1. At a Glance – Blink and You’ll Miss the Cash
CarTrade Tech Ltd currently sits at a market cap of roughly ₹11,600 crore, trading near ₹2,428, and behaving like that quiet kid in class who suddenly tops the exam. While the broader market has been busy chasing food delivery losses and hyperlocal drama, CarTrade has been calmly minting ₹228 crore revenue in Q3 FY26, with an EBITDA margin of 37% and PAT of ₹61.5 crore. That’s not a typo. That’s real cash.
The stock has delivered ~74% returns over one year, yet the last three months have been painful (-21%), reminding everyone that even good businesses don’t get mercy in momentum tantrums. With P/E at ~56x, EV/EBITDA at ~36x, and ROCE at 7.6%, this is not a cheap bargain-bin play. This is a “pay for quality, pray for patience” situation.
But here’s the kicker: zero promoter holding, asset-light operations, dominant platforms, and a user base north of 70 million monthly uniques. This is not a startup pretending to be profitable. This is a scaled platform that has crossed the awkward teenage years. Curious? You should be.
2. Introduction – From Classifieds to Cash Registers
CarTrade Tech is what happens when the internet grows up and stops burning VC money for validation. Born as an auto classifieds platform, it has quietly morphed into a full-stack automotive transaction ecosystem. New cars, used cars, bikes, auctions, inspections, dealers, OEMs—everyone is inside the same digital mandi.
While investors were busy comparing food delivery burn rates and e-commerce vanity metrics, CarTrade was doing something radical – making profits consistently. Not adjusted EBITDA. Not “excluding ESOPs”. Actual PAT.
The company operates across consumer platforms (CarWale, BikeWale, CarTrade) and remarketing platforms (Shriram Automall, CarTrade Exchange,
Adroit Auto). Add OLX India classifieds to the mix, minus the loss-making C2B auto business, and you have a focused, boring, cash-generating machine.
The market hates boring. Until it doesn’t.
So the real question isn’t “is CarTrade good?”
The question is: how much are you willing to pay for predictable cash flows in a hype-driven market?
3. Business Model – WTF Do They Even Do?
Imagine Amazon, but only for vehicles—and without inventory headaches.
CarTrade operates a multi-channel, asset-light marketplace model:
Consumer Group
- Platforms like CarWale, BikeWale, CarTrade
- Revenue from dealer subscriptions, OEM advertising, lead generation
- High-margin, repeat-heavy, sticky traffic
- 90%+ organic traffic (Google SEO nerds, take notes)
Remarketing Group
- Shriram Automall + CarTrade Exchange
- Physical + digital auctions
- Used vehicles from banks, NBFCs, fleet owners, insurers
- Volume-driven, but now margin-expanding
OLX India (Post-Cleanup Version)
- Classifieds only
- Shut down loss-making C2B auto transaction ops
- Focused on listings + monetisation
The beauty?
CarTrade doesn’t own cars, finance cars, or insure cars. It just taxes the ecosystem quietly.
Like a toll booth. With software.
4. Financials Overview – The Table That Actually Matters
| Metric | Latest Qtr (Q3 FY26) | YoY Qtr (Q3 FY25) | Prev Qtr (Q2 FY26) | YoY % | QoQ % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue (₹ Cr) | 228.4 | 176.0 | 193.0 | ~30% | ~18% |
| EBITDA (₹ Cr) | 78.3 | 50.0 | 64.0 | ~56% | ~22% |
| PAT (₹ Cr) | 61.5 | 46.0 | 64.0 | ~34% | -4% |
| EPS (₹) | 11.68 | 9.01 | 12.53 | ~30% | -7% |
