships with financing services companies. We recognizegenerate wholesale revenue when allprimarily from (x) transaction fees earned from Dealer-to-Dealer transactions, (y) transaction fees earned from the sale of vehicles to dealers that we acquire at other marketplaces, and (z) transaction fees earned from performing inspection and transportation services, inclusive of Dealer-to-Dealer transactions, other marketplace to dealer transactions, and IMCO transactions. We generate product revenue primarily from (A) aggregate proceeds received from the sale of vehicles that were acquired through IMCO transactions, and (B) proceeds received from the sale of vehicles that were acquired through arbitration. Critical accounting estimates associated with each of the following conditionsthree revenue sources are satisfied: (1) thereoutlined below.

Total consideration for marketplace revenue is persuasive evidence of an arrangement; (2)stated within the service has been providedcontracts. There are no contractual cash refund rights, but credits may be issued to the customer; (3) the collection of fees is reasonably assured; and (4) the amount of fees to be paid by thea customer is fixed or determinable.

We offer two types of paid marketplace listing products to dealers, Enhanced or Featured Listing, which require a subscription under subscription contracts with initial terms ranging between one month to one year. Contracts forat our sole discretion. Dealer customers generally auto‑renew on a monthly basis and are cancellable by dealers with 30‑days’ advance notice at the end of the current term. In addition, the arrangement allows dealers to access a dashboard to track sales leads and manage their accounts, which we refer to as the Dealer Dashboard. Customers do not have the right to take possession of our software. At the portfolio level, there is also variable consideration that needs to be included in the transaction price. Variable consideration consists of sales allowances, usage fees, and concessions that change the transaction price of the unsatisfied or partially unsatisfied performance obligation. We recognize revenue in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification,that there are times when there is a customer satisfaction issue or ASC, 605, Revenue Recognition. We recognize revenue onother circumstances that will lead to a credit. Due to the known possibility of future credits, a monthly basis assales allowance review is performed to defer revenue is earned. These contracts generally provide the customer with the ability to list an unlimited amount of automobile inventory on our website.

In addition to listing their inventory in our marketplace, we periodically enter into multiple‑element service arrangements that provide dealers with Enhanced or Featured Listing products, as well as other advertising and customer acquisition products including display advertising, which appears in our marketplace and on other sites on the internet and requiresat a paid subscription under contracts with initial terms ranging from one month to one year. Contractsportfolio level for customers generally auto‑renew on a monthly basis and are cancellable by dealers with 30‑days’ advance notice at the end of the current term.

We assess arrangements with multiple deliverables under Financial Accounting Standards Board, or FASB, Accounting Standards Update, or ASU, No. 2009‑13, Revenue Recognition (Topic 605), Multiple‑Deliverable Revenue Arrangements — a Consensus of the FASB Emerging Issues Task Force (ASU 2009‑13), which amended the previous multiple‑element arrangements accounting guidance. Pursuant to ASU 2009‑13, in order to treat deliverables in a multiple‑element arrangement as separate units of accounting, the deliverables must have stand‑alone value upon delivery. If the deliverables have stand‑alone value upon delivery, we account for each deliverable separately. We have concluded that each elementsuch future adjustments in the arrangement has stand‑alone value as the individual services can be sold separately. In addition, there is no rightperiod of refund once a service has been delivered. Therefore, we have concluded each element of the arrangement is a separate unit of accounting. While these arrangements are considered multiple‑element arrangements, the recognition of the units of accounting follow a consistent ratable recognition given the pattern over which services are provided.

Advertising and other revenue consists primarily of non‑dealer display advertising revenue from auto manufacturers and other auto‑related brand advertisers sold on a cost per thousand impressions, or CPM, basis. Impressions are the number of times an advertisement is loaded on a web page. Pricing is primarily based on advertisement size and position on our websites, and fees are generally billed monthly. We recognize such revenue as impressions are delivered.

We do not provide minimum impression guarantees or other types of minimum guarantees in our contracts with customers.

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We sell advertising directly to auto manufacturers and other auto‑related brand advertisers as well as indirectly through revenue sharing arrangements with advertising exchange partners. The advertising we sell is not subject to revenue sharing arrangements. Company‑sold advertising revenue is recognized based on the gross amount charged to the advertiser. Partner‑sold advertising revenue is recognized based on the net amount of revenue received from the content partners.

Revenue from advertising sold directly by us to auto manufacturers and other auto‑related brand advertisers is recorded on a gross basis predominately because we are the primary obligor responsible for fulfilling advertisement delivery, including the acceptability of the services delivered. We enter into contractual arrangements directly with advertisers, and are directly responsible for the fulfillment of the contractual terms and any remedy for issues with such fulfillment. We also have latitude in establishing the selling price with the advertiser, as we sell advertisements at a rate determined at our sole discretion.

Advertising revenue subject to revenue sharing agreements between us and advertising exchange partners is recognized based on the net amount of revenue received from the partner predominately because the advertising partner, and not us, is the primary obligor responsible for fulfillment, including the acceptability of the services delivered. In partner‑sold advertising arrangements, the advertising partner has a direct contractual relationship with the advertiser. There is no contractual relationship between us and the advertiser for partner‑sold transactions. When an advertising exchange partner sells advertisements, the partner is responsible for fulfilling the advertisements, and accordingly, we have determined the advertising partner is the primary obligor. Additionally, we do not have any latitude in establishing the price with the advertiser for partner‑sold advertising.

Revenue is presented net of any taxes collected from customers.

incurrence. We establish sales allowances at the time of revenue recognition based on our history of adjustments and credits provided to our customers. Sales allowances relate primarily to credits issued for service interruption. In assessing the adequacy of the sales allowance, we evaluate our history of adjustments and credits made through the date of the issuance of the consolidated financial statements. Estimated sales adjustments, and credits, and ultimate losses may vary from actual results which could belead to material adjustments to the consolidated financial statements; however,statements.

Advertising contracts state the transaction price within the agreement with payment generally being based on the number of clicks or impressions delivered on our websites. Total consideration is based on output and deemed variable consideration constrained by an agreed upon delivery schedule and is allocated to date,the period in which the service was rendered. Additionally, there are generally no contractual cash refund rights. Certain contracts do contain the right for credits in situations in which impressions are not displayed in compliance with contractual specifications. At an individual contract level, we may give a credit for a customer satisfaction issue or other circumstance. Due to the known possibility of future credits, a monthly review is performed to defer revenue at an individual contract level for such future adjustments in the period of incurrence. Although these credits have not been material and have not changed significantly over the historical period, estimated sales adjustments credits and losses may vary from actual results which could lead to material adjustments to the consolidated financial statements.

Other marketplace revenue includes revenue from contracts for which the performance obligation is a series of distinct services with the same level of effort daily. For these contracts, primarily related to our partnerships with financing services companies, we estimate the value of the variable consideration in determining the transaction price and allocate it to the performance obligation. Revenue is estimated and recognized on a ratable basis over the contractual term. We reassess the estimate of variable consideration at each reporting period.

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Within wholesale transactions, there are typically no contractual cash refund rights, but credits may be issued to a customer at our sole discretion and refunds may be required by law in the case of a vehicle defect. At the portfolio level, there is also variable consideration that needs to be included in the transaction price. Variable consideration consists of sales allowances have been materially consistent withand concessions that change the transaction price of the unsatisfied or partially unsatisfied performance obligation. We recognize that there are times when there is a customer satisfaction issue or other circumstance that will lead to a credit or arbitration. We establish sales allowances at the time of revenue recognition based on our estimates. Sales allowances are recorded ashistory of adjustments and credits provided to our customers. In assessing the adequacy of the sales allowance, we evaluate our history of adjustments and credits made through the date of the issuance of the consolidated financial statements. Upon recognizing a reduction to revenuesales transaction, we estimate the amount of transaction price that will be reversed in a subsequent period and record a reserve for returns and cancellations in other current assets, other current liabilities and accounts receivable in the consolidated statementsbalance sheets. Estimated sales adjustments, credits, and losses may vary from actual results which could lead to material adjustments to the consolidated financial statements.

Within product transactions, there are typically no contractual cash refund rights, but credits may be issued to a customer at our sole discretion and refunds may be required by law in the case of operations.a vehicle defect. At the portfolio level, there is also variable consideration that needs to be included in the transaction price. Variable consideration consists of sales allowances and concessions that change the transaction price of the unsatisfied or partially unsatisfied performance obligation. We recognize that there are times when there is a customer satisfaction issue or other circumstance that will lead to a credit or arbitration. We establish sales allowances at the time of revenue recognition based on our history of adjustments and credits provided to our customers. In assessing the adequacy of the sales allowance, we evaluate our history of adjustments and credits made through the date of the issuance of the consolidated financial statements. Upon recognizing a sales transaction, we estimate the amount of transaction price that will be reversed in a subsequent period and record a reserve for returns and cancellations in other current assets, other current liabilities and accounts receivable in the consolidated balance sheets. Estimated sales adjustments, credits, and losses may vary from actual results which could lead to material adjustments to the consolidated financial statements.

WebsiteAccounts Receivable – Allowance for Doubtful Accounts

The allowance for doubtful accounts is our best estimate of the amount of probable credit losses in our existing accounts receivable and Software Development Costs

We capitalize certain costsis based upon historical loss trends, the number of days that billings are past due, an evaluation of the potential risk of loss associated with specific accounts, current economic trends and conditions, and reasonable and supportable forecasts of economic conditions. If circumstances relating to specific customers change, or unanticipated changes occur in the development ofgeneral business environment, particularly as it affects auto dealers, our websites and internal‑use software products after the preliminary project stage is complete and until the software is ready for its intended use. Research and development costs incurred during the preliminary project stage or costs incurred for data conversion activities, training, maintenance, and general and administrative or overhead costs are expensed as incurred. Capitalization begins when the preliminary project stage is complete, management authorizes and commits to the fundingestimates of the software project withrecoverability of receivables could be further adjusted.

Long‑Lived Assets Impairment

We evaluate the required authority, it is probablerecoverability of long-lived assets, such as property and equipment and intangible assets, for impairment at least annually and whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the project willcarrying value of an asset may not be completed,recoverable. During this review, we re‑evaluate the software willsignificant assumptions used in determining the original cost and estimated lives of long-lived assets. Although the assumptions may vary from asset to asset, they generally include operating results, changes in the use of the asset, cash flows, and other indicators of value. Management then determines whether the remaining useful life continues to be usedappropriate, or whether there has been an impairment of long‑lived assets based primarily upon whether expected future undiscounted cash flows are sufficient to performsupport the functions intendedassets’ recovery.

Website Development and certain functional and quality standards have been met. Qualified costs incurred during the operating stage of our software applications relating to upgrades and enhancements are capitalized to the extent it is probable that they will result in added functionality, while costs that cannot be separated between maintenance of, and minor upgrades and enhancements to, internal‑use software are expensed as incurred.Internal-Use Software Costs Capitalization

Capitalized website development and capitalized internal-use software development costs are amortized on a straight‑line basis over their estimated useful life of three years. Management evaluatesyears beginning with the time when the product is ready for intended use.

We evaluate the useful lives of these assets on an annual basiswhen each asset is ready for its intended use, and testsat least annually thereafter to ensure three years remains appropriate. We also test for impairment at least annually and whenever events or changes in circumstances occur that could impact the recoverability of these assets. Impairment is evaluated as discussed in the “Long-Lived Assets - Impairment” section above.

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Hosting Arrangements Capitalization

DuringOur hosting arrangements consist of cloud-based hosting platforms. Capitalized implementation costs for hosting arrangements are amortized on a straight‑line basis over an estimated useful life of the term of the hosting arrangement, taking into consideration several other factors such as, but not limited to, options to extend the hosting arrangement or options to terminate the hosting arrangement, beginning with the time when the software is ready for intended use.

We evaluate the useful lives of these assets when each asset is ready for its intended use, and at least annually thereafter to ensure the selected useful life remains appropriate. We also test for impairment at least annually and whenever events or changes in circumstances occur that could impact the recoverability of these assets. Impairment is evaluated as discussed in the “Long-Lived Assets - Impairment” section above.

Business Combinations

Acquired Assets and Liabilities – Valuation

We measure all consideration transferred in a business combination at its acquisition-date fair value. Consideration transferred is determined by the acquisition-date fair value of assets transferred and liabilities assumed, including contingent consideration obligations, as applicable. We measure goodwill as the excess of the consideration transferred over the net of the acquisition-date amounts of assets acquired less liabilities assumed.

We make significant assumptions and estimates in determining the fair value of the acquired assets and liabilities as of the acquisition date, especially the valuation of intangible assets and certain tax positions.

Intangible Assets – Valuation and Recoverability

Intangible assets are recognized at their estimated fair value at the date of acquisition. Fair value is determined based on inputs and assumptions such as discount rates, rates of return on assets, and long-term sales growth rates.

We amortize intangible assets over their estimated useful lives on a straight-line basis. Useful lives are established based on analysis of all pertinent factors such as: the expected use of the asset, expected useful lives of related assets, provisions that may limit the useful life, historical experience with similar arrangements, effects of economic factors, demand, competition, obsolescence, and maintenance required to maintain the future cash flows.

We evaluate the useful lives of these assets as of the acquisition date and at least annually thereafter to ensure the selected useful life remains appropriate.

We monitor our long-lived assets for impairment indicators on an ongoing basis in accordance with GAAP, and test for impairment at least annually and whenever events or changes in circumstances occur that could impact the recoverability of these assets. Impairment is evaluated as discussed in the “Long-Lived Assets - Impairment” section above.

Goodwill – Valuation and Recoverability

Goodwill is recognized when consideration paid in a purchase acquisition exceeds the fair value of the net assets acquired. Goodwill is not amortized, but rather is tested for impairment annually or more frequently if facts and circumstances warrant a review. Conditions that could trigger a more frequent impairment assessment include, but are not limited to, a significant adverse change in certain agreements, significant underperformance relative to historical or projected future operating results, an economic downturn affecting automotive marketplaces, increased competition, a significant reduction in our stock price for a sustained period, or a reduction of our market capitalization relative to net book value.

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We evaluate impairment annually on October 1 by comparing the estimated fair value of each reporting unit to its carrying value. For fiscal year 2023, we determined that we had three reporting units with goodwill: U.S. Marketplace, CarOffer, and U.K. Marketplace. We elected to bypass the optional qualitative test for impairment and proceed to Step 1, which is a quantitative impairment test. For the U.S. Marketplace and U.K. Marketplace reporting units, we estimate fair value using a market approach, based on market multiples derived from public companies that we identify as peers. As of October 1, 2023, we estimated forecasted revenue for fiscal year 2023, and estimated revenue market multiples using publicly available information for each of our reporting units. Developing these assumptions required the use of judgment and estimates. Actual results may differ from these forecasts. For the CarOffer reporting unit, we estimate fair value using an income approach, based on a discounted cash flow method. The assumptions used to estimate the fair value using a discounted cash flow method include revenue and EBITDA forecasts, the weighted average cost of capital and discount rate, debt-free net working capital forecasts, and long-term growth rate.

For the years ended December 31, 20172023, 2022, and 2016,2021, we capitalized $2.2 milliondid not identify any impairment of our goodwill. Although no impairment was identified during the annual impairment test as of October 1, 2023, the excess of the fair value over the carrying value declined for the CarOffer reporting unit in the Digital Wholesale segment. If projected future operating results further decline, including as a result of economic conditions or operational challenges, we may need to record an impairment charge to reduce our goodwill at CarOffer which could be material and $1.4 million of website development costs, respectively. We recorded amortization expense associatednegatively affect our operations.

Redeemable Noncontrolling Interest – Valuation

In connection with our capitalized website development costsacquisition of $0.8 million, $0.3 milliona 51% interest in CarOffer on January 14, 2021, redeemable noncontrolling interest was recognized at fair value computed using the Least Square Monte Carlo Simulation approach. Significant inputs to the model included market price of risk, volatility, correlation, and $0.2 millionrisk-free rate.

Subsequent to our acquisition of the 51% interest on January 14, 2021, the redeemable noncontrolling interest was measured at the greater of the amount that would be paid if settlement occurred as of the consolidated balance sheet date based on the contractually defined redemption value and its carrying amount adjusted for net (loss) income attributable to the noncontrolling interest and tax distributions to redeemable noncontrolling interest holders.

On December 1, 2023, we completed the 2023 CarOffer Transaction for the years ended2023 Consideration.

Following the 2023 CarOffer Transaction, CarOffer is a wholly-owned subsidiary and we entered into the 2023 CarOffer Operating Agreement pursuant to which, among other matters, the existing put and call rights were terminated. As a result of the 2023 CarOffer Transaction, there is no redeemable noncontrolling interest as of December 31, 2017, 2016,2023, and 2015, respectively.there is no longer a related estimate.

Income Taxes – Recoverability of Deferred Tax Assets and Related Valuation Allowance

We are subject to federal and state income taxes in the U.S. and taxes in foreign jurisdictions in which we operate. Judgment is required in determining our worldwide income tax provision. In the ordinary course of a global business, there are many transactions and calculations where the ultimate outcome is uncertain. Although we believe our estimates are reasonable, there is no assurance that the final outcome of these matters will not be different from that which is reflected in our historical income tax provisions and accruals. Such differences could have a material impact on our income tax provision and net income in the period in which such determination is made.

Significant judgment is also involved regarding the application of income tax laws and regulations to estimate the effective income tax rates. As a result, our actual annual effective income tax rates and related income tax liabilities may differ materially from our interim estimated effective tax rates and related income tax liabilities. Any resulting differences are recognized in the period they become known.

We account for income taxes in accordance with the asset and liability method. Under this method, deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized based on temporary differences between the financial reporting and income tax bases of assets and liabilities using statutory rates. In addition, thisenacted tax rates in effect for the year in which the temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled.

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This method requires a valuation allowance against net deferred tax assets if, based upon the available evidence, it is more likely than not that some or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. In performing this analysis, we consider future taxable income and ongoing prudent and feasible tax planning strategies to assess realizability. Actual results may differ from these forecasts. Valuation allowances are reassessed periodically to determine whether it is more likely than not that the tax benefits will be realized in the future and if any existing valuation allowance should be released.

56


We account for uncertain tax positions recognized in the consolidated financial statements by prescribing a more‑likely‑than‑not threshold for financial statement recognition and measurement of a tax position taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. Interest and penalties, if applicable, related to uncertainWe assess our income tax positions would be recognizedbased upon management’s evaluation of the facts, circumstances, and information available at the reporting date. The tax position is measured as a componentthe largest amount of income tax expense. We have no recorded liabilities for uncertainbenefit or expense that is greater than 50% likely of being realized upon ultimate settlement with the taxing authority during examination. The ultimate resolution of these tax positions asmay be greater or less than the liabilities recognized.

Inventory – Valuation

Inventory is valued at the lower of December 31, 2017cost or 2016.net realizable value. Cost is determined based on specific identification. In recording inventory at the lower of cost or net realizable value, we estimate potential future losses on inventory on hand based on historical losses and market trends. Estimated potential future losses on inventory may vary from actual results which could lead to material adjustments to the consolidated financial statements.

Stock‑BasedStock-Based Compensation – Valuation

We recognize stock‑based compensation for stock‑based awards, including stock options andFor restricted stock units, or RSUs, based on the estimated fair value of the awards. Through the period ended December 31, 2016, we applied an estimated forfeiture rate in determining the total stock‑based compensation expensegranted subject to record for the period. On January 1, 2017, we adopted ASU 2016-09 and elected to account for forfeitures when they occur, on a modified retrospective basis. The cumulative effect adjustment related to this accounting policy change for forfeitures was not material. We recognize compensation expense for service-based awards on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period for each separatemarket-based vesting portion of the award, with the amount of compensation expense recognized at any date at least equaling the portion of the grant-date fair value of the award that is vested at that date. 

For RSUs issued under our stock‑based compensation plans,conditions, the fair value of each grant is calculated based on the estimated fair value of our common stockdetermined on the date of grant. We estimategrant using the Monte Carlo simulation lattice model. The determination of the fair value using this model is affected by our stock price performance relative to the companies listed on the S&P 500, and a number of mostassumptions including volatility, correlation coefficient, risk-free interest rate, and expected dividends. RSUs previously granted subject to market-based vesting conditions vest upon achievement of specified levels of market conditions. During the year ended December 31, 2022, we modified our market-based performance awards to contain only service-based vesting conditions in line with our other RSU awards. As a result, there were no market-based RSUs outstanding as of December 31, 2023 and 2022.

For stock option awardsoptions granted, the fair value is determined on the date of grant using the Black‑Scholes option‑pricing model. CertainThe determination of the fair value is affected by our stock option awards thatprice and a number of assumptions including expected dividend yield, expected volatility, risk-free interest rate, and expected term. For expected volatility, we use a blended volatility to combine the historical volatility of trading with the volatility for a peer group of companies as we do not have an exercise pricehistorical stock prices for a period that is materially aboveat least equal to the current estimated fair market valueexpected term. Stock options granted generally have a term of our common stock are considered to be “deeply out of the money,” and are valued atten years from the date of grant and generally vest over a four-year requisite service period.

For liability-classified awards, the fair value was determined on the date of issuance using a binomial lattice option‑pricingLeast Square Monte Carlo simulation model. TheLiability-classified awards are remeasured to fair value of each option grant issued underperiod until settlement. Until March 31, 2022, the Least Square Monte Carlo simulation model was used for remeasurement. During the three months ended June 30, 2022, we refined our stock‑based compensation plans that is not considered “deeply out of the money” was estimated using the Black‑Scholes option‑pricing model.

RSUs granted prior to our IPO were subject to both a service‑based vesting and a performance‑based vesting condition achieved upon a liquidity event, defined as either a change of control or an initial public offering of our common stock, or IPO. Prior to October 11, 2017, we had not recognized compensation cost related to stock-based awards with these performance conditions as the liquidity event had not occurred. The Securities and Exchange Commission’s declaration of effectiveness of our registration statement on Form S-1 on October 11, 2017 satisfied the liquidity event performance condition. The cumulative unrecognized stock-based compensation expense related to these awards was $2.5 million through October 11, 2017.

We determined the assumptionsmodel for the Black‑Scholes option‑pricing model as discussed below. Each of these inputs is subjective and generally requires significant judgment to determine.

Fair Value of Our Common Stock.  Prior to our IPO, our stock was not publicly traded, and therefore we estimateddetermining the fair value of our common stock through obtaining contemporaneous third-party valuations. Subsequent to the IPO, we determine the fair value of our common stock based on the closing share price on the date of grant.

Expected Term.  The expected term represents the period that the stock‑basedliability-classified awards are expected to be outstanding. The expected term of stock options granted has been determined using the simplified method, which uses the midpoint between the vesting date and the contractual term.

Risk‑Free Interest Rate.  The risk‑free interest rate is based on the U.S. Treasury yield curve in effect at the date of grant for zero‑coupon U.S. Treasury constant maturity notes with terms approximately equal to the stock‑based award’s expected term.

Expected Volatility.  Because we did not have a trading history of our common stock prior to our IPO, the expected volatility was derived from the average historical stock volatilities of several public companies within our industry that we consider to be comparable to our business over a period equivalent to the expected term of the stock‑based awards.

Dividend Rate.  The expected dividend is zero as we have not paid and do not anticipate paying any dividends in the foreseeable future.

If any of the assumptions used in the Black‑Scholes model change significantly, stock‑based compensation for future awards may differ materially compared with the awards granted previously.

57


The weighted average fair values of options granted during the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015 were $0.90 and $0.46, respectively. No options were granted during 2017. The weighted average assumptions utilized to determine the fair value of options granted are presented in the following table:

 

 

2016

 

 

2015

 

Expected dividend yield

 

 

 

 

 

 

Expected volatility

 

 

49

%

 

 

64

%

Riskfree interest rate

 

 

1.57

%

 

 

1.73

%

Expected term (in years)

 

 

6.07

 

 

 

6.05

 

Emerging Growth Company Status

We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, or the JOBS Act, and we may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies. We may take advantage of these exemptions until we are no longer an emerging growth company. Section 107 of the JOBS Act provides that an emerging growth company can take advantage of the extended transition period afforded by the JOBS Act for the implementation of new or revised accounting standards. We have elected to use the extended transition period for complying with new or revised accounting standards; and as a result of this election,obtaining gross profit actuals through the trailing twelve-months ended June 30, 2022 measurement period for the first call option. Since March 31, 2022, the fair value has typically been determined using a Monte Carlo simulation model. During the year ended December 31, 2022, we determined not to exercise our financial statements may not be comparablecall right to companies that comply with public company effective dates. We may take advantageacquire up to an additional 25% of the fully diluted capitalization of CarOffer. The valuation of these exemptions up until the last dayliability-classified awards was previously derived from our 2024 call right and CarOffer’s 2024 put right. The determination of the fiscal year followingfair value was affected by CarOffer’s equity value, EBITDA, and Excess Parent Capital (as defined in the fifth anniversaryThird Amended and Restated Limited Liability Company Agreement of our IPO or such earlier time that we are no longer an emerging growth company. We would ceaseCarOffer, dated as of November 23, 2021, included as Exhibit 10.27 to be an emerging growth company if we have more than $1.07 billion in annual revenue, we have more than $700.0 million in market value of our stock held by non‑affiliates (and we have been a public company for at least 12 months and have filed one annual reportthe Annual Report on Form 10‑K) or we issue more than $1.0 billion10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021, filed on February 25, 2022) that drove the exercise price of non‑convertible debt securities overfuture call/put rights, as well as a three‑year period.number of assumptions including market price of risk, volatility, correlation, and risk-free interest rate. As a result of the EBITDA and Excess Parent Capital projections for CarOffer as of December 31, 2022, a Monte Carlo simulation model was not required as of December 31, 2022. As a result of the 2023 CarOffer Transaction, the liability-classified awards were accelerated and redeemed as of December 31, 2023.

Recent74


Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements

For information on recentInformation concerning recently issued accounting pronouncements see “Recent Accounting Pronouncements”may be found in the notesNote 2 to theour consolidated financial statements appearingincluded elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.Report.

75


Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures Aboutabout Market Risk.

Market risk represents the risk of loss that may affect our financial position due to adverse changes in financial market prices and rates. We are exposed to market risks relatedas described below.

Interest Rate Risk

As of December 31, 2023, our exposure to market risk associated with changes in interest rates.

Interest Rate Risk

We didrates relates primarily to the 2022 Revolver, which allows us to borrow up to $400.0 million. The applicable interest rate is, at our option, based on a number of different benchmark rates and applicable spreads, as determined by the Consolidated Secured Net Leverage Ratio (as defined in Note 9 to our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report). A fluctuation in interest rates does not have any long‑term borrowings asan impact on interest expense unless the 2022 Revolver is drawn upon. Such impact would also be dependent on the amount of the draw. As of December 31, 2017 or as2023, there were no borrowings and $9.6 million in letters of credit outstanding under the 2022 Revolver, which reduces the borrowing capacity under the 2022 Revolver to $390.4 million.

As of December 31, 2016.2022, there were no borrowings and no letters of credit outstanding under the 2022 Revolver.

WeAs of December 31, 2023, we had cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments of $137.7$312.1 million, and $74.3 million at December 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016, respectively, which consistconsisted of bank deposits, money market fundsaccounts, and certificatesmutual funds. As of deposit with maturity dates ranging from nine to twelve months. December 31, 2022, we had cash and cash equivalents of $469.5 million, which consisted of bank deposits, money market accounts, and mutual funds.

Such interest‑earninginterest-earning instruments carry a degree of interest rate risk. Given recent changes in the interest rate environment and in an effort to ensure liquidity, we expect variable returns from our cash equivalents for the foreseeable future. To date, fluctuations resulting from changes in the interest rate environment in interest income have not been significant for us. Duematerial to the short-term natureoperations of our investment portfolio, we do not believe an immediate 10% increase in interest rates would have a material effect on the fair market value of our portfolio, and, accordingly, we do not expect our operating results or cash flows to be materially affected by a sudden change in market interest rates.business.

We do not enter into investments for trading or speculative purposes and have not used any derivative financial instruments to manage our interest rate risk exposure.

58


Inflation Risk

We do not believe that inflation has had a material effect on our business, financial condition, or results of operations to date, including during the year ended December 31, 2017.date. However, if our costs were to become subject to significant inflationary pressures, we may not be able to fully offset such higher costs through price increases. Our inability or failure to do so could harm our business, operating results, and financial condition. Additionally, inflationary pressures could negatively impact vehicle purchasing behavior, which could have an adverse impact on our financial results.

Foreign Currency Exchange Risk

Historically, because our operations and sales have been primarily in the United States,U.S., we have not faced any significant foreign currency risk. As of December 31, 20172023 and December 31, 2016,2022, we havehad foreign currency exposures in the British Poundpound, the Euro, and the Euro,Canadian dollar, although such exposure is not significant. We do not believe a 10% change in the relative value of these currencies on December 31, 2017 would have had a material effect on our results of operations or financial condition.was immaterial.

Our foreign subsidiaries have intercompany accountstransactions that are eliminated upon consolidation, and these accountstransactions expose us to foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations. Exchange rate fluctuations on short‑term intercompany accountstransactions are recordedrecognized within other expense, net in ourthe consolidated statements of operations underincome statements. Exchange rate fluctuations on long-term intercompany transactions are recognized within accumulated other comprehensive (loss) income (expense).in the consolidated balance sheets.

As we expand internationally,seek to grow our international operations in Canada and the U.K., our risks associated with fluctuation in currency rates willmay become greater, and we will continue to reassess our approach to managing these risks.

5976


Item 8. Financial StatementsFinancial Statements and Supplementary Data.

CarGurus, Inc.

Index to Consolidated Financial Statements

Page No.

No.

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm (PCAOB ID: 42)

61

78

Consolidated Balance Sheets as of December 31, 20172023 and 20162022

62

80

Consolidated Income Statements of Operations for the Years Ended December 31, 2017, 2016,2023, 2022, and
2015
2021

63

81

Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss) for the Years Ended December 31, 2017, 2016,2023, 2022, and 2015  2021

64

82

Consolidated Statements of Convertible Preferred StockRedeemable Noncontrolling Interest and Stockholders’ Equity (Deficit) for the Years Ended December 31, 2017, 2016,2023, 2022, and 20152021

65

83

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the Years Ended December 31, 2017, 2016,2023, 2022, and 20152021

67

84

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

68

85

77


60


Report of Independent RegisteredRegistered Public Accounting Firm

To the Stockholders and the Board of Directors of CarGurus, Inc.

Opinion on the Financial Statements

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of CarGurus, Inc. (the Company) as of December 31, 20172023 and 2016,2022, the related consolidated statements of operations,income, comprehensive income, convertible preferred stockredeemable noncontrolling interest and stockholders’stockholders' equity (deficit) and cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2017,2023, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “consolidated financial statements”). In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company at December 31, 20172023 and 2016,2022, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2017,2023, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.

We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB), the Company's internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2023, based on criteria established in Internal Control–Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (2013 framework), and our report dated February 26, 2024 expressed an adverse opinion thereon.

Basis for Opinion

These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB)PCAOB and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audits we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company's internal control over financial reporting.  Accordingly, we express no such opinion.  

Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

Critical Audit Matter

The critical audit matter communicated below is a matter arising from the current period audit of the financial statements that was communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that: (1) relates to accounts or disclosures that are material to the financial statements and (2) involved our especially challenging, subjective or complex judgments. The communication of the critical audit matter does not alter in any way our opinion on the consolidated financial statements, taken as a whole, and we are not, by communicating the critical audit matter below, providing a separate opinion on the critical audit matter or on the accounts or disclosures to which it relates.

Revenue Recognition

Description of the Matter

For the year ended December 31, 2023, the Company recognized revenue of $914.2 million. As explained in Note 2 to the consolidated financial statements, the Company recognizes revenue in accordance with Accounting Standard Codification Topic 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, upon transfer of control of promised services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration the Company expects to receive in exchange for those services.

Auditing management’s recognition of revenue was challenging because of the higher extent of audit effort and because the amounts are material to the consolidated financial statements and related disclosures. During our risk assessment process, we identified a higher inherent risk related to revenue primarily due to the size of the account and the volume of activity, as well as the focus on revenue from readers of the financial statements.

78


How We Addressed the Matter in Our Audit

We obtained an understanding, evaluated the design and tested the operating effectiveness of controls over the Company’s revenue recognition process, including controls designed to mitigate the risk of override of controls. This included testing controls over management’s review of manual journal entries and revenue related account reconciliations.

We substantively tested the Company’s revenue recognized for the year ended December 31, 2023, through a combination of data analytics and tests of details. Our audit procedures included, among others, performing a correlation analysis between the related accounts (i.e., revenue, deferred revenue, accounts receivable, and cash) and testing the existence of cash receipts tied to revenue recognition. Additionally, we reconciled revenue recognized to the Company’s general ledger to test completeness and performed substantive test of details over significant customers deemed to be key items and a representative sample of the remaining transactions.

/s/ Ernst & Young LLP

We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2016.

Boston, Massachusetts

March 1, 2018February 26, 2024

79


61


CarGurus, Inc.

Consolidated Balance Sheets

(in thousands, except share and per share data)

 

 

At December 31,

 

 

 

2017

 

 

2016

 

Assets

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Current assets

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cash and cash equivalents

 

$

87,709

 

 

$

29,476

 

Investments

 

 

50,000

 

 

 

44,774

 

Accounts receivable, net of allowance for doubtful accounts of $494 and

   $164, respectively

 

 

12,577

 

 

 

6,653

 

Prepaid income taxes

 

 

1,533

 

 

 

1,815

 

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

 

 

5,385

 

 

 

2,789

 

Total current assets

 

 

157,204

 

 

 

85,507

 

Property and equipment, net

 

 

16,563

 

 

 

12,780

 

Restricted cash

 

 

1,843

 

 

 

2,044

 

Deferred tax assets

 

 

825

 

 

 

 

Other long–term assets

 

 

159

 

 

 

 

Total assets

 

$

176,594

 

 

$

100,331

 

Liabilities, convertible preferred stock, and stockholders’ equity (deficit)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Current liabilities

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Accounts payable

 

$

23,908

 

 

$

16,426

 

Accrued expenses

 

 

13,588

 

 

 

8,384

 

Deferred revenue

 

 

4,305

 

 

 

3,330

 

Deferred rent

 

 

1,165

 

 

 

910

 

Total current liabilities

 

 

42,966

 

 

 

29,050

 

Deferred rent, net of current portion

 

 

5,648

 

 

 

5,673

 

Deferred tax liabilities

 

 

 

 

 

292

 

Other non–current liabilities

 

 

955

 

 

 

590

 

Total liabilities

 

 

49,569

 

 

 

35,605

 

Commitments and contingencies (Note 6)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Convertible preferred stock

 

 

 

 

 

132,698

 

Stockholders’ equity:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Class A common stock, $0.001 par value; 500,000,000 shares authorized;

   77,884,754 and 14,022,132 shares issued and outstanding at

   December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively

 

 

78

 

 

 

14

 

Class B common stock, $0.001 par value; 100,000,000 shares authorized;

   28,226,104 and 28,044,264 shares issued and outstanding at

   December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively

 

 

28

 

 

 

28

 

Additional paid–in capital

 

 

185,190

 

 

 

3,714

 

Accumulated deficit

 

 

(58,499

)

 

 

(71,698

)

Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)

 

 

228

 

 

 

(30

)

Total stockholders’ equity (deficit)

 

 

127,025

 

 

 

(67,972

)

Total liabilities, convertible preferred stock, and stockholders’ equity (deficit)

 

$

176,594

 

 

$

100,331

 

 

 

As of December 31,

 

 

 

2023

 

 

2022

 

Assets

 

 

 

 

 

 

Current assets:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cash and cash equivalents

 

$

291,363

 

 

$

469,517

 

Short-term investments

 

 

20,724

 

 

 

 

Accounts receivable, net of allowance for doubtful accounts of $610 and
   $
1,809, respectively

 

 

39,963

 

 

 

46,817

 

Inventory

 

 

331

 

 

 

5,282

 

Prepaid expenses, prepaid income taxes and other current assets

 

 

25,152

 

 

 

21,972

 

Deferred contract costs

 

 

11,095

 

 

 

8,541

 

Restricted cash

 

 

2,563

 

 

 

5,237

 

Total current assets

 

 

391,191

 

 

 

557,366

 

Property and equipment, net

 

 

83,370

 

 

 

40,128

 

Intangible assets, net

 

 

23,056

 

 

 

53,054

 

Goodwill

 

 

157,898

 

 

 

157,467

 

Operating lease right-of-use assets

 

 

169,682

 

 

 

56,869

 

Restricted cash

 

 

 

 

 

9,378

 

Deferred tax assets

 

 

73,356

 

 

 

35,488

 

Deferred contract costs, net of current portion

 

 

12,998

 

 

 

8,853

 

Other non-current assets

 

 

7,376

 

 

 

8,499

 

Total assets

 

$

918,927

 

 

$

927,102

 

Liabilities, redeemable noncontrolling interest and stockholders’ equity

 

 

 

 

 

 

Current liabilities:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Accounts payable

 

$

47,854

 

 

$

32,529

 

Accrued expenses, accrued income taxes and other current liabilities

 

 

33,718

 

 

 

39,193

 

Deferred revenue

 

 

21,322

 

 

 

12,249

 

Operating lease liabilities

 

 

12,284

 

 

 

14,762

 

Total current liabilities

 

 

115,178

 

 

 

98,733

 

Operating lease liabilities

 

 

182,106

 

 

 

51,656

 

Deferred tax liabilities

 

 

58

 

 

 

54

 

Other non–current liabilities

 

 

4,733

 

 

 

5,301

 

Total liabilities

 

 

302,075

 

 

 

155,744

 

Commitments and contingencies (Note 10)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Redeemable noncontrolling interest

 

 

 

 

 

36,749

 

Stockholders’ equity:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Preferred stock, $0.001 par value per share; 10,000,000 shares authorized;
   
no shares issued and outstanding

 

 

 

 

 

 

Class A common stock, $0.001 par value per share; 500,000,000 shares
   authorized;
92,175,243 and 101,636,649 shares issued and outstanding at
   December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively

 

 

92

 

 

 

102

 

Class B common stock, $0.001 par value per share; 100,000,000 shares
   authorized;
15,999,173 and 15,999,173 shares issued and outstanding at
   December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively

 

 

16

 

 

 

16

 

Additional paid–in capital

 

 

263,498

 

 

 

413,092

 

Retained earnings

 

 

354,147

 

 

 

323,043

 

Accumulated other comprehensive loss

 

 

(901

)

 

 

(1,644

)

Total stockholders’ equity

 

 

616,852

 

 

 

734,609

 

Total liabilities, redeemable noncontrolling interest and stockholders’ equity

 

$

918,927

 

 

$

927,102

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

6280


CarGurus, Inc.

Consolidated Income Statements of Operations

(in thousands, except share and per share data)

 

 

Year Ended December 31,

 

 

 

2023

 

 

2022

 

 

2021

 

Revenue

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marketplace

 

$

698,236

 

 

$

658,771

 

 

$

636,942

 

Wholesale

 

 

100,908

 

 

 

237,635

 

 

 

195,127

 

Product

 

 

115,098

 

 

 

758,629

 

 

 

119,304

 

Total revenue

 

 

914,242

 

 

 

1,655,035

 

 

 

951,373

 

Cost of revenue(1)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marketplace

 

 

60,020

 

 

 

56,040

 

 

 

47,689

 

Wholesale

 

 

90,066

 

 

 

176,446

 

 

 

127,679

 

Product

 

 

112,702

 

 

 

764,996

 

 

 

118,647

 

Total cost of revenue

 

 

262,788

 

 

 

997,482

 

 

 

294,015

 

Gross profit

 

 

651,454

 

 

 

657,553

 

 

 

657,358

 

Operating expenses:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sales and marketing

 

 

304,070

 

 

 

336,708

 

 

 

290,574

 

Product, technology, and development

 

 

146,169

 

 

 

123,768

 

 

 

106,423

 

General and administrative

 

 

152,757

 

 

 

73,117

 

 

 

97,678

 

Depreciation and amortization

 

 

15,831

 

 

 

15,482

 

 

 

14,415

 

Total operating expenses

 

 

618,827

 

 

 

549,075

 

 

 

509,090

 

Income from operations

 

 

32,627

 

 

 

108,478

 

 

 

148,268

 

Other income, net:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Interest income

 

 

18,430

 

 

 

3,845

 

 

 

120

 

Other income (expense), net

 

 

630

 

 

 

(961

)

 

 

972

 

Total other income, net

 

 

19,060

 

 

 

2,884

 

 

 

1,092

 

Income before income taxes

 

 

51,687

 

 

 

111,362

 

 

 

149,360

 

Provision for income taxes

 

 

29,634

 

 

 

32,408

 

 

 

38,987

 

Consolidated net income

 

 

22,053

 

 

 

78,954

 

 

 

110,373

 

Net (loss) income attributable to redeemable noncontrolling interest

 

 

(14,889

)

 

 

(5,433

)

 

 

1,129

 

Net (loss) income attributable to CarGurus, Inc.

 

$

36,942

 

 

$

84,387

 

 

$

109,244

 

Deemed dividend on redemption of noncontrolling interest

 

 

5,838

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Accretion of redeemable noncontrolling interest to redemption value

 

 

 

 

 

(109,398

)

 

 

109,398

 

Net income (loss) attributable to common stockholders

 

$

31,104

 

 

$

193,785

 

 

$

(154

)

Net income (loss) per share attributable to common stockholders: (Note 12)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Basic

 

$

0.27

 

 

$

1.64

 

 

$

(0.00

)

Diluted

 

$

0.19

 

 

$

0.62

 

 

$

(0.00

)

Weighted–average number of shares of common stock used in
   computing net income (loss) per share attributable to common stockholders:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Basic

 

 

113,240,139

 

 

 

118,474,991

 

 

 

117,142,062

 

Diluted

 

 

114,188,834

 

 

 

128,150,974

 

 

 

117,142,062

 

 

 

Year Ended December 31,

 

 

 

2017

 

 

2016

 

 

2015

 

Revenue

 

$

316,861

 

 

$

198,141

 

 

$

98,588

 

Cost of revenue(1)

 

 

17,609

 

 

 

9,575

 

 

 

4,234

 

Gross profit

 

 

299,252

 

 

 

188,566

 

 

 

94,354

 

Operating expenses:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sales and marketing

 

 

236,165

 

 

 

154,125

 

 

 

81,877

 

Product, technology, and development

 

 

22,470

 

 

 

11,453

 

 

 

8,235

 

General and administrative

 

 

22,688

 

 

 

12,783

 

 

 

5,801

 

Depreciation and amortization

 

 

2,655

 

 

 

1,634

 

 

 

969

 

Total operating expenses

 

 

283,978

 

 

 

179,995

 

 

 

96,882

 

Income (loss) from operations

 

 

15,274

 

 

 

8,571

 

 

 

(2,528

)

Other income (expense), net

 

 

563

 

 

 

374

 

 

 

(12

)

Income (loss) before income taxes

 

 

15,837

 

 

 

8,945

 

 

 

(2,540

)

Provision for (benefit from) income taxes

 

 

2,638

 

 

 

2,448

 

 

 

(904

)

Net income (loss)

 

$

13,199

 

 

$

6,497

 

 

$

(1,636

)

Reconciliation of net income (loss) to net income (loss)

   attributable to common stockholders:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net income (loss)

 

$

13,199

 

 

$

6,497

 

 

$

(1,636

)

Deemed dividend to preferred stockholders

 

 

 

 

 

(32,087

)

 

 

(15,930

)

Net income attributable to participating securities

 

 

(6,098

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net income (loss) attributable to common stockholders — basic

 

$

7,101

 

 

$

(25,590

)

 

$

(17,566

)

Net income (loss)

 

$

13,199

 

 

$

6,497

 

 

$

(1,636

)

Deemed dividend to preferred stockholders

 

 

 

 

 

(32,087

)

 

 

(15,930

)

Net income attributable to participating securities

 

 

(5,829

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net income (loss) attributable to common stockholders — diluted

 

$

7,370

 

 

$

(25,590

)

 

$

(17,566

)

Net income (loss) per share attributable to common

   stockholders: (Note 9)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Basic

 

$

0.13

 

 

$

(0.58

)

 

$

(0.41

)

Diluted

 

$

0.12

 

 

$

(0.58

)

 

$

(0.41

)

Weighted–average number of shares of common stock

   used in computing net income (loss) per share

   attributable to common stockholders:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Basic

 

 

55,835,265

 

 

 

44,138,922

 

 

 

43,141,236

 

Diluted

 

 

60,637,584

 

 

 

44,138,922

 

 

 

43,141,236

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(1)
Includes depreciation and amortization expense for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021 of $32,643, $29,852, and $26,061, respectively.

(1)

Includes depreciation and amortization expense for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016, and 2015 of $1,140, $438, and $153, respectively.

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

6381


CarGurus, Inc.

Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss)

(in thousands)

 

 

Year Ended December 31,

 

 

 

2017

 

 

2016

 

 

2015

 

Net income (loss)

 

$

13,199

 

 

$

6,497

 

 

$

(1,636

)

Other comprehensive income (loss):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Foreign currency translation adjustment

 

 

258

 

 

 

(30

)

 

 

 

Comprehensive income (loss)

 

$

13,457

 

 

$

6,467

 

 

$

(1,636

)

 

 

Year Ended December 31,

 

 

 

2023

 

 

2022

 

 

2021

 

Consolidated net income

 

$

22,053

 

 

$

78,954

 

 

$

110,373

 

Other comprehensive income:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Foreign currency translation adjustment

 

 

743

 

 

 

(1,241

)

 

 

(2,283

)

Consolidated comprehensive income

 

 

22,796

 

 

 

77,713

 

 

 

108,090

 

Comprehensive (loss) income attributable to redeemable
   noncontrolling interests

 

 

(14,889

)

 

 

(5,433

)

 

 

1,129

 

Comprehensive income attributable to CarGurus, Inc.

 

$

37,685

 

 

$

83,146

 

 

$

106,961

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

82


64


CarGurus, Inc.

Consolidated Statements of Convertible Preferred StockRedeemable Noncontrolling Interest and Stockholders’ Equity (Deficit)

(in thousands, except share data)

 

Series A

Preferred Stock

 

Series B

Preferred Stock

 

Series C

Preferred Stock

 

Series D

Preferred Stock

 

Series E

Preferred Stock

 

 

 

Member Units

 

Class A

Common Stock

 

Class B

Common Stock

 

Additional

Paid–in

 

Accumulated

Other

Comprehensive

 

Retained Earnings

(Accumulated

 

Total

Stockholders’

Equity

 

 

Shares

 

Amount

 

Shares

 

Amount

 

Shares

 

Amount

 

Shares

 

Amount

 

Shares

 

Amount

 

 

 

Shares

 

Amount

 

Shares

 

Amount

 

Shares

 

Amount

 

Capital

 

Loss

 

Deficit)

 

(Deficit)

 

Balance at

   December 31, 2014

 

 

$

 

 

 

$

 

 

 

$

 

 

 

$

 

 

 

$

 

 

 

 

14,764,149

 

$

5,864

 

 

 

$

 

 

 

$

 

$

175

 

$

 

$

1,839

 

$

7,878

 

Issuance of member

   units upon exercise

   of unit options

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1,017,583

 

 

59

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

59

 

Conversion from

   LLC to

   Corporation

 

3,333,000

 

 

1,750

 

 

3,329,497

 

 

2,600

 

 

1,648,978

 

 

1,400

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(15,781,732

)

 

(5,923

)

 

14,940,514

 

 

15

 

 

29,881,028

 

 

30

 

 

1,185

 

 

 

 

(1,057

)

 

(5,750

)

Net loss

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(1,636

)

 

(1,636

)

Issuance of Series

   D convertible

   preferred stock,

   net of issuance

   costs of $130

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1,673,105

 

 

67,872

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Redeemable
Noncontrolling

 

 

Class A
Common Stock

 

 

Class B
Common Stock

 

 

Additional
Paid–in

 

 

Retained

 

 

Accumulated
Other
Comprehensive

 

 

Total
Stockholders’

 

 

 

Interest

 

 

Shares

 

 

Amount

 

 

Shares

 

 

Amount

 

 

Capital

 

 

Earnings

 

 

Income (Loss)

 

 

Equity

 

Balance as of December 31, 2020

 

$

 

 

 

94,310,309

 

 

$

94

 

 

 

19,076,500

 

 

$

19

 

 

$

242,181

 

 

$

129,412

 

 

$

1,880

 

 

$

373,586

 

Net income

 

 

1,129

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

109,244

 

 

 

 

 

 

109,244

 

Stock–based compensation expense

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

56,772

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

56,772

 

Issuance of common stock upon exercise of stock options

 

 

 

 

 

222,147

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

663

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

663

 

Issuance of common stock upon vesting of restricted stock units

 

 

 

 

 

1,575,206

 

 

 

2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(2

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Payment of withholding taxes on net share settlements of restricted stock units

 

 

 

 

 

(527,237

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(15,388

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(15,388

)

Conversion of common stock

 

 

 

 

 

3,077,327

 

 

 

3

 

 

 

(3,077,327

)

 

 

(3

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Issuance of common stock upon for acquisition

 

 

 

 

 

3,115,282

 

 

 

3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

103,642

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

103,645

 

Acquisition of a 51% interest in CarOffer, LLC

 

 

60,982

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Accretion of redeemable noncontrolling interest to redemption value

 

 

109,398

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(109,398

)

 

 

 

 

 

(109,398

)

Tax distributions to redeemable noncontrolling interest holders

 

 

(8,701

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Foreign currency translation adjustment

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(2,283

)

 

 

(2,283

)

Balance as of December 31, 2021

 

 

162,808

 

 

 

101,773,034

 

 

 

102

 

 

 

15,999,173

 

 

 

16

 

 

 

387,868

 

 

 

129,258

 

 

 

(403

)

 

 

516,841

 

Net (loss) income

 

 

(5,433

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

84,387

 

 

 

 

 

 

84,387

 

Stock–based compensation expense

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

59,245

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

59,245

 

Issuance of common stock upon exercise of stock options

 

 

 

 

 

131,061

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

721

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

721

 

Issuance of common stock upon vesting of restricted stock units

 

 

 

 

 

1,649,294

 

 

 

1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(1

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Payment of withholding taxes on net share settlements of restricted stock units

 

 

 

 

 

(566,267

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(16,025

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(16,025

)

Repurchase of common stock

 

 

 

 

 

(1,350,473

)

 

 

(1

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(18,716

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(18,717

)

Accretion of redeemable noncontrolling interest to redemption value

 

 

(109,398

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

109,398

 

 

 

 

 

 

109,398

 

Tax distributions to redeemable noncontrolling interest holders

 

 

(11,228

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Foreign currency translation adjustment

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(1,241

)

 

 

(1,241

)

Balance as of December 31, 2022

 

 

36,749

 

 

 

101,636,649

 

 

 

102

 

 

 

15,999,173

 

 

 

16

 

 

 

413,092

 

 

 

323,043

 

 

 

(1,644

)

 

 

734,609

 

Net (loss) income

 

 

(14,889

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

36,942

 

 

 

 

 

 

36,942

 

Stock–based compensation expense

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

63,312

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

63,312

 

Issuance of common stock upon exercise of stock options

 

 

 

 

 

15,834

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

74

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

74

 

Issuance of common stock upon vesting of restricted stock units

 

 

 

 

 

2,440,510

 

 

 

1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(1

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Payment of withholding taxes on net share settlements of equity awards

 

 

 

 

 

(840,995

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(15,729

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(15,729

)

Repurchase of common stock

 

 

 

 

 

(11,076,755

)

 

 

(11

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(205,808

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(205,819

)

Acquisition of remaining interest in CarOffer, LLC

 

 

(21,838

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8,558

 

 

 

(5,838

)

 

 

 

 

 

2,720

 

Tax distributions to redeemable noncontrolling interest holders

 

 

(22

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Foreign currency translation adjustment

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

743

 

 

 

743

 

Balance as of December 31, 2023

 

 

 

 

 

92,175,243

 

 

 

92

 

 

 

15,999,173

 

 

 

16

 

 

 

263,498

 

 

 

354,147

 

 

 

(901

)

 

 

616,852

 

65


 

Series A

Preferred Stock

 

Series B

Preferred Stock

 

Series C

Preferred Stock

 

Series D

Preferred Stock

 

Series E

Preferred Stock

 

 

 

Member Units

 

Class A

Common Stock

 

Class B

Common Stock

 

Additional

Paid–in

 

Accumulated

Other

Comprehensive

 

Retained Earnings

(Accumulated

 

Total

Stockholders’

Equity

 

 

Shares

 

Amount

 

Shares

 

Amount

 

Shares

 

Amount

 

Shares

 

Amount

 

Shares

 

Amount

 

 

 

Shares

 

Amount

 

Shares

 

Amount

 

Shares

 

Amount

 

Capital

 

Loss

 

Deficit)

 

(Deficit)

 

Repurchase of

   stock

 

(283,394

)

 

(149

)

 

(33,443

)

 

(26

)

 

(81,123

)

 

(69

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(64,556

)

 

 

 

(129,112

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(17,756

)

 

(17,756

)

Issuance of

   common stock

   upon exercise

   of stock options

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3,996

 

 

 

 

7,992

 

 

 

 

8

 

 

 

 

 

 

8

 

Tax benefit related

   to exercise of

   stock options

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

26

 

 

 

 

 

 

26

 

Stock–based

   compensation

   expense

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1,040

 

 

 

 

 

 

1,040

 

Balance at

   December 31, 2015

 

3,049,606

 

 

1,601

 

 

3,296,054

 

 

2,574

 

 

1,567,855

 

 

1,331

 

 

1,673,105

 

 

67,872

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

14,879,954

 

 

15

 

 

29,759,908

 

 

30

 

 

2,434

 

 

 

 

(18,610

)

 

(16,131

)

Net income

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6,497

 

 

6,497

 

Issuance of Series

   E convertible

   preferred stock,

   net of issuance

   costs of $280

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1,107,202

 

 

59,732

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Repurchase of

   stock

 

(224,903

)

 

(118

)

 

(357,568

)

 

(279

)

 

(17,243

)

 

(15

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(899,046

)

 

(1

)

 

(1,798,092

)

 

(2

)

 

 

 

 

 

(59,585

)

 

(59,588

)

Issuance of

   common stock

   upon exercise

   of stock options

   and vesting of

   restricted stock

   units

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

41,224

 

 

 

 

82,448

 

 

 

 

137

 

 

 

 

 

 

137

 

Tax benefit related

   to exercise of

   stock options

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

821

 

 

 

 

 

 

821

 

Stock–based

   compensation

   expense

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

322

 

 

 

 

 

 

322

 

Foreign currency

   translation

   adjustment

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(30

)

 

 

 

(30

)

Balance at

   December 31, 2016

 

2,824,703

 

 

1,483

 

 

2,938,486

 

 

2,295

 

 

1,550,612

 

 

1,316

 

 

1,673,105

 

 

67,872

 

 

1,107,202

 

 

59,732

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

14,022,132

 

 

14

 

 

28,044,264

 

 

28

 

 

3,714

 

 

(30

)

 

(71,698

)

 

(67,972

)

Net income

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

13,199

 

 

13,199

 

Stock option

   exercises

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

92,944

 

 

 

 

181,840

 

 

 

 

398

 

 

 

 

 

 

398

 

Stock–based

   compensation

   expense

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5,204

 

 

 

 

 

 

5,204

 

Conversion of

   preferred stock

 

(2,824,703

)

 

(1,483

)

 

(2,938,486

)

 

(2,295

)

 

(1,550,612

)

 

(1,316

)

 

(1,673,105

)

 

(67,872

)

 

(1,107,202

)

 

(59,732

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

60,564,678

 

 

61

 

 

 

 

 

 

132,637

 

 

 

 

 

 

132,698

 

Issuance of

   common stock

   from public

   offering, net

   of offering costs

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3,205,000

 

 

3

 

 

 

 

 

 

43,237

 

 

 

 

 

 

43,240

 

Foreign currency

   translation

   adjustment

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

258

 

 

 

 

258

 

Balance at

   December 31, 2017

 

 

$

 

 

 

$

 

 

 

$

 

 

 

$

 

 

 

$

 

 

 

 

 

$

 

 

77,884,754

 

$

78

 

 

28,226,104

 

$

28

 

$

185,190

 

$

228

 

$

(58,499

)

$

127,025

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.


83


CarGurus, Inc.

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows

(in thousands)

 

 

Year Ended December 31,

 

 

 

2023

 

 

2022

 

 

2021

 

Operating Activities

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Consolidated net income

 

$

22,053

 

 

$

78,954

 

 

$

110,373

 

Adjustments to reconcile consolidated net income to net cash provided
   by operating activities:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Depreciation and amortization

 

 

48,474

 

 

 

45,334

 

 

 

40,476

 

Gain on sale of property and equipment

 

 

(460

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Currency (gain) loss on foreign denominated transactions

 

 

(283

)

 

 

155

 

 

 

(70

)

Other non-cash expense, net

 

 

88

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Deferred taxes

 

 

(37,864

)

 

 

(22,114

)

 

 

6,163

 

Provision for doubtful accounts

 

 

378

 

 

 

1,769

 

 

 

999

 

Stock-based compensation expense

 

 

63,737

 

 

 

54,777

 

 

 

53,525

 

Amortization of deferred financing costs

 

 

515

 

 

 

136

 

 

 

 

Amortization of deferred contract costs

 

 

11,817

 

 

 

11,067

 

 

 

12,653

 

Impairment of long-lived assets

 

 

184

 

 

 

165

 

 

 

3,128

 

Changes in operating assets and liabilities:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Accounts receivable

 

 

10,975

 

 

 

152,954

 

 

 

(174,771

)

Inventory

 

 

1,958

 

 

 

14,374

 

 

 

(17,318

)

Prepaid expenses, prepaid income taxes, and other assets

 

 

(1,498

)

 

 

(6,573

)

 

 

(5,068

)

Deferred contract costs

 

 

(18,440

)

 

 

(13,697

)

 

 

(7,714

)

Accounts payable

 

 

2,080

 

 

 

(35,047

)

 

 

35,397

 

Accrued expenses, accrued income taxes, and other liabilities

 

 

(3,419

)

 

 

(25,077

)

 

 

35,817

 

Deferred revenue

 

 

9,067

 

 

 

(525

)

 

 

3,661

 

Lease obligations

 

 

15,165

 

 

 

(546

)

 

 

1,041

 

Net cash provided by operating activities

 

 

124,527

 

 

 

256,106

 

 

 

98,292

 

Investing Activities

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Purchases of property and equipment

 

 

(24,563

)

 

 

(5,924

)

 

 

(7,713

)

Proceeds from sale of property and equipment

 

 

460

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Capitalization of website development costs

 

 

(16,648

)

 

 

(11,346

)

 

 

(6,163

)

Cash paid for acquisitions, net of cash acquired

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(64,273

)

Purchases of short-term investments

 

 

(98,016

)

 

 

 

 

 

(120,000

)

Maturities of short-term investments

 

 

 

 

 

90,000

 

 

 

130,000

 

Sale of short-term investments

 

 

77,462

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Advance payments to customers, net of collections

 

 

(259

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net cash (used in) provided by investing activities

 

 

(61,564

)

 

 

72,730

 

 

 

(68,149

)

Financing Activities

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Proceeds from issuance of common stock upon exercise of stock options

 

 

74

 

 

 

721

 

 

 

663

 

Payment of finance lease obligations

 

 

(70

)

 

 

(68

)

 

 

(39

)

Payment of withholding taxes on net share settlements of restricted stock units

 

 

(15,597

)

 

 

(16,022

)

 

 

(15,388

)

Repurchase of common stock

 

 

(208,524

)

 

 

(14,428

)

 

 

 

Repayment of line of credit

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(14,250

)

Payment of deferred financing costs

 

 

 

 

 

(2,578

)

 

 

 

Payment of tax distributions to redeemable noncontrolling interest holders

 

 

(38

)

 

 

(19,913

)

 

 

 

Acquisition of remaining interest in CarOffer, LLC

 

 

(25,014

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Change in gross advance payments received from third-party transaction processor

 

 

(4,475

)

 

 

(40,332

)

 

 

46,822

 

Net cash (used in) provided by financing activities

 

 

(253,644

)

 

 

(92,620

)

 

 

17,808

 

Impact of foreign currency on cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash

 

 

475

 

 

 

(364

)

 

 

(597

)

Net (decrease) increase in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash

 

 

(190,206

)

 

 

235,852

 

 

 

47,354

 

Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash at beginning of period

 

 

484,132

 

 

 

248,280

 

 

 

200,926

 

Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash at end of period

 

$

293,926

 

 

$

484,132

 

 

$

248,280

 

Supplemental disclosure of cash flow information:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cash paid for income taxes

 

$

74,783

 

 

$

61,001

 

 

$

27,520

 

Cash paid for operating lease liabilities

 

$

19,504

 

 

$

17,548

 

 

$

16,168

 

Cash paid for interest

 

$

566

 

 

$

64

 

 

$

 

Supplemental noncash disclosure of cash flow information:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unpaid purchases of property and equipment, capitalized website
  development, capitalized internal-use software and capitalized
  hosting arrangements

 

$

18,149

 

 

$

1,927

 

 

$

478

 

Unpaid repurchases of common stock

 

$

 

 

$

4,289

 

 

$

 

Unpaid excise tax on repurchases of shares

 

$

1,584

 

 

$

 

 

$

 

Capitalized stock-based compensation expense in website development and
  internal-use software costs and hosting arrangements

 

$

5,472

 

 

$

4,468

 

 

$

3,247

 

Obtaining a right-of-use asset in exchange for a finance lease liability

 

$

 

 

$

 

 

$

664

 

Obtaining a right-of-use asset in exchange for an operating lease liability

 

$

149,185

 

 

$

9,845

 

 

$

12,336

 

Issuance of stock for acquisition

 

$

 

 

$

 

 

$

103,645

 

Accretion of redeemable noncontrolling interest to redemption value

 

$

 

 

$

(109,398

)

 

$

109,398

 

Accrued tax distributions to redeemable noncontrolling interest holders

 

$

 

 

$

16

 

 

$

8,701

 

 

 

Year Ended December 31,

 

 

 

2017

 

 

2016

 

 

2015

 

Operating Activities

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net income (loss)

 

$

13,199

 

 

$

6,497

 

 

$

(1,636

)

Adjustments to reconcile net income (loss) to net cash provided by

   operating activities:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Depreciation and amortization

 

 

3,795

 

 

 

2,072

 

 

 

1,122

 

Unrealized currency loss on foreign denominated transactions

 

 

128

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Deferred taxes

 

 

(1,117

)

 

 

782

 

 

 

(649

)

Provision for doubtful accounts

 

 

1,117

 

 

 

508

 

 

 

284

 

Stock–based compensation expense

 

 

5,028

 

 

 

322

 

 

 

1,040

 

Excess tax benefit related to exercise of stock options

 

 

 

 

 

(821

)

 

 

(26

)

Changes in operating assets and liabilities:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Accounts receivable, net

 

 

(7,039

)

 

 

(1,432

)

 

 

(716

)

Prepaid expenses, prepaid income taxes, and other assets

 

 

(2,287

)

 

 

(2,226

)

 

 

(820

)

Accounts payable

 

 

6,244

 

 

 

5,811

 

 

 

6,104

 

Accrued expenses

 

 

5,191

 

 

 

4,118

 

 

 

2,469

 

Deferred revenue

 

 

962

 

 

 

1,856

 

 

 

1,089

 

Deferred rent

 

 

227

 

 

 

1,927

 

 

 

4,654

 

Other non–current liabilities

 

 

243

 

 

 

590

 

 

 

 

Net cash provided by operating activities

 

 

25,691

 

 

 

20,004

 

 

 

12,915

 

Investing Activities

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Purchases of property and equipment

 

 

(5,157

)

 

 

(5,846

)

 

 

(6,353

)

Capitalization of website development costs

 

 

(2,215

)

 

 

(1,372

)

 

 

(1,262

)

Investments in certificates of deposit

 

 

(50,000

)

 

 

(59,774

)

 

 

 

Maturities of certificates of deposit

 

 

44,774

 

 

 

15,000

 

 

 

 

Net cash used in investing activities

 

 

(12,598

)

 

 

(51,992

)

 

 

(7,615

)

Financing Activities

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Initial public offering proceeds, net of offering costs paid of $3,308

 

 

44,382

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Proceeds from issuance of preferred stock, net of offering costs

 

 

 

 

 

59,732

 

 

 

67,872

 

Proceeds from exercise of unit options and stock options

 

 

398

 

 

 

137

 

 

 

67

 

Excess tax benefit related to exercise of stock options

 

 

���

 

 

 

821

 

 

 

26

 

Cash paid for repurchase of preferred stock, common stock, and

   vested options

 

 

 

 

 

(60,000

)

 

 

(18,000

)

Net cash provided by financing activities

 

 

44,780

 

 

 

690

 

 

 

49,965

 

Impact of foreign currency on cash, cash equivalents, and

   restricted cash

 

 

159

 

 

 

(45

)

 

 

 

Net increase (decrease) in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash

 

 

58,032

 

 

 

(31,343

)

 

 

55,265

 

Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash at beginning of period

 

 

31,520

 

 

 

62,863

 

 

 

7,598

 

Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash at end of period

 

$

89,552

 

 

$

31,520

 

 

$

62,863

 

Supplemental disclosure of cash flow information:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cash paid for income taxes

 

$

4,393

 

 

$

2,045

 

 

$

316

 

Cash paid for interest

 

 

29

 

 

 

26

 

 

 

17

 

Supplemental disclosure of non–cash investing and financing

   activities:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unpaid purchases of property and equipment

 

$

510

 

 

$

476

 

 

$

 

Unpaid initial public offering costs

 

 

1,142

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Capitalized stockholders' compensation in website development costs

 

 

176

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.


84


CarGurus, Inc.

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

(dollars in thousands, except share and per share data, unless otherwise noted)

1. Organization and Business Description

CarGurus, Inc. (the “Company”"Company"), is a global,multinational, online automotive platform for buying and selling vehicles that is building upon its industry-leading listings marketplace connecting buyerswith both digital retail solutions and sellers of newthe CarOffer, LLC ("CarOffer") online wholesale platform. The CarGurus platform gives consumers the confidence to purchase and/or sell a vehicle either online or in person, and used cars. Usingit gives dealerships the power to accurately price, effectively market, instantly acquire, and quickly sell vehicles, all with a nationwide reach. The Company uses proprietary technology, search algorithms, and innovative data analytics to bring trust, transparency, and competitive pricing to the Company provides information and analysis that create a differentiated automotive search experience for consumers. The Company’s marketplace empowers users worldwide with unbiased third-party validation on pricing and dealer reputation, as well as other useful information that aids them in finding “Great Deals from Top-Rated Dealers.”shopping experience.

The Company is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts and was incorporated in the State of Delaware on June 26, 2015.  The Company operates principally in the United States (the “U.S.”). In the U.S., it also operates as independent brands the Autolist online marketplace and has also launchedthe CarOffer online wholesale platform, both of which it wholly owns. In addition to the U.S., the Company operates online marketplaces under the CarGurus brand in Canada and the United Kingdom and Germany. (the “U.K.”). In the U.K., it also operates as an independent brand the PistonHeads online marketplace, which it wholly owns.

The Company has wholly owned subsidiaries in the United States,U.S., Canada, Ireland, and the United Kingdom.U.K. and additionally it has two reportable segments, U.S. Marketplace and Digital Wholesale. See Note 14 of these consolidated financial statements for further segment reporting and geographic information.

Prior to June 26, 2015, the Company operated as CarGurus LLC and was organized on November 10, 2005 as a limited liability company under the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. In connection with the conversion into a Delaware corporation, the Class A unitholders received an equal number of shares of Class B common stock, the Class B unitholders received an equal number of shares of Series A convertible preferred stock, or Series A Preferred Stock, the Class C unitholders received an equal number of shares of Series B convertible preferred stock, or Series B Preferred Stock, and the Class D unitholders received an equal number of shares of Series C convertible preferred stock, or Series C Preferred Stock. In connection with this conversion, the Company also reclassified members' retained earnings of $1,057, accumulated under CarGurus LLC, to additional paid-in capital of CarGurus, Inc.

On October 16, 2017, the Company completed its initial public offering (“IPO”), in which the Company issued and sold 3,205,000 shares of its Class A common stock, including the full exercise by the underwriters of their option to purchase 705,000 shares of Class A common stock, at a public offering price of $16.00 per share for aggregate gross proceeds of $51.3 million. The Company received $43.2 million in net proceeds after deducting $3.6 million of underwriting discounts and commissions and $4.5 million in offering costs. In addition to shares of Class A common stock issued and sold by the Company, certain selling stockholders sold an aggregate of 7,605,000 shares of Class A common stock, including the full exercise by the underwriters of their option to purchase 705,000 shares of Class A common stock, as part of the IPO. Upon the closing of the IPO, all of the outstanding shares of convertible preferred stock automatically converted into 20,188,226 shares of Class A common stock and 40,376,452 shares of Class B common stock. The 40,376,452 shares of Class B common stock subsequently converted into 40,376,452 shares of Class A common stock resulting in a total conversion of all outstanding shares of Preferred Stock into 60,564,678 shares of Class A common stock. Subsequent to the closing of the IPO, there were no shares of Preferred Stock outstanding.

The Company is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties common to companies in its and similar industries and stages of development including, but not limited to, rapid technological changes, competition from substitute products and services from larger companies, management of international activities, protection of proprietary rights, patent litigation, and dependence on key individuals.

2. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

The accompanying consolidated financial statements reflect the application of certain significant accounting policies as described below and elsewhere in these notes to the consolidated financial statements. The Company believes that a significant accounting policy is one that is both important to the portrayal of the Company’s financial condition and results, and requires management’s most difficult, subjective, or complex judgments, often as the result of the need to make estimates about the effect of matters that are inherently uncertain.


Basis of Presentation

The accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America or GAAP.(“GAAP”). Any reference in these notes to applicable guidance is meant to refer to the authoritative U.S. generally accepted accounting principlesGAAP as found in the Accounting Standards Codification or ASC,(“ASC”) and Accounting Standards Update or ASU,(“ASU”) of the Financial Accounting Standards Board or FASB.(“FASB”).

Principles of Consolidation

The accompanying consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its wholly owned subsidiaries. All material intercompany accountsbalances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

Subsequent Event Considerations

The Company considers events or transactions that occur after the balance sheet date but prior to the issuance of the consolidated financial statements to provide additional evidence for certain estimates or to identify matters that require additional disclosure. The Company has evaluated all subsequent events and determined that there are no material recognized or unrecognized subsequent events requiring disclosure.

85


Use of Estimates

The preparation of the consolidated financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosuresand the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the reporting period.

Significant estimates relied upon in preparing these consolidated financial statements include revenue recognition and revenue reserves, contingent liabilities, allowances for doubtful accounts, expected future cash flows used to evaluate the recoverability of long‑lived assets, the expensing and capitalization of product, technology, and development costs for website development and internal‑use software, the determination of the fair value of stock awards issued prior to the IPO, stock‑based compensation expense, and the recoverability of the Company’s net deferred tax assets and related valuation allowance.

Although the Company regularly assesses these estimates, actual results could differ materially from these estimates. Changes in estimates are recorded in the period in which they become known. The Company bases its estimates on historical experience and various other assumptions that it believes to be reasonable under the circumstances. Actual results may differ from management’s estimates if these results differ from historical experience, or other assumptions do not turn out to be substantially accurate, even if such assumptions are reasonable when made. Changes in estimates are recognized in the period in which they become known.

Subsequent Events Considerations

The Company considers events or transactions that occur afterCritical estimates relied upon in preparing the balance sheet date but prior to the issuance of theconsolidated financial statements to provide additional evidence relative to certain estimates or to identify matters that require additional disclosure. Subsequent events have been evaluated as required. The Company has evaluated all subsequent eventsinclude the determination of sales allowance and determined that there are no material recognized or unrecognized subsequent events requiring disclosure.

Revenue Recognition

The Company derives itsvariable consideration in the Company’s revenue from two primary sources: marketplace subscription revenue, which consistsrecognition, allowance for doubtful accounts, the impairment of listinglong-lived assets, the capitalization of product, technology, and display advertising subscriptions from dealers,development costs for website development, internal-use software, and advertisinghosting arrangements, the valuation of acquired assets and other revenue, which consists primarilyliabilities, the valuation and recoverability of display advertising revenue from auto manufacturersintangible assets and other auto‑related brand advertisers.

The Company recognizes revenue when allgoodwill, the valuation of redeemable noncontrolling interest, the following conditions are satisfied: (1) there is persuasive evidence of an arrangement; (2) the service has been provided to the customer; (3) the collection of fees is reasonably assured; and (4) the amount of fees to be paid by the customer is fixed or determinable.

The Company offers two types of paid marketplace listing products to dealers, Enhanced and Featured Listings, which require a contractual subscription with initial terms ranging from one month to one year. Contracts for customers generally auto‑renew on a monthly basis and are cancellable by dealers with 30‑days’ advance notice at the end of current term. In addition, the arrangement allows the dealers to access a dashboard to track sales leads and manage its account. Customers do not have the right to take possessionrecoverability of the Company’s software. Thenet deferred tax assets and related valuation allowance, the valuation of inventory, and the valuation of equity and liability-classified compensation awards. Accordingly, the Company recognizes revenue in accordance with ASC 605, Revenue Recognition. The Company recognizes revenue on a monthly basis as revenue is earned. These contracts generally provide the customer with the abilityconsiders these to list an unlimited amountbe its critical accounting estimates and believes that of automobile inventory on the Company’s website.significant accounting policies, these involve the greatest degree of judgment and complexity.


In addition to listing dealers’ inventory on its marketplace, the Company periodically enters into multiple‑element service arrangements that provide dealers with Enhanced or Featured Listing products, as well as other advertising and customer acquisition products including display advertising, which appears on its marketplace and on other sites on the internet and requires a paid subscription under contracts with initial terms ranging from one month to one year. Contracts for customers generally auto‑renew on a monthly basis and are cancellable by dealers with 30‑days’ advance notice at the end of the current term.

The Company assesses arrangements with multiple deliverables under ASU No. 2009‑13, Revenue Recognition (Topic 605), Multiple‑Deliverable Revenue Arrangements — a Consensus of the FASB Emerging Issues Task Force. Pursuant to ASU 2009‑13, in order to treat deliverables in a multiple‑element arrangement as separate units of accounting, the deliverables must have stand‑alone value upon delivery. If the deliverables have stand‑alone value upon delivery, the Company accounts for each deliverable separately. The Company has concluded that each element in the arrangement has stand‑alone value as the individual services can be sold separately. In addition, there is no right of refund once a service has been delivered. Therefore, the Company has concluded each element of the arrangement is a separate unit of accounting. While these arrangements are considered multiple element‑arrangements, the recognition of the units of accounting follow a consistent ratable recognition given the pattern over which services are provided.

Advertising and other revenue consists primarily of non‑dealer display advertising revenue from auto manufacturers and other auto‑related brand advertisers sold on a cost per thousand impressions, or CPM, basis. Impressions are the number of times an advertisement is loaded on a web page. Pricing is primarily based on advertisement size and position on the Company’s mobile applications and websites, and fees are generally billed monthly. The Company recognizes such revenue as impressions are delivered.

The Company does not provide minimum impression guarantees or other types of minimum guarantees in its contracts with customers.

The Company sells advertising directly to auto manufacturers and other auto‑related brand advertisers, as well as indirectly through revenue sharing arrangements with advertising exchange partners. Company‑sold advertising is not subject to revenue sharing arrangements. Company‑sold advertising revenue is recognized based on the gross amount charged to the advertiser. Partner‑sold advertising revenue is recognized based on the net amount of revenue received from the content partners.

Revenue from advertising sold directly by the Company to auto manufacturers and other auto‑related brand advertisers is recorded on a gross basis predominately because the Company is the primary obligor responsible for fulfilling advertisement delivery, including the acceptability of the services delivered. The Company enters into contractual arrangements directly with advertisers and is directly responsible for the fulfillment of the contractual terms and any remedy for issues with such fulfillment. The Company also has latitude in establishing the selling price with the advertiser, as the Company sells advertisements at a rate determined at its sole discretion.

Advertising revenue subject to revenue sharing agreements between the Company and advertising exchange partners is recognized based on the net amount of revenue received from the partner predominately because the advertising partner, and not the Company, is the primary obligor responsible for fulfillment, including the acceptability of the services delivered. In partner‑sold advertising arrangements, the advertising partner has a direct contractual relationship with the advertiser. There is no contractual relationship between the Company and the advertiser for partner‑sold transactions. When an advertising exchange partner sells advertisements, the partner is responsible for fulfilling the advertisements, and accordingly, the Company has determined the advertising partner is the primary obligor. Additionally, the Company does not have any latitude in establishing the price with the advertiser for partner‑sold advertising.

Revenue is presented net of any taxes collected from customers.

The Company establishes sales allowances at the time of revenue recognition based on its history of adjustments and credits provided to its customers. Sales allowances relate primarily to credits issued for service interruption. In assessing the adequacy of the sales allowance, the Company evaluates its history of adjustments and credits made through the date of the issuance of the financial statements. Estimated sales adjustments and credits and ultimate losses may vary from actual results which could be material to the financial statements; however, to date, actual sales allowances have been materially consistent with the Company’s estimates. Sales allowances are recorded as a reduction to revenue in the consolidated statements of operations.


Deferred Revenue

Deferred revenue primarily consists of payments received in advance of revenue recognition from the Company’s marketplace revenue and is recognized as the revenue recognition criteria are met. The Company generally invoices its customers monthly. Accordingly, the deferred revenue balances do not represent the total contract value of annual or multiyear subscription agreements. Deferred revenue that is expected to be recognized during the succeeding 12‑month period is recorded as current deferred revenue and the remaining portion is recorded as noncurrent in the consolidated balance sheets. All deferred revenue was recorded as current for all periods presented.

Cost of Revenue

Cost of revenue primarily consists of costs related to supporting and hosting the Company’s website and product offerings. These costs include salaries, benefits, incentive compensation and stock‑based compensation expense related to the customer support team, and third‑party service provider costs such as data center and networking expenses, allocated overhead, depreciation and amortization expense associated with the Company’s property and equipment, and amortization of capitalized website development costs.

Concentration of Credit Risk and Significant Customers

The Company has no significant off‑balanceoff-balance sheet risk, such as foreign exchange contracts, option contracts, or other foreign hedging arrangements. Financial instruments that potentially expose the Company to concentrations of credit risk consist primarily of cash, cash equivalents, short-term investments, and trade accounts receivable. receivable, and other receivables.

The Company maintains its cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments principally with accredited financial institutions of high credit standing. Although the Company deposits its cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments with multiple financial institutions, its deposits at times, maywith each such financial institution exceed federallygovernmental insured limits.

Credit risk with respect to accounts receivable is dispersed due to the large number of customers. The Company routinely assesses the creditworthiness of its customers.customers and does not require collateral. The Company generally has not experienced any material losses related to receivables from individual customers, or groups of customers. The majority of the Company's accounts receivable results from wholesale and product revenue transactions. The Company has had no material losses related to wholesale and product receivables as the third-party transaction processor does not require collateral.release the title to the vehicle until successfully collecting funds from the buying dealer. Titling is handled by the Company's third-party transaction processor and titles are held in escrow until it collects funds from the buying dealer (i.e., title is legally transferred from the selling party to the buying party upon signing of bill of sale, but title is held in escrow by the third-party transaction processor until payment is received). Due to these factors, no additional credit risk beyond amounts provided for collection losses is believed by management to be probable in the Company’s accounts receivable.receivable and other receivables.

As of December 31, 2023, no customer accounted for more than 10% of net accounts receivable and other receivables. As of December 31, 2022, one customer accounted for 13% of net accounts receivable. The remainder of the accounts receivable was dispersed among more than 1,000 customers. The customer who accounted for greater than 10% of net accounts receivable is related to wholesale and product receivables. The collection risk associated with this customer is mitigated because, as discussed above, the third-party transaction processor does not release the title on vehicles until funds are successfully collected. Furthermore, there is no significant credit risk with respect to accounts receivable because, other than the receivables associated with this customer, credit risk with respect to accounts receivable is dispersed due to the large number of customers.

For the years ended December 31, 20172023, 2022, and 2016, 2021, no individual customer accounted for more than 10% of total revenue. For

86


Significant Accounting Policies

The consolidated financial statements reflect the year ended December 31, 2015, one customer accounted for 14%application of total revenue.

Ascertain significant accounting policies as described below and elsewhere in the notes of December 31, 2017, two customers accounted for 29% and 17% of net accounts receivable, respectively. As of December 31, 2016, two customers accounted for 24% and 15% of net accounts receivable, respectively. No other individual customer accounted for more than 10% of net accounts receivable at December 31, 2017 or 2016.these consolidated financial statements.

Cash, Cash Equivalents, and Investments

As of December 31, 2023, cash and cash equivalents primarily consist of cash on deposit with banks, amounts held in interest‑bearing money market accounts, and mutual funds. As of December 31, 2022, cash and cash equivalents primarily consist of cash on deposit with banks, amounts held in interest-bearing money market accounts, and mutual funds.

Cash equivalents are carried at cost, which approximates their fair market value.

The Company’s investment policy, which was approved by the Audit Committee of the Company’s Board of Directors (the “Board”), permits investments in fixed income securities, including U.S. government and agency securities, non‑U.S. government securities, money market instruments, commercial paper, certificates of deposit, corporate bonds, and asset‑backed securities.

The Company considers all highly liquid investments with an original maturity of three months90 days or less at the date of purchase to be cash equivalents. Investments not classified as cash equivalents with maturities less than one year from the balance sheet date are classified as short‑term investments, while investments with maturities in excess of one year from the balance sheet date are classified as long‑term investments. Management determines the appropriate classification of investments at the time of purchase, and re‑evaluates such determination at each balance sheet date.

Cash and cash equivalents primarily consist of cash on deposit with banks, and amounts heldInvestments in interest‑bearing money market accounts. Cash equivalents are carried at cost, which approximates their fair market value.

The Company’s investment policy, which was approved by the Audit Committee of the Company’s board of directors, or the Board, permits investments in fixed incomeequity securities including U.S. government and agency securities, non‑U.S. government securities, money market instruments, commercial paper, certificates of deposit, corporate bonds, and asset‑backed securities.


As of December 31, 2017 and 2016, investments consisted of U.S. certificates of deposit, or CDs, with remaining maturities of less than twelve months. The Company classifies CDs with readily determinable fair values are recognized at fair value based on quoted market values asprices within investments in the consolidated balance sheets. Investments in held‑to‑maturity because it is the Company’s intention to hold such investments until they mature. As such, investments were recordeddebt securities are recognized at amortized cost at December 31, 2017 and 2016.within short-term investments in the consolidated balance sheets. The Company adjusts the cost of investments in held-to-maturity debt securities for amortization of premiums and accretion of discounts to maturity. The Company includes such amortizationmaturity, if any. Investments in trading and accretionavailable-for-sale debt securities are recognized at fair value within investments in the consolidated balance sheets.

Purchases of equity securities and debt securities are recognized within investing activities in the consolidated statements of cash flows.

Dividend income from equity securities is recognized within interest income (expense).in the consolidated income statements. Reinvested proceeds from dividend income are recognized within purchases of investments in investing activities in the consolidated statements of cash flows.

The revaluation of equity securities and debt securities results in an unrealized gain or loss. Unrealized gains or losses on equity securities and trading debt securities are recognized within other income (expense), net in the consolidated income statements and adjusted for in operating activities in the consolidated statements of cash flows. Unrealized gains or losses on available-for-sale debt securities are recognized within other comprehensive income in the consolidated statements of comprehensive income. Interest on held-to-maturity debt securities is recognized within interest income in the consolidated income statements.

Proceeds from sale of equity securities and debt securities are recognized within investing activities in the consolidated statements of cash flows. Realized gains and losses from saleson sale of the Company’s investmentsequity securities and debt securities are included inrecognized within other income (expense), net. There were no realized gains or losses on investmentsnet in the consolidated income statements, adjusted for in operating activities in the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 or 2015.consolidated cash flows, and recognized within proceeds from sale of equity securities and debt securities in investing activities in the consolidated statements of cash flows.

The Company reviews investments87


Debt securities are reviewed for other‑than‑temporary impairment whenever the fair value of an investment is less than the amortized cost and evidence indicates that an investment’s carrying amount is not recoverable within a reasonable period of time. Other‑than‑temporary impairments of investmentsdebt securities are recognized within other income (expense), net in the consolidated income statements of operations if the Company has experienced a credit loss has the intent to sell the investment, or if it is more likely than not that the Company will be required to sell the investment before recovery of the amortized cost basis. Evidence considered in this assessment includes reasons for the impairment, compliance with the Company’s investment policy, the severity and duration of the impairment, and changes in value subsequent to the end of the period. As ofFor the years ended December 31, 20172023, 2022, and 2016,2021, the Company determined that no other‑than‑temporary impairments were required to be recognized in the consolidated statementsincome statements.

As of operations.

Restricted Cash

At December 31, 2017 and 2016,2023, the Company held short-term investments in equity securities.

As of December 31, 2022, the Company held no investments.

Restricted Cash

As of December 31, 2023, restricted cash was $1,843$2,563, and $2,044, respectively,primarily related to pass-through payments from customers related to the Company's Digital Wholesale business. As of December 31, 2022, restricted cash was $14,615, and primarily related to cash held at a financial institution in an interest‑bearinginterest-bearing cash account as collateral for twothe letters of credit related to the contractual provisions for the Company’s building lease security deposits.leases and pass-through payments from customers related to the Company’s Digital Wholesale business. As of December 31, 2017 and 2016, the2023, all of restricted cash iswas classified as a long‑term asset.short-term asset, as disclosed in the consolidated balance sheets. As of December 31, 2022, portions of restricted cash were classified as short-term assets and long-term assets, as disclosed in the consolidated balance sheets.

Accounts Receivable and Allowance for Doubtful Accounts

Accounts receivable areis recorded based on the amount due from the customer and a third-party transaction processor. Accounts receivable do not generally bear interest.

The Company is exposed to credit losses primarily through its trade accounts receivable, which includes receivables in transit, net of payables due, from a third-party transaction processor. The third-party transaction processor collects customer payments on the Company's behalf and remits them to the Company. Customer payments received by the third-party transaction processor, but not remitted to the Company as of period end, are deemed to be receivables in transit, net of payables due. Additionally, the third-party transaction processor provides payments in advance for certain selling dealers. If the third-party transaction processor does not receive buying dealer payments associated with the transaction paid in advance, the Company would guarantee losses incurred by the third-party transaction processor and the balance would be deducted from future remittances to the Company. To date, losses associated with these guarantees have not been material.

The Company offsets grosstrade accounts receivables in transit, net of payables due, from the third-party transaction processor with payments received in advance from the third-party transaction processor as it has the right of offset. At any point in time, the Company could have amounts due from the third-party transaction processor for funds the third-party transaction processor has collected from buying dealers and has not yet remitted to the Company (i.e., receivables in transit, net of payables due), as well as amounts paid by the third-party transaction processor to the Company in advance of collecting payments from buying dealers (i.e., payments received in advance). Therefore, as the Company has the right to offset, the Company can either have a net receivable balance due from the third-party transaction processor which is recognized within accounts receivable, net in the consolidated balance sheets, or the Company can have a net liability which is recognized within accrued expenses, accrued income taxes, and other current liabilities in the consolidated balance sheets if the advance payments exceed the receivable position from the third-party transaction processor as of the balance sheet date. Payments received in advance from the third-party transaction processor are presented as cash flows from financing activities in the consolidated statements of cash flows.

88


As of December 31, 2023, trade accounts receivable from receivables in transit, net of payables due, from the third-party transaction processor was $2,868, offset by payments received in advance of $2,015, which resulted in a net receivable of $853 recognized within accounts receivable, net in the consolidated balance sheets. As of December 31, 2022, trade accounts receivable from receivables in transit, net of payables due, from the third-party transaction processor was $7,122, offset by payments received in advance of $6,490, which resulted in a net receivable of $632 recognized within accounts receivable, net in the consolidated balance sheets.

As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, $9,581 and $7,150, respectively, was included in net accounts receivable, representing unbilled accounts receivable relating primarily to both advertising customers invoiced in the period subsequent to services rendered and revenue recognition adjustments for Company offered discounts given to dealers in accordance with an allowanceASC Topic 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers ("ASC 606").

Provisions for doubtful accounts. The allowanceallowances for doubtful accounts is the Company’s best estimate of the amount of probable credit lossesare recognized within general and administrative expense in the Company’s existing accounts receivable and is based upon historical loss patterns, the number of days that billings are past due, and an evaluation of the potential risk of loss associated with specific accounts. Account balancesconsolidated income statements. Amounts are charged against the allowance after all means of collection have been exhausted, and the potential for recovery is considered remote.remote, and when it is determined that expected credit losses may occur. The Company does not have any off‑balance sheet credit exposure related to its customers. Provisions for allowances for doubtfulUnbilled accounts are recorded in general and administrative expense.

The Company considers current economic trends when evaluating the adequacy of the allowance for doubtful accounts. If circumstances relatingreceivable generally relate to specific customers change, or unanticipated changes occurservices rendered in the general business environment, particularly as it affects auto dealers,current period, but not invoiced until the Company’s estimatessubsequent period.

As of the recoverability of receivables could be further adjusted.

Below is a summary of theDecember 31, 2023 and 2022, changes in the Company’s allowance for doubtful accounts forare as follows:

 

 

Balance at
Beginning of
Period

 

 

Provision

 

 

Write–offs,
net of
recoveries

 

 

Balance at
End of Period

 

Year ended December 31, 2023

 

$

1,809

 

 

$

378

 

 

$

(1,577

)

 

$

610

 

Year ended December 31, 2022

 

 

420

 

 

 

1,769

 

 

 

(380

)

 

 

1,809

 

Inventory

The Company’s inventory consists of inventory acquired through Instant Max Cash Offer ("IMCO") transactions, at other marketplaces, or in certain situations across all transactions, during arbitrations. The inventory is recognized in the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016,consolidated balance sheets and 2015:is valued at the lower of cost or net realizable value. Cost is determined based on specific identification. In recording inventory at the lower of cost or net realizable value, the Company estimates potential future losses on inventory on hand based on historical losses and market trends. Estimated potential future losses on inventory may vary from actual results which could lead to material adjustments to the consolidated financial statements.

 

 

Balance at

Beginning of

Period

 

 

Provision

 

 

Writeoffs, net of

recoveries

 

 

Balance at

End of Period

 

Year ended December 31, 2017

 

$

164

 

 

$

1,117

 

 

$

(787

)

 

$

494

 

Year ended December 31, 2016

 

 

75

 

 

 

508

 

 

 

(419

)

 

 

164

 

Year ended December 31, 2015

 

 

30

 

 

 

284

 

 

 

(239

)

 

 

75

 


Property and Equipment

Property and equipment are stated at cost less accumulated depreciation and amortization using the straight‑line method over the estimated useful lives of the assets. Leasehold improvements and right-of-use assets are amortized over the shorter of the lease term, or the estimated useful life of the related asset. asset, if shorter. The estimated useful lives of the Company’s property and equipment are as follows:

Estimated Useful Life


(In Years)

ComputerServer and computer equipment

3

Capitalized internal-use software

3

WebsiteCapitalized website development costs

3

Furniture and fixtures

3 to 5

Leasehold improvementsRight-of-use assets

Lesser of

Lease term, or asset life if shorter

Leasehold improvements

Lease term, or lease termasset life if shorter

Expenditures for maintenancerepairs and repairsmaintenance are charged to expense as incurred, whereas major betterments are capitalized as additions to property and equipment. The Company reviews its property and equipment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value of certain assets might not be recoverable. In these instances, the Company recognizes an impairment loss when it is probable that the estimated cash flows are less than the carrying value of the asset.

Foreign Currency Translation89


The reporting currency of the Company is the U.S. dollar. The functional currency of the Company’s foreign subsidiaries is the local currency of each subsidiary. All assets and liabilities in the balance sheets of entities whose functional currency is a currency other than the U.S. dollar are translated into U.S. dollar equivalents at exchange rates as follows: (1) asset and liability accounts at period‑end rates; (2) income statement accounts at weighted‑average exchange rates for the period; and (3) stockholders’ equity accounts at historical exchange rates. The resulting translation adjustments are excluded from income (loss) and reflected as a separate component of stockholders’ equity (deficit). Foreign currency transaction gains and losses are included in net income (loss) for the period. The Company may periodically have certain intercompany foreign currency transactions that are deemed to be of a long‑term investment nature; exchange adjustments related to those transactions are made directly to a separate component of stockholders’ equity (deficit).

Capitalized Website and Software Development Costs

The Company capitalizes certain costs associated with the development of its websites and internal‑use software products after the preliminary project stage is complete, and until the software is ready for its intended use. Research and development costs incurred during the preliminary project stage or costs incurred for data conversion activities, training, maintenance, and general and administrative or overhead costs are expensed as incurred. Capitalization begins when the preliminary project stage is complete; management authorizes and commits to the funding of the software project with appropriate authority; it is probable the project will be completed; the software will be used to perform the functions intended; and certain functional and quality standards have been met. Qualified costs incurred during the operating stage of the Company’s software applications relating to upgrades and enhancements are capitalized to the extent it is probable that they will result in added functionality, while costs that cannot be separated between maintenance of, and minor upgrades and enhancements to, internal‑use software are expensed as incurred.

Capitalized website development costs and software development costs are amortized on a straight‑line basis over their estimated useful life of three years. Management evaluates the useful lives of these assets on an annual basis and tests for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances occur that could impact the recoverability of these assets.

During the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016, and 2015, the Company capitalized $2,215, $1,372, and $1,262 of software and website development costs, respectively. The Company recorded amortization expense associated with its capitalized software and website development costs of $812, $343, and $153 for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016, and 2015, respectively.


Impairment of Long‑Lived Assets

The Company evaluates the recoverability of long‑lived assets, such as property and equipment and intangible assets, for impairment at least annually and whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value of an asset may not be recoverable. During this review, the Company re‑evaluatesre-evaluates the significant assumptions used in determining the original cost and estimated lives of long‑livedlong-lived assets. Although the assumptions may vary from asset to asset, they generally include operating results, changes in the use of the asset, cash flows, and other indicators of value. Management then determines whether the remaining useful life continues to be appropriate, or whether there has been an impairment of long‑lived assets based primarily upon whether expected future undiscounted cash flows are sufficient to support the assets’ recovery. Recoverability of these assets is measured by comparison of the carrying amount of the asset to the future undiscounted cash flows the asset is expected to generate. If the asset is considered to be impaired, the amount of any impairment is measured as the difference between the carrying value and the fair value of the impaired asset.

For the year ended December 31, 2023, the Company wrote off a total of $184 of capitalized website development costs, consisting of $175 in Digital Wholesale and $8 in U.S. Marketplace, within wholesale and marketplace cost of revenue, respectively, in the consolidated income statements related to certain developed technology in which the Company decided to cease investment. For the year ended December 31, 2022, the Company wrote off $165 of Digital Wholesale segment capitalized website development costs within wholesale cost of revenue in the consolidated income statements related to certain developed technology in which the Company decided to cease investment. For the year ended December 31, 2021, the Company wrote off $2,481 of U.S. Marketplace segment capitalized website development costs within operating expense in the consolidated income statements and $647 of U.S. Marketplace segment intangible assets within marketplace cost of revenue in the consolidated income statements related to certain developed technology in which the Company decided to cease investment.

Capitalized Website Development and Capitalized Internal-Use Software Costs

The Company capitalizes certain costs associated with the development of its websites and internal‑use software after the preliminary project stage is complete and until the website development or software is ready for its intended use. Research and development costs incurred during the preliminary project stage or costs incurred for data conversion activities, training, maintenance, and general and administrative, or overhead costs are expensed as incurred. Capitalization begins when the preliminary project stage is complete, management authorizes and commits to the funding of the project with the required authority, it is probable the project will be completed, the website development or software will be used to perform the functions intended, and certain functional and quality standards have been met. Qualified costs incurred during the operating stage of its website development or software relating to upgrades and enhancements are capitalized to the extent it is probable that they will result in added functionality, while costs that cannot be separated between maintenance of, and minor upgrades and enhancements to, websites and internal‑use software are expensed as incurred. Capitalized website development and capitalized internal-use software costs are recognized within property and equipment, net in the consolidated balance sheets.

Capitalized website development and capitalized internal-use software costs are amortized on a straight‑line basis over their estimated useful life of three years beginning with the time when the product is ready for intended use. Amortization expenses related to capitalized website development costs are recognized within cost of revenue in the consolidated income statements. Amortization expenses related to capitalized internal-use software costs are recognized within the operating expense caption for depreciation and amortization in the consolidated income statements. The Company evaluates the useful lives of these assets when each asset is ready for its intended use, and at least annually thereafter to ensure three years remains appropriate. The Company also tests for impairment at least annually and whenever events or changes in circumstances occur that could impact the recoverability of these assets. Impairment is evaluated as discussed in the “Impairment of Long-lived Assets” section above.

During the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, capitalized website development costs were $20,789 and $14,496, respectively. During the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, capitalized internal-use software costs were $4,850 and $4,388, respectively.

90


For the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016,2023, 2022, and 2015,2021, amortization expense associated with capitalized website development costs were $11,537, $7,637, and $3,705, respectively. For the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021, amortization expense associated with capitalized internal-use software costs was $3,384, $1,286, and $272, respectively.

Capitalized Hosting Arrangements

The Company's hosting arrangements consist of cloud-based hosting platforms. Capitalized implementation costs for hosting arrangements costs are recognized within prepaid expenses, prepaid income taxes and other current assets and within other non-current assets, as applicable, in the consolidated balance sheets.

Capitalized implementation costs for hosting arrangements are amortized on a straight‑line basis over an estimated useful life of the term of the hosting arrangement, taking into consideration several other factors such as, but not limited to, options to extend the hosting arrangement or options to terminate the hosting arrangement, beginning with the time when the software is ready for intended use. Amortization expenses related to hosting arrangements costs are recognized within the same line item in the consolidated income statements as the expense for fees for the associated hosting arrangement. The Company evaluates the useful lives of these assets when each asset is ready for its intended use, and at least annually thereafter to ensure the selected useful life remains appropriate. The Company also tests for impairment at least annually and whenever events or changes in circumstances occur that could impact the recoverability of these assets. Impairment is evaluated as discussed in the “Impairment of Long-lived Assets” section above.

During the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, 2021, the Company launched separate initiatives designed to enhance its hosting arrangements related to its enterprise applications. During the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, capitalized implementation costs were $1,739 and $3,196, respectively, and recognized within other non-current assets and within prepaid expenses, prepaid income taxes and other current assets, respectively, in the consolidated balance sheets.

For the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021, amortization expense associated with hosting arrangements was $1,962, $2,117, and $1,761, respectively, and recognized within operating expense and cost of revenue in the consolidated income statements.

Business Combinations

Valuation of Acquired Assets and Liabilities

The Company measures all consideration transferred in a business combination at its acquisition-date fair value. Consideration transferred is determined by the acquisition-date fair value of assets transferred, liabilities assumed, including contingent consideration obligations, as applicable. The Company measures goodwill as the excess of the consideration transferred over the net of the acquisition-date amounts of assets acquired less liabilities assumed.

The Company makes significant assumptions and estimates in determining the fair value of the acquired assets and liabilities as of the acquisition date, especially the valuation of intangible assets and certain tax positions. The Company records estimates as of the acquisition date and reassess the estimates at each reporting period up to one year after the acquisition date. Changes in estimates made prior to finalization of purchase accounting are recognized within goodwill.

Intangible Assets

Intangible assets are recognized at their estimated fair value at the date of acquisition. Fair value is determined based on inputs and assumptions such as discount rates, rates of return on assets, and long-term sales growth rates.

The Company amortizes intangible assets over their estimated useful lives on a straight-line basis. Useful lives are established based on analysis of all pertinent factors such as: the expected use of the asset; expected useful lives of related assets; provisions that may limit the useful life; historical experience with similar arrangements; effects of economic factors; demand; competition; obsolescence; and maintenance required to maintain the future cash flows. Amortization is recognized over the relevant estimated useful lives ranging from three to eleven years.

91


The Company evaluates the useful lives of these assets as of the acquisition date and at least annually thereafter to ensure the selected useful life remains appropriate. If the estimate of an intangible asset’s remaining useful life is changed, the Company amortizes the remaining carrying value of the intangible asset prospectively over the revised remaining useful life.

The Company monitors its long-lived assets for impairment indicators on an ongoing basis in accordance with GAAP, and tests for impairment at least annually and whenever events or changes in circumstances occur that could impact the recoverability of these assets. If impairment indicators exist, the Company performs the required impairment analysis by comparing the undiscounted cash flows expected to be generated from the long-lived assets to the related net book values. Impairment is evaluated as discussed in the “Impairment of Long-Lived Assets” section above.

Goodwill

Goodwill is recognized when consideration paid in a purchase acquisition exceeds the fair value of the net assets acquired. Goodwill is not amortized, but rather is tested for impairment annually or more frequently if facts and circumstances warrant a review. Conditions that could trigger a more frequent impairment assessment include, but are not limited to, a significant adverse change in certain agreements, significant underperformance relative to historical or projected future operating results, an economic downturn affecting automotive marketplaces, increased competition, a significant reduction in the Company's stock price for a sustained period, or a reduction of its market capitalization relative to net book value.

The Company evaluates impairment annually on October 1 by comparing the estimated fair value of each reporting unit to its carrying value. For fiscal year 2023 the Company determined that it had three reporting units with goodwill: U.S. Marketplace, CarOffer, and U.K. Marketplace. The Company elected to bypass the optional qualitative test for impairment and proceed to Step 1, which is a quantitative impairment test. For the U.S. Marketplace and U.K. Marketplace reporting units, the Company estimates fair value using a market approach, based on market multiples derived from public companies that are identified as peers. As of October 1, 2023, the Company estimated forecasted revenue for fiscal year 2023, and estimated revenue market multiples using publicly available information for each of its reporting units. Developing these assumptions required the use of judgment and estimates. Actual results may differ from these forecasts. For the CarOffer reporting unit, the Company estimates fair value using an income approach, based on a discounted cash flow method. The assumptions used to estimate the fair value using a discounted cash flow method include revenue and EBITDA forecasts, the weighted average cost of capital and discount rate, debt-free net working capital forecasts, and long-term growth rate.

For the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021 the Company did notnot identify any impairment of its long‑lived assets.goodwill. Although no impairment was identified during the annual impairment test as of October 1, 2023, the excess of the fair value over the carrying value declined for the CarOffer reporting unit in the Digital Wholesale segment. If projected future operating results further decline, including as a result of economic conditions or operational challenges, the Company may need to record an impairment charge to reduce its goodwill at CarOffer which could be material and negatively affect the Company's operations.

Redeemable Noncontrolling Interest

In connection with the Company’s acquisition of a 51% interest in CarOffer on January 14, 2021, the Company became a party with the noncontrolling equity holders of CarOffer to the 2021 CarOffer Operating Agreement (as defined in "Stock-Based Compensation" below), which, among other matters, sets forth certain put and call rights described in "Stock-Based Compensation" below. The 2021 CarOffer Operating Agreement provided the Company with the right to purchase, and the noncontrolling equity holders with the right to sell to the Company, the noncontrolling CarOffer equity holders’ equity interests in CarOffer at a contractually defined formulaic purchase price, which was based on a multiple of earnings.

Subsequent to the Company’s acquisition of the 51% interest on January 14, 2021, the redeemable noncontrolling interest was measured at the greater of the amount that would be paid if settlement occurred as of the balance sheet date based on the contractually defined redemption value and its carrying amount adjusted for net (loss) income attributable to the noncontrolling interest and tax distributions to redeemable noncontrolling interest holders. Adjustments to the carrying value of the redeemable noncontrolling interest resulting from changes in the redemption value are recognized within retained earnings in the consolidated balance sheets.

92


On November 6, 2023, the Company entered into a Membership Interest Purchase Agreement (the “2023 Purchase Agreement”) with CarOffer, CarOffer Investors Holding, LLC, CarOffer Midco, LLC (“CarOffer MidCo”), each of the persons set forth on Schedule 1.1(a) to the 2023 Purchase Agreement (the “Indirect Members”), Bruce T. Thompson, an individual residing in Texas, as the sellers’ representative, and the responsible party signatory thereto.

Pursuant to the 2023 Purchase Agreement the Company acquired the remaining minority equity interests in CarOffer (the “2023 CarOffer Transaction”) for an aggregate consideration of $75.0 million in cash (the “2023 Consideration”), subject to certain adjustments set forth in the 2023 Purchase Agreement. A portion of the 2023 Consideration is held in escrow to secure certain payment and indemnification obligations of the Indirect Members in accordance with the terms of the 2023 Purchase Agreement. The 2023 CarOffer Transaction was completed on December 1, 2023.

Following the 2023 CarOffer Transaction, CarOffer is a wholly-owned subsidiary and the Company entered into the Fourth Amended and Restated Limited Liability Company Agreement, dated December 1, 2023 (the "2023 CarOffer Operating Agreement"), pursuant to which, among other matters, the existing put and call rights were terminated. As a result of the Company purchasing the remaining minority equity interests of CarOffer, there is no redeemable noncontrolling interest as of December 31, 2023.

See Note 4 of these consolidated financial statements for further information regarding the 2023 CarOffer Transaction.

Leases

The Company recognizes a lease liability for the obligation to make lease payments and a right-of-use asset for the right to use the underlying assets for the lease term. The Company reviews all material contracts for embedded leases to determine if they have a right-of-use asset. The Company made an accounting policy election to apply the practical expedient under ASC Topic 842, Leases, to not separate lease components from non-lease components for all leases.

The Company recognizes rent expense on a straight-line basis over the lease period. The depreciable life of assets and leasehold improvements are limited by the expected lease term, unless there is a transfer of title or purchase option reasonably certain of exercise. The Company allocates lease costs across all departments based on headcount in the respective location.

Variable lease payments that depend on an index or a rate are included in the lease payments and are measured using the prevailing index or rate at the measurement date. Variable lease payments not based on an index or a rate are excluded from lease payments and are expensed as incurred.

The Company made an accounting policy election to not recognize a lease liability or right-of-use asset on its consolidated balance sheets for leases with an initial term of twelve months or less, and instead to recognize lease payments in the consolidated income statements on a straight-line basis over the lease term and variable lease payments that do not depend on an index or rate as expense in the period in which the achievement of the specified target that triggers the variable lease payments becomes probable.

The Company recognizes sublease income on a straight-line basis over the sublease period. The Company recognizes sublease income as an offset to rent expense within operating expenses in the consolidated income statements as subleasing is not a primary business activity of the Company and is meant to offset occupancy costs. For the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, the Company recognized sublease income of $1,897 and $1,809, respectively. For the year ended December 31, 2021, there was no sublease income.

Contingent Liabilities

The Company has certain contingent liabilities that arise in the ordinary course of business activities. The Company accrues for loss contingencies when losses become probable and can be reasonably estimated. If the reasonable estimate of the loss is a range and no amount within the range is a better estimate, the minimum amount of the range is recognized as a liability. The Company does not accrue for contingent losses that, in its judgment, are considered to be reasonably possible, but not probable; however, it discloses the range of such reasonably possible losses, if material.

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Income Taxes

The Company is subject to federal and state income taxes in the U.S. and taxes in foreign jurisdictions in which it operates. For the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, a provision for income taxes was recognized as a result of the consolidated taxable income position.

The Company accounts for income taxes in accordance with the asset and liability method. Under this method, deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized based on temporary differences between the financial reporting and income tax bases of assets and liabilities using statutory rates. In addition, thisenacted tax rates in effect for the year in which the temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled.

This method requires a valuation allowance against net deferred tax assets if, based upon the available evidence, it is more likely than not that some or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. In performing this analysis, the Company considers future taxable income and ongoing prudent and feasible tax planning strategies to assess realizability. Actual results may differ from these forecasts. Valuation allowances are reassessed periodically to determine whether it is more likely than not that the tax benefits will be realized in the future and if any existing valuation allowance should be released. As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, valuation allowances were immaterial.

The Company accounts for uncertain tax positions recognized in the consolidated financial statements by prescribing a more‑likely‑than‑not threshold for financial statement recognition and measurement of a tax position taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. The Company has no recorded liabilitiesassesses its income tax positions and recognizes an income tax benefit or expense within the provision for income taxes in the consolidated income statements based upon management’s evaluation of the facts, circumstances, and information available at the reporting date. The tax position is measured as the largest amount of benefit or expense that is greater than 50% likely of being realized upon ultimate settlement with the taxing authority during examination. The Company recognizes interest and penalties, if applicable, related to uncertain tax positions as of December 31, 2017 and 2016.

Disclosure of Fair Value of Financial Instruments

income tax expense within other income (expense), net in the consolidated income statements. The carrying amounts of the Company’s financial instruments, which include cash and cash equivalents, investments, accounts receivable, accounts payable, andCompany recognizes liabilities related to uncertain tax positions within accrued expenses, approximated their fair values at December 31, 2017accrued income taxes and 2016 dueother current liabilities, and other non-current liabilities in the consolidated balance sheets, as applicable, depending on if the uncertainty is expected to the short‑term naturebe resolved within one year or more. The ultimate resolution of these instruments.tax positions may be greater or less than the liabilities recognized.

The Company has evaluated the estimated fair value of financial instruments using available market information. The use of different market assumptions, estimation methodologies, or both, could have a significant effect on the estimated fair value amounts. See Note 3 for further discussion.

Stock‑Based Compensation

For stock‑based awards issued under the Company’s stock‑based compensation plans, which are more fully described in Note 8, the fair value of each award is estimated on the date of grant, and, up through the year ended December 31, 2016,2023, income tax expense and liability related to uncertain tax positions, exclusive of immaterial interest or penalties related to uncertain tax provisions was $812, which would favorably affect the Company's effective tax rate, if recognized. For the year ended December 31, 2022, income tax expense and liability related to uncertain tax positions, exclusive of immaterial interest or penalties related to uncertain tax provisions was $598.

On October 3, 2023, the State of Massachusetts passed a tax relief bill changing its apportionment formula from three-factors to a single factor effective January 1, 2025. The Company evaluated the impact from the enacted bill and recognized $6,941 deferred tax expense on its U.S. deferred tax assets and liabilities in 2023.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development introduced an estimated forfeiture rate was used when calculating stock‑based compensation expenseinternational tax framework under Pillar Two which includes a global minimum tax of 15%. Pillar Two legislation has been enacted or substantively enacted in certain jurisdictions where the Company operates. The Pillar Two legislation will be effective for the period.Company's fiscal year beginning January 1, 2024. The Company recognizes compensation expense for service-based awards has performed an assessment of its potential exposure to Pillar Two income taxes based on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period for each separate vesting portion of the award, with the amount of compensation expense recognized at any date at least equaling the portion of the grant-date fair value of the award that is vested at that date. 

Certain awards granted by the Company prior to the IPO were subject to service‑based vesting conditionsCompany's most recent tax filings, country-by-country reporting, and a performance‑based vesting condition achieved upon a liquidity event, defined as either a change of control or an IPO. The Securities and Exchange Commission’s declaration of effectiveness of the Company’s registration statement on Form S-1 on October 11, 2017 satisfied the liquidity event performance condition. Upon the achievement of the liquidity event, the Company recorded previously unrecognized cumulative stock-based compensation expense of $2.5 million related to these awards. Although the performance based vesting condition was satisfied, under the terms of the awards, the settlement of such vested RSUs and the issuance of common stock with respect to such vested RSUs, will occur on April 10, 2018, one hundred eighty-one days after the satisfaction of the performance condition.

Given the absence of an active marketfinancial statements for the Company’s common stock prior toconstituent entities within the IPO,Company. Based on the Board,assessment performed, the members ofPillar Two effective tax rates in all jurisdictions in which the Company believes have extensive business, finance,operates are above 15%. However, there are a limited number of jurisdictions where the transitional safe harbor relief does not apply, and venture capital experience, was requiredthe Pillar Two effective tax rate is close to estimate the fair value of the Company’s common stock at the time of each grant of a stock‑based award.15%. The Company does not expect a material exposure to Pillar Two income taxes in those jurisdictions.

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 subjects a U.S. stockholder to tax on global intangible low-taxed income (“GILTI”) earned by certain foreign subsidiaries. An entity can make an accounting policy election, per the Board


utilized various valuation methodologiesFASB Staff Q&A, Topic 740, No. 5, Accounting for Global Intangible Low-Taxed Income, either to recognize deferred taxes for temporary basis differences expected to reverse as GILTI in accordance with the framework of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants’ Technical Practice Aid, Valuation of Privately‑Held Company Equity Securities Issued as Compensation,future years or to estimate the fair value of its common stock. Each valuation methodology includes estimates and assumptions that require the Company’s judgment. These estimates and assumptions include a number of objective and subjective factors in determining the value of the Company’s common stock at each grant date, including the following factors: (1) prices paidprovide for the Company’s convertible Preferred Stock, whichtax expense related to GILTI in the Company had sold to outside investors in arm’s‑length transactions, andyear the rights, preferences, and privileges of the Company’s convertible Preferred Stock and common stock; (2) valuations performed by an independent valuation specialist; (3) the Company’s stage of development and revenue growth; (4) the fact that the grants of stock‑based awards involved illiquid securities intax is incurred as a private company; and (5) the likelihood of achieving a liquidity event for the common stock underlying the stock‑based awards, such as an IPO or sale of the Company, given prevailing market conditions.

The Company believes this methodology was reasonable based upon the Company’s internal peer company analyses, and further supported by arm’s‑length transactions involving the Company’s convertible Preferred Stock. As the Company’s common stock was not actively traded, the determination of fair value involved assumptions, judgments, and estimates. If different assumptions had been made, stock‑based compensationperiod expense consolidated net income (loss), and consolidated net income (loss) per share could have been significantly different.

For RSUs granted subsequent to the IPO, the fair value is determined based on the closing price of the Company’s Class A common stock as reported on the Nasdaq Global Select Market on the date of grant. 

For RSUs issued under the Company’s stock‑based compensation plans prior to the IPO, the fair value of each grant was calculated based on the estimated fair value of the Company’s common stock on the date of grant. The Company estimated the fair value of most stock option awards on the date of grant using the Black‑Scholes option‑pricing model. Certain stock option awards that have an exercise price that was materially above the current estimated fair market value of the Company’s stock are considered to be “deeply out of the money,” and are valued at the date of grant using a binomial lattice option‑pricing model.

The fair value of each option grant issued under the Company’s stock‑based compensation plans that was not considered “deeply out of the money,” was estimated using the Black‑Scholes option‑pricing model. As there was no public market for its common stock prior to the IPO, the Company determined the volatility for options granted based on an analysis of reported data for a peer group of companies that issued options with substantially similar terms. The expected volatility of granted options has been determined using a weighted‑average of the historical volatility measures of this peer group of companies. The expected life of options has been determined utilizing the “simplified method.” The simplified method is based on the average of the vesting tranches and the contractual life of each grant. The risk‑free interest rate is based on a treasury instrument whose term is consistent with the expected life of the stock options.only. The Company has not paid, and does not anticipate paying, cash dividendselected to account for GILTI as a period cost in the year the tax is incurred.

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The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (the "IRA") was passed into law on August 16, 2022. The provisions of the IRA were effective beginning with fiscal year 2023, with certain exceptions. The IRA had several new provisions including a 15% corporate alternative minimum tax for certain large corporations that have at least an average of $1.0 billion of adjusted financial statement income over a consecutive three-tax-year period. The IRA also introduced a 1% excise tax imposed on certain stock repurchases by publicly traded U.S. corporations made after December 31, 2022. The Company has appropriately considered the impacts of the 1% excise tax on its common stock; therefore,income tax provision and cash taxes in 2023. Based on the expected dividend yield was assumed to be zero. In addition,Company’s evaluation, the Company appliedconcludes that the IRA has not had a material impact on its income tax provision and cash taxes.

Under the U.K. Finance Act 2022 that was granted on February 24, 2022, U.K. corporation tax rate has been increased from 19% to 25% effective April 1, 2023. The Company evaluated the rate change impact and recognized immaterial deferred tax expense on its U.K. deferred tax assets and liabilities in 2022. No additional tax expense related to the impact of the tax rate change on deferred tax assets and liabilities was necessary in 2023.

The Company will continue to monitor the changes in tax laws and regulations to evaluate their potential impact on its business.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

The Company measures eligible assets and liabilities at fair value with changes in value recognized in earnings. Fair value treatment may be elected either upon initial recognition of an estimated forfeiture rateeligible asset or liability or, for an existing asset or liability, if an event triggers a new basis of 5% in determining the expense recorded in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations foraccounting. During the years ended December 31, 20162023 and 2015.

In March 2016,2022, the FASB issued ASU 2016‑09, Compensation — Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Improvements to Employee Share‑Based Payment Accounting (ASU 2016‑09). The guidance identifies areas for simplification involving several aspects of accounting for share‑based payments, including income tax consequences, classification of awards as either equity or liabilities, an option to make a policy election to recognize gross stock‑based compensation expense with actual forfeitures recognized as they occur, as well as certain classification changes on the statement of cash flows. The Company adopted ASU 2016‑09 on January 1, 2017 and elected to account for forfeitures when they occur, on a modified retrospective basis. The cumulative effect adjustment related to the Company’s accounting policy change for forfeitures was not material. In accordance with the adoption of this guidance, the tax effect of differences between tax deductions related to stock compensation and the corresponding financial statement expense compensation will no longer be recorded to additional paid‑in capital in the balance sheet. Instead, such amounts will be recorded to tax expense. During 2017, the Company recorded tax benefits of $681, related to differences between tax deductions related to stock compensation and the corresponding financial statement expense compensation. The Company also elected to prospectively apply the change in presentation of excess tax benefits, wherein excess tax benefits recognized on stock‑based compensation expense is now classified as an operating activity in the consolidated statements of cash flows. The Company did not adjust the classificationselect to remeasure any of excess tax benefits in its consolidated statements of cash flows for the years ended December 31, 2016 or 2015. The adoptionexisting financial assets and did not have any other material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.


The weighted‑average fair value of options granted during the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015 was $0.90 and $0.46, respectively. No options were granted during 2017. The weighted‑average assumptions utilized to determineelect the fair value of options granted are presented in the following table:option for any financial assets transacted.

 

 

 

 

 

 

2016

 

 

2015

 

Expected dividend yield

 

 

 

 

 

 

Expected volatility

 

 

49

%

 

 

64

%

Riskfree interest rate

 

 

1.57

%

 

 

1.73

%

Expected term (in years)

 

 

6.07

 

 

 

6.05

 

See Note 8 for a summary of the stock option and RSU activity for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016, and 2015.

Advertising Costs

Advertising costs are expensed as incurred. Advertising expense, which is included within sales and marketing expense in the consolidated statements of operations, was $173,186, $112,167, and $61,865 for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016, and 2015, respectively.

Leases

The Company categorizes leases at their inception as either operating or capital leases. On certain lease arrangements, the Company may receive rent holidays or other incentives. The Company recognizes lease costs on a straight‑line basis once control of the space is achieved, without regard to deferred payment terms, such as rent holidays, that defer the commencement date of required payments or escalating payment amounts. The difference between required lease payments and rent expense has been recorded as deferred rent. Additionally, incentives received are treated as a reduction of costs over the term of the agreement, as they are considered an inseparable part of the lease agreement.

Comprehensive Income (Loss)

Comprehensive income (loss) is defined as the change in stockholders’ equity of a business enterprise during a period from transactions and other events and circumstances from non‑owner sources. Comprehensive income (loss) consists of net income (loss) and other comprehensive (loss) income, which includes certain changes in equity that are excluded from net income (loss). Specifically, cumulative foreign currency translation adjustments are included in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss). As of December 31, 2017, 2016, and 2015, accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) is presented separately on the consolidated balance sheets and consists entirely of cumulative foreign currency translation adjustments.

Contingent Liabilities

The Company has certain contingent liabilities that arise in the ordinary course of business activities. The Company accrues for loss contingencies when losses become probable and are reasonably estimable. If the reasonable estimate of the loss is a range and no amount within the range is a better estimate, the minimum amount of the range is recorded as a liability. The Company does not accrue for contingent losses that, in its judgment, are considered to be reasonably possible, but not probable; however, it discloses the range of such reasonably possible losses.

Emerging Growth Company Status

The Company is an “emerging growth company,” as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act, or JOBS Act, and may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies. The Company may take advantage of these exemptions until the Company is no longer an emerging growth company. Section 107 of the JOBS Act provides that an emerging growth company can take advantage of the extended transition period afforded by the JOBS Act for the implementation of new or revised accounting standards. The Company has elected to use the extended transition period for complying with new or revised accounting standards and as a result of this election, its financial statements may not be comparable to companies that comply with public company effective dates. The Company may take advantage of these exemptions up until the last day of the fiscal year following the fifth anniversary of the IPO or such earlier time that it is no longer an emerging growth


company. The Company would cease to be an emerging growth company if it has more than $1.07 billion in annual revenue, has more than $700.0 million in market value of its stock held by non‑affiliates (and it has been a public company for at least 12 months, and has filed one annual report on Form 10‑K), or it issues more than $1.0 billion of non‑convertible debt securities over a three‑year period.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

From time to time, new accounting pronouncements are issued by the FASB or other standard setting bodies and adopted by the Company on or prior to the specified effective date. Unless otherwise discussed, the Company believes that the impact of recently issued standards that are not yet effective will not have a material impact on its financial position or results of operations upon adoption.

Revenue Recognition

In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606) (“ASU 2014-09”), which modifies how all entities recognize revenue, and consolidates into one ASC Topic (ASC Topic 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers) the current guidance found in ASC Topic 605, and various other revenue accounting standards for specialized transactions and industries. ASU 2014-09 outlines a comprehensive five-step revenue recognition model based on the principle that an entity should recognize revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. ASU 2014-09 may be applied using either a full retrospective approach, under which all years included in the financial statements will be presented under the revised guidance, or a modified retrospective approach, under which financial statements will be prepared under the revised guidance for the year of adoption, but not for prior years. Under the latter method, entities will recognize a cumulative catch-up adjustment to the opening balance of retained earnings at the effective date for contracts that still require performance by the entity at the date of adoption. The Company currently expects to adopt the standard, using the modified retrospective method.

In August 2015, the FASB issued ASU No. 2015-14, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606): Deferral of Effective Date (“ASU 2015-14”), which defers the effective date of ASU 2014-09 by one year. ASU 2014-09 is now effective for public entities for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim periods within those annual reporting periods. For all other entities the guidance in Update 2014-09 is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2018, and interim reporting periods within annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2019. As an emerging growth company, the Company expects to adopt the standard effective January 1, 2019; however, if the Company ceases to be an emerging growth company as of December 31, 2018, the Company will be required to adopt the standard in the fourth quarter of 2018.

The Company has developed an implementation plan to adopt this new guidance. As part of this plan, the Company is currently assessing the impact of the new guidance on its results of operations. Based on the Company’s procedures performed to date, nothing has come to its attention that would indicate that the adoption of ASU 2014-09 will have a material impact on its revenue recognition; however, further analysis is required and the Company will continue to evaluate this assessment throughout 2018. While the Company is still evaluating the impact that this guidance will have on its financial statements and related disclosures, the Company’s preliminary assessment is that there will be an impact relating to the accounting for costs to acquire a contract. Under the standard, the Company will be required to capitalize certain costs, primarily commission expense to sales representatives, on its consolidated balance sheet and amortize such costs over the period of performance for the underlying customer contracts. The Company is still evaluating the impact of capitalizing costs to execute a contract.

Other Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In August 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-15, Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230): Classification of Certain Cash Receipts and Cash Payments (“ASU 2016-15”). ASU 2016-15 is intended to add or clarify guidance on the classification of certain cash receipts and payments in the statement of cash flows and to eliminate the diversity in practice related to such classifications. For public entities, the guidance in ASU 2016-15 is required for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017, with early adoption permitted. For all other entities, the guidance is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2018, with early adoption permitted. The Company is currently in the process of evaluating the impact and timing of adoption of ASU 2016-15 on its consolidated financial statements.


In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842) (“ASU 2016-02”). ASU 2016-02 requires a lessee to recognize most leases on the balance sheet but recognize expenses on the income statement in a manner similar to current practice. The update states that a lessee will recognize a lease liability for the obligation to make lease payments and a right-to-use asset for the right to use the underlying assets for the lease term. Leases will continue to be classified as either financing or operating, with classification affecting the recognition, measurement, and presentation of expenses and cash flows arising from a lease. For public entities, the new standard is effective for interim and annual periods beginning on or after January 1, 2019, with early adoption permitted. For all other entities, the new standard is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2019, with early adoption permitted. The Company is evaluating the impact this guidance may have on its consolidated financial statements.

3. Fair Value of Financial Instruments Including Cash, Cash Equivalents and Investments

ASC 820, Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures ("ASC 820"), establishes a three‑level valuation hierarchy for instruments measured at fair value that distinguishes between assumptions based on market data (observable inputs) and the Company’s own assumptions (unobservable inputs). Observable inputs are inputs that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability based on market data obtained from sources independent of the Company. Unobservable inputs are inputs that reflect the Company’s assumptions about the inputs that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability, and are developed based on the best information available in the circumstances.

ASC 820 identifies fair value as the exchange price or exit price, representing the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants based on the highest and best use of the asset or liability. As such, fair value is a market‑based measurement that should be determined based on assumptions that market participants would use in pricing an asset or liability. The Company uses valuation techniques to measure fair value that maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs. These inputs are prioritized as follows:

Level 1 — Quoted unadjusted prices for identical instruments in active markets.

Level 2 — Quoted prices for similar instruments in active markets, quoted prices for identical or similar instruments in markets that are not active, and model‑derived valuations in which all observable inputs and significant value drivers are observable in active markets.

Level 3 — Model‑derived valuations in which one or more significant inputs or significant value drivers are unobservable, including assumptions developed by the Company.

The valuation techniquesCompany has evaluated the estimated fair value of financial instruments using available market information. The use of different market assumptions, estimation methodologies, or both, could have a significant effect on the estimated fair value amounts.

As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, the carrying amounts of the Company’s financial instruments, which include cash and cash equivalents, short-term investments, accounts receivable, accounts payable, and accrued expenses approximated their fair values due to the short‑term nature of these instruments.

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Debt

The Company may obtain access to capital via credit facilities. The amount of borrowings outstanding on credit facilities are recognized within other current liabilities or other non-current liabilities in the consolidated balance sheets, depending on the borrowing base. Costs for unutilized revolving commitments and interest for outstanding borrowings are recognized as interest expense within other income (expense), net in the consolidated income statements. Interest payments are recognized within operating activities in the consolidated statements of cash flows, and repayments of principle amounts are recognized within financing activities in the consolidated statements of cash flows.

As of December 31, 2023, there were no borrowings and $9,627 in letters of credit outstanding under the 2022 Revolver (as defined in Note 9 of these consolidated financial statements), which reduces the borrowing capacity under the 2022 Revolver to $390,373.

As of December 31, 2023, commitment fees under the 2022 Revolver were immaterial.

Deferred Financing Costs

The Company capitalizes certain legal and other third-party fees that are directly associated with obtaining access to capital via credit facilities. Deferred financing costs incurred in connection with obtaining access to capital are recognized within other non-current assets in the consolidated balance sheets and within financing activities in the consolidated statements of cash flows. These costs are amortized on a straight-line basis over the term of the applicable credit facility and recognized as interest expense within other income (expense), net in the consolidated income statements and as an adjustment to consolidated net income in the consolidated statements of cash flows.

As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, deferred financing costs were $1,927 and $2,442, respectively, recognized within other non-current assets in the consolidated balance sheets. As of December 31, 2021, no deferred financing costs were recognized.

For the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, amortization expense associated with deferred financing costs were $515 and $136, respectively, within other income (expense), net in the consolidated income statements. For the year ended December 31, 2021, no amortization expense associated with deferred financing costs was recognized.

Foreign Currency Translation

The reporting currency of the Company is the U.S. dollar. The functional currency of the Company’s foreign subsidiaries is the local currency of each subsidiary. All assets and liabilities in the balance sheets of entities whose functional currency is a currency other than the U.S. dollar are translated into U.S. dollar equivalents at exchange rates as follows: (i) asset and liability accounts at period‑end rates; (ii) income statement accounts at weighted‑average exchange rates for the period; and (iii) stockholders’ equity accounts at historical exchange rates. The resulting translation adjustments are excluded from consolidated net income and are recognized within accumulated other comprehensive (loss) income in the consolidated balance sheets.

Foreign currency transaction gains and losses are included in consolidated net income for the period. The Company's foreign subsidiaries have intercompany transactions that are eliminated upon consolidation, and these transactions expose the Company to foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations. Exchange rate fluctuations on short‑term intercompany transactions are recognized in other income (expense), net in the consolidated income statements. Exchange rate fluctuations on long-term intercompany transactions are recognized within accumulated other comprehensive loss in the consolidated balance sheets.

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Revenue Recognition

Sources of Revenue

The Company derives its revenue from marketplace revenue, wholesale revenue, and product revenue. Marketplace revenue is included in the U.S. Marketplace segment and Other category of segment reporting. Wholesale revenue and product revenue are included in the Digital Wholesale segment. The Company generates marketplace revenue primarily from (i) dealer subscriptions to the Company's Listings packages, Real-time Performance Marketing ("RPM"), digital advertising suite, Digital Retail, and Sell My Car - Top Dealer Offers ("TDO"), (ii) advertising revenue from auto manufacturers and other auto‑related brand advertisers, and (iii) revenue from partnerships with financing services companies. The Company generates wholesale revenue primarily from (x) transaction fees earned from facilitating the purchase and sale of vehicles between dealers ("Dealer-to-Dealer transactions"), (y) transaction fees earned from the sale of vehicles to dealers that it acquires at other marketplaces, and (z) transaction fees earned from performing inspection and transportation services, inclusive of Dealer-to-Dealer transactions, other marketplace to dealer transactions, and IMCO transactions (as defined below). The Company generates product revenue primarily from (A) aggregate proceeds received from the sale of vehicles to dealers that were acquired directly from customers or, or Instant Max Cash Offer ("IMCO transactions"), and (B) proceeds received from the sale of vehicles that were acquired through arbitration.

Revenue Recognition

ASC 606 outlines a comprehensive five-step revenue recognition model based on the principle that an entity should recognize revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. To achieve this core principle, the Company applies the following five steps:

1) Identify the contract with a customer

2) Identify the performance obligations in the contract

3) Determine the transaction price

4) Allocate the transaction price to performance obligations in the contract

5) Recognize revenue when or as the Company satisfies a performance obligation

Marketplace Revenue - Description

The Company offers multiple types of marketplace Listings packages to its dealers for its CarGurus U.S. platform (availability varies on the Company's other marketplaces): Restricted Listings, which is free; and various levels of Listings packages, which each require a paid subscription under a monthly, quarterly, semiannual, or annual subscription basis.

The Company’s subscriptions for customers generally auto-renew on a monthly basis and are cancellable by dealers with 30 days’ advance notice prior to the commencement of the applicable renewal term. Subscription pricing is determined based on a dealer’s inventory size, region, and the Company's assessment of the connections and return on investment ("ROI") the platform will provide them and is subject to discounts and/or fee reductions that the Company may offer from time to time. The Company also offers all dealers on the platform access to its Dealer Dashboard, which includes a performance summary, Dealer Insights tool, and user review management platform. Only dealers subscribing to a paid Listings package have access to the Pricing Tool, Market Analysis tool, and IMV Scan tool.

The Company offers paid Listings packages for the Autolist and PistonHeads websites.

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In addition to displaying inventory in the Company's marketplace and providing access to the Dealer Dashboard, the Company offers dealers subscribing to certain of its Listings packages other subscription advertising and customer acquisition products and enhancements marketed under the Company's RPM and digital advertising suite. Through RPM, dealers can buy advertising that appears in the Company's marketplace, on other sites on the internet, and/or on high-converting social media platforms. Such advertisements can be targeted by the user’s geography, search history, CarGurus website activity, and a number of other targeting factors, allowing dealers to increase their visibility with in-market consumers and drive qualified traffic for dealers.

The Company also offers dealer advertising products for the PistonHeads website.

The Company also offers dealers subscribing to certain of its Listings packages other subscription advertising and customer acquisition products and enhancements such as Digital Retail, which allows shoppers to complete much of the vehicle-purchase process online through the Dealers’ Listings page. Digital Retail is comprised of (i) the Digital Deal Platform, which gives dealers higher quality leads through upfront consumer-provided information, (ii) Geo Expansion, which expands the visibility of a dealer’s inventory in the search results beyond its local market, and (iii) Hard Pull Financing, which provides loan information.

The Company also offers dealers subscribing to certain of its Listings packages other subscription advertising and customer acquisition products and enhancements such as TDO, which allows dealers to pay for leads to receive direct access to shoppers actively looking to sell their vehicles. Dealers can acquire inventory from shoppers who are looking to sell directly through the CarGurus Sell My Car page.

Marketplace revenue also consists of non-dealer advertising revenue from auto manufacturers and other auto-related brand advertisers sold on a cost per thousand impressions basis ("CPM basis"). An impression is an advertisement loaded on a web page. In addition to advertising sold on a CPM basis, the Company also has advertising sold on a cost-per-click basis. Pricing is primarily based on advertisement size and position on the Company’s websites and mobile applications. Auto manufacturers and other brand advertisers can execute advertising campaigns that are targeted across a wide variety of parameters, including demographic groups, behavioral characteristics, specific auto brands, categories such as Certified Pre-Owned, and segments such as hybrid vehicles. The Company does not provide minimum impression guarantees or other types of minimum guarantees in its contracts with customers. Advertising is also sold indirectly through revenue sharing arrangements with advertising exchange partners.

The Company also offers non-dealer advertising products for the Autolist and PistonHeads websites.

Marketplace revenue also includes revenue from partnerships with certain financing services companies pursuant to which the Company enables eligible consumers on the Company's CarGurus U.S. website to pre-qualify for financing on cars from dealerships that offer financing through such companies. The Company primarily generates revenue from these partnerships based on the number of funded loans from consumers who pre-qualify with its lending partners through its site.

Marketplace Revenue - Revenue Recognition

For Listings, Digital Retail, RPM, and TDO, the Company provides a single similar service each day for a period of time. Each time increment (i.e., one day), rather than the underlying activities, is distinct and substantially the same and therefore the performance obligation of the Company is to provide a series of daily activities over the contract term. Similar to the dealer listings, the dealer advertising is considered a promise to provide a single similar service each day. Each time increment is distinct and substantially the same and therefore the performance obligation of the Company is to provide a series of daily activities over the contract term.

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Total consideration for marketplace revenue is stated within the contracts. There are no contractual cash refund rights, but credits may be usedissued to measure fair valuea customer at the sole discretion of the Company. Dealer customers do not have the right to take possession of the Company’s software. At the portfolio level, there is also variable consideration that needs to be included in the transaction price. Variable consideration consists of sales allowances, usage fees, and concessions that change the transaction price of the unsatisfied or partially unsatisfied performance obligation. The Company recognizes that there are times when there is a customer satisfaction issue or other circumstances that will lead to a credit. Due to the known possibility of future credits, a monthly sales allowance review is performed to defer revenue at a portfolio level for such future adjustments in the period of incurrence. The Company establishes sales allowances at the time of revenue recognition based on its history of adjustments and credits provided to its customers. In assessing the adequacy of the sales allowance, the Company evaluates its history of adjustments and credits made through the date of the issuance of the consolidated financial statements. Estimated sales adjustments, credits, and losses may vary from actual results which could lead to material adjustments to the consolidated financial statements. Sales allowances are recognized as follows:a reduction to revenue in the consolidated income statements.

Market Approach — Uses pricesPerformance obligations are satisfied over time as the customer simultaneously receives and consumes the benefit of the service. Revenue is recognized ratably over the subscription period beginning on the date the Company starts providing services to the customer under the contract. Revenue is presented net of any taxes collected from customers. Customers are billed in advance on the first day of each calendar month with payment terms generally 30 to 60 days from the date invoiced. Billings are recognized as accounts receivable or short-term deferred revenue when payment is received in advance of services being delivered to the customers.

For non-dealer advertising revenue from auto manufacturers and other relevant information generatedauto-related brand advertisers, the performance obligation is to publish the agreed upon campaign on the Company’s websites and load the related impressions.

Advertising contracts state the transaction price within the agreement with payment generally being based on the number of clicks or impressions delivered on the Company’s websites. Total consideration is based on output and deemed variable consideration constrained by an agreed upon delivery schedule and is allocated to the period in which the service was rendered. Additionally, there are generally no contractual cash refund rights. Certain contracts do contain the right for credits in situations in which impressions are not displayed in compliance with contractual specifications. At an individual contract level, the Company may give a credit for a customer satisfaction issue or other circumstance. Due to the known possibility of future credits, a monthly review is performed to defer revenue at an individual contract level for such future adjustments in the period of incurrence. Although these credits have not been material and have not changed significantly over the historical period, estimated sales adjustments, credits, and losses may vary from actual results which could lead to material adjustments to the consolidated financial statements.

Performance obligations for Company-sold advertising revenue and partner-sold advertising revenue are satisfied over time as impressions are delivered. Revenue is recognized based on the total number of impressions delivered within the specified period. Revenue from advertising sold directly by the Company is recognized based on the gross amount charged to the advertiser because the Company is the principal in the arrangement as it controls the ad placement and timing of the campaign, establishes the selling price, and is directly responsible for the fulfillment of the contractual terms including any remedy for issues with such fulfillment. Revenue from advertising sold by partners is recognized based on the net amount of revenue received from the content partners because the Company is the agent in the arrangement as the advertising partner is responsible for fulfillment, including the acceptability of the services delivered. In partner-sold advertising arrangements, the advertising partner has a direct contractual relationship with the advertiser. There is no contractual relationship between the Company and the advertiser for partner-sold transactions. Additionally, for auction-based partner agreements, the Company has latitude in establishing the floor price, but the final price established by the exchange server is at market rates. Revenue is presented net of any taxes collected from customers. Customers are billed monthly in arrears with payment terms generally 30 to 60 days from the date invoiced. Unbilled accounts receivable generally relate to services rendered in the current period, but not invoiced until the subsequent period.

Other marketplace revenue includes revenue from contracts for which the performance obligation is a series of distinct services with the same level of effort daily. For these contracts, primarily related to the Company’s partnerships with financing services companies, the Company estimates the value of the variable consideration in determining the transaction price and allocates it to the performance obligation. Revenue is estimated and recognized on a ratable basis over the contractual term. The Company reassesses the estimate of variable consideration at each reporting period.

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Wholesale Revenue - Description

The CarOffer Matrix enables buying dealers to create standing buy orders and provides instant offers to selling dealers. Wholesale revenue includes transaction fees earned from Dealer-to-Dealer transactions, involving identical or comparable assets or liabilities.where the Company collects fees from both the buying and selling dealers. The Company also sells vehicles to dealers that it acquires at other marketplaces, where it collects a transaction fee from the buying dealers.

Income Approach — Uses valuation techniquesWholesale revenue also includes fees earned from performing inspection and transportation services, where it collects fees from the buying dealer. Inspection and transportation service revenue is inclusive of Dealer-to-Dealer transactions, other marketplace to convert future amountsdealer transactions, and IMCO transactions.

Wholesale revenue also includes arbitration in which the vehicle is rematched to a single present amountnew buyer and not acquired by the Company. Arbitration is the process by which the Company investigates and resolves claims from buying dealers.

Wholesale revenue also includes fees earned from certain guarantees offered to dealers (which include 45-Day Guarantee and OfferGuard products), where the Company collects fees from the buying dealer or selling dealer, as applicable. Guarantee revenue is not accounted for under ASC 606 and is accounted for under ASC Topic 460, Guarantees (“ASC 460”), as discussed further in Note 2 of these consolidated financial statements.

Wholesale Revenue - Revenue Recognition

When facilitating Dealer-to-Dealer transactions and for vehicles sold to dealers that are acquired at other marketplaces, the Company does not control the vehicle and therefore acts as an agent in the transaction. Revenue earned from the fees for facilitating these transactions is recognized at a point in time when the vehicle is sold on a net basis.

For inspection and transportation services, the Company leverages a network of third-party inspection service providers and transportation carriers. The Company controls both inspection and transportation services as it is primarily responsible for fulfillment and therefore acts as a principal in the transaction. Revenue from fees for inspection services is recognized at the point in time when the inspection is performed and revenue from fees for transportation services is recognized over time as delivery is completed. Revenue from both inspection and transportation services is recognized on a gross basis. Unearned revenue related to unsatisfied performance obligations is recognized as deferred revenue.

Wholesale revenue also includes arbitration in which the vehicle is rematched to a new buyer and not acquired by the Company. Arbitration is the process by which the Company investigates and resolves claims from buying dealers. In these situations, the Company does not control the vehicle and therefore acts as an agent in the transaction. Revenue from a rematch transaction is recognized in line with fee revenue relating to the facilitation of the transaction, inspection services, and transportation services above.

Within wholesale transactions, there are typically no contractual cash refund rights, but credits may be issued to a customer at the sole discretion of the Company and refunds may be required by law in the case of a vehicle defect. At the portfolio level, there is also variable consideration that needs to be included in the transaction price. Variable consideration consists of sales allowances and concessions that change the transaction price of the unsatisfied or partially unsatisfied performance obligation. The Company recognizes that there are times when there is a customer satisfaction issue or other circumstance that will lead to a credit or arbitration. The Company establishes sales allowances at the time of revenue recognition based on its history of adjustments and credits provided to its customers. In assessing the adequacy of the sales allowance, the Company evaluates its history of adjustments and credits made through the date of the issuance of the consolidated financial statements. Upon recognizing a sales transaction, the Company estimates the amount of transaction price that will be reversed in a subsequent period and records a reserve for returns and cancellations in other current market expectations about those future amounts,assets and other current liabilities in the consolidated balance sheets. Estimated sales adjustments, credits, and losses may vary from actual results which could lead to material adjustments to the consolidated financial statements. Sales allowances are recognized as a reduction to revenue in the consolidated income statements and an increase to other current assets and other current liabilities and a reduction to accounts receivable, net in the consolidated balance sheets. Wholesale revenue is also offset by concessions.

Wholesale revenue is presented net of any taxes collected from customers.

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Typically, customers are billed upon successful matching of a buyer and seller, with payment due upon receipt.

Product Revenue - Description

The CarOffer Matrix enables consumers who are selling vehicles to be instantly presented with an offer. Product revenue includes the aggregate proceeds received from the sale of vehicles through IMCO transactions, including present value techniques, option pricing models,vehicle sale price and excess earnings method.transaction fees collected from the buying dealers. Product revenue also includes proceeds received from the sale of vehicles acquired through arbitration, including vehicle sale price and transaction fees collected from buying dealers. Arbitration is the process by which the Company investigates and resolves claims from buying dealers. The Company controls the vehicle in these transactions and therefore acts as the principal.

Cost Approach — BasedProduct - Revenue Recognition

For vehicles sold to dealers that are acquired through IMCO transactions, the Company controls the vehicle and therefore acts as a principal in the transaction. Revenue earned from proceeds received on the sale of vehicles through IMCO transactions, including vehicle sale price and transaction fees collected from the buying dealers, is recognized at a point in time when the vehicle is sold on a gross basis.

In certain situations across all transactions, during an arbitration process the Company acquires vehicles in transactions in which it controls the vehicle and therefore acts as a principal in the transaction. Revenue earned from the sale of the vehicle in these transactions is recognized at a point in time on a gross basis.

Within product transactions, there are typically no contractual cash refund rights, but credits may be issued to a customer at the sole discretion of the Company and refunds may be required by law in the case of a vehicle defect. At the portfolio level, there is also variable consideration that needs to be included in the transaction price. Variable consideration consists of sales allowances and concessions that change the transaction price of the unsatisfied or partially unsatisfied performance obligation. The Company recognizes that there are times when there is a customer satisfaction issue or other circumstance that will lead to a credit or arbitration. The Company establishes sales allowances at the time of revenue recognition based on its history of adjustments and credits provided to its customers. In assessing the adequacy of the sales allowance, the Company evaluates its history of adjustments and credits made through the date of the issuance of the consolidated financial statements. Upon recognizing a sales transaction, the Company estimates the amount of transaction price that currentlywill be reversed in a subsequent period and records a reserve for returns and cancellations in other current assets and other current liabilities in the consolidated balance sheets. Estimated sales adjustments, credits, and losses may vary from actual results which could lead to material adjustments to the consolidated financial statements. Sales allowances are recognized as a reduction to revenue and cost of revenue in the consolidated income statements and an increase to other current assets and other current liabilities and a reduction to accounts receivable, net in the consolidated balance sheets. Product revenue is also offset by concessions.

Product revenue presented net of any taxes collected from customers.

Typically, customers are billed upon successful matching of a buyer and seller, with payment due upon receipt.

Contracts with Multiple Performance Obligations

The Company periodically enters into arrangements that include Listings and/or dealer advertising product subscriptions within marketplace revenue. These contracts include multiple promises that the Company evaluates to determine if the promises are separate performance obligations. Performance obligations are identified based on services to be transferred to a customer that are distinct within the context of the contractual terms. Once the performance obligations have been identified, the Company determines the transaction price, which includes estimating the amount of variable consideration to be included in the transaction price, if any. If required, the transaction price is allocated to each performance obligation in the contract based on a relative standalone selling price method as the performance obligation is being satisfied. For the Company’s arrangements that include Listings and/or dealer advertising product subscriptions, the performance obligations were satisfied over a consistent period of time and therefore the allocations did not impact the revenue recognized.

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For wholesale and product arrangements that include multiple performance obligations, the Company allocates revenue based on fair value. Vehicle and inspection revenues are recognized at a point in time and transportation revenue is recognized over time.

Costs to Obtain a Contract

Commissions paid to sales representatives and payroll taxes are considered costs to obtain a contract. Under ASC 606, the costs to obtain a contract require capitalization and amortization of those costs over the period of benefit. Although the guidance specifies the accounting for an individual contract with a customer, as a practical expedient, the Company has opted to apply the guidance to a portfolio of contracts with similar characteristics. The Company has opted to apply another practical expedient to immediately expense the incremental cost of obtaining a contract when the underlying related asset would have been amortized over one year or less. As such, the Company applied this practical expedient to advertising contracts and wholesale and product transactions as the term is one year or less and these contracts do not renew automatically. The practical expedient is not applicable to marketplace subscription contracts as the period of benefit including renewals is anticipated to be greater than one year. The assets are periodically assessed for impairment.

For marketplace subscription customers, the commissions paid on contracts with new customers, in addition to any commission amount related to incremental sales, are capitalized and amortized over the estimated benefit period of the customer relationship taking into account factors such as peer estimates of technology lives and customer lives as well as the Company's own historical data. Commissions paid that are not directly related to obtaining a new contract are expensed as incurred.

Additionally, the Company allocates employer payroll tax expense to the commission expense in proportion to the overall payroll taxes paid during the respective period. As such, capitalized payroll taxes are amortized in the same manner as the underlying capitalized commissions.

As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, assets associated with costs to obtain a contract were $24,093 and $17,394, respectively. For the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021, amortization expense associated with costs to obtain a contract was $11,817, $11,067 and $12,653, respectively.

Deferred Revenue

Deferred revenue primarily consists of payments received in advance of revenue recognition from the Company’s marketplace revenue and is recognized as the revenue recognition criteria are met. The Company generally invoices its customers monthly. Accordingly, the deferred revenue balances do not represent the total contract value of annual or multiyear subscription agreements. Deferred revenue that is expected to be recognized during the succeeding 12‑month period is recognized as current deferred revenue and the remaining portion is recognized as noncurrent in the consolidated balance sheets. All deferred revenue was recognized as current for all periods presented.

Marketplace Cost of Revenue

Marketplace cost of revenue includes expenses related to supporting and hosting marketplace service offerings. These expenses include personnel and related expenses for the Company's customer support team, including salaries, benefits, incentive compensation, and stock-based compensation; third-party service provider expenses such as advertising, data and hosting expenses; amortization of developed technology; amortization of capitalized website development; amortization of capitalized hosting arrangements; and allocated overhead expenses. The Company allocates overhead expenses, such as rent and facility expenses, information technology expense, and employee benefit expense, to all departments based on headcount. As such, general overhead expenses are reflected in cost of revenue and each operating expense category.

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Wholesale Cost of Revenue

Wholesale cost of revenue includes expenses related to supporting and hosting Digital Wholesale service offerings, including Dealer-to-Dealer transactions and vehicles sold to dealers acquired at other marketplaces on the CarOffer Matrix. These expenses include vehicle transportation and inspection expenses; net losses on vehicles related to guarantees offered to dealers through Dealer-to-Dealer transactions; personnel and related expenses for employees directly involved in the fulfillment and support of transactions, including salaries, benefits, incentive compensation, and stock-based compensation; third-party service provider expenses; amortization of developed technology; amortization of capitalized website development; and allocated overhead expenses. The Company allocates overhead expenses, such as rent and facility expenses, information technology expense, and employee benefit expense, to all departments based on headcount. As such, general overhead expenses are reflected in cost of revenue and each operating expense category.

Product Cost of Revenue

Product cost of revenue includes expenses related to vehicles sold to dealers through IMCO transactions and vehicles sold to dealers acquired through arbitration. These expenses include the cost of the vehicle and transportation expenses.

Guarantees and Indemnification Obligations

In the ordinary course of business, the Company enters into agreements with its customers, partners, and service providers that include commercial provisions with respect to licensing, infringement, guarantees, indemnification, and other common provisions.

The Company provides certain guarantees to dealers through products such as its 45-Day Guarantee and OfferGuard service offerings on the CarOffer platform, which are accounted for under ASC 460.

45-Day Guarantee is an arrangement through which a selling dealer lists a car on the CarOffer platform, and the Company provides an offer to purchase the vehicle listed at a specified price at any time over a 45-day period. This provides the seller with a put option, where they have the right, but not the obligation, to require the Company to purchase the vehicle during this window. OfferGuard is an arrangement through which a buying dealer purchases a car on the CarOffer platform, and the Company provides an offer to purchase the vehicle at a specified price between days 1 and 3, and days 42 and 45 if the dealer is not able to sell the vehicle after 42 days.

A guarantee liability is initially measured using the amount of consideration received from the dealer for the purchase of the guarantee. The initial liability is released, and guarantee income is recognized, upon the earliest of the following: the vehicle sells during the guarantee period, the seller exercises its put option during the guarantee period, or the option expires unexercised at the end of the guarantee period. Guarantee income is recognized within wholesale revenue in the consolidated income statements. When it is probable and reasonably estimable that the Company will incur a loss on a vehicle that it is required to purchase, a liability and a corresponding charge to wholesale cost of revenue is recognized for the amount of the loss in the consolidated balance sheets and the consolidated income statements. Gains and losses resulting from the dealers exercise of guarantees are recognized within wholesale cost of revenue, as appropriate, in the consolidated income statements.

For the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021, income for guarantees purchased by dealers was $1,890, $10,026, and $5,537, respectively. For the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, the losses, net of gains recognized within cost of revenue in the consolidated income statements resulting from the dealers' exercise of guarantees were $417 and $4,568, respectively. For the year ended December 31, 2021, the net loss resulting from the dealers' exercise of guarantees was immaterial.

As of December 31, 2023, the maximum potential amount of future payments that the Company could be required to replacemake under these guarantees was $10,158. Of the maximum potential amount of future payments, the losses that are probable are not material. As such, as of December 31, 2023, the Company had no material contingent loss liabilities.

As of December 31, 2022, the maximum potential amount of future payments that the Company could be required to make under these guarantees was $31,056. Of the maximum potential amount of future payments, the losses that are probable are not material. As such, as of December 31, 2022, the Company had no material contingent loss liabilities.

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As of December 31, 2021, the maximum potential amount of future payments that the Company could be required to make under these guarantees was $76,075. Of the maximum potential amount of future payments, none were considered probable. The exercise of guarantees has historically been infrequent and even when such exercises did occur, the losses were not material. As such, as of December 31, 2021, the Company had no contingent loss liabilities.

Stock‑Based Compensation

For stock‑based awards granted under the Company’s stock‑based compensation plans, the fair value of each award is determined on the date of grant.

For restricted stock units (“RSUs”) granted subject to service-based vesting conditions, the fair value is determined on the date of grant using the closing price of the Company’s Class A common stock, par value $0.001 per share (the “Class A common stock”), as reported on the Nasdaq Global Select Market. RSUs granted subject to service-based vesting conditions generally vest over a four-year requisite service capacityperiod.

For RSUs granted subject to market-based vesting conditions, the fair value is determined on the date of an asset (replacement cost).


grant using the Monte Carlo simulation lattice model. The following tables present, for eachdetermination of the fair value using this model is affected by the Company's stock price performance relative to the companies listed on the S&P 500, and a number of assumptions including volatility, correlation coefficient, risk-free interest rate, and expected dividends. RSUs previously granted subject to market-based vesting conditions vest upon achievement of specified levels of market conditions. During the year ended December 31, 2022, the Company modified its market-based performance awards to contain only service-based vesting conditions in line with the Company's other RSU awards. As a result, there were no market-based RSUs outstanding as of December 31, 2023 or December 31, 2022.

For stock options granted, the fair value is determined on the date of grant using the Black‑Scholes option‑pricing model. The determination of the fair value is affected by the Company’s stock price and a number of assumptions including expected dividend yield, expected volatility, risk-free interest rate, and expected term. For expected volatility, the Company uses a blended volatility to combine the historical volatility of trading with the volatility for a peer group of companies as the Company does not have historical stock prices for a period that is at least equal to the expected term. Stock options granted generally have a term of ten years from the date of grant and generally vest over a four-year requisite service period.

There were no options granted during the year ended December 31, 2023.

The weighted average assumptions utilized to determine the fair value of options granted during the year ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, are as follows:

 

 

Year Ended December 31,

 

 

Year Ended December 31,

 

 

 

2022

 

 

2021

 

Expected dividend yield

 

 

 

 

 

 

Expected volatility

 

 

48.03

%

 

 

50.95

%

Risk–free interest rate

 

 

1.47

%

 

 

0.69

%

Expected term (in years)

 

6.11

 

 

 

6.06

 

On January 14, 2021, the Company acquired a 51% interest in CarOffer (the "2021 CarOffer Transaction") pursuant to the terms of a Membership Interest Purchase Agreement (the “2021 Purchase Agreement”) dated as of December 9, 2020 (the “2021 Agreement Date”), as amended, by and among the Company, CarOffer, CarOffer Investors Holding, LLC (“TopCo”), each of the Members of TopCo (each a “Member” and collectively, the “Members”), and Bruce T. Thompson, an individual residing in Texas.

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Upon consummation of the transactions contemplated by the 2021 Purchase Agreement (the “2021 Closing”), the Company acquired a 51% interest in CarOffer for an aggregate consideration of $173,155 (the “2021 Total Consideration”), such 2021 Total Consideration consisting of (a) shares of Class A common stock in the aggregate amount of $103,645 (the “2021 Stock Consideration”) and (b) $69,510 in cash (the “2021 Cash Consideration”). The number of shares of Class A common stock issued following the 2021 Closing in connection with the 2021 Stock Consideration was 3,115,282, which was calculated by reference to a value of $22.51 per share, which equals the volume-weighted average closing price per share of Class A common stock on the Nasdaq Global Select Market for the 28 consecutive trading days ending on the third Business Day (as defined in the 2021 Purchase Agreement) preceding the 2021 Agreement Date. Pursuant to the 2021 Purchase Agreement, the remaining equity in CarOffer (the “Remaining Equity”) was retained by the then-current equity holders of CarOffer and subject to certain call and put arrangements discussed below.

Pursuant to the 2021 Purchase Agreement, the Company established a retention pool in an aggregate amount of $8,000 in the form of RSUs to be issued pursuant to the Company’s standard form of RSU agreement under the Company’s Omnibus Incentive Compensation Plan (the "2017 Plan"), (i) $6,000 of which was granted to certain CarOffer employees following the 2021 Closing in accordance with the terms of the 2021 Purchase Agreement and (ii) $2,000 of which is available for issuance to future CarOffer employees in accordance with the terms of the 2021 Purchase Agreement. RSUs issued from the retention pool will be subject to vesting based on rendering of future services.

In addition, the Company, TopCo, each Member, and CarOffer MidCo, LLC entered into the Second Amended and Restated Limited Liability Company Agreement, dated as of December 9, 2020 (the “2020 CarOffer Operating Agreement”), pursuant to which, among other matters, the Company secured the right to appoint a majority of the members of the Board of Managers of CarOffer, other rights customary for a transaction of this nature, and the put and call rights described below. On November 23, 2021, the 2020 CarOffer Operating Agreement was amended and restated for administrative purposes, including principally to recapitalize certain of the membership units thereunder without changing overall consideration payable by the Company thereunder (the “2021 CarOffer Operating Agreement”).

In the second half of 2022, the Company had a call right (the “2022 Call Right”), exercisable in its sole discretion, to acquire a portion of the Remaining Equity representing up to twenty-five percent (25%) of the fully diluted capitalization of CarOffer (such acquired Remaining Equity, the “2022 Acquired Remaining Equity”) at an implied CarOffer value (the “2022 Call Right Value”) of seven (7) times CarOffer’s trailing twelve months gross profit as of June 30, 2022 (calculated in accordance with the defined terms and subject to the adjustments set forth in the 2021 CarOffer Operating Agreement, included as Exhibit 10.27 to the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021, filed on February 25, 2022). During the year ended December 31, 2022, the Company determined not to exercise the 2022 Call Right.

Prior to the 2023 CarOffer Transaction, in the second half of 2024, (a) the Company had a call right (the “2024 Call Right”), exercisable in its sole discretion, to acquire all, and not less than all, of the Remaining Equity that it had not yet acquired pursuant to the 2022 Call Right and the 2021 Closing, at the greater of (i) (x) one hundred million dollars ($100,000,000), and (y) the 2022 Call Right Value, whichever was less, and (ii) an implied CarOffer value of twelve (12) times CarOffer’s trailing twelve months EBITDA as of June 30, 2024 (in each case calculated in accordance with the defined terms and subject to the adjustments set forth in the 2021 CarOffer Operating Agreement), and (b) the representative of the holders of the Remaining Equity had a put right (the “2024 Put Right”), exercisable in his, her or their sole discretion, to have the holders of the Remaining Equity sell to the Company, all, and not less than all, of the Remaining Equity at an implied CarOffer value of twelve (12) times CarOffer’s trailing twelve months EBITDA as of June 30, 2024 (calculated in accordance with the defined terms and subject to the adjustments set forth in the 2021 CarOffer Operating Agreement). In connection with the 2023 CarOffer Transaction, as defined in Note 4 of these consolidated financial statements, the 2024 Call Right and the 2024 Put Right were terminated.

The foregoing summary of the 2021 Purchase Agreement, the 2021 CarOffer Operating Agreement, and the transactions contemplated thereby does not purport to be complete and is subject to, and qualified in its entirety by, the full text of the 2021 Purchase Agreement and the 2021 CarOffer Operating Agreement, which are included as Exhibit 2.1 to the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, filed on February 21, 2021, and Exhibit 10.27 to the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021, filed on February 25, 2022, respectively.

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In connection with the 2021 CarOffer Transaction, the then-outstanding unvested incentive units (“CO Incentive Units”) of CarOffer and unvested Class CO CarOffer units (the "Subject Units”) remained outstanding and will vest over the requisite service periods as discussed below.

Grants of the CO Incentive Units are subject to the CarOffer 2020 Equity Incentive Plan, adopted effective November 24, 2020 (the “2020 CO Plan”), the applicable award agreement, and the 2021 CarOffer Operating Agreement. Following the 2021 CarOffer Transaction, remaining unvested CO Incentive Units will vest over a period of three years, with one-third having vested on each of January 14, 2022, and January 14, 2023, and one-third vesting on January 14, 2024, provided that a grantee’s continuous service to CarOffer has not terminated on the applicable vesting date. As a result of the 2023 CarOffer Transaction, the vesting on January 14, 2024 was accelerated and the CO Incentive Units were accelerated and redeemed. Under the terms of the grants, vesting of unvested CO Incentive Units is accelerated in the event of (i) a change of control of CarOffer (which, for the avoidance of doubt, does not include the 2021 CarOffer Transaction), (ii) the death or disability of the grantee, (iii) termination of the grantee’s employment with CarOffer without cause, or (iv) termination of grantee’s employment by the grantee for good reason. Upon termination of a grantee’s continuous service to CarOffer voluntarily by the grantee (other than for good reason) or by CarOffer for cause, all of such grantee’s unvested CO Incentive Units are forfeited. In addition, if a grantee’s continuous service terminates, then CarOffer has the option to repurchase any outstanding CO Incentive Units from the grantee.

In addition to the 2020 CO Plan, on December 9, 2020, CarOffer entered into a Vesting Agreement (the “Vesting Agreement”) regarding the vesting of Subject Units beneficially owned by Bruce Thompson, the founder and CEO of CarOffer, and certain affiliated persons (collectively, the “T5 Holders”) in connection with the Company’s then-anticipated acquisition of a 51% interest in CarOffer. Pursuant to the Vesting Agreement, 432,592 Subject Units beneficially owned by the T5 Holders vest in three approximately equal installments, with one-third having vested on each of January 14, 2022, and January 14, 2023, and one third vesting on January 14, 2024, subject to the terms of the Vesting Agreement. As a result of the 2023 CarOffer Transaction, the vesting on January 14, 2024 was accelerated and the Subject Units were accelerated and redeemed. As more particularly described in the Vesting Agreement, unvested Subject Units are subject to forfeiture in the event that Mr. Thompson’s relationship with CarOffer terminates other than in the event of a termination without cause (as defined in the Vesting Agreement) or due to Mr. Thompson’s death or disability. The Vesting Agreement also provides for acceleration of any unvested Subject Units in the event of the termination of Mr. Thompson’s employment with CarOffer without cause, Mr. Thompson’s death or disability, or the consummation of an eligible liquidity event (as defined in the Vesting Agreement).

In connection with the 2021 Closing, CarOffer reserved 228,571 incentive units (the "2021 Incentive Units") for purposes of establishing an employee incentive equity plan. Thereafter, CarOffer formed CarOffer Incentive Equity, LLC (“CIE”), a Delaware manager-managed limited liability company managed by the Company, and established the CIE 2021 Equity Incentive Plan (the “2021 CO Plan"). The 2021 CO Plan and related documentation, including the applicable award agreement, a vesting agreement between CarOffer and CIE, and the 2021 CarOffer Operating Agreement, provide for an incentive equity grant structure whereby 2021 Incentive Units will be granted to CIE and 2021 CO Plan grantees will receive an associated equity interest in CIE (the “CIE Interest”), with back-to-back vesting between the 2021 Incentive Units and the associated CIE Interest. Subject to any modifications as may be approved by the CarOffer Board of Managers in its discretion, grants under the 2021 CO Plan will vest over a period of three years from the grant date, one-third each on the first, second, and third anniversaries of the applicable grant date, provided that a grantee’s continuous service to CarOffer has not terminated on the applicable grant date. Upon termination of a grantee’s continuous service to CarOffer, all of such grantee’s unvested 2021 Incentive Units are forfeited. As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, there had not been any grants of 2021 Incentive Units under the 2021 CO Plan.

106


CO Incentive Units, Subject Units, and 2021 Incentive Units were liability-classified awards because the awards could be put to the Company at a formula price such that the holders do not bear the risks and rewards associated with equity ownership. For liability-classified awards, the fair value was determined on the date of issuance using a Least Square Monte Carlo simulation model. Liability-classified awards were remeasured to fair value each period until settlement. Until March 31, 2022, the Least Square Monte Carlo simulation model was used for remeasurement. During the three months ended June 30, 2022, the Company refined its model for determining the fair value of liability-classified awards as a result of obtaining gross profit actuals through the trailing twelve-months ended June 30, 2022, measurement period for the first call option. Since March 31, 2022, the fair value has typically been determined using a Monte Carlo simulation model. During the year ended December 31, 2022, the Company determined not to exercise the 2022 Call Right. The valuation of these liability-classified awards was previously derived from the 2024 Call Right and the 2024 Put Right. The determination of the fair value was affected by CarOffer’s equity value, EBITDA, and Excess Parent Capital (as defined in the 2021 CarOffer Operating Agreement) that drove the exercise price of future call/put rights, as well as a number of assumptions including market price of risk, volatility, correlation, and risk-free interest rate. As a result of the EBITDA and Excess Parent Capital projections for CarOffer as of December 31, 2022, a Monte Carlo simulation model was not required as of December 31, 2022. As a result of the 2023 CarOffer Transaction, the liability-classified awards were accelerated and redeemed as of December 31, 2023.

The Company issues shares of Class A common stock upon the vesting of RSUs and the exercise of stock options out of its shares available for issuance. During the year ended December 31, 2023, prior to the redemption of all awards in connection with the 2023 CarOffer Transaction, the Company would issue CO Incentive Units and Subject Units out of CarOffer’s units available for issuance. The Company accounts for forfeitures when they occur.

The Company recognizes compensation expense on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period.

The tax effect of differences between tax deductions related to stock compensation and the corresponding financial statement expense compensation are recognized as an income tax benefit or expense within the provision for income taxes in the consolidated income statements. The permanent differences, including excess tax benefits and expenses, are recognized within accrued expenses, accrued income taxes, and other current liabilities in the consolidated balance sheets and classified as an operating activity in the consolidated statements of cash flows. The temporary differences are recognized within deferred tax assets in the consolidated balance sheets.

For the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021, the income tax expense related to stock-based compensation was $5,500, $4,181, and $1,179, respectively.

As of December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021, the income tax benefit from stock-based compensation expense, recognized through the Company's deferred tax asset in the consolidated balance sheets, was $5,353, $5,441, and $5,301, respectively.

See Note 11 of these consolidated financial statements for a summary of the stock option, RSU and CO Incentive Unit activity for the year ended December 31, 2023.

Common Stock Share Repurchases

Repurchases of the Company's common stock are recognized as a reduction to common stock at par value and the remainder is recognized as a reduction to additional paid-in capital in the consolidated balance sheets. Repurchases in excess of the par value are recognized as a reduction to retained earnings in the consolidated balance sheets in the event that additional paid-in capital is reduced to zero.

If there is a difference between the trade date and the settlement date for shares repurchased as of period end, a liability is recognized within accrued expenses, accrued income taxes and other current liabilities in the consolidated balance sheets.

107


As a result of the IRA, effective on January 1, 2023, the Company is required to pay a 1% excise tax on certain stock repurchases. Based on the Company’s evaluation, the Company has concluded that the IRA has not had a material impact on its income tax provision and cash taxes. The excise tax is considered a direct and incremental cost of the share repurchase and will be recognized as a reduction to additional paid-in capital in the consolidated balance sheets. Other direct and incremental costs, such as commissions and legal expenses, are recognized as a reduction to additional paid-in capital in the consolidated balance sheets.

Advertising Costs

Advertising costs are expensed as incurred and recognized within sales and marketing expense in the consolidated income statements. For the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021, advertising expense was $138,782, $156,128, and $151,457, respectively.

Comprehensive Income

Comprehensive income is defined as the change in stockholders’ equity of a business enterprise during a period from transactions and other events and circumstances from non‑owner sources. Comprehensive income consists of consolidated net income and other comprehensive income (loss), which includes certain changes in equity that are excluded from consolidated net income. Specifically, cumulative foreign currency translation adjustments are included in accumulated other comprehensive (loss) income. As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, accumulated other comprehensive (loss) income is presented separately in the consolidated balance sheets and consists entirely of cumulative foreign currency translation adjustments.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements Not Yet Adopted

From time to time, new accounting pronouncements are issued by the FASB or other standard-setting bodies and adopted by the Company on or prior to the specified effective date. Unless otherwise discussed, the Company believes that the impact of recently issued standards that are not yet effective will not have a material impact on its financial position or results of operations upon adoption. As of December 31, 2023, there are no new accounting pronouncements that the Company is considering adopting, other than those described below.

In December 2023 the FASB issued ASU 2023-09, Income Taxes (Topic 740): Improvements to Income Tax Disclosures ("ASU 2023-09"). ASU 2023-09 is intended to enhance the transparency and decision usefulness of income tax disclosures. ASU 2023-09 addresses investor requests for enhanced income tax information primarily through changes to the rate reconciliation and income taxes paid information. Early adoption is permitted. A public entity should apply ASU 2023-09 prospectively to all annual periods beginning after December 15, 2024. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of ASU 2023-09 on its future consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.

In November 2023 the FASB issued ASU 2023-07, Segment Reporting (Topic 280): Improvements to Reportable Segment Disclosures ("ASU 2023-07"). ASU 2023-07 is intended to enhance disclosures for significant segment expenses for all public entities required to report segment information in accordance with ASC Topic 280, Segment Reporting ("ASC 280"). ASC 280 requires a public entity to report for each reportable segment a measure of segment profit or loss that its chief operating decision maker (“CODM”) uses to assess segment performance and to make decisions about resource allocations. ASU 2023-07 is intended to improve financial reporting by requiring disclosure of incremental segment information on an annual and interim basis for all public entities to enable investors to develop more useful financial analyses. ASU 2023-07 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2023, and interim periods within fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2024. Early adoption is permitted. A public entity should apply ASU 2023-07 retrospectively to all prior periods presented in the consolidated financial statements. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of ASU 2023-07 on its future consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.

In October 2023 the FASB issued ASU 2023-06, Disclosure Improvements – Codification Amendments in Response to the SEC's Disclosure Update and Simplification Initiative ("ASU 2023-06"). ASU 2023-06 modifies the disclosure and presentation requirements for a variety of topics in the FASB ASC. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of ASU 2023-06 on its future consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.

108


3. Revenue Recognition

The following table summarizes revenue from contracts with customers by services and products for the year ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021:

 

 

Year Ended December 31,

 

 

 

2023

 

 

2022

 

 

2021

 

 Marketplace

 

$

698,236

 

 

$

658,771

 

 

$

636,942

 

 Dealer-to-Dealer

 

 

109,802

 

 

 

320,119

 

 

 

224,831

 

 Instant Max Cash Offer

 

 

106,204

 

 

 

676,145

 

 

 

89,600

 

 Total

 

$

914,242

 

 

$

1,655,035

 

 

$

951,373

 

The Company provides disaggregation of revenue by services and products, by income statement presentation, by segment, and by geographic region.

Revenue by services and products is disaggregated by (i) marketplace services, (ii) Dealer-to-Dealer services and products, and (iii) IMCO services and products as disclosed above.

Revenue by income statement presentation is disaggregated by (i) marketplace, (ii) wholesale, and (iii) product revenue sources as disclosed in the consolidated income statements. Marketplace services are included within marketplace revenue in the consolidated income statements. Dealer-to-Dealer and IMCO services and products are included within both wholesale revenue and product revenue in the consolidated income statements.

Revenue by segment is disaggregated by (i) U.S. Marketplace and (ii) Digital Wholesale segments as disclosed in Note 14 of these consolidated financial statements. Marketplace services are included in the U.S. Marketplace segment and in the Other category of segment reporting. Dealer-to-Dealer and IMCO services and products are included in the Digital Wholesale segment.

Revenue by geographic region is disaggregated by (i) U.S. and (ii) International regions as disclosed in Note 14 of these consolidated financial statements. Marketplace services are provided in the U.S. and International regions. Dealer-to-Dealer and IMCO services and products are provided in the U.S. region.

The Company believes these categories best depict how the nature, amount, timing, and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows are affected by economic factors.

ASC 606 requires that the Company disclose the aggregate amount of transaction price that is allocated to performance obligations that have not yet been satisfied as of the relevant year end.

For contracts with an original expected duration greater than one year, the aggregate amount of the transaction price allocated to the performance obligations that were unsatisfied as of December 31, 2023 was approximately $41.8 million, which the Company expects to recognize over the next twelve months.

For contracts with an original expected duration of one year or less, the Company has applied the practical expedient available under ASC 606 to not disclose the amount of transaction price allocated to unsatisfied performance obligations as of December 31, 2023. For performance obligations not satisfied as of December 31, 2023, and to which this expedient applies, the nature of the performance obligations, the variable consideration, and any consideration from contracts with customers not included in the transaction price is consistent with performance obligations satisfied as of December 31, 2023.

For the year ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021, revenue recognized from amounts included in deferred revenue at the beginning of the period was $12,249, $12,784, and $9,137,respectively.

4. 2023 CarOffer Transaction

Background

109


Pursuant to the 2021 Purchase Agreement, the Company acquired a 51% interest in CarOffer.

Upon the 2021 Closing, the Company acquired a 51% interest in CarOffer for the 2021 Total Consideration, which was an aggregate consideration of $173,155 consisting of (a) the 2021 Stock Consideration consisting of shares of Class A common stock in the aggregate amount of $103,645 and (b) the 2021 Cash Consideration consisting of $69,510 in cash. The number of shares of Class A common stock issued following the 2021 Closing in connection with the 2021 Stock Consideration was 3,115,282, which was calculated by reference to a value of $22.51 per share, which equals the volume-weighted average closing price per share of Class A common stock on the Nasdaq Global Select Market for the 28 consecutive trading days ending on the third Business Day (as defined in the 2021 Purchase Agreement) preceding the 2021 Agreement Date.

Pursuant to the 2021 Purchase Agreement, the Remaining Equity was retained by the then-current equity holders of CarOffer and subject to certain call and put arrangements discussed below. Pursuant to the 2021 Purchase Agreement, the Company established a retention pool in an aggregate amount of $8,000 in the form of RSUs to be issued pursuant to the Company’s standard form of RSU agreement under the 2017 Plan, (i) $6,000 of which was granted to certain CarOffer employees following the 2021 Closing in accordance with the terms of the 2021 Purchase Agreement and (ii) $2,000 of which is available for issuance to future CarOffer employees in accordance with the terms of the 2021 Purchase Agreement. RSUs issued from the retention pool will be subject to vesting based on rendering of future services.

As of December 31, 2023 and, 2022, the Company did not incur any transaction-related costs related to the 2021 CarOffer Transaction. As of December 31, 2021, the Company incurred total transaction-related costs of $2,647 related to the 2021 CarOffer Transaction, of which $709 was incurred for the year ended December 31, 2021, and recognized within general and administrative operating expenses in the consolidated income statements. Transaction-related costs were excluded from the purchase price allocation as they were primarily comprised of legal, professional, and consulting expenses.

The foregoing summary of the 2021 Purchase Agreement, the 2021 CarOffer Operating Agreement, and the transactions contemplated thereby does not purport to be complete and is subject to, and qualified in its entirety by, the full text of the 2021 Purchase Agreement and the 2021 CarOffer Operating Agreement, which are filed as Exhibit 2.1 to the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, filed on February 21, 2021, and Exhibit 10.27 to the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021, filed on February 25, 2022, respectively.

Completion of Acquisition

On December 1, 2023, the Company completed its previously announced acquisition of the remaining minority equity interests in CarOffer pursuant to the terms of the 2023 Purchase Agreement.

Pursuant to the 2023 Purchase Agreement, the Company acquired the remaining minority equity interests in CarOffer for the 2023 Consideration, consisting of an aggregate consideration of $75.0 million in cash, subject to certain adjustments set forth in the 2023 Purchase Agreement. A portion of the 2023 Consideration is held in escrow to secure certain payment and indemnification obligations of the Indirect Members in accordance with the terms of the 2023 Purchase Agreement.

Upon completion of the 2023 CarOffer Transaction, the Company recorded approximately a $50 million stock-based compensation charge, which consisted of payments for CO Incentive Units and Subject Units, and payments made to holders of noncontrolling interest ("Noncontrolling Interest Units"), resulting from the modification of the 2021 Purchase Agreement. The completion of the transaction additionally relieved the redeemable noncontrolling interests on its consolidated balance sheets, reducing the remaining redeemable noncontrolling interest on its consolidated balance sheets to zero and recording excess cash paid to these unit holders as a deemed dividend of $5,838. Refer to Note 11 to these consolidated financial statements for further disclosure on impact of the modifications that resulted from the 2023 CarOffer Transaction.

Following the 2023 CarOffer Transaction, CarOffer is a wholly-owned subsidiary and the Company entered into the 2023 CarOffer Operating Agreement, pursuant to which, among other matters, the existing put and call rights were terminated.

The foregoing summary of the 2023 Purchase Agreement and the transactions contemplated thereby does not purport to be complete and is subject to, and qualified in its entirety by, the full text of the 2023 Purchase Agreement, which was filed as Exhibit 2.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K, dated November 6, 2023, and filed on November 7, 2023.

110


The Company has incurred $1,044 of transaction-related costs, recognized within general and administrative, sales and marketing, and product, technology and development operating expenses in the consolidated income statements. These costs primarily consisted of legal and integration expenses associated with the 2023 CarOffer Transaction. There was no gain associated with the 2023 CarOffer Transaction.

Refer to Valuation of Acquired Assets and Liabilities policy within Note 2 of these consolidated financial statements for the Company's policy on the initial valuation of the assets and liabilities following the 2021 CarOffer Transaction. Refer to Stock-Based Compensation policy within Note 2 of these consolidated financial statements for the Company's policy on valuation of the liability-based awards that were accelerated and redeemed in connection with the 2023 CarOffer Transaction.

5. Fair Value of Financial Instruments

As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, assets measured at fair value on a recurring basis atconsist of the following:

 

 

As of December 31, 2023

 

 

 

Quoted Prices
in Active
Markets
for Identical
Assets
(Level 1 Inputs)

 

 

Significant
Other
Observable
Inputs
(Level 2 Inputs)

 

 

Significant
Unobservable
Inputs
(Level 3 Inputs)

 

 

Total

 

Cash equivalents:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mutual Funds

 

$

73,449

 

 

$

 

 

$

 

 

$

73,449

 

Short-term investments:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mutual Funds

 

 

20,724

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

20,724

 

Total

 

$

94,173

 

 

$

 

 

$

 

 

$

94,173

 

 

 

As of December 31, 2022

 

 

 

Quoted Prices
in Active
Markets
for Identical
Assets
(Level 1 Inputs)

 

 

Significant
Other
Observable
Inputs
(Level 2 Inputs)

 

 

Significant
Unobservable
Inputs
(Level 3 Inputs)

 

 

Total

 

Cash equivalents:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mutual funds

 

$

175,486

 

 

$

 

 

$

 

 

$

175,486

 

Total

 

$

175,486

 

 

$

 

 

$

 

 

$

175,486

 

As of December 31, 20172023, the Company received $3,075 in dividend income from the investments, recognized within interest income on the consolidated income statements. As of December 31, 2023, unrealized gain on short-term investments in equity securities was immaterial.

As of December 31, 2022, the Company did not hold any investments.

111


6. Property and 2016:Equipment, Net

As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, property and equipment, net consist of the following:

 

 

As of December 31,

 

 

 

2023

 

 

2022

 

Capitalized equipment

 

$

1,326

 

 

$

7,877

 

Capitalized internal-use software

 

 

12,279

 

 

 

7,429

 

Capitalized website development

 

 

57,158

 

 

 

36,369

 

Furniture and fixtures

 

 

8,149

 

 

 

8,615

 

Leasehold improvements

 

 

23,308

 

 

 

24,225

 

Construction in progress

 

 

39,835

 

 

 

4,161

 

Finance lease right-of-use assets

 

 

288

 

 

 

420

 

 

 

 

142,343

 

 

 

89,096

 

Less accumulated depreciation and amortization

 

 

(58,973

)

 

 

(48,968

)

Total

 

$

83,370

 

 

$

40,128

 

For the year ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021, depreciation and amortization expense, excluding amortization of intangible assets, amortization of capitalized hosting arrangements, and write offs, was $18,412, $14,618 and $10,324, respectively.

For the year ended December 31, 2023, the Company wrote off $184, consisting of $175 of Digital Wholesale and $8 of U.S. Marketplace capitalized website development costs within wholesale and marketplace cost of revenue, respectively, in the consolidated income statements related to certain developed technology in which the Company decided to cease investment. For the year ended December 31, 2022, the Company wrote off $165 of U.S. Marketplace segment of capitalized website development costs within operating expense in the consolidated income statements related to certain developed technology in which the Company decided to cease investment. For the year ended December 31, 2021, the Company wrote off $2,481 of U.S. Marketplace segment of capitalized website development costs within operating expense in the consolidated income statements related to certain developed technology in which the Company decided to cease investment.

During the year ended December 31, 2023, capitalized equipment decreased $6,551 due primarily to the disposal of the data center assets as a result of the Company's migration onto a cloud-based hosting platform. The disposal of the data center assets resulted in a $460 gain on sale in our U.S. Marketplace segment, recognized within other (expense) income, net on the consolidated income statements.

During the year ended December 31, 2023, capitalized website development costs increased $20,789 due to continued net investment in the Company's product offerings.

During the year ended December 31, 2023, capitalized internal-use software costs increased $4,850 due to additions related to internal engineering and development tools.

During the year ended December 31, 2023, construction in progress increased $35,674 due to the buildout of the Company's future headquarters at 1001 Boylston Street, as discussed in Note 10 of these consolidated financial statements.

112


7. Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets

Goodwill

 

 

December 31, 2017

 

 

 

Quoted Prices

in Active

Markets

for Identical

Assets

(Level 1 Inputs)

 

 

Significant

Other

Observable

Inputs

(Level 2 Inputs)

 

 

Significant

Unobservable

Inputs

(Level 3 Inputs)

 

 

Total

 

Assets:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cash equivalents:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Money market funds

 

$

60,709

 

 

$

 

 

$

 

 

$

60,709

 

Investments:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Certificates of deposit

 

 

 

 

 

50,000

 

 

 

 

 

 

50,000

 

Total

 

$

60,709

 

 

$

50,000

 

 

$

 

 

$

110,709

 

 

 

December 31, 2016

 

 

 

Quoted Prices

in Active

Markets

for Identical

Assets

(Level 1 Inputs)

 

 

Significant

Other

Observable

Inputs

(Level 2 Inputs)

 

 

Significant

Unobservable

Inputs

(Level 3 Inputs)

 

 

Total

 

Assets:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Investments:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Certificates of deposit

 

$

 

 

$

44,774

 

 

$

 

 

$

44,774

 

Total

 

$

 

 

$

44,774

 

 

$

 

 

$

44,774

 

As of December 31, 2023, changes in the carrying value of goodwill are as follows:

 

U.S. Marketplace

 

 

Digital Wholesale

 

 

Other

 

 

Total

 

Balance as of December 31, 2022

$

12,477

 

 

$

130,451

 

 

$

14,539

 

 

$

157,467

 

Foreign currency translation adjustment

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

431

 

 

 

431

 

Balance as of December 31, 2023

$

12,477

 

 

$

130,451

 

 

$

14,970

 

 

$

157,898

 

The Company measures eligible assets and liabilities at fair value with changes in value recognized in earnings. Fair value treatment may be elected either upon initial recognition of an eligible asset or liability or,assessed its goodwill for an existing asset or liability, if an event triggers a new basis of accounting. The Company did not elect to remeasure any of its existing financial assets or liabilitiesimpairment and did not electnot identify any impairment as of December 31, 2023. Although no impairment was identified during the annual impairment test as of October 1, 2023, the excess of the fair value over the carrying value declined for the CarOffer reporting unit in the Digital Wholesale segment. If projected future operating results further decline, including as a result of economic conditions or operational challenges, the Company may need to record an impairment charge to reduce its goodwill at CarOffer which could be material and negatively affect the Company's operations.

Other Intangible Assets

As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, intangible assets consist of the following:

 

 

As of December 31, 2023

 

 

 

Weighted
Average
Remaining
Useful Life
(years)

 

 

Gross
Carrying
Amount

 

 

Accumulated
Amortization

 

 

Accumulated Impairment

 

 

Net Carrying
Amount

 

Brand

 

 

7.4

 

 

$

32,193

 

 

$

10,262

 

 

$

 

 

$

21,931

 

Customer relationships

 

 

0.0

 

 

 

19,870

 

 

 

19,620

 

 

 

 

 

 

250

 

Developed technology

 

 

0.0

 

 

 

65,212

 

 

 

63,690

 

 

 

647

 

 

 

875

 

Total

 

 

 

 

$

117,275

 

 

$

93,572

 

 

$

647

 

 

$

23,056

 

 

 

As of December 31, 2022

 

 

 

Weighted
Average
Remaining
Useful Life
(years)

 

 

Gross
Carrying
Amount

 

 

Accumulated
Amortization

 

 

Accumulated Impairment

 

 

Net Carrying
Amount

 

Brand

 

 

8.4

 

 

$

32,129

 

 

$

7,227

 

 

$

 

 

$

24,902

 

Customer relationships

 

 

1.0

 

 

 

19,870

 

 

 

13,609

 

 

 

 

 

 

6,261

 

Developed technology

 

 

1.0

 

 

 

65,212

 

 

 

42,674

 

 

 

647

 

 

 

21,891

 

Total

 

 

 

 

$

117,211

 

 

$

63,510

 

 

$

647

 

 

$

53,054

 

For the year ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021, amortization of intangible assets was $30,062, $30,716, and $30,152, respectively.

For the year ended December 31, 2021, the Company wrote off $647 of U.S. Marketplace segment intangible assets within marketplace cost of revenue in the consolidated income statements related to certain developed technology which the Company decided to cease investment.

113


As of December 31, 2023, estimated amortization expense of intangible assets for future periods is as follows:

Year Ending December 31,

 

Amortization
Expense

 

2024

 

 

4,162

 

2025

 

 

3,037

 

2026

 

 

3,037

 

2027

 

 

3,037

 

2028

 

 

3,037

 

Thereafter

 

 

6,746

 

Total

 

$

23,056

 

8. Accrued Expenses, Accrued Income Taxes and Other Current Liabilities

As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, accrued expenses, accrued income taxes and other current liabilities consist of the following:

 

 

As of December 31,

 

 

 

2023

 

 

2022

 

Accrued bonus

 

$

15,247

 

 

$

11,007

 

Other accrued expenses and other current liabilities

 

 

18,471

 

 

 

28,186

 

Total

 

$

33,718

 

 

$

39,193

 

The increase of $4,240 in accrued bonus was due to increased bonus payout metric attainment.

9. Debt

As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, the Company had no long-term debt outstanding.

Revolving Credit Facility

On September 26, 2022, the Company entered into a Credit Agreement (the “Credit Agreement”) with PNC Bank, National Association, as administrative agent and collateral agent and an L/C Issuer (as defined in the Credit Agreement), and the other lenders, L/C Issuers, and parties thereto from time to time. The Credit Agreement consists of a revolving credit facility (the "2022 Revolver"), which allows the Company to borrow up to $400.0 million, $50.0 million of which may be comprised of a letter of credit sub-facility (the "2022 Revolver Sub-facility"). The borrowing capacity under the Credit Agreement may be increased in accordance with the terms and subject to the adjustments as set forth in the Credit Agreement. Specifically, the borrowing capacity may be increased by an amount up to the greater of $250.0 million or 100% of Four Quarter Consolidated EBITDA (as defined in the Credit Agreement) if certain criteria are met and subject to certain restrictions. Any such increase requires lender approval. Proceeds of any borrowings may be used for general corporate purposes. The 2022 Revolver is scheduled to mature on September 26, 2027.

The applicable interest rate is, at the Company's option, based on a number of different benchmark rates and applicable spreads, based on the ratio of the outstanding principal amount of the Company’s secured indebtedness to the trailing four quarters of consolidated EBITDA (as determined under the Credit Agreement, the “Consolidated Secured Net Leverage Ratio”). The Credit Agreement also requires the Company to pay a commitment fee to the lenders with respect of the unutilized revolving commitments at a rate ranging from 0.125% to 0.175% per annum based on the Consolidated Secured Net Leverage Ratio, as determined on a quarterly basis.

114


The 2022 Revolver is secured by a first priority lien on substantially all tangible and intangible property of the Company, as well as any future guarantors, and pledges of the equity of CarOffer and certain wholly-owned subsidiaries, in each case subject to certain exceptions, limitations, and exclusions from the collateral. The Credit Agreement includes customary events of default and requires the Company to comply with customary affirmative and negative covenants, including a financial covenant requiring that the Company not exceed certain Consolidated Secured Net Leverage Ratio ranges at the end of each fiscal quarter. The Company was in compliance with all covenants as of December 31, 2023.

As of December 31, 2023, there were no borrowings and $9,627 in letters of credit outstanding under the 2022 Revolver, which reduces the borrowing capacity under the 2022 Revolver to $390,373. As of December 31, 2022, there were no borrowings and no letters of credit outstanding under the 2022 Revolver.

As of December 31, 2023, deferred financing costs were $1,927. As of December 31, 2022, deferred financing costs were $2,442. For the year ended December 31, 2023, amortization expense associated with deferred financing costs was $515. For the year ended December 31, 2022, amortization expense associated with deferred financing costs was $136.

As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, commitment fees under the 2022 Revolver were immaterial.

10. Commitments and Contingencies

Contractual Obligations and Commitments

As of December 31, 2023, all of the Company’s property, equipment, and externally sourced internal-use software have been purchased with cash with the exception of amounts related to unpaid property and equipment, capitalized website development, capitalized internal-use software, capitalized hosting arrangements, and amounts related to obligations under finance leases as disclosed in the consolidated statements of cash flows. In connection with the 1001 Boylston Street Lease (as defined below), the Company expects to spend approximately $69,815, net of tenant reimbursements. As of December 31, 2023, the Company has incurred $40,561 in expenses, of which $2,891 was reimbursed as part of the tenant improvement allowance for the 1001 Boylston Street Lease. Of the total incurred expenses, $40,325 was capitalized, consisting of $39,835 in capitalized incurred expenses recognized in property and equipment, net and $490 in capitalized incurred expenses recognized in prepaid expenses, prepaid income taxes and other current assets on the consolidated balance sheets. As of December 31, 2023, the Company has also signed $46,473 in gross contract commitments, which have not yet been incurred. The Company has no other material long-term purchase obligations outstanding with any financialvendors or third-parties.

Leases

The Company’s material lease obligations consist of various leases for office space in: Boston, Massachusetts; Cambridge, Massachusetts; San Francisco, California; Addison, Texas; and Dublin, Ireland.

The Company has non-cancellable lease terms through 2033 for its various commenced operating leases, certain of which include the option to extend the lease term up to two additional periods of five years. Additionally, certain leases provide for annual rent increases through the terms of the leases, leasehold improvement incentives, and variable payments related to operating expenses, taxes, utilities, insurance, and maintenance expenses. Certain leases also contain non-lease components in the contract. Non-lease components relate to operating expenses, parking, utilities, and maintenance expenses.

The Company has non-cancellable lease terms through 2025 for its various operating subleases, for which the Company acts as the lessor, certain of which include the option to extend the sublease term up to one additional period of three years. Additionally, certain subleases provide for annual rent increases through the terms of the leases and variable payments related to operating expenses, taxes, parking, and utilities. Certain subleases also contain both lease and non-lease components in the contract. Non-lease components relate to operating expenses, parking, utilities, and maintenance expenses.

As of December 31, 2023, there were no material changes in the Company's leases from those disclosed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, other than those described below.

115


New Material Leases

On November 14, 2023, the Company amended its operating lease agreement in Addison, Texas, at 15601 Dallas Parkway, which was originally entered into on April 28, 2022, for the lease of 30,913 square feet of office space. The amendment relocates the existing premises from Suite 800 to Suite 900, also consisting of 30,913 square feet of office space. The lease term and payments do not change from the original agreement. The lease, as amended, provides for (i) an extension of the reimbursement deadline of the tenant improvement allowance to May 31, 2024, and (ii) an additional security deposit in the form of a restricted letter of credit, recognized in other non-current assets in the consolidated balance sheets. Since the lease amendment relocates leased space with the same landlord, the Company accounted for the amendment as a termination of the existing lease, with the difference between the right-of-use ("ROU") asset and liabilities transactedlease liability of the existing lease included as part of the ROU asset of the new lease.

The Company’s operating lease agreement in Boston, Massachusetts, for 225,428 square feet at 1001 Boylston Street (the "1001 Boylston Street Lease") commenced on February 3, 2023 ("Delivery Date"), as the Company has been granted access to begin its build out. The “Commencement Date” of the lease term is the earlier to occur of (i) the date that is 12 months following the Delivery Date and (ii) the date that the Company first occupies the premises for the normal conduct of business for the Permitted Use (as defined in the 1001 Boylston Street Lease). The initial term will commence on the Commencement Date and expire on the date that is 180 full calendar months after the Commencement Date (plus the partial month, if any, immediately following the Commencement Date). The 1001 Boylston Street Lease provides for the option to terminate early under certain circumstances and contains options to extend the lease term for two additional periods of five years. The 1001 Boylston Street Lease provides for annual rent increases through the term of the lease, leasehold improvement incentives, and variable payments related to operating expenses, management fees, taxes, utilities, insurance, and maintenance expenses. The 1001 Boylston Street Lease also contains both lease and non-lease components. Non-lease components relate to operating expenses, parking, utilities, and maintenance expenses. The Company expects to move into the office space in 2024.

The Company’s financing lease obligations, which consist of a lease for furniture and office equipment, are immaterial.

For the years ended December 31, 20172023, 2022, and 2021, the Company recognized $34,218, $16,732, and $15,844, respectively, of lease costs.

For the year ended December 31, 2023, the Company recognized $1,897 of sublease income. For the year ended December 31, 2022, the Company recognized $1,809 of sublease income. There was no sublease income for the year ended December 31, 2021.

As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, the weighted average remaining lease term was 13.1 years and 7.1 years, respectively, and the weighted average discount rate was 5.7% and 4.9%, respectively. As the Company’s leases do not provide an implicit rate, the Company uses an estimated incremental borrowing rate based on the information available at lease commencement in determining the present value of lease payments. The Company estimated the incremental borrowing rate based on the rate of interest the Company would have to pay to borrow a similar amount on a collateralized basis over a similar term. The Company has no historical debt transactions and a collateralized rate is estimated based on a group of peer companies. The Company used the incremental borrowing rate on January 1, 2019, for leases that commenced prior to that date.

116


Lease Commitments

As of December 31, 2023, future minimum lease payments for all leases are as follows:

Year Ending December 31,

 

Operating
Lease
Commitments

 

2024

 

$

3,150

 

2025

 

 

18,881

 

2026

 

 

22,332

 

2027

 

 

22,740

 

2028

 

 

23,160

 

Thereafter

 

 

208,079

 

Total lease payments

 

 

298,342

 

Less imputed interest

 

 

(103,952

)

Total

 

$

194,390

 

The table above does not include options to extend lease terms that are not reasonably certain of being exercised or 2016.

The following is a summary of cash, cash equivalents, and investmentsleases signed but not yet commenced as of December 31, 2017 and 2016.

 

 

Amortized

Cost

 

 

Gross

Unrealized

Gains

 

 

Gross

Unrealized

Losses

 

 

Estimated

Fair Value

 

December 31, 2017:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cash and cash equivalents due in 90 days or less

 

$

87,709

 

 

$

 

 

$

 

 

$

87,709

 

Investments:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Certificates of deposit due in one year or less

 

 

50,000

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

50,000

 

Total cash, cash equivalents, and investments

 

$

137,709

 

 

$

 

 

$

 

 

$

137,709

 

 

 

Amortized

Cost

 

 

Gross

Unrealized

Gains

 

 

Gross

Unrealized

Losses

 

 

Estimated

Fair Value

 

December 31, 2016:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cash and cash equivalents due in 90 days or less

 

$

29,476

 

 

$

 

 

$

 

 

$

29,476

 

Investments:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Certificates of deposit due in one year or less

 

 

44,774

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

44,774

 

Total cash, cash equivalents, and investments

 

$

74,250

 

 

$

 

 

$

 

 

$

74,250

 


4. Property and Equipment, Net

Property and equipment consists of the following:

 

 

At December 31,

 

 

 

2017

 

 

2016

 

Computer equipment

 

$

3,532

 

 

$

2,001

 

Capitalized software

 

 

174

 

 

 

114

 

Website development costs

 

 

4,895

 

 

 

2,680

 

Furniture and fixtures

 

 

4,421

 

 

 

3,386

 

Leasehold improvements

 

 

10,797

 

 

 

8,202

 

Construction in progress

 

 

46

 

 

 

119

 

 

 

 

23,865

 

 

 

16,502

 

Less accumulated depreciation

 

 

(7,302

)

 

 

(3,722

)

Property and equipment, net

 

$

16,563

 

 

$

12,780

 

Depreciation and amortization expense, which includes amortization expense associated with capitalized software and website development costs, was $3,795, $2,072, and $1,122 for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016, and 2015, respectively.

5. Accrued Expenses

Accrued expenses consist of the following:

 

 

At December 31,

 

 

 

2017

 

 

2016

 

Accrued bonuses

 

$

7,807

 

 

$

4,662

 

Other accrued expenses

 

 

5,781

 

 

 

3,722

 

 

 

$

13,588

 

 

$

8,384

 

The Company had accrued bonuses of $7.8 million and $4.7 million at December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively. The increase of $3.1 million in accrued bonuses is primarily due to increased headcount in 2017, as compared to 2016.

6. Commitments and Contingencies

Operating Leases

The Company leases its facilities under non‑cancelable operating leases with various expiration dates through January 2024. Rent expense for non-cancelable operating leases with free rental periods or scheduled rent increases is recognized on a straight-line basis over the terms of the leases. The difference between required lease payments and rent expense has been recorded as deferred rent.

2023. As of December 31, 2017, the Company had deferred rent and rent incentives of $6,813, of which $1,165 and $5,648, respectively, are classified as a short‑term liability and a long‑term liability in the corresponding consolidated balance sheet. 2023, there were no leases signed but not commenced.

As of December 31, 2016,2023, future minimum sublease income payments are as follows:

Year Ending December 31,

 

Sublease
Income Payments

 

2024

 

$

2,318

 

2025

 

 

1,418

 

2026

 

 

 

2027

 

 

 

2028

 

 

 

Thereafter

 

 

 

Total

 

$

3,736

 

Restricted Cash

As of December 31, 2023, $9,627 in letters of credit associated with the Company's leases were included under the 2022 Revolver Sub-facility. During the year ended December 31, 2023, the Company had deferred rentcanceled three letters of credit associated with the 1001 Boylston, the San Francisco, and rent incentivesthe Cambridge (55 Cambridge Parkway) leases and reissued these letters of $6,583,credit under the 2022 Revolver Sub-facility. As of December 31, 2022, all letters of credit were collateralized by cash, which $910was recognized as restricted cash in the consolidated balance sheets.

As of December 31, 2023, restricted cash was $2,563 and $5,673, respectively, areprimarily related to pass-through payments from customers related to the Company's Digital Wholesale business. As of December 31, 2022, restricted cash was $14,615 and primarily related to cash held at a financial institution in an interest‑bearing cash account as collateral for the letters of credit related to the contractual provisions for the Company’s building leases and pass-through payments from customers related to the Company’s Digital Wholesale business.

As of December 31, 2023, all restricted cash was classified as a short‑term liabilityshort-term asset, as disclosed in the consolidated balance sheets. As of December 31, 2022, portions of restricted cash were classified as a short-term asset and a long‑term liabilityasset, as disclosed in the corresponding consolidated balance sheet. Rent expense related tosheets. Of the operating leases for the years endedletters of credit outstanding as of December 31, 2017, 2016, and 20152022, the Company canceled a letter of credit associated with the Cambridge (2 Canal Park) lease, however, the cash was $5,994, $3,678, and $2,700 respectively.recognized as restricted cash as of March 31, 2023, until it was released from the bank.


117


Future minimum rental commitments under the Company’s operating leases at December 31, 2017 are as follows:

Year Ending December 31,

 

Operating

Lease

Commitments

 

2018

 

$

7,363

 

2019

 

 

7,653

 

2020

 

 

7,694

 

2021

 

 

7,794

 

2022 and thereafter

 

 

9,775

 

 

 

$

40,279

 

Legal Matters

From time to time, the Company may become involved in legal proceedings or be subject to claims arising in the ordinary course of its business. The Company recognizes a liability when it believes that it is both probable that a liability has been incurred and the amount of loss can be reasonably estimated. Judgment is required to determine both the probability of having incurred a liability and the estimated amount of the liability. The Company is not presently subject to any pending or threatened litigation that it believes, if determined adversely to the Company, individually, or taken together, would reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on its business or financial results. However, litigation is inherently unpredictable and the future outcome of legal proceedings and other contingencies may be unexpected or differ from the Company’s estimated liabilities, which could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s future financial results.

Guarantees and Indemnification Obligations

In the ordinary course of business, the Company enters into agreements with its customers, partners, and service providers that include commercial provisions with respect to licensing, infringement, guarantees, indemnification, and other common provisions.

The Company does not, inprovides certain guarantees to dealers through products such as its 45-Day Guarantee and OfferGuard service offerings on the ordinary course, agree to indemnification obligationsCarOffer platform, which are accounted for under ASC 460.

45-Day Guarantee is an arrangement through which a selling dealer lists a car on the CarOffer platform, and the Company under its contractsprovides an offer to purchase the vehicle listed at a specified price at any time over a 45-day period. This provides the seller with customers. Based on historical experience and information known at December 31, 2017, 2016, and 2015,a put option, where they have the right, but not the obligation, to require the Company has not incurred any costs for guarantees or indemnities.

7. Convertible Preferred Stockto purchase the vehicle during this window. OfferGuard is an arrangement through which a buying dealer purchases a car on the CarOffer platform, and Stockholders’ Equity

On July 7, 2015, the Company completedprovides an offer to purchase the vehicle at a Series D convertible preferred stock, or Series D Preferred Stock, offering inspecified price between days 1 and 3, and days 42 and 45 if the dealer is not able to sell the vehicle after 42 days.

A guarantee liability is initially measured using the amount of $67,872, netconsideration received from the dealer for the purchase of issuance coststhe guarantee. The initial liability is released, and guarantee income is recognized, upon the earliest of approximately $128. In connection with this issuance,the following: the vehicle sells during the guarantee period, the seller exercises its put option during the guarantee period, or the option expires unexercised at the end of the guarantee period. Guarantee income is recognized within wholesale revenue in the consolidated income statements. Gains and losses resulting from dealers' exercise of guarantees are recognized within wholesale cost of revenue in the consolidated income statements. When it is probable and reasonably estimable that the Company usedwill incur a portionloss on a vehicle that it is required to purchase, a liability and a corresponding charge to wholesale cost of the proceeds received, approximately $18,000, to repurchase and retire certain outstanding shares of Series A, Series B, and Series C Preferred Stock and common stock, as well as certain vested stock options from existing stockholders. The difference between the amount implicitly paid to repurchase the various classes of Preferred Stock and the corresponding carrying value of the underlying shares, or $15,930, was treated as a deemed dividend and was recorded against retained earnings. As the shares of common stock were repurchasedrevenue is recognized for constructive retirement, the excess purchase price over the corresponding par value was charged directly to retained earnings.

On August 23, 2016, the Company completed a Series E convertible preferred stock, or Series E Preferred Stock, offering in the amount of $59,732,the loss in the consolidated balance sheets and the consolidated income statements, respectively. Gains and losses resulting from the dealers exercise of guarantees are recognized within wholesale cost of revenue, as appropriate, in the consolidated income statements.

For the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 income for guarantees purchased by dealers was $1,890 and $10,026, respectively. For the year ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, the loss, net of issuance costsgains, recognized within cost of approximately $268. In connection with this issuance,revenue in the Company used the proceeds received to repurchase and retire certain outstanding shares of Series A, Series B, and Series C Preferred Stock and common stock, as well as certain vested stock options and restricted stock unitsconsolidated income statements resulting from existing stockholders. The difference between the amount implicitly paid to repurchase the various classes of Preferred Stock and the corresponding carrying value of the underlying shares, or $32,087, was treated as a deemed dividend and was recorded against retained earnings. As the shares of common stock were repurchased for constructive retirement, the excess purchase price over the corresponding par value was charged directly to retained earnings.

On June 21, 2017, the Company amended and restated its Certificate of Incorporation pursuant to the Third Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation. Under the Third Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, the total number of shares of all classes of stock which the Company had authority to issue was (i) 120,020,700 shares of Class A common stock, par value $0.001 per share, (ii) 80,013,800 shares of Class B common stock, par value $0.001 per share, and (iii) 11,091,782 shares of Preferred Stock, par value $0.001 per share, of which 3,333,000 shares were designated Series A Preferred Stock, 3,329,497 shares were designated Series B Preferred Stock, 1,648,978 shares were designated Series C Preferred Stock, 1,673,105 shares were designated Series D Preferred Stock, and 1,107,202 shares were designated Series E Preferred Stock. The Series A Preferred Stock, Series B Preferred Stock, Series C Preferred Stock, Series D Preferred Stock, and Series E Preferred Stock are referred to collectively as the Preferred Stock.


Upon the effectiveness of the Third Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, (i) each share of Class A common stock issued and outstanding was recapitalized, reclassified, and reconstituted into two fully paid and non‑assessable shares of outstanding Class A common stock and four fully paid and non‑assessable shares of outstanding Class B common stock, and (ii) each share of Class B common stock of the Company issued and outstanding was recapitalized, reclassified, and reconstituted into two fully paid and non‑assessable shares of outstanding Class A common stock and four fully paid and non‑assessable shares of outstanding Class B common stock.

Further, upon the effectiveness of the Third Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, the number of shares of common stock as to which each outstanding option to purchase common stock was exercisable for and each outstanding RSU was convertible into was adjusted such that upondealers' exercise of outstanding stock options or vesting of outstanding RSUs, each holder would receive two fully paidguarantees was $417 and non‑assessable shares of Class A common stock and four fully paid and non‑assessable shares of Class B common stock in respect of each share of common stock previously underlying such option or RSU. The exercise price per share of common stock underlying each outstanding option was adjusted upon the effectiveness of the Third Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation to be one‑sixth of the exercise price per share in effect immediately prior to such adjustment and the fair market value per share of common stock issuable upon settlement of such RSU was adjusted to be one‑sixth of the fair market value per share in effect immediately prior to the recapitalization.$4,568, respectively.

All share and per share data shown in the accompanying consolidated financial statements and related notes have been retroactively revised to reflect the share recapitalization.

On October 16, 2017, in connection with the closing of the IPO, all of the outstanding shares of Preferred Stock automatically converted into 20,188,226 shares of Class A common stock and 40,376,452 shares of Class B common stock. The 40,376,452 shares of Class B common stock subsequently converted into 40,376,452 shares of Class A common stock resulting in a total conversion of all outstanding shares of Preferred Stock into 60,564,678 shares of Class A common stock. Subsequent to the closing of the IPO, there were no shares of Preferred Stock outstanding.

Immediately following such conversion, the Company’s Fourth Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation became effective. Pursuant to the Fourth Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, the Company is authorized to issue up to 500,000,000 shares of Class A common stock, 100,000,000 shares of Class B common stock, and 10,000,000 shares of Preferred Stock, all with a par value of $0.001 per share. As of December 31, 2017,2023, the Preferred Stock is undesignated and no Preferred Stock is outstanding.

In addition, pursuant to the Fourth Amended and Restated Certificatemaximum potential amount of Incorporation, all shares of Class B common stock will automatically convert into shares of Class A common stock, on a share for share basis, upon the date falling after the first to occur of (1) the death of Langley Steinert, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer, President and Chairman, (2) his voluntary termination of all employment withfuture payments that the Company and service oncould be required to make under these guarantees was $10,158. Of the Company’s boardmaximum potential amount of directors, or (3)future payments, the sumlosses that were probable were not material. As such, as of the number of shares of capital stock held by Langley Steinert, by any Family Member of Langley Steinert, and by any Permitted Entity of Langley Steinert (as such terms are defined in the Fourth Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation), assuming the exercise and settlement in full of all outstanding options and convertible securities and calculated on an as-converted to Class A common stock basis, being less than 9,091,484. Shares of Class B common stock will not automatically convert into shares of Class A common stock upon the termination of Mr. Steinert's status as an officer and director, unless such termination is either made voluntarily by Mr. Steinert or due to Mr. Steinert's death. Once converted into Class A common stock, the converted shares of Class B common stock will not be reissued. In addition, if all shares of Class B common stock are converted into Class A common stock, then any outstanding options or convertible securities with the right to purchase or acquire shares of Class B common stock shall become a right to purchase or acquire shares of Class A common stock.

Common Stock

Each share of Class A common stock entitles the holder to one vote for each share on all matters submitted to a vote of the Company’s stockholders at all meetings of stockholders and written actions in lieu of meetings. Each share of Class B common stock entitles the holder to ten votes for each share on all matters submitted to a vote of the Company’s stockholders at all meetings of stockholders and written actions in lieu of meetings.

Holders of common stock are entitled to receive dividends, when and if declared by the Board.


At December 31, 2017, each share2023, the Company had no material contingent loss liabilities.

As of Class B common stockDecember 31, 2022, the maximum potential amount of future payments that the Company could be required to make under these guarantees was convertible into one share$31,056. Of the maximum potential amount of Class A common stock atfuture payments, the optionlosses that were probable were not material. As such, as of December 31, 2022, the holder at any time. Automatic conversion willCompany had no material contingent loss liabilities.

As of December 31, 2021, the maximum potential amount of future payments that the Company could be required to make under these guarantees was $76,075. Of the maximum potential amount of future payments, none were considered probable. The exercise of guarantees has historically been infrequent and even when such exercises did occur, upon the occurrencelosses were not material. As such, as of a Transfer, as defined inDecember 31, 2021, the Fourth Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, of such share of Class B common stock.

Upon the effectiveness of the Company’s Fourth Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, additional terms of conversion and transfer were implemented as discussed above.

Preferred Stock

Prior to the Company’s IPO, at which time all shares of Preferred Stock were converted into shares of common stock, the Company’s Preferred Stock consisted of the following:

 

 

Original Issue

Price

Per Share

 

 

Shares

Authorized

 

 

Outstanding

 

 

Liquidation

Amount

 

 

Carrying

Value

 

Series A Preferred Stock

 

$

0.525053

 

 

 

3,333,000

 

 

 

2,824,703

 

 

$

1,483

 

 

$

1,483

 

Series B Preferred Stock

 

$

0.780899

 

 

 

3,329,497

 

 

 

2,938,486

 

 

 

2,295

 

 

 

2,295

 

Series C Preferred Stock

 

$

0.849012

 

 

 

1,648,978

 

 

 

1,550,612

 

 

 

1,316

 

 

 

1,316

 

Series D Preferred Stock

 

$

40.642989

 

 

 

1,673,105

 

 

 

1,673,105

 

 

 

68,000

 

 

 

67,872

 

Series E Preferred Stock

 

$

54.190650

 

 

 

1,107,202

 

 

 

1,107,202

 

 

 

60,000

 

 

 

59,732

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

11,091,782

 

 

 

10,094,108

 

 

$

133,094

 

 

$

132,698

 

The holders of the Company’s Preferred StockCompany had certain voting and dividend rights, as well as liquidation preferences and conversion privileges. All rights, preferences, and privileges associated with the Preferred Stock were terminated at the time of the Company’s IPO in conjunction with the conversion of all outstanding shares of Preferred Stock into shares of common stock.no contingent loss liabilities.

118


8.

11. Stock‑based Compensation

CarGurus Equity Incentive Plans

The Company’s Amended and Restated 2006 Equity Incentive Plan (the “2006 Plan”) provided for the issuance of non-qualified stock options, restricted stock, and stock awards to the Company’s employees, officers, directors, and consultants. The 2006 Plan authorized up to an aggregate of 3,444,668 shares of the Company's Class B common stock for such issuances. In conjunction with the effectiveness of the Company’s 2015 Equity Incentive Plan (the “2015 Plan”), the Board voted that no further stock options or other equity-based awards may be granted under the 2006 Plan.

In 2015 the Board first adopted the 2015 Plan, which became effective on June 26, 2015. The 2015 Plan provided for the issuance of incentive stock options, non-qualified stock options, restricted stock, stock awards and restricted stock units (“RSUs”)stock-based incentives to employees, consultants, and non-employee directors. As of the effective date of the 2015 Plan, up to 603,436 shares of common stock were authorized for issuance under the 2015 Plan. The 2015 Plan was amended and restated effective August 6, 2015 to permit the granting of RSUs under the 2015 Plan, to remove Class B common stock from the pool of shares available for issuance under the 2015 Plan, and to make certain other desired changes. The 2015 Plan was further amended and restated at October 15, 2015 to add a ten-year term and to make certain other desired changes.

The 2015 Plan was further amended and restated effective August 22, 2016 to merge the 2006 Plan into the 2015 Plan, to increase the number of shares of Class A common stock that may be issued under the 2015 Plan, and to lengthen the term of the 2015 Plan to expire on August 21, 2026.2026. In addition, pursuant to this amendment and restatement of the 2015 Plan, prior to giving effect to the recapitalization that occurred on June 21, 2017, there were (i) 618,691 shares of Class A common stock, plus (ii) 802,562 shares of Class B common stock authorized under the 2015 Plan; provided, however, that (1) the number of shares of Class A common stock was increased, on a share for share basis, by the number of shares of Class B common stock that were (a) subject to outstanding options granted under the 2006 Plan that expired, terminated, or were cancelledcanceled for any reason without having been exercised, (b) surrendered in payment of the exercise price of outstanding options granted under the 2006 Plan, or (c) withheld in satisfaction of tax withholding upon exercise of outstanding options granted under the 2006 Plan, and the number of shares of Class B common stock reserved under the amended and restated 2015 Plan was decreased, on a corresponding share for share basis, (2) no new awards of Class B common stock could be granted under the amended and restated 2015 Plan, and (3) except with respect to outstanding options granted under the 2006 Plan that were exercised on or after the date of the amendment and restatement, no Class B common stock could be issued under the 2015 Plan.


In connection with the recapitalization that occurred on June 21, 2017, the 2015 Plan was further amended and restated to account for each outstanding common stock option being adjusted such that each share of common stock underlying such option became two shares of Class A common stock and four shares of Class B common stock underlying such option, and each outstanding RSU being adjusted such that each share of common stock issuable upon settlement of such RSU became two shares of Class A common stock and four shares of Class B common stock issuable upon settlement of such RSU. Pursuant to the 2015 Plan as further amended in connection with the recapitalization, there were (i) 3,181,740 shares of Class A common stock and (ii) 5,161,644 shares of Class B common stock authorized for issuance under the 2015 Plan.

119


In connection with the IPO,Company's initial public offering ("IPO"), in October 2017 the Board adopted, and the Company’s stockholders approved, the Omnibus Equity Compensation2017 Plan (the “2017 Plan”) for the purpose of granting incentive stock options, non-qualified stock options, stock awards, stock units, other share-based awards, and cash awards to employees, advisors, and consultants to the Company and its subsidiaries and non-employee members of the Company’s board of directors.Board. The 2017 Plan is the successor to the 2015 Plan. The 2017 Plan authorizes the issuance or transfer of the sum of: (i) 7,800,000 shares of the Company’s Class A common stock, plus (ii) the number of shares of our Class A common stock (up to 4,500,000 shares) equal to the sum of (x) the number of shares of Class A common stock and Class B common stock of the Company subject to outstanding awards under the 2015 Plan as of October 10, 2017, that terminate, expire, or are cancelled,canceled, forfeited, exchanged, or surrendered on or after October 10, 2017, without having been exercised, vested, or paid prior to October 10, 2017, including shares tendered or withheld to satisfy tax withholding obligations with respect to outstanding grants under the Prior2015 Plan, plus (y) the number of shares of Class A common stock reserved for issuance under the 2015 Plan that remain available for grant under the 2015 Plan as of the October 10, 2017. The aggregate number of shares of Class A common stock that may be issued or transferred under the 2017 Plan pursuant to incentive stock options will not exceed 12,300,000 shares of Class A common stock. AsUnless determined otherwise by the Compensation Committee of the Board, as of the first trading day of January of each calendar year during the term of the 2017 Plan (excluding any extensions), eligible beginning with calendar year 2019, an additional number of shares of Class A common stock will be added to the number of shares of ourthe Company’s Class A common stock authorized to be issued or transferred under the 2017 Plan and the number of shares authorized to be issued or transferred pursuant to incentive stock options, equal to 4%4% of the total number of shares of our Class A common stock outstanding on the last trading day in December of the immediately preceding calendar year, or 6,000,000 shares, whichever is less, or such lesser amount as determined by the Board. Board (the “Evergreen Increase”). The Compensation Committee of the Board determined to not effectuate the Evergreen Increase that was otherwise scheduled to have occurred on each of January 2, 2019, January 2, 2020, and January 4, 2021. On January 3, 2022, an additional 4,070,921 shares of the Company's Class A Common Stock was authorized to be issued or transferred under the 2017 Plan pursuant to the Evergreen Increase. On January 3, 2023, an additional 4,065,466 shares of the Company's Class A Common Stock was authorized to be issued or transferred under the 2017 Plan pursuant to the Evergreen Increase. On January 2, 2024, an additional 3,687,010 shares of the Company's Class A Common Stock was authorized to be issued or transferred under the 2017 Plan pursuant to the Evergreen Increase. In conjunction with the adoption of the 2017 Plan, options and RSUs outstanding under the 2015 Plan will remain outstanding but no additional grants will be made from the 2015 Plan.

AtAs of December 31, 2017, 7,831,7082023, 6,236,628 shares of Class A common stock were available for issuance under the 2017 Plan.

CarOffer Equity Incentive Plans

The following is a summary2020 CO Plan provided for the issuance of CO Incentive Units to CarOffer’s employees, officers, managers, and consultants. The 2020 CO Plan authorized up to an aggregate of 485,714 CO Incentive Units for such issuances, all of which were issued prior to the close of the stock option activity2021 CarOffer Transaction. At the time of the 2021 Closing, 142,857 CO Incentive Units were accelerated and redeemed. The compensation relating to these CO Incentive Units was deemed to be outside of consideration transferred. Therefore, for all stock‑based compensation plans during the year ended December 31, 2017:2021, the Company recognized an additional $1,229 of stock-based compensation expense. As a result of the 2023 CarOffer Transaction, all CO Incentive Units were accelerated and redeemed and, thus, as of December 31, 2023, there were no CO Incentive Units unvested. During the year ended December 31, 2023, no CO Incentive Units were granted, vested, or forfeited. As of December 31, 2023, there is no unrecognized stock‑based compensation expense related to the unvested CO Incentive Units, as a result of the redemption of the awards following the 2021 CarOffer Transaction. As of December 31, 2022, 342,857 CO Inventive Units were unvested.

As of December 31, 2023, there were no CO Incentive Units available for issuance under the 2020 CO Plan.

The Vesting Agreement provides for the vesting of the Subject Units beneficially owned by the T5 Holders, which vest in accordance with the terms described in Note 2 of these consolidated financial statements. As a result of the 2023 CarOffer Transaction, all Subject Units were accelerated and redeemed and, thus, as of December 31, 2023, no Subject Units were unvested. As of December 31, 2022, 288,395 Subject Units were issued and unvested, respectively. During the year ended December 31, 2023, there were no Subject Units granted or vested. During the year ended December 31, 2022, no Subject Units were granted and 144,197 Subject Units vested. During the year ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, no Subject Units were forfeited. As of December 31, 2023, there is no unrecognized stock‑based compensation expense related to the unvested Subject Units, as a result of the redemption of the awards following the 2023 CarOffer Transaction.

 

 

Common

Stock

 

 

Weighted-Average

Exercise Price

for Equity

 

 

Weighted-Average

Contractual Life

(In Years)

 

 

Aggregate

Intrinsic

Value(1)

 

Outstanding, December 31, 2016

 

 

5,698,812

 

 

$

1.63

 

 

6.9

 

 

 

23,893

 

Granted

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Exercised

 

 

(274,784

)

 

1.45

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2,238

 

Forfeited and cancelled

 

 

(382,488

)

 

2.12

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Outstanding, December 31, 2017

 

 

5,041,540

 

 

$

1.60

 

 

 

6.0

 

 

 

143,059

 

Options exercisable at December 31, 2017

 

 

3,981,196

 

 

$

1.02

 

 

5.6

 

 

 

115,157

 

120


As of December 31, 2023, there were no Subject Units available for issuance under the Vesting Agreement.

The 2021 CO Plan provides for an incentive equity grant structure whereby 2021 Incentive Units will be granted to CIE and 2021 CO Plan grantees will receive an associated CIE Interest, with back-to-back vesting between the 2021 Incentive Units and the associated CIE Interest. The 2021 CO Plan authorized up to an aggregate of 228,571 2021 Incentive Units for such issuances.

As of December 31, 2023, there were no 2021 Incentive Units available for issuance under the 2021 CO Plan.

All CO Incentive Units and Subject Units were accelerated and redeemed in connection with the 2023 CarOffer Transaction. As a result, there were no CO Incentive Units, Subject Units or 2021 Incentive Units as of December 31, 2023.

Stock Options

(1)

The

During the year ended December 31, 2023, stock option activity is as follows:

 

 

Common
Stock

 

 

Weighted-
Average
Exercise Price
for Equity

 

 

Weighted-
Average
Remaining
Contractual Life
(In Years)

 

 

Aggregate
Intrinsic
Value
(1)

 

Outstanding, December 31, 2022

 

 

826,609

 

 

$

25.22

 

 

 

6.2

 

 

$

3,172

 

Granted

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Exercised

 

 

(15,834

)

 

 

4.69

 

 

 

 

 

 

229

 

Forfeited or Expired

 

 

(34,681

)

 

 

35.61

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Outstanding, December 31, 2023

 

 

776,094

 

 

$

25.17

 

 

 

5.3

 

 

$

5,442

 

Exercisable as of December 31, 2023

 

 

590,401

 

 

$

21.83

 

 

 

4.7

 

 

$

5,442

 

(1)
As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, the aggregate intrinsic value was calculated based on the positive difference, if any, between the estimated fair value of our common stock on December 31, 2015, 2016, and, 2017, respectively, or the date of exercise, as appropriate, and the exercise price of the underlying options.

There were no options granted in 2017. The weighted-average grant-date fair value of common stock on December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively, or the date of exercise, as appropriate, and the exercise price of the underlying options.

During the year ended December 31, 2022, there were 30,266options granted was $0.90 per share in 2016granted. During the year ended December 31, 2021, there were 619,618 options granted.

During the years ended December 31, 2022 and $0.46 per share in 2015.

The2021, the aggregate intrinsic value for options exercised during the years ended December 31, 2016was $3,774 and 2015 was $2,021 and $936,$6,027, respectively.


The Company entered into RSU agreements with certain of its employees pursuant to the 2015 Plan and the 2017 Plan. The RSUs granted under the 2015 Plan are subject to both a service-based vesting condition and a performance-based vesting condition based on a liquidity event, defined as either a change in control or an IPO. The Securities and Exchange Commission’s declaration of effectiveness of the Company’s registration statement on Form S-1 on October 11, 2017 satisfied the liquidity event performance condition. Although the performance based vesting condition was satisfied, under the terms of the awards, the settlement of such vested RSUs and the issuance of common stock with respect to such vested RSUs, will occur on April 10, 2018, one hundred eighty-one days after the satisfaction of the performance condition. As a result, no RSUs settled as of December 31, 2017. RSUs granted under the 2017 Plan are subject to only a service-based vesting condition.

The following is a summary of the RSU activity during the year ended December 31, 2017:

 

 

Number of

Shares

 

 

Weighted-

Average Grant

Date Fair Value

 

 

Aggregate

Intrinsic

Value

 

Unvested outstanding, December 31, 2016

 

 

1,580,094

 

 

$

3.25

 

 

$

8,754

 

Granted

 

 

1,606,538

 

 

16.99

 

 

 

27,298

 

Vested

 

 

(693,922

)

 

3.61

 

 

 

(13,276

)

Cancelled

 

 

(120,330

)

 

5.45

 

 

 

(1,594

)

Unvested outstanding, December 31, 2017

 

 

2,372,380

 

 

$

12.34

 

 

$

71,124

 

The weighted-average grant-date fair value of RSUs granted was $3.89 and $2.05 per share in 2016 and 2015, respectively.

No RSUs vested in the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015.

For the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016, and 2015, total stock‑based compensation expense was $5,028, $322, and $1,040, respectively. The following two tables show stock compensation expense by award type and where the stock compensation expense is recorded in the Company’s consolidated statements of operations:

 

 

Year Ended December 31,

 

 

 

2017

 

 

2016

 

 

2015

 

Options

 

$

281

 

 

$

322

 

 

$

1,040

 

RSUs

 

 

4,747

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total stock-based compensation

 

$

5,028

 

 

$

322

 

 

$

1,040

 

 

 

Year Ended December 31,

 

 

 

2017

 

 

2016

 

 

2015

 

Cost of revenue

 

$

151

 

 

$

18

 

 

$

4

 

Sales and marketing expense

 

 

1,911

 

 

 

163

 

 

 

67

 

Product, technology, and development expense

 

 

1,637

 

 

 

104

 

 

 

883

 

General and administrative expense

 

 

1,329

 

 

 

37

 

 

 

86

 

 

 

$

5,028

 

 

$

322

 

 

$

1,040

 

Excluded from stock-based compensation expense is $176 of capitalized software development costs in 2017.  Stock-based compensation expense related to capitalized software development costs was immaterial in 2016 and 2015.

The income tax benefit from stock-based compensation expense was $1,301, $67, and $75 in the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016, and 2015, respectively.

As of December 31, 2017,2023, there was $462 of$2,623 unrecognized stock‑based compensation expense related to unvested stock options whichthat is expected to be recognized over a weighted‑average period of 1.91.3 years.

Restricted Stock Units

During the year ended December 31, 2023, RSU activity is as follows:

 

 

Number of
Shares

 

 

Weighted-
Average Grant
Date Fair Value

 

 

Aggregate
Intrinsic
Value

 

Unvested outstanding, December 31, 2022

 

 

4,484,291

 

 

$

29.36

 

 

$

62,825

 

Granted

 

 

4,133,865

 

 

 

17.47

 

 

 

 

Vested

 

 

(2,440,510

)

 

 

26.83

 

 

 

 

Forfeited

 

 

(489,935

)

 

 

24.30

 

 

 

 

Unvested outstanding, December 31, 2023

 

 

5,687,711

 

 

$

22.02

 

 

$

137,415

 

During the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, the weighted-average grant-date fair value of RSUs granted was $28.94 and $33.83 per share, respectively.

121


During the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, RSUs that vested and settled totaled 1,649,294 and 1,575,206, respectively.

During the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, the total fair value of RSUs vested was $55,136 and $52,423, respectively.

As of December 31, 2017,2023, there was $26,864$108,714 of unrecognized stock‑based compensation expense related to unvested stock‑based restricted stock units whichRSUs that is expected to be recognized over a weighted‑average period of 3.32.5 years.

Stock-based Compensation Expense

For the year ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021, stock-based compensation expense by award type and where the stock-based compensation expense was recognized in the Company’s consolidated income statements is as follows:

 

 

Year Ended December 31,

 

 

 

2023

 

 

2022

 

 

2021

 

Options

 

$

2,386

 

 

$

2,553

 

 

$

2,471

 

Restricted Stock Units

 

 

55,527

 

 

 

52,224

 

 

 

52,916

 

CO Incentive Units and Subject Units

 

 

26,552

 

 

 

(21,095

)

 

 

22,323

 

Noncontrolling Interest Units

 

 

28,991

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total

 

$

113,456

 

 

$

33,682

 

 

$

77,710

 

CO Incentive Units and Subject Units stock-based compensation expense increased $47,647, primarily due to the redemption of the units in connection with the 2023 CarOffer Transaction. See Note 4 of these consolidated financial statements for additional information. Additionally, this increase was due in part to the prior-year revaluation of these liability-based awards which brought the value down to zero, thus resulting in negative expense for the year ended December 31, 2022.

Noncontrolling Interest Units, which were employee-owned, increased $28,991 for the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to the year ended December 31, 2022, due to the redemption of the Noncontrolling Interest Units in connection with the completion of the 2023 CarOffer Transaction.

 


 

 

Year Ended December 31,

 

 

 

2023

 

 

2022

 

 

2021

 

Cost of revenue

 

$

2,370

 

 

$

475

 

 

$

417

 

Sales and marketing expense

 

 

13,710

 

 

 

7,733

 

 

 

12,801

 

Product, technology, and development expense

 

 

25,934

 

 

 

20,266

 

 

 

22,289

 

General and administrative expense

 

 

71,442

 

 

 

5,208

 

 

 

42,203

 

Total

 

$

113,456

 

 

$

33,682

 

 

$

77,710

 

For the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021, stock-based compensation expense excluded $5,472, $4,468, and $3,247, respectively, of capitalized website development costs, capitalized internal-use software costs, and capitalized hosting arrangements.

For the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021, the income tax benefit from stock-based compensation expense, recognized through the Company's deferred tax asset in the consolidated balance sheets was $5,353, $5,441, and $5,301, respectively.

During the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021, the Company withheld 840,995, 566,267, and 527,237 shares of Class A common stock, respectively, to satisfy employee tax withholding requirements for net share settlements of RSUs. The shares withheld return to the authorized, but unissued pool under the 2017 Plan and can be reissued by the Company. For the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021, total payments to satisfy employee tax withholding requirements for net share settlements of RSUs, were $15,729, $16,025, and $15,388, respectively, and are reflected as a financing activity in the consolidated statements of cash flows.

122


For the year ended December 31, 2023, total payments to satisfy employee tax withholding requirements for net share settlements of RSUs were $15,729, of which $15,597 was paid and reflected as a financing activity in the consolidated statements of cash flows. For the year ended December 31, 2022, total payments to satisfy employee tax withholding requirements for net share settlements of RSUs were $16,025, of which $16,022 was paid and reflected as a financing activity in the consolidated statements of cash flows.

2023 CarOffer Transaction

In connection with the 2023 CarOffer Transaction, the Company redeemed all remaining CO Incentive Units, Subject Units, and Noncontrolling Interest Units.

Certain of the Noncontrolling Interest Units were employee owned. The Company paid $28,991 for these units and accounted for this portion of the 2023 CarOffer Transaction as stock-based compensation in its consolidated income statements. For all other Noncontrolling Interest Units, the Company reduced the remaining redeemable noncontrolling interest on its consolidated balance sheets to zero and recorded excess cash paid to these unit holders as a deemed dividend of $5,838.

As part of the 2023 CarOffer Transaction, Subject Units and CO Incentive Units were modified such that any remaining unvested units received accelerated vesting. As part of the 2023 CarOffer Transaction, the Company purchased all outstanding Subject Units and CO Incentive Units and recognized approximately $20,655 of stock-based compensation in its consolidated income statements.

Common Stock Reserved for Future Issuance

AtAs of December 31, 2017,2023, the Company had reserved the following shares of votingClass A common stock for future issuance:

Common stock options outstanding

5,041,540776,094

RestrictedUnvested restricted stock units outstanding

3,066,3025,687,711

Shares available for issuance under the 2017 Plan

7,831,7086,236,628

Total shares of authorized common stock reserved for

future issuance

15,939,55012,700,433

Common Stock Share Repurchases

9.On November 7, 2023, the Company announced that the Board authorized a share repurchase program (the “2024 Share Repurchase Program”), pursuant to which the Company may, from time to time, purchase shares of its Class A common stock for an aggregate purchase price not to exceed $250.0 million. Share repurchases under the 2024 Share Repurchase Program may be made through a variety of methods, including but not limited to open market purchases, privately negotiated transactions, and transactions that may be effected pursuant to one or more plans under Rule 10b5-1 and/or Rule 10b-18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The 2024 Share Repurchase Program does not obligate the Company to repurchase any minimum dollar amount or number of shares. The 2024 Share Repurchase Program has an effective date of January 1, 2024, and an expiration date of December 31, 2024, and prior to its expiration may be modified, suspended, or discontinued by the Board at any time without prior notice. All repurchased shares under the 2024 Share Repurchase Program will be retired. The Company expects to fund share repurchases under the 2024 Share Repurchase Program through cash on hand and cash generated from operations.

On December 8, 2022, the Company announced that the Board authorized a share repurchase program (the “2022 Share Repurchase Program”) pursuant to which the Company could, from time to time, purchase shares of its Class A common stock for an aggregate purchase price not to exceed $250.0 million. The 2022 Share Repurchase Program expired on December 31, 2023. The 2022 Share Repurchase Program did not obligate the Company to repurchase any minimum dollar amount or number of shares. All repurchased shares under the 2022 Share Repurchase Program were retired. The Company funded share repurchases under the 2022 Share Repurchase Program through cash on hand and cash generated from operations.

123


During the year ended December 31, 2023, the Company repurchased and retired 11,076,755 shares for $204,127, exclusive of commissions and excise tax, at an average cost of $18.43 per share, under the 2022 Share Repurchase Program. As of December 31, 2023, the 2022 Share Repurchase Program expired.

12. Earnings Per Share

Net income (loss) per share information is determined using the two‑class method, which includes the weighted‑average number of shares of common stock outstanding during the period and other securities that participate in dividends (a participating security). The Company considers the Preferred Stock to have been participating securities because they included rights to participate in dividends with the common stock.

Under the two‑class method, basic net income (loss) per share attributable to common stockholders is computed by dividing the net income (loss) attributable to common stockholders by the weighted‑average number of shares of common stock outstanding during the period. Diluted net income (loss) per share attributable to common stockholders is computed using the more dilutive of (1) the two‑class method or (2) the if‑converted method. The Company allocates net income first to preferred stockholders based on dividend rights under the Company’s certificate of incorporation and then to preferred and common stockholders based on ownership interests. Net losses are not allocated to preferred stockholders as they do not have an obligation to share in the Company’s net losses.

Since June 26, 2015, the date of the Company’s conversion from a limited liability company to a corporation, and as of the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, the Company had and has two classes of common stock authorized: Class A common stock and Class B common stock. As more fully described in Note 7, theThe rights of the holders of Class A and Class B common stock were and are identical, except with respect to voting and conversion. Each share of Class A common stock was and is entitled to one vote per share and each share of Class B common stock was and is entitled to ten votes per share. share. Each share of Class B common stock was and is convertible into one share of Class A common stock at the option of the holder at any time. In addition, each share of Class B common stock was and istime or automatically convertible into one share of Class A common stock upon transfer of such share, which is defined to include entering into a voting agreement, whether or not for value, except for certain transfersevents described in both the Company’s Third Amendedamended and Restated Certificaterestated certificate of Incorporation and Fourth Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, which exception includes transfers to certain family members of the transferor stockholder. Uponincorporation, including upon either the death or voluntary termination of the Company’s Chief Executive Officer, all shares of Class B common stock were and are automatically convertible into one share of Class A common stock. Upon the effectiveness of the Company’s Fourth Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, additional terms of conversion and transfer were implemented. Chair.The Company allocates undistributed earnings attributable to common stock between the common stock classes on a one‑to‑one basis when computing net income (loss) per share. As a result, basic and diluted net income (loss) per share of Class A common stock and per share of Class B common stock are equivalent.

During the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, no shares of Class B common stock were converted into Class A common stock. During the year ended 2021, holders of Class B common stock converted 3,077,327 shares of Class B common stock to Class A common stock.

Basic net income (loss) per share (“Basic EPS”) is computed by dividing consolidated net income adjusted for net loss attributable to redeemable noncontrolling interest and changes in the redemption value of redeemable noncontrolling interest, if applicable, by the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding during the reporting period. The Company computes the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding during the reporting period using the total number of shares of Class A common stock and Class B common stock outstanding as of the last day of the previous year plus the weighted-average of any additional shares issued and outstanding during the reporting period, less the weighted-average of any shares repurchased during the period.

Diluted net income (loss) per share (“Diluted EPS”) gives effect to all potentially dilutive securities. PotentialDiluted EPS is computed by dividing consolidated net income adjusted for net loss attributable to redeemable noncontrolling interest and changes in the redemption value of redeemable noncontrolling interest, if applicable and dilutive, securities consistby the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding during the reporting period using (i) the number of shares of common stock issuableused in the Basic EPS calculation as indicated above, (ii) if dilutive, the incremental weighted-average common stock that the Company would issue upon the exercise of stock options shares of common stock issuable uponand the vesting of RSUs, and (iii) if dilutive, market-based performance awards based on the number of shares of common stockthat would be issuable upon the conversionas of the outstanding Preferred Stock.end of the reporting period assuming the end of the reporting period was also the end of the contingency period. The dilutive effect of these common stock equivalents is reflected in diluted earnings per share by application of the treasury stock method.

For previous periods, the year ended 2017, the two‑classif-converted method was used into calculate the computationnumber of diluted net income per share, whichshares issuable upon exercise of the 2024 Put Right, inclusive of CarOffer noncontrolling interest and CO Incentive and Subject Units, that would have been issuable as of the end of the reporting period assuming the end of the reporting period was equally as dilutive asalso the if-converted method. end of the contingency period.

124


For the years ended December 31, 20162023, 2022, and 2015, the net loss attributable to common stockholders is divided by the weighted‑average number of shares of common stock outstanding during the period to calculate diluted earnings per share. The dilutive effect of common stock equivalents has been excluded from the calculation as their effect would have been anti‑dilutive due to the net losses incurred for the periods after including the effects of deemed dividends on the Preferred Stock.


The following table presents2021, a reconciliation of the numerator and denominator used in the calculation of basic and diluted net income (loss) per share:share is as follows:

 

 

Year Ended December 31,

 

 

 

2023

 

 

2022

 

 

2021

 

Numerator:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Consolidated net income

 

$

22,053

 

 

$

78,954

 

 

$

110,373

 

Net loss attributable to redeemable noncontrolling interest

 

 

(14,889

)

 

 

(5,433

)

 

 

1,129

 

Deemed dividend on redemption of noncontrolling interest

 

 

5,838

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Accretion of redeemable noncontrolling interest to redemption value

 

 

 

 

 

(109,398

)

 

 

109,398

 

Net income (loss) attributable to common stockholders — basic

 

$

31,104

 

 

$

193,785

 

 

$

(154

)

Net loss attributable to redeemable noncontrolling interest

 

 

(14,889

)

 

 

(5,433

)

 

 

 

Deemed dividend on redemption of noncontrolling interest

 

 

5,838

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Accretion of redeemable noncontrolling interest to redemption value

 

 

 

 

 

(109,398

)

 

 

 

Net income (loss) attributable to common stockholders — diluted

 

$

22,053

 

 

$

78,954

 

 

$

(154

)

Denominator:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Weighted-average number of shares of common stock used
   in computing net income (loss) per share attributable to
   common stockholders — basic

 

 

113,240,139

 

 

 

118,474,991

 

 

 

117,142,062

 

Dilutive effect of share equivalents resulting from stock
   options

 

 

225,691

 

 

 

275,330

 

 

 

 

Dilutive effect of share equivalents resulting from
   unvested restricted stock units

 

 

723,004

 

 

 

366,258

 

 

 

 

Dilutive effect of share equivalents resulting from CO Incentive units,
   Subject Units, and noncontrolling interest

 

 

 

 

 

9,034,395

 

 

 

 

Weighted-average number of shares of common stock
   used in computing net income (loss) per share attributable to
   common stockholders — diluted

 

 

114,188,834

 

 

 

128,150,974

 

 

 

117,142,062

 

Net income (loss) per share attributable to common
   stockholders:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Basic

 

$

0.27

 

 

$

1.64

 

 

$

(0.00

)

Diluted

 

$

0.19

 

 

$

0.62

 

 

$

(0.00

)

 

 

Year Ended

December 31,

 

 

 

2017

 

 

2016

 

 

2015

 

Numerator:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net income (loss)

 

$

13,199

 

 

$

6,497

 

 

$

(1,636

)

Deemed dividend to preferred stockholders

 

 

 

 

 

(32,087

)

 

 

(15,930

)

Net income attributable to participating securities

 

 

(6,098

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net income (loss) attributable to common stockholders —

   basic

 

$

7,101

 

 

$

(25,590

)

 

$

(17,566

)

Net income (loss)

 

$

13,199

 

 

$

6,497

 

 

$

(1,636

)

Deemed dividend to preferred stockholders

 

 

 

 

 

(32,087

)

 

 

(15,930

)

Net income attributable to participating securities

 

 

(5,829

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net income (loss) attributable to common stockholders —

   diluted

 

$

7,370

 

 

$

(25,590

)

 

$

(17,566

)

Denominator:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Weighted–average number of shares of common stock used

   in computing net income (loss) per share attributable to

   common stockholders — basic

 

 

55,835,265

 

 

 

44,138,922

 

 

 

43,141,236

 

Dilutive effect of share equivalents resulting from

   stock options

 

 

4,290,362

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dilutive effect of share equivalents resulting from

   unvested restricted stock units

 

 

511,957

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Weighted–average number of shares of common stock

   used in computing net income (loss) per share —

   diluted

 

 

60,637,584

 

 

 

44,138,922

 

 

 

43,141,236

 

Net income (loss) per share attributable to common

   stockholders:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Basic

 

$

0.13

 

 

$

(0.58

)

 

$

(0.41

)

Diluted

 

 

0.12

 

 

$

(0.58

)

 

$

(0.41

)

The followingFor the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021, potentially dilutive common stock equivalents that have been excluded from the calculation of diluted weighted‑average shares outstanding for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016, and 2015, as their effect would have been anti‑dilutive forare as follows:

 

 

Year Ended December 31,

 

 

 

2023

 

 

2022

 

 

2021

 

Stock options outstanding

 

 

551,196

 

 

 

587,494

 

 

 

617,504

 

Restricted stock units outstanding

 

 

2,333,489

 

 

 

2,634,463

 

 

 

2,867,330

 

CO Incentive Units, Subject Units and noncontrolling interest

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1,509,750

 

125


For the periods presented:year ended December 31, 2021, shares of Class A common stock potentially issuable under market-based performance awards of approximately 14,682 RSUs were excluded from the calculation of weighted average shares used to compute Diluted EPS as the market-based vesting conditions had not been achieved as of the reporting period end date and as such there were zero contingently issuable shares. As a result of the 2023 CarOffer Transaction, there were no contingently issuable shares as of December 31, 2023. For the year ended December 31, 2022, there was no effect of potentially dilutive shares as the numerator was negative. Additionally, during the year ended December 31, 2022, the Company modified its market-based performance awards to contain only service-based vesting conditions in line with the Company's other RSU awards. As a result, there are no market-based RSUs outstanding as of December 31, 2023 or 2022.

 

 

Year Ended

December 31,

 

 

 

2017

 

 

2016

 

 

2015

 

Stock options outstanding

 

 

 

 

 

5,698,812

 

 

 

5,626,710

 

Restricted stock units outstanding

 

 

829

 

 

 

1,580,094

 

 

 

553,986

 

Convertible preferred stock

 

 

 

 

 

10,094,108

 

 

 

9,586,620

 

10.13. Income Taxes

TheFor the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021, the domestic and foreign components of income (loss) before income taxes are as follows:

 

 

Year Ended December 31,

 

 

 

2023

 

 

2022

 

 

2021

 

United States

 

$

50,632

 

 

$

110,213

 

 

$

148,037

 

Foreign

 

 

1,055

 

 

 

1,149

 

 

 

1,323

 

Income before income taxes

 

$

51,687

 

 

$

111,362

 

 

$

149,360

 

 

 

Year Ended

December 31,

 

 

 

2017

 

 

2016

 

 

2015

 

United States

 

$

15,543

 

 

$

8,919

 

 

$

(2,540

)

Foreign

 

 

294

 

 

 

26

 

 

 

 

Income (loss) before income taxes

 

$

15,837

 

 

$

8,945

 

 

$

(2,540

)


TheFor the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021, the components of the provision for (benefit from) income taxes containedare as follows:

 

 

Year Ended December 31,

 

 

 

2023

 

 

2022

 

 

2021

 

Current provision:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Federal

 

$

52,352

 

 

$

43,207

 

 

$

22,133

 

State

 

 

14,614

 

 

 

11,140

 

 

 

10,438

 

Foreign

 

 

532

 

 

 

175

 

 

 

253

 

 

 

 

67,498

 

 

 

54,522

 

 

 

32,824

 

Deferred (benefit) provision:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Federal

 

 

(37,583

)

 

 

(20,278

)

 

 

5,698

 

State

 

 

(272

)

 

 

(1,789

)

 

 

669

 

Foreign

 

 

(9

)

 

 

(47

)

 

 

(204

)

 

 

 

(37,864

)

 

 

(22,114

)

 

 

6,163

 

Income tax provision

 

$

29,634

 

 

$

32,408

 

 

$

38,987

 

126


For the following components:

 

 

Year Ended

December 31,

 

 

 

2017

 

 

2016

 

 

2015

 

Current provision:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Federal

 

$

3,262

 

 

$

1,440

 

 

$

(276

)

State

 

 

431

 

 

 

223

 

 

 

21

 

Foreign

 

 

62

 

 

 

3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3,755

 

 

 

1,666

 

 

 

(255

)

Deferred (benefit) provision:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Federal

 

 

(755

)

 

 

880

 

 

 

(544

)

State

 

 

(343

)

 

 

(98

)

 

 

(105

)

Foreign

 

 

(19

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(1,117

)

 

 

782

 

 

 

(649

)

Income tax (benefit) provision

 

$

2,638

 

 

$

2,448

 

 

$

(904

)

The Company'syear ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021, the components of the effective tax rates forrate are as follows:

 

 

Year Ended December 31,

 

 

 

2023

 

 

2022

 

 

2021

 

U.S. federal taxes at statutory rate

 

 

21.0

%

 

 

21.0

%

 

 

21.0

%

State taxes, net of federal benefit

 

 

22.1

 

 

 

7.7

 

 

 

7.5

 

Nondeductible expenses

 

 

1.4

 

 

 

0.5

 

 

 

0.3

 

Stock compensation

 

 

7.3

 

 

 

2.8

 

 

 

0.3

 

Foreign rate differential

 

 

(0.1

)

 

 

(0.1

)

 

 

(0.2

)

Federal and state credits

 

 

(9.5

)

 

 

(4.7

)

 

 

(2.6

)

Disallowed officer compensation

 

 

0.4

 

 

 

0.8

 

 

 

1.0

 

Investment in partnership

 

 

4.7

 

 

 

1.0

 

 

 

(0.3

)

Federal, state, and foreign provision to return differences

 

 

(1.4

)

 

 

(0.8

)

 

 

(0.7

)

Uncertain tax provision

 

 

0.4

 

 

 

0.5

 

 

 

 

CarOffer and AutoList M&A

 

 

2.9

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other

 

 

0.0

 

 

(0.0)

 

 

 

(0.2

)

Consolidated effective tax rate

 

 

49.2

%

 

 

28.7

%

 

 

26.1

%

Effective tax rate attributable to redeemable noncontrolling
   interest

 

 

(4.7

)

 

 

(1.0

)

 

 

0.2

 

Effective tax rate attributable to CarGurus, Inc.

 

 

44.5

%

 

 

27.7

%

 

 

26.3

%

For the years endingyear ended December 31, 2017 and 2016 are less2023, the effective tax rate attributable to CarGurus, Inc. was 44.5%, which is greater than the U.S. federal statutory tax rate primarilyof 21%, principally due to state and local income taxes inclusive of the impact from the recently passed Massachusetts apportionment tax rule, shortfalls on the taxable compensation of share-based awards, the Section 162(m) excess officer compensation limitation, and tax impact associated with the 2023 CarOffer Transaction, partially offset by federal and state research and development credits, excess tax deductions related to stock-based compensation awards and tax deductions for fees incurred during the IPO process. The Company’s effective tax rate forcredits.

For the year ended December 31, 20152022, the effective tax rate attributable to CarGurus, Inc. was 27.7%, which is greater than the U.S. federal statutory rate primarily due to state and local income taxes.taxes, the exclusion of loss from investment in partnership, shortfalls on the taxable compensation of share-based awards, and the Section 162(m) excess officer compensation limitation, partially offset by federal and state research and development tax credits.

For the year ended December 31, 2021, the effective tax rate attributable to CarGurus, Inc. was 26.3%, which is greater than the U.S. federal statutory rate primarily due to state and local income taxes, shortfalls on the taxable compensation of share-based awards, and the Section 162(m) excess officer compensation limitation, which became applicable in May 2021 upon the expiration of the transition period permitted following the IPO, partially offset by federal and state research and development tax credits.

 

 

Year Ended

December 31,

 

 

 

2017

 

 

2016

 

 

2015

 

U.S. federal taxes at statutory rate

 

 

35.0

%

 

 

35.0

%

 

 

34.0

%

State taxes, net of federal benefit

 

 

3.1

 

 

 

4.5

 

 

 

3.6

 

Nondeductible expenses

 

 

1.2

 

 

 

2.0

 

 

 

(1.4

)

Tax deductible IPO costs

 

 

(9.3

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stock compensation

 

 

(4.4

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Foreign rate differential

 

 

(0.4

)

 

 

(0.1

)

 

 

 

Credits

 

 

(9.0

)

 

 

(15.0

)

 

 

 

Other

 

 

0.5

 

 

 

1.0

 

 

 

(0.6

)

Total

 

 

16.7

%

 

 

27.4

%

 

 

35.6

%

127


TheAs of December 31, 2023 and 2022, the approximate income tax effect of each type of temporary difference and carryforward as of December 31, 2017 and 2016 is as follows:

 

 

As of

December 31,

 

 

 

2017

 

 

2016

 

Deferred tax assets:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Credit carryforwards

 

$

166

 

 

$

141

 

Stock-based compensation

 

 

1,301

 

 

 

67

 

Landlord allowance on leasehold improvements

 

 

1,078

 

 

 

1,468

 

Deferred rent

 

 

583

 

 

 

968

 

Accruals and reserves

 

 

606

 

 

 

612

 

 

 

 

3,734

 

 

 

3,256

 

Deferred tax liability:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fixed assets

 

 

(2,909

)

 

 

(3,548

)

 

 

 

(2,909

)

 

 

(3,548

)

Net deferred tax assets (liabilities)

 

$

825

 

 

$

(292

)


 

 

As of December 31,

 

 

 

2023

 

 

2022

 

Deferred tax assets:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net operating loss carryforwards

 

$

304

 

 

$

461

 

Credit carryforwards

 

 

928

 

 

 

928

 

Stock-based compensation

 

 

5,353

 

 

 

5,441

 

Lease liability

 

 

47,907

 

 

 

13,557

 

Investment in partnership

 

 

 

 

 

8,325

 

Accruals and reserves

 

 

4,642

 

 

 

3,770

 

Intangible assets

 

 

20,294

 

 

 

 

Capitalized research and development

 

 

45,468

 

 

 

25,342

 

 

 

 

124,896

 

 

 

57,824

 

Valuation Allowance

 

 

(305

)

 

 

(258

)

 

 

 

124,591

 

 

 

57,566

 

Deferred tax liabilities:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Prepaid expenses

 

 

(2,459

)

 

 

(2,466

)

Deferred commissions

 

 

(5,531

)

 

 

(4,200

)

Right of use assets

 

 

(42,531

)

 

 

(11,237

)

Intangible assets

 

 

 

 

 

(733

)

Capital lease

 

 

(72

)

 

 

 

Property and equipment

 

 

(700

)

 

 

(3,496

)

 

 

 

(51,293

)

 

 

(22,132

)

Net deferred tax assets

 

$

73,298

 

 

$

35,434

 

The Company uses the asset and liability method to account for income taxes in accordance with ASC 740, Income Taxes. Under this method, deferred income taxes are recognized for the future tax consequences of differences between the tax and financial accounting bases of assets and liabilities at each reporting period. Deferred income taxes are based on enacted tax laws and statutory tax rates applicable to the period in which these differences are expected to affect taxable income. A valuation allowance is established when necessary to reduce deferred tax assets to the amounts expected to be realized.

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “TCJA”) was enacted on December 22, 2017.  Among other things, the TCJA reduces the U.S. federal corporate tax rate from 35% to 21%, requires companies to pay a one-time transition tax on earnings of certain foreign subsidiaries that were previously tax deferred, and creates new taxes on certain foreign sourced earnings.  As of December 31, 2017, the Company recognized a provisional amount of $187 which is included as a component of income tax expense from continuing operations.

The Company re-measured certain deferred tax assets2023 and liabilities based on the rates at which they are anticipated to reverse in the future, which is generally 21%.  However, the Company is still examining certain aspects of the TCJA and refining its calculations, which could potentially affect the measurement of these balances or potentially give rise to new deferred tax amounts.  The provisional amount recorded related to the re-measurement of the Company’s deferred tax balance was a tax expense of $151.

The one-time transition tax is based on the Company’s total post-1986 earnings and profits (“E&P”) for which the Company has previously deferred from U.S. income taxes.  The Company recorded a provisional amount for its one-time transition tax liability of $36 for its foreign subsidiaries, resulting in an increase of income tax provision of $36.  The Company has not yet completed its calculation of the total post-1986 foreign E&P for these foreign subsidiaries. Further, the transition tax is based in part on the amount of those earnings held in cash and other specified assets. This amount may change when the Company finalizes the calculation of post-1986 foreign E&P previously deferred from U.S. federal taxation and finalize the amounts held in cash or other specified assets. As of December 31, 2017, foreign earnings, which2022, valuation allowances were not significant, have been retained indefinitely by the Company’s foreign subsidiaries for reinvestment. Upon repatriation of those earnings, in the form of dividends or otherwise, the Company could be subject to withholding taxes payable to the various foreign countries.

The Company has not provided a valuation allowance against its net deferred tax assets at December 31, 2017 and 2016.immaterial. Based upon the level of historical U.S. earnings and future projections over the period in which the net deferred tax assets are deductible, at this time, managementthe Company believes it is more likely than not that the Companyit will realize the benefits of these deductible differences.differences, with the exception of the deferred tax asset related to intangible assets in Ireland. For the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, the change in the valuation allowance was $47 and $29, respectively.

As of December 31, 2017,2023, the Company hashad federal and state net operating loss (“NOL”) carryforwards of $277 and $3,442, respectively. The federal NOL carryforward, subject to an annual limitation of 80% of taxable income, does not expire. The state NOL carryforwards expire at various dates through 2040. As of December 31, 2023, the Company had federal and state tax credit carryforwards of $227,$673 and $322, respectively, available to reduce future tax liabilities that expire at various dates through 2032.  Net operating lossliabilities. The federal tax credit carryforward expires in 2040. The state tax credit carryforwards arising in taxable years ending after December 31, 2017 are no longer subjectindefinitely as it is related to expiration under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”).California. Utilization of the NOL and tax credit carryforwards, respectively, may be subject to an annual limitation due to ownership change limitations that have occurred previously or that could occur in the future, as provided by Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code or (“Section 382,382”), as well as similar state provisions. Ownership changes may limit the amount of NOL or tax credit carryforwards that can be utilized annually to offset future taxable income and tax, respectively. In general, an ownership change, as defined by Section 382, results from transactions that increase the ownership of 5% stockholders in the stock of a corporation by more than 50%50% in the aggregate over a three-year period.

As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, changes in the gross uncertain tax position (excluding interest and penalties) are as follows:

The Company previously adopted

 

 

As of December 31,

 

 

 

2023

 

 

2022

 

Unrecognized tax benefits at beginning of year

 

$

598

 

 

$

 

Increase related to current year tax provision

 

 

178

 

 

 

198

 

Increase related to prior year tax provision

 

 

36

 

 

 

400

 

Unrecognized tax benefits at end of year

 

$

812

 

 

$

598

 

128


For the provision foryear ended December 31, 2023, income tax expense and liability related to uncertain tax positions, under ASC 740, Income Taxes. The adoption did not have an impact on the Company’s retained earnings balance. At December 31, 2017 and 2016, the Company had no recorded liabilities for uncertain tax positions and had no accruedexclusive of immaterial interest or penalties related to uncertain tax positions.provisions, was $812, which would favorably affect the Company's effective tax rate, if recognized. For the year ended December 31, 2022, income tax expense and liability related to uncertain tax positions, exclusive of immaterial interest or penalties related to uncertain tax provisions, was $598, which would favorably affect the Company's effective tax rate, if recognized.

The Company permanently reinvests the earnings, if any, of its foreign subsidiaries and, therefore, does not provide for U.S. income taxes that could result from the distribution of those earnings to the Company. As of December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022, the amount of unrecognized deferred U.S. taxes on these earnings was immaterial.

The Company and its subsidiaries are subject to various U.S. federal, state, and foreign income taxes.tax examinations. The Company is currently opennot subject to income tax examination underfor the tax years of 2019 and prior as a result of applicable statute of limitations byof the Internal Revenue Service and a majority of applicable state jurisdictions. The Company is currently not subject to examination in its foreign jurisdictions for the tax years ended 2014 through 2017. Currently, there are no income tax audits in process.


11. Related Party Transactions

On October 16, 2017 the Company completed its IPO. Allen & Company LLC acted as an underwriter in the IPO. Immediately prior to the IPO, Allen & Company LLC and its associated persons, including Ian Smith, a member of the Board, beneficially owned shares of the Company’s outstanding Preferred Stock representing 13.5% of the Company’s outstanding Preferred Stock. In connection with Allen & Company LLC’s role as an underwriter in the IPO, pursuant to the underwriting agreement, Allen & Company LLC purchased 2,190,200 shares of our Class A common stock in the IPO at $14.88 per share for a total purchase price of $32,590,176, after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions paid to Allen & Company LLC of $2,453,024. Consummation of this transaction, which occurred prior to the Company’s adoption of a formal related person transaction policy, was approved by the Board.prior.

12.14. Segment and Geographic Information

TheEffective as of the fourth quarter of 2022, the Company has revised its segment reporting from one reportable segment to two reportable segments, United StatesU.S. Marketplace and International. Segment information is presentedDigital Wholesale. The change in segment reporting was a triggering event for an evaluation of goodwill impairment. As such, the same manner asCompany evaluated for goodwill impairment on December 31, 2022, and did not identify any impairment to its goodwill. The change in segment reporting was made to align with financial reporting results regularly provided to the Company’s chief operating decision maker, orCompany's CODM reviewsto assess the Company’s operating results in assessing performance and allocating resources.business. The CODM reviews segment revenue and operatingsegment income (loss) for each reportable segmentfrom operations as a proxy for the operating performance of the Company’s United States and International operations.

The Company’s chief executive officer is the CODM on behalf of both reportable segments.

The United StatesU.S. Marketplace segment derives revenuesrevenue from marketplace subscriptions, advertising services and other revenues from customers within the United States.U.S. The InternationalDigital Wholesale segment derives revenuesrevenue from Dealer-to-Dealer and IMCO services and products which are sold on the CarOffer platform. The Company also has two operating segments which are individually immaterial and therefore aggregated into the Other category to reconcile reportable segments to the consolidated income statements. The Other category derives revenue from marketplace subscriptions, advertising services and other revenues from customers outside of the United States. A majority of our operational overhead expenses, including technology and personnel costs, and other general and administrative costs associated with running our business, are incurred in the United States and not allocated to the International segment. AssetsU.S.

Revenue and costs discretely incurred by reportable segments, including depreciation and amortization, are included in the calculation of reportable segment income (loss) from operations. Segment operatingFor the year ended December 31, 2022, Digital Wholesale segment income (loss) doesfrom operations did not reflect certain Dealer-to-Dealer and IMCO-related capitalized website development amortization incurred by the transfer pricing adjustments relatedU.S. Marketplace segment. During the three months ended March 31, 2023, the Company updated Digital Wholesale segment income (loss) from operations to reflect certain Dealer-to-Dealer and IMCO-related capitalized website development amortization incurred by the U.S. Marketplace segment and accordingly updated Digital Wholesale segment income (loss) from operations for the twelve months ended December 31, 2022, for comparative purposes. Digital Wholesale segment income (loss) from operations also reflects certain IMCO marketing and lead generation fees allocated from the U.S. Marketplace segment. Asset information by reportable segment is not provided to the Company’s foreign subsidiaries, which are recorded for statutory reporting purposes. AssetCODM as asset information is assessed and reviewed on a globalconsolidated basis.

For the years December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021, segment revenue, segment income (loss) from operations, and segment depreciation and amortization are as follows:

Information regarding the Company’s operations by segment and geographical area is presented below:

 

 

Year Ended December 31,

 

 

 

2023

 

 

2022

 

 

2021

 

Segment Revenue

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

U.S. Marketplace

 

$

647,284

 

 

$

614,136

 

 

$

594,602

 

Digital Wholesale

 

 

216,005

 

 

 

996,264

 

 

 

314,431

 

Other

 

 

50,953

 

 

 

44,635

 

 

 

42,340

 

Total

 

$

914,242

 

 

$

1,655,035

 

 

$

951,373

 

 

 

Year Ended

December 31,

 

 

 

2017

 

 

2016

 

 

2015

 

Segment revenue:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

United States

 

$

307,472

 

 

$

195,824

 

 

$

98,566

 

International

 

 

9,389

 

 

 

2,317

 

 

 

22

 

Total revenue

 

$

316,861

 

 

$

198,141

 

 

$

98,588

 

129


 

 

Year Ended December 31,

 

 

 

2023

 

 

2022 (1)

 

 

2021 (1)

 

Segment Income (Loss) from Operations:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

U.S. Marketplace

 

$

127,724

 

 

$

128,455

 

 

$

152,006

 

Digital Wholesale

 

 

(96,383

)

 

 

(11,834

)

 

 

6,526

 

Other

 

 

1,286

 

 

 

(8,143

)

 

 

(10,264

)

Total

 

$

32,627

 

 

$

108,478

 

 

$

148,268

 

 

 

Year Ended

December 31,

 

 

 

2017

 

 

2016

 

 

2015

 

Segment income (loss) from operations:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

United States

 

$

41,586

 

 

$

27,461

 

 

$

637

 

International

 

 

(26,312

)

 

 

(18,890

)

 

 

(3,165

)

Total income (loss) from operations

 

$

15,274

 

 

$

8,571

 

 

$

(2,528

)

(1)

As of December 31, 20172022 and 2016, property2021, Digital Wholesale segment loss (income) did not reflect certain Dealer-to-Dealer and equipment held outsideIMCO related capitalized website development expense from the United States wasU.S. Marketplace segment. During the three months ended March 31, 2023, the Company updated Digital Wholesale Depreciation and Amortization to reflect certain Dealer-to-Dealer and IMCO related capitalized website development amortization expense from the U.S. Marketplace segment and accordingly updated Digital Wholesale Depreciation as of December 31, 2022 and 2021 for comparative purposes.

 

 

Year Ended December 31,

 

 

 

2023

 

 

2022 (1)

 

 

2021 (1)

 

Segment Depreciation and Amortization:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

U.S. Marketplace

 

$

11,561

 

 

$

11,554

 

 

$

10,648

 

Digital Wholesale

 

 

36,265

 

 

 

33,350

 

 

 

29,059

 

Other

 

 

648

 

 

 

430

 

 

 

769

 

Total

 

$

48,474

 

 

$

45,334

 

 

$

40,476

 

(1)
As of December 31, 2022, Digital Wholesale Depreciation and Amortization did not material.


13. Componentsreflect certain Dealer-to-Dealer and IMCO related capitalized website development expense from the U.S. Marketplace segment. During the three months ended March 31, 2023, the Company updated Digital Wholesale Depreciation and Amortization to reflect certain Dealer-to-Dealer and IMCO related capitalized website development amortization expense from the U.S. Marketplace segment and accordingly updated Digital Wholesale Depreciation as of Other Income (Expense), NetDecember 31, 2022 and 2021 for comparative purposes.

For the years December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021, a reconciliation between total segment income from operations to consolidated income before income taxes is as follows:

The components

 

 

Year Ended December 31,

 

 

 

2023

 

 

2022

 

 

2021

 

Total segment income from operations

 

$

32,627

 

 

$

108,478

 

 

$

148,268

 

Other income, net

 

 

19,060

 

 

 

2,884

 

 

 

1,092

 

Consolidated income before income taxes

 

$

51,687

 

 

$

111,362

 

 

$

149,360

 

As of other income (expense), net,December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021, segment assets are as follows:

 

 

Year Ended December 31,

 

 

 

2023

 

 

2022(1)

 

 

2021(1)

 

Segment Assets:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

U.S. Marketplace

 

$

607,307

 

 

$

525,103

 

 

$

449,230

 

Digital Wholesale

 

 

258,458

 

 

 

358,289

 

 

 

446,823

 

Other

 

 

53,162

 

 

 

43,710

 

 

 

35,521

 

Total

 

$

918,927

 

 

$

927,102

 

 

$

931,574

 

 

 

Year Ended

December 31,

 

 

 

2017

 

 

2016

 

 

2015

 

Interest income

 

$

869

 

 

$

416

 

 

$

 

Interest expense

 

 

(29

)

 

 

(26

)

 

 

(12

)

Foreign exchange losses

 

 

(277

)

 

 

(16

)

 

 

 

Other income (expense), net

 

$

563

 

 

$

374

 

 

$

(12

)

(1)
As of December 31, 2022, Digital Wholesale assets did not reflect certain Dealer-to-Dealer and IMCO related capitalized website development assets from the U.S. Marketplace segment. During the three months ended March 31, 2023, the Company updated Digital Wholesale assets to reflect certain Dealer-to-Dealer and IMCO related capitalized website development amortization assets from the U.S. Marketplace segment and accordingly updated Digital Wholesale assets as of December 31, 2022 and 2021 for comparative purposes.

130


For the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021, revenue by geographical region is as follows:

 

 

Year Ended December 31,

 

 

 

2023

 

 

2022

 

 

2021

 

Revenue by Geographic Region:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

United States

 

$

863,289

 

 

$

1,610,400

 

 

$

909,033

 

International

 

 

50,953

 

 

 

44,635

 

 

 

42,340

 

Total

 

$

914,242

 

 

$

1,655,035

 

 

$

951,373

 

As of December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021, long-lived assets outside of the U.S. were immaterial.

15. Employee Benefit Plans

14. Employee benefit plans

The Company maintains a defined contribution savings plan for all eligible U.S. employees under Section 401(k) of the Internal Revenue Code. Effective July 1, 2017,For the year ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, the Company implemented aupdated its matching policy, under which the Company matches 50%50% of an employee’s annual contributions to the 401(k) plan, up to a maximum of 8% of the employee’s base salary, bonus, and commissions paid during the year. For the year ended December 31, 2021, the Company matched 50% of an employee’s annual contributions to the 401(k) plan, up to a maximum of the lesser of (i) 6%6% of the employee’s base salary, bonus, and commissions paid during the year or (ii) $5,000.$5,000. Matching contributions are subject to vesting based on the employee’s start date and length of service. Employees can designate the investment of their 401(k) accounts into several mutual funds. The Company does not allow investment in its common stock through the 401(k) plan.

DuringThe Company's subsidiary, CarOffer, maintains its own defined contribution savings plan for all eligible U.S. employees under Section 401(k) of the Internal Revenue Code. For the year ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, CarOffer matched 50% of a CarOffer employee’s annual contributions to the 401(k) plan, up to a maximum of the lesser of (i) 6% of the CarOffer employee’s base salary, bonus, and commissions paid during the year or (ii) $5,000. Matching contributions are subject to vesting based on the CarOffer employee’s start date and length of service. CarOffer employees can designate the investment of their 401(k) accounts into several mutual funds. For the year ended December 31, 2021, CarOffer did not have a defined contribution savings plan.

For the years ended December 31, 20162023, 2022, and 2015, the Company did not make any2021, total employer contributions to the plan. During the year ended December 31, 2017, the Company began matching employee 401(k) contributions up to a set limit. Total employer contributionsplan were $724 during the year ended December 31, 2017.

15. Quarterly Financial Results (unaudited)

The following table presents certain unaudited quarterly financial information for the eight quarters in the period ended December 31, 2017. This information has been prepared on the same basis as the audited financial statements$6,575, $5,498, and includes all adjustments (consisting only of normal recurring adjustments) necessary to present fairly the unaudited quarterly results of operations set forth herein.$2,960, respectively.

131


 

 

Fourth

 

 

Third

 

 

Second

 

 

First

 

 

 

Quarter

 

 

Quarter

 

 

Quarter

 

 

Quarter

 

Year ended December 31, 2017

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Revenue

 

$

90,597

 

 

$

82,989

 

 

$

76,240

 

 

$

67,035

 

Cost of revenue

 

 

5,242

 

 

 

4,720

 

 

 

4,322

 

 

 

3,325

 

Gross profit

 

 

85,355

 

 

 

78,269

 

 

 

71,918

 

 

 

63,710

 

Net income

 

 

2,267

 

 

 

2,379

 

 

 

4,346

 

 

 

4,207

 

Basic net income per share (1)

 

$

0.02

 

 

$

0.02

 

 

$

0.04

 

 

$

0.04

 

Diluted net income per share (1)

 

$

0.02

 

 

$

0.02

 

 

$

0.04

 

 

$

0.04

 

Year ended December 31, 2016

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Revenue

 

$

60,764

 

 

$

53,136

 

 

$

45,627

 

 

$

38,614

 

Cost of revenue

 

 

2,904

 

 

 

2,852

 

 

 

2,141

 

 

 

1,678

 

Gross profit

 

 

57,860

 

 

 

50,284

 

 

 

43,486

 

 

 

36,936

 

Net income

 

 

3,838

 

 

 

2,138

 

 

 

269

 

 

 

252

 

Basic net (loss) income per share (1)

 

$

(0.66

)

 

$

0.02

 

 

$

(0.00

)

 

$

(0.00

)

Diluted net (loss) income per share (1)

 

$

(0.66

)

 

$

0.02

 

 

$

(0.00

)

 

$

(0.00

)

(1)

The amounts were computed independently for each quarter, and the sum of the quarters may not total the annual amounts.

Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure.

None.


Item 9A. Controls and Procedures.

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

Our management, with the participation of our principal executive officerPrincipal Executive Officer and principal financial officer,Principal Financial Officer, has evaluated the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a- 15(e)13a-15(e) and 15d- 15(e)15d-15(e) under the SecuritiesExchange Act), as of the end of the period covered by this Annual Report.

The term “disclosure controls and procedures,” as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act, means controls and other procedures of 1934, as amended, as of December 31, 2017. Based on such evaluation, oura company that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by a company in the reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized, and reported, within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. Disclosure controls and procedures include, without limitation, controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by a company in the reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to the company’s management, including its principal executive officer and principal financial officerofficers, or persons performing similar functions, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

Management recognizes that any controls and procedures, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable assurance of achieving their objectives and our management necessarily applies its judgment in evaluating the cost-benefit relationship of possible controls and procedures.

As described below, based on the evaluation of our disclosure controls and procedures as of the end of the period covered by this Annual Report, management identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting. As a result of the material weakness, our Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer have concluded that, as of December 31, 2017,such date, our disclosure controls and procedures were effective.not effective to provide reasonable assurance that information required to be disclosed in the reports we file and submit under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized, and reported as and when required.

Notwithstanding this material weakness noted above, our management, including our Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer, has concluded that our financial statements included in this Annual Report present fairly, in all material respects, our financial position, results of operations, and cash flows for the periods presented in accordance with GAAP.

Management’s Annual Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

This Annual Report on Form 10-KOur management is responsible for the year ended December 31, 2017 does not include a report of management’s assessment regardingestablishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting as defined in Rule 13a-15(f) or an attestation report15d-15(f) of the Company’s registered public accounting firm dueExchange Act. Internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to a transition period established by rulesprovide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the Securitiespreparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with GAAP, and Exchange Commission for newly public companies.includes those policies and procedures that:

Inherent Limitations

(i)
pertain to the maintenance of Internal Controls

Our management, includingrecords that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of our principal executive officerassets;

(ii)
provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with GAAP, and principal financial officer, does not expect that our disclosure controlsreceipts and proceduresexpenditures are being made only in accordance with authorizations of our management and directors; and
(iii)
provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of our internal controls will prevent all errors and all fraud. A control system, no matter how well conceived and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assuranceassets that the objectives of the control system are met. could have a material effect on our financial statements.

132


Because of theits inherent limitations, in allinternal control systems, noover financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of controls can provide absolute assuranceeffectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that all control issues and instances of fraud, if any, within the Company have been detected. These inherent limitations include the realities that judgments in decision-making can be faulty, and that breakdowns can occur because of a simple error or mistake. Additionally, controls can be circumvented by the individual acts of some persons, by collusion of two or more people, or by management override of the control. The design of any system of controls also is based in part upon certain assumptions about the likelihood of future events, and there can be no assurance that any design will succeed in achieving its stated goals under all potential future conditions. Over time, controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate. Because

Our management assessed the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2023, using the criteria set forth by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the inherent limitationsTreadway Commission (COSO) in a cost-effectiveits Internal Control-Integrated Framework (2013).

Based on this assessment and those criteria, management concluded that our internal control system, misstatementsover financial reporting was not effective as of December 31, 2023, due to errorthe material weakness described below.

A material weakness is a deficiency, or fraud may occur anda combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of a company’s annual or interim financial statements will not be detected.prevented or detected on a timely basis.

As of December 31, 2023, we have remediated the prior year design deficiencies in the controls identified at CarOffer associated with (i) management review and performance of control procedures, (ii) proper authorization of certain transactions, and (iii) logical access and change management of information technology, or IT, general controls, or IT General Controls; however, the operational deficiencies from the prior year related to the operation of IT General Controls around program change and logical access in certain IT systems remain unremediated. Therefore, we were not able to have consistent, effective operation of manual controls that rely on data produced by and maintained within these affected IT systems. As a result, we did not have effective operation of internal controls over financial reporting to address the risks of material misstatement of various financial statement accounts at December 31, 2023. Management has determined that the impact of the 2022 deficiencies that remained unremediated in 2023 continued to aggregate into a material weakness at December 31, 2023.

This material weakness did not result in any material misstatements to the consolidated financial statements and there were no changes to previously released financial statements. Notwithstanding our material weakness, we have concluded that the financial statements and other financial information included in this Annual Report fairly present in all material respects our financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows for the periods presented in conformity with GAAP.

Remediation Plan

Following the identification of the material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2022, and with the oversight of the Audit Committee of our Board of Directors, we commenced remediation efforts to address the material weaknesses and enhance our control environment, including our internal control over financial reporting. We have hired additional personnel and third-party consultants with appropriate knowledge, experience, and/or training commensurate with our technical accounting and financial reporting requirements; however, the material weakness described above continues to exist at December 31, 2023. As a result, we expect to continue remediation efforts during 2024. In addition, until remediation steps have been completed and are operated for a sufficient period of time, and subsequent evaluation of their effectiveness is completed, the material weakness described above will continue to exist. Our ongoing remediation efforts are focused on continued employee training related to internal control over financial reporting and confirming sustained operation of effectively designed control activities, including IT General controls.

Management is committed to successfully implementing the remediation plan as promptly as possible. The elements of our remediation plan can only be accomplished over time, and we can offer no assurance that these initiatives will ultimately have the intended effects. See “Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Business and Industry— We have identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting. If we are unable to remediate this material weakness, we may not be able to accurately or timely report our financial condition or results of operations, which may adversely affect our business and the market price of our common stock.”

133


The effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2023, has been audited by Ernst & Young LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, as stated in their report which is included herein.

Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting

ThereExcept as otherwise noted above under “Remediation Plan,” including the on-going remediation efforts described, there were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting (as such term is defined in Exchange Act Rule 13a–15(f) and 15d-15(f)) during the fiscalfourth quarter ended December 31, 20172023, that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting. Our plans for remediating the material weakness, described above, will constitute changes in our internal control over financial reporting, prospectively, when such remediation plans are effectively implemented.

134


Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

To the Stockholders and the Board of Directors of CarGurus, Inc.

Opinion on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

We have audited CarGurus, Inc.’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2023, based on criteria established in Internal Control—Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (2013 framework) (the COSO criteria). In our opinion, because of the effect of the material weakness described below on the achievement of the objectives of the control criteria, CarGurus, Inc. (the Company) has not maintained effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2023, based on the COSO criteria.

A material weakness is a deficiency, or combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of the company’s annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. The following material weakness has been identified and included in management’s assessment. Deficiencies over IT general controls over certain information technology systems at the CarOffer subsidiary resulted in the inability to have consistent, effective operation of manual business controls that rely on data produced by and maintained within these affected information technology systems, which in the aggregate constitute a material weakness.

We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB), the 2023 consolidated financial statements of the Company. This material weakness was considered in determining the nature, timing and extent of audit tests applied in our audit of the 2023 consolidated financial statements, and this report does not affect our report dated February 26, 2024, which expressed an unqualified opinion thereon.

Basis for Opinion

The Company’s management is responsible for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting included in the accompanying Management’s Annual Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s internal control over financial reporting based on our audit. We are a public accounting firm registered with the PCAOB and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects.

Our audit included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk, and performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.

Definition and Limitations of Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. A company’s internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and (3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.

135


Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.

/s/ Ernst & Young LLP

Boston, Massachusetts

February 26, 2024

136


Item 9B. Other Information.

Rule 10b5-1 Plan Trading Arrangements

None.

During the three months ended December 31, 2023, each of the following officers adopted a “Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangement” (as defined in Item 408 of Regulation S-K) that is intended to satisfy the affirmative defense of Rule 10b5-1(c) under the Exchange Act and our policies on insider trading:

Name & Title

Date Adopted

Aggregate Number/Dollar Value of Shares of Class A Common Stock to be Purchased or Sold Pursuant to Trading Arrangement

Expiration Date(1)

Andrea Eldridge,
Chief People Officer

November 15, 2023

37,716shares to be sold

November 29, 2024

Matthew Quinn,
Chief Technology Officer

December 5, 2023

$45,000 in shares to be sold

December 31, 2024

Dafna Sarnoff,
Chief Marketing Officer

December 15, 2023

73,817shares to be sold(2)

March 31, 2025

Samuel Zales,
President and Chief Operating Officer

November 22, 2023

421,220shares to be sold(2)(3)

January 31, 2025

Javier Zamora,

General Counsel and Corporate Secretary

November 10, 2023

25,778shares to be sold(2)

March 1, 2024

______________________

(1) The Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangement permits transactions through and including the earlier to occur of (a) the completion of all sales or (b) the date listed in the table. The arrangement also provides for automatic expiration in the event of liquidation, dissolution, bankruptcy, insolvency, or death of the adopting person.

(2) The Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangement includes the sale of shares to be received upon future vesting of certain outstanding equity awards, net of any shares withheld by us to satisfy applicable taxes. The number of shares to be withheld, and thus the exact number of shares to be sold pursuant to such officer’s Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangement, can only be determined upon the occurrence of the future vesting events. For purposes of this disclosure, we have reported the gross number of shares to be received upon the future vesting of such equity awards, before subtracting any shares to be withheld by us to satisfy applicable taxes in connection with such future vesting events.

(3) The Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangement is intended to permit Mr. Zales to exercise and sell expiring stock options, subject to certain price limits.

Other than those disclosed above, none of our directors or officers adopted, modified, or terminated a “Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangement” or “non-Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangement,” in each case as defined in Item 408 of Regulation S-K.

Item 9C. Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions That Prevent Inspections.

Not Applicable.


137


PART III

Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance.

The information concerning our executive officers is set forth under the heading “Information about our Executive Officers” in Item 1 of this Annual Report. The remainder of the information required by this Item is incorporated herein by reference from the information in our Proxy Statement for our 2024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders.

Item 11. Executive Compensation.

The information required by this Item is incorporated herein by reference from the information in our Proxy Statement for our 20182024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, which we will file with the SEC within 120 daysStockholders.

Item 12. Security Ownership of the end of the fiscal year to which this Annual Report on Form 10-K relates.Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters.

Item 11. Executive Compensation.

The information required by this Item is incorporated herein by reference from the information in our Proxy Statement for our 20182024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, which we will file with the SEC within 120 days of the end of the fiscal year to which this Annual Report on Form 10-K relates.Stockholders.

The information required by this Item is incorporated herein by reference from the information in our Proxy Statement for our 20182024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, which we will file with the SEC within 120 days of the end of the fiscal year to which this Annual Report on Form 10-K relates.Stockholders.

Item 13. Certain Relationships14. Principal Accountant Fees and Related Transactions, and Director Independence.Services.

The information required by this Item is incorporated herein by reference from the information in our Proxy Statement for our 20182024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, which we will file with the SEC within 120 days of the end of the fiscal year to which this Annual Report on Form 10-K relates.

Item 14. Principal Accounting Fees and Services.

The information required by this Item is incorporated herein by reference from the information in our Proxy Statement for our 2018 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, which we will file with the SEC within 120 days of the end of the fiscal year to which this Annual Report on Form 10-K relates.

Stockholders.


138


PART IV

Item 15. Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules.

(a) Documents filed as a part of this Report:

(1) Financial Statements

The financial statements of CarGurus, Inc. are included in Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.Report.

(2) Financial Statement Schedules

All financial statements schedules are omitted as they are either not required or the information is otherwise included in the consolidated financial statements and related notes.

(3) Index to Exhibits

The documents listed in the Exhibit Index immediately preceding the signature page of this Annual Report on Form 10-K are incorporated by reference or are filed or furnished with this Annual Report, on Form 10-K, in each case as indicated therein (numbered in accordance with Item 601 of Regulation S-K).

Item 16. Form 10-K Summary.

Not applicable.


139


EXHIBIT INDEX

Incorporated by Reference

 

Exhibit

Number

Exhibit Description

Form

 

File

Number

 

Filing Date

 

Exhibit

Number

 

Filed or Furnished

Herewith

2.1

 

Membership Interest Purchase Agreement dated as of December 9, 2020, as amended, by and among the Registrant, CarOffer, LLC, CarOffer Investors Holding, LLC (“TopCo”), the Members of TopCo and Bruce T. Thompson.

10-K

 

001-38233

 

February 12, 2021

 

2.1

 

 

2.2

 

Membership Interest Purchase Agreement, dated November 6, 2023, by and among CarGurus, Inc., CarOffer, LLC, CarOffer Investors Holding, LLC, CarOffer MidCo, LLC, each of the persons set forth on Schedule 1.1(a) thereto, and Bruce T. Thompson.*

 

8-K

 

001-38233

 

November 7, 2023

 

2.1

 

 

3.1

Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of the Registrant.

8-K

 

001-38233

 

October 16, 2017

 

3.1

 

 

3.2

Second Amended and Restated Bylaws of the Registrant.

8-K

 

001-38233

 

August 4, 2023

 

3.1

 

 

4.1

 

Specimen Class A common stock certificate of the Registrant.

 

S-1/A

 

333-220495

 

September 29, 2017

 

4.1

 

 

4.2

 

Description of the Registrant’s Securities Registered Under Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

X

10.1

 

Form of Indemnification Agreement between the Registrant and each of its directors and officers.

 

S-1

 

333-220495

 

September 15, 2017

 

10.1

 

 

10.2#

 

Amended and Restated 2006 Equity Incentive Plan.

 

S-1

 

333-220495

 

September 15, 2017

 

10.2

 

 

10.3#

 

Amended and Restated 2015 Equity Incentive Plan and forms of agreements thereunder.

 

S-1/A

 

333-220495

 

September 29, 2017

 

10.3

 

 

10.4#

 

Omnibus Incentive Compensation Plan and forms of agreements thereunder.

 

10-K

 

001-38233

 

February 12, 2021

 

10.4

 

 

10.4.1#

 

Form of Executive Nonqualified Stock Option Grant Agreement.

 

10-K

 

001-38233

 

February 12, 2021

 

10.4.1

 

 

10.4.2#

 

Form of Executive Time-Based Restricted Stock Unit Agreement.

 

10-Q

 

001-38233

 

May 3, 2018

 

10.3

 

 

10.4.3#

 

Form of Executive Performance-Based Restricted Stock Unit Agreement.

 

10-K

 

001-38233

 

February 12, 2021

 

10.4.3

 

 

10.4.4#

 

Form of Amendment to Performance Restricted Stock Unit Agreement.

 

10-K

 

001-38233

 

February 25, 2022

 

10.31

 

 

10.4.5#

 

Form of Non-Employee Director Restricted Stock Unit Agreement.

 

8-K

 

001-38233

 

March 26, 2018

 

10.1

 

 

10.5#

 

CarGurus, Inc. Annual Incentive Plan.

 

8-K/A

 

001-38233

 

April 6, 2018

 

10.1

 

 

10.6#

 

Offer Letter, dated March 17, 2006, by and between the Registrant and Langley Steinert.

 

S-1

 

333-220495

 

September 15, 2017

 

10.5

 

 

10.7#

 

Offer Letter, dated August 10, 2015, by and between the Registrant and Jason Trevisan.

 

S-1

 

333-220495

 

September 15, 2017

 

10.6

 

 

10.8#

 

Offer Letter, dated October 24, 2014, by and between the Registrant and Samuel Zales.

 

S-1

 

333-220495

 

September 15, 2017

 

10.7

 

 

10.9#

 

Offer Letter, dated October 16, 2023, by and between the Registrant and Elisa Palazzo.

 

8-K

 

001-38233

 

October 30, 2023

 

10.1

 

 

 

 

 

 

Incorporated by Reference

 

 

Exhibit
Number

 

Exhibit Description

 

Form

 

File
Number

 

Filing Date

 

Exhibit
Number

 

Filed
Herewith

3.1

 

Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of the Registrant.

 

8-K

 

001-38233

 

October 16, 2017

 

3.1

 

 

3.2

 

Amended and Restated Bylaws of the Registrant.

 

8-K

 

001-38233

 

October 16, 2017

 

3.2

 

4.1

 

Specimen Class A common stock certificate of the Registrant.

 

S-1/A

 

333-220495

 

September 29, 2017

 

4.1

 

 

4.2

 

Amended and Restated Investors’ Rights Agreement, dated August 23, 2016, by and among the Registrant and certain of its stockholders.

 

S-1

 

333-220495

 

September 15, 2017

 

4.2

 

 

10.1

 

Form of Indemnification Agreement between the Registrant and each of its directors and executive officers.

 

S-1

 

333-220495

 

September 15, 2017

 

10.1

 

 

10.2#

 

Amended and Restated 2006 Equity Incentive Plan.

 

S-1

 

333-220495

 

September 15, 2017

 

10.2

 

 

10.3#

 

Amended and Restated 2015 Equity Incentive Plan and forms of agreements thereunder.

 

S-1/A

 

333-220495

 

September 29, 2017

 

10.3

 

 

10.4#

 

Omnibus Incentive Compensation Plan and forms of agreements thereunder.

 

S-1/A

 

333-220495

 

September 29, 2017

 

10.4

 

 

10.5#

 

Offer Letter, dated March 17, 2006, by and between the Registrant and Langley Steinert.

 

S-1

 

333-220495

 

September 15, 2017

 

10.5

 

 

10.6#

 

Offer Letter, dated August 10, 2015, by and between the Registrant and Jason Trevisan.

 

S-1

 

333-220495

 

September 15, 2017

 

10.6

 

 

10.7#

 

Offer Letter, dated October 24, 2014, by and between the Registrant and Samuel Zales.

 

S-1

 

333-220495

 

September 15, 2017

 

10.7

 

 

10.8

 

Lease, dated as of October 8, 2014, by and between the Registrant and BCSP Cambridge Two Property LLC.

 

S-1

 

333-220495

 

September 15, 2017

 

10.8

 

 

10.9

 

Office Lease Agreement, dated as of March 11, 2016, by and between 55 Cambridge Parkway, LLC and the Registrant.

 

S-1

 

333-220495

 

September 15, 2017

 

10.9

 

 

10.10

 

First Amendment to Lease, dated as of July 30, 2016 by and between 55 Cambridge Parkway, LLC and the Registrant.

 

S-1

 

333-220495

 

September 15, 2017

 

10.10

 

 

21.1

 

List of Subsidiaries of the Registrant.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

XX

23.1

 

Consent of Ernst & Young LLP, Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

X

31.1

 

Certification of Principal Executive Officer Pursuant to Rules 13a-14(a) and 15d-14(a) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as Adopted Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

X

31.2

 

Certification of Principal Financial Officer Pursuant to Rules 13a-14(a) and 15d-14(a) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as Adopted Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

X

32.1*

 

Certification of Principal Executive Officer Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as Adopted Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

X

140



10.10#

 

Relocation Repayment Agreement, dated October 16, 2023, by and between the Registrant and Elisa Palazzo.

 

8-K

 

001-38233

 

October 30, 2023

 

10.2

 

 

10.11#

 

Offer Letter, dated January 17, 2020, by and between the Registrant and Andrea Eldridge.

 

10-Q

 

001-38233

 

May 9, 2022

 

10.2

 

 

10.12#

 

Offer Letter, dated November 15, 2021, by and between the Registrant and Dafna Sarnoff.

 

10-Q

 

001-38233

 

May 9, 2022

 

10.3

 

 

10.13#

 

Offer Letter, dated December 1, 2021, by and between the Registrant and Matthew Quinn.

 

10-Q

 

001-38233

 

May 9, 2023

 

10.1

 

 

10.14#

 

Offer Letter, dated November 18, 2016, by and between the Registrant and Thomas Caputo.

 

10-K

 

001-38233

 

February 28, 2019

 

10.8

 

 

10.15#

 

Separation Agreement, dated May 30, 2023, between the Registrant and Thomas Caputo.

 

10-Q

 

001-38233

 

August 9, 2023

 

10.1

 

 

10.16#

 

Offer Letter, dated December 4, 2015, by and between the Registrant and Scot Fredo.

 

10-K

 

001-38233

 

February 12, 2021

 

10.10

 

 

10.17

 

Lease, dated as of October 8, 2014, by and between the Registrant and BCSP Cambridge Two Property LLC.

 

S-1

 

333-220495

 

September 15, 2017

 

10.8

 

 

10.18

 

First Amendment to Lease, dated as of October 27, 2015, between BCSP Cambridge Two Property LLC and the Registrant.

 

10-Q

 

001-38233

 

November 5, 2020

 

10.2

 

 

10.19

 

Second Amendment to Lease, dated as of September 28, 2020, between Two Canal Park Massachusetts, LLC, as successor-in-interest to BCSP Cambridge Two Property LLC, and the Registrant.

 

10-Q

 

001-38233

 

November 5, 2020

 

10.3

 

 

10.20

 

Office Lease Agreement, dated as of March 11, 2016, by and between 55 Cambridge Parkway, LLC and the Registrant.

 

S-1

 

333-220495

 

September 15, 2017

 

10.9

 

 

10.21

 

First Amendment to Lease, dated as of July 30, 2016 by and between 55 Cambridge Parkway, LLC and the Registrant.

 

S-1

 

333-220495

 

September 15, 2017

 

10.10

 

 

10.22

 

Second Amendment to Lease, dated as of August 30, 2019 by and between 55 Cambridge Parkway, LLC and the Registrant.

 

10-Q

 

001-38233

 

November 5, 2019

 

10.1

 

 

10.23

 

Third Amendment to Lease, dated as of July 1, 2020, between 55 Cambridge Parkway, LLC and the Registrant.

 

10-Q

 

001-38233

 

November 5, 2020

 

10.1

 

 

10.24

 

Lease Agreement, dated as of June 19, 2018, by and between US Parcel A, LLC and the Registrant.

 

8-K

 

001-38233

 

June 20, 2018

 

10.1

 

 

10.25

 

Indenture of Lease between S&A P-12 Property LLC and the Registrant, dated as of December 19, 2019.

 

8-K

 

001-38233

 

December 20, 2019

 

10.1

 

 

10.26

 

First Amendment to Lease between S&A P-12 Property LLC and the Registrant, dated as of June 12, 2020.

 

10-Q

 

001-38233

 

August 6, 2020

 

10.3

 

 

10.27

 

Sublease, dated October 6, 2021, by and between the Registrant and HubSpot, Inc.

 

10-K

 

001-38233

 

February 25, 2022

 

10.29

 

 

10.28

 

First Amendment to Sublease, dated July 31, 2022, by and between the Registrant and HubSpot, Inc.

 

10-Q

 

001-38233

 

November 8, 2022

 

10.2

 

 

10.29

 

Sublease, dated December 23, 2021, by and between the Registrant and Amylyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

 

10-K

 

001-38233

 

February 25, 2022

 

10.30

 

 

141


10.30

 

First Amendment to Sublease, dated March 23, 2022, by and between the Registrant and Amylyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

 

10-Q

 

001-38233

 

May 9, 2022

 

10.1

 

 

10.31

 

Office Lease Agreement, dated April 28, 2022, by and between FSP Addison Circle Limited Partnership and CarOffer, LLC.*

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

X

10.32

 

First Amendment to Office Lease Agreement, dated November 1, 2023, by and between FSP Addison Circle Limited Partnership and CarOffer, LLC.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

X

10.33

 

Third Amended and Restated Limited Liability Company Agreement, dated November 23, 2021, by and among the Registrant, TopCo, the Members of TopCo, and CarOffer MidCo, LLC.

 

10-K

 

001-38233

 

February 25, 2022

 

10.27

 

 

10.34

 

Corrective Amendment, dated May 6, 2022, to Third Amended and Restated Limited Liability Company Agreement of CarOffer, LLC, dated November 23, 2021, by and among the Registrant, CarOffer, LLC, TopCo, and CarOffer Midco, LLC

 

10-Q

 

001-38233

 

May 9, 2022

 

10.5

 

 

10.35

 

Credit Agreement, dated September 26, 2022, by and among the Registrant, as borrower, PNC Bank, National Association, as administrative agent, collateral agent and an L/C Issuer, and the other lenders, L/C Issuers and other parties party thereto*

 

8-K

 

001-38233

 

September 29, 2022

 

10.1

 

 

21.1

 

List of Subsidiaries of the Registrant.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

X

23.1

 

Consent of Ernst & Young LLP, Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

X

31.1

Certification of Principal Executive Officer Pursuant to Rules 13a-14(a) and 15d-14(a) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as Adopted Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

X

31.2

 

Certification of Principal Financial Officer Pursuant to Rules 13a-14(a) and 15d-14(a) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as Adopted Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

X

32.1**

Certification of Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as Adopted Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

X

32.2**

 

Certification of Principal Financial Officer Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as Adopted Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

97.1

 

CarGurus, Inc. Compensation Clawback Policy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

X

101.INS

Inline XBRL Instance Document- the instance document does not appear in the Interactive Data File because its XBRL tags are embedded within the Inline XBRL document.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

X

101.SCH

 

Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema With Embedded Linkbase Documents.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

X

142


104

The cover page from the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023 has been formatted in Inline XBRL.

Incorporated by Reference

Exhibit
Number

Exhibit Description

Form

File
Number

Filing Date

Exhibit
Number

Filed
Herewith

32.2*

Certification of Principal Financial Officer Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as Adopted Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

X

101.INS

XBRL Instance Document.

X

101.SCH

XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document.

 X

101.CAL

XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document.

 X

101.DEF

XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document.

 X

101.LAB

XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document.

 X

101.PRE

XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document.

 X

# Indicates a management contract or compensatory plan.

* The exhibits and schedules to this agreement have been omitted pursuant to Item 601(b)(2) of Regulation S-K and the Company agrees to furnish supplementally a copy of any omitted schedule to the staff of the SEC upon request.

** The certifications furnished in Exhibit 32.1 and Exhibit 32.2 hereto are deemed to accompany this Annual Report on Form 10-K and will not be deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act, of 1934, as amended, except to the extent that the registrant specifically incorporates it by reference.

143


SIGNATURES


SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

CarGurus, Inc.

Date: March 1, 2018February 26, 2024

By:

/s/ Langley SteinertJason Trevisan

Langley SteinertJason Trevisan

Chief Executive Officer

(Principal Executive Officer)

Chief Executive Officer, President and Chairman of the Board of Directors

POWER OF ATTORNEY

Each person whose individual signature appears below hereby constitutes and appoints Langley SteinertJason Trevisan and Jason Trevisan,Elisa Palazzo, and each of them, with full power of substitution and resubstitution and full power to act without the other, as his or her true and lawful attorney-in-fact and agent to act in his or her name, place, and stead and to execute in the name and on behalf of each person, individually and in each capacity stated below, and to file any and all amendments to this Annual Report on Form 10-K, and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto, and other documents in connection therewith, with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto said attorneys-in-fact and agents, and each of them, full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing, ratifying and confirming all that said attorneys-in-fact and agents or any of them or their or his substitute or substitutes may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue thereof.

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

Name

Title

Date

/s/ Jason Trevisan

Chief Executive Officer and Director

(Principal Executive Officer)

February 26, 2024

Jason Trevisan

/s/ Elisa Palazzo

Chief Financial Officer

(Principal Financial Officer and Principal Accounting Officer)

February 26, 2024

Elisa Palazzo

/s/ Langley Steinert

Chief Executive Officer, PresidentChair and ChairmanChair of

the Board of Directors(Principal Executive Officer)

March 1, 2018February 26, 2024

Langley Steinert

/s/ Steven Conine

 Director

February 26, 2024

/s/ Jason TrevisanSteven Conine

Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer)

March 1, 2018

Jason Trevisan

/s/ Manik Gupta

Director

February 26, 2024

Manik Gupta

/s/ Lori Hickok

 Director

February 26, 2024

Lori Hickok

/s/ Stephen Kaufer

Director

March 1, 2018February 26, 2024

Stephen Kaufer

/s/ Anastasios ParafestasGreg Schwartz

Director

March 1, 2018February 26, 2024

Anastasios ParafestasGreg Schwartz

/s/ David Parker

Director

March 1, 2018

David Parker

/s/ Simon Rothman

Director

March 1, 2018

Simon Rothman

/s/ Ian Smith

Director

March 1, 2018

Ian Smith

144

97