The end of an earnings season can be a great time to discover new stocks and assess how companies are handling the current business environment. Let’s take a look at how Cars.com (NYSE: CARS) and the rest of the online marketplace stocks fared in Q1.

Marketplaces have existed for centuries. Where once it was a main street in a small town or a mall in the suburbs, sellers benefitted from proximity to one another because they could draw customers by offering convenience and selection. Today, a myriad of online marketplaces fulfill that same role, aggregating large customer bases, which attracts commission-paying sellers, generating flywheel scale effects that feed back into further customer acquisition.

The 12 online marketplace stocks we track reported a satisfactory Q1. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 1.7% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was in line.

While some online marketplace stocks have fared somewhat better than others, they have collectively declined. On average, share prices are down 2.2% since the latest earnings results.

Cars.com (NYSE: CARS)

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

Cars.com reported revenues of $180.2 million, flat year on year. This print was in line with analysts’ expectations, and overall, it was a very strong quarter for the company with a solid beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates and revenue in line with analysts’ estimates.

"We delivered revenue growth in line with guidance in the first quarter on the back of continued Marketplace momentum and Adjusted EBITDA margin above the high end of guidance," said Tobias Hartmann, Chief Executive Officer of Cars.com, Inc.

The stock is down 7.4% since reporting and currently trades at $10.37.

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

Best Q1: Sea (NYSE: SE)

Founded in 2009 and a publicly traded company since 2017, Sea (NYSE: SE) started as a gaming platform and has since expanded to offer a variety of services such as e-commerce, digital payments, and financial services across Southeast Asia.

Sea reported revenues of $7.32 billion, up 42.9% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 9.7%. The business had a stunning quarter with an impressive beat of analysts’ EBITDA and revenue estimates.

Sea scored the biggest analyst estimates beat among its peers. The company reported 72.6 million users, up 12.4% year on year. The market seems content with the results as the stock is up 4.1% since reporting. It currently trades at $88.38.

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

Weakest Q1: Shutterstock (NYSE: SSTK)

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

Shutterstock reported revenues of $199.2 million, down 17.9% year on year, falling short of analysts’ expectations by 10.2%. It was a disappointing quarter as it posted a significant miss of analysts’ revenue and EBITDA estimates.

Shutterstock delivered the weakest performance against analyst estimates and slowest revenue growth in the group. As expected, the stock is down 6.2% since the results and currently trades at $16.52.

Read our full analysis of Shutterstock’s results here.

ACV Auctions (NYSE: ACVA)

Founded in 2014, ACV Auctions (NASDAQ: ACVA) is an online auction marketplace for car dealers and wholesalers to buy and sell used cars.

ACV Auctions reported revenues of $204.2 million, up 11.8% year on year. This result topped analysts’ expectations by 1.1%. Taking a step back, it was a mixed quarter as it also logged a solid beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates but EBITDA guidance for next quarter missing analysts’ expectations significantly.

The stock is up 13% since reporting and currently trades at $5.90.

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

Instacart (NASDAQ: CART)

Powering more than one billion grocery orders since its founding, Instacart (NASDAQ: CART) is an online grocery shopping and delivery platform that partners with retailers to help customers shop from local stores through its app or website.

Instacart reported revenues of $1.02 billion, up 13.6% year on year. This print surpassed analysts’ expectations by 1.2%. It was a strong quarter as it also produced an impressive beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates and a narrow beat of analysts’ revenue estimates.

The stock is down 9.8% since reporting and currently trades at $39.46.

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

Market Update

Late in 2025 into early 2026, there was hand wringing around artificial intelligence. For software companies, the fear was that AI would erode pricing power and compress margins as new tools made it easier to replicate what once required expensive enterprise platforms. Crypto investors had their own version of the same anxiety: if AI agents could trade, allocate capital, and manage wallets autonomously, what exactly was the long-term value of today’s crypto infrastructure?

These concerns triggered a noticeable rotation away from these sectors and into safer havens. But markets rarely dwell on one narrative for long. Spring 2026 came, and the focus shifted abruptly from technological disruption to geopolitical risk. The US’ conflict with Iran became the dominant driver of market psychology, and when geopolitics takes center stage, the script changes quickly. Investors stop debating growth rates and start worrying about oil supply, inflation, and global stability.

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