SYDNEY, June 9, 2026, 09:05 AEST
- CAR finished at A$26.46 on Friday, with the ASX closing after for the King’s Birthday holiday.
- ASX 200 futures signaled a firmer start for Tuesday as Wall Street steadied overnight.
- Investors get a clearer read on CAR’s rebound now, as consumer data and AI risk remain in focus.
CAR Group Limited goes into Tuesday’s ASX open helped by a light push from index futures, but the bigger focus is if last week’s rally in the online auto marketplace sticks.
Shares were last at A$26.46 at 16:40 AEST on Friday before the ASX closed for the King’s Birthday holiday on Monday. Market data had the stock up 6.52% over the week. Still, that’s a long way from the 52-week high of A$41.62.
The early trade takes on some weight. ASX opens just before 10 a.m. in Sydney, and at 8:33 a.m. S&P/ASX 200 futures were up 23 points, or 0.27%, after Wall Street regained some ground from Friday’s tech slump.
ASX slips, growth stocks under lens. The S&P/ASX 200 ended last week down 0.70% at 8,625.10 on Friday. Investors are watching if higher-growth stocks like CAR can keep rebounding, with rate moves and consumer spending still a focus.
CAR operates the carsales platform in Australia and holds marketplaces for vehicles in South Korea, the US, Chile and Brazil. Having multiple markets means it gets a mix of earnings, but it also means CAR is tied to how much advertisers spend, how dealers behave and the level of used-car demand in these countries.
Last time CAR posted a major earnings update, bulls got a few numbers to latch onto. For the first half of fiscal 2026, CAR booked A$626 million in revenue, up 8%. EBITDA came in at A$324 million, up 11%. Net profit after tax was A$143 million, up 16%. EBITDA, or earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, is often used as a rough measure of cash profit.
CAR kept its fiscal 2026 outlook for pro forma revenue growth at 12% to 14% in constant currency and expects adjusted net profit to grow by 9% to 13%. The company said pro forma numbers adjust earlier periods for a better comparison.
Chief Executive William Elliott called AI “a critical enabler” for the business in February and said the Australian automotive market “remains robust”. The company said then that traffic and inquiry trends were still firm.
Analysts are staying constructive on the numbers. MarketScreener has 15 analysts with a mean “Buy” on the stock and an average target price of A$33.93, which is higher than where shares closed on Friday. But those targets are not predictions—they show where analysts think the stock might go if their calls land. MarketScreener Australia
Investors are not only comparing CAR to car platforms. The stock is being measured up against other online classifieds on the ASX, including REA Group and SEEK, where things like paid listings, traffic and leads matter. David Berthon-Jones, joint CIO at Aequitas Investment Partners, called out the AI risk, saying, “Who controls attention is the battle for these websites.” But Chris Stott, CIO at 1851 Capital, disagreed, arguing, “such models will hold up through the threat of AI”. The Nightly
ASX 200 faces a data-heavy week as investors look beyond company news. Australian consumer and business confidence numbers hit Tuesday, then Chinese inflation and U.S. CPI land later on. IG market analyst Tony Sycamore said before the break that the ASX 200 was “continuing to lag global peers”. IG
But the risks are clear. If consumer data softens, if global yields move higher after U.S. inflation prints, or if dealer spending slows, it gets harder for investors to chase marketplace earnings. CAR’s outlook still lists macro conditions, geopolitics, customer demand, inflation, and FX as possible reasons for results to miss guidance.
Tuesday’s open isn’t driven by new company news; it’s more about finding a level after CAR stayed dark on Monday. The early quotes will show if traders see the move in CAR as a chance to catch up to its earnings run, or if it’s just a relief bounce in a name still weighed down by last year’s damage.
