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CarGurus Supports Dealers with Billings DiscountCAMBRIDGE, Mass., March 18, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today CarGurus issued the following letter to shareholders. Dear Shareholder, As we evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on consumers, dealers, and our own employees, we are proactively taking steps to provide our key stakeholders with our unwavering support through this unprecedented period. We have implemented our business continuity plans around the world and shifted all of our employees to work from home for their health and safety. We are also taking decisive action to provide dealers with flexibility to navigate an increasingly challenging economic environment. Effective today, we are notifying dealers of measures we are taking to help them maintain business health through this difficult period. Included in these measures is a 50% rate reduction on all marketplace subscription billings in April for all of our paying customers. We will be processing this automatically – dealers do not have to do anything to participate in this program. To be clear, this is a fluid situation, and we will continue to monitor both federal and state guidelines and consumer and dealer activity and take measures to extend flexibility to our customers. The full communication sent to our dealers is included below. We are also squarely focused on the health of our business and acting in the best interest of our long-term operating model. Fortunately, we have the flexibility in our business to weather this environment and emerge well-positioned in the industry. We carry no debt and a strong cash position on our balance sheet, providing a robust foundation for times like these. We also have the ability to dynamically control our largest expenses. We are already enabling certain expense controls and will continue to evaluate our consumer marketing expenses against the economic backdrop in each of our markets. Both our management team and board of directors have deep experience navigating challenging economic environments and business disruptions, and we believe our ongoing actions will yield stronger businesses for both CarGurus and our customers in the long term. While this period is unprecedented, we believe CarGurus is supporting one of the strongest segments of the automotive industry. Few businesses are fully insulated from economic cycles, but over 90% of leads and connections submitted on our marketplaces are for used car listings, and used car sales volumes and profit margins have historically remained resilient even through the most challenging economic environments. We will continue to take actions to help our dealer customers remain resilient through this period as well. While we are not commenting on the impact of these actions on our Q1 outlook, after consideration we have decided to suspend our full-year 2020 guidance for revenue, non-GAAP operating income, and non-GAAP earnings per share. As we gain more clarity on our outlook in a rapidly evolving environment, we expect to broadly communicate an update as appropriate. To all of our employees, users, dealers, partners, and shareholders, please stay safe and vigilant. Langley Steinert, Founder and CEO JasonTrevisan, CFO Subj: Supporting Your Dealerships During COVID-19 Dear Partner, One of CarGurus' core values is Integrity - and that drives our commitment to being a partner in the community. As the COVID-19 situation continues to unfold around the world, we wanted to let you know that we at CarGurus are thinking of all our customers and partners, hoping you, your family, and your employees are safe. It's an unprecedented situation, and we, like you, are working hard to adapt to the rapidly evolving circumstances. We know the crisis is already hitting many dealers hard, but the impact is varied. Some areas are nearing total shutdown, others are not yet impacted. Similarly, our lead volumes remain surprisingly strong in many regions, while they're weaker in harder-hit areas. Whatever your situation is, we're committed to trying to give you the support you need to reach your best possible results during this challenging time. To that end:
Please know that CarGurus is working hard to try to make sure our site and products continue to operate as best as possible given the circumstances. CarGurus employees worldwide are now working from home, but that shouldn't impact our ability to support our dealer customers or the consumer shopping experience on our site: CarGurus employees are well-equipped to work remotely and all major business functions should continue to help you through this difficult time. Learn more or get suggestions You might want to check in to CarGurus’ Dealer Resource Center Insider forums, where you can share tips or ask questions about how your fellow dealers are navigating the situation. (Use your regular Dealer Dashboard login info to get access -- or contact your rep today if you don't have dashboard access.) We'll be sharing suggestions for doing more business digitally, keeping customers and employees safe, and continuing to run your dealership there and in our Dealer Resource Center blog. We hope you stay safe and that your business gets back to normal as quickly as possible. If you have any questions, please reach out to your account manager, reply to this email, or call 800-CARGURUS. We're here to help. Thank you. Cautionary Language Concerning Forward-Looking Statements Investor Contact: |