What they do
CarParts.com, Inc., of Long Beach, California, sells auto parts and accessories online, more than 1.5 million of them, through its website and app, from its own distribution centers and through drop-ship partners. Besides CarParts.com it runs private-label and marketplace brands such as JC Whitney, CarParts Wholesale, Garage-Pro and Evan Fischer.
- PRTS
- $7.05 -18.2%
- US microcaps (IWC)
- -1.7%
- When
- Oct 30, 2026
Prices from Yahoo Finance; daily closes. Not adjusted for dividends.
Why we picked it
- 01$4.1M
A smaller loss. In the quarter to 3 October net sales rose 1.2% to $129.3M and gross margin to 33.4% from 33.1%, while operating expenses fell 10% to $47.0M. The net loss shrank to $4.1M from $10.9M a year earlier. Adjusted EBITDA was $1.0M against a loss of $2.5M, the third positive quarter in a row in the company's words; it leaves out $1.0M of stock pay and $3.8M of depreciation. See the numbers
- 02$10.0M
Cash coming in. Operating cash flow in the nine months was $10.0M, against an outflow of $26.5M a year earlier, helped by $18.3M from running down inventory, which fell to $76.9M from $95.2M in January. Capital spending was $7.6M. Cash was $33.8M at 3 October against a $25.5M balance of convertible notes, with nothing drawn on the revolver. An $8.0M share sale in March added to the cash. See the numbers
- 03$1.9M
Insiders bought. The CEO, David Meniane, and the COO, Michael Huffaker, each bought about 105,000 shares between 27 August and 10 September, about $0.97M each and about $1.9M together, at $6.88 to $10.06 a share. A director, Barry Phelps, bought 10,000 shares at $6.15 and $6.48 in August. No insider sold in the open market in the year to 29 October.
- 04$66M
A small price for the sales. At the 29 October close of $8.62 the company is worth about $66M, against $517M of net sales over the last four reported quarters. The company said its drop-ship partnership with A-Premium ran at about $55M a year at the end of the quarter, and its app brought in 14.5% of online revenue, up from 12.9% a year earlier. See the numbers
The numbers behind it
Each bar is a quarter as CarParts.com, Inc. filed it; hover one for its filing, or select it to open the filing.
The risk
The catch: CarParts.com still loses money, $9.3M in the nine months on a GAAP basis, and nine-month sales fell 7% to $396.9M, so the third quarter's 1.2% rise is the only growth so far this year. The share count has grown: 7.70M weighted shares in the quarter against 5.82M a year earlier, after share sales in September 2025 and March 2026, and the stock went through a 1-for-10 reverse split in May 2026 to get back above Nasdaq's $1.00 minimum. The convertible notes, $25.0M of principal plus 2% a year of interest paid in kind, can convert at $12.00 a share at maturity in September 2028, about 2
The full analysis
CarParts.com ($PRTS): smaller losses, cash coming in, and insiders buying above the price
Our view: bullish, because CarParts.com has cut its quarterly loss by more than half, turned its operating cash flow positive, and its CEO and COO bought about $1.9M of stock in August and September, mostly above the 29 October close. The business is still losing money on a GAAP basis and sales are down for the year, so the case rests on the cost cuts holding and sales growing again.
The thesis
CarParts.com, Inc., of Long Beach, California, sells auto parts and accessories online, more than 1.5 million of them, through its website and app, from its own distribution centers and through drop-ship partners (results release, Oct 2026). Besides CarParts.com it runs private-label and marketplace brands such as JC Whitney, CarParts Wholesale, Garage-Pro and Evan Fischer. Our case is that the restructuring has stopped the cash drain, that the company is valued at a small fraction of its sales, and that the people running it have been buying.
The evidence
A smaller loss. In the quarter to 3 October net sales rose 1.2% to $129.3M and gross margin to 33.4% from 33.1%, while operating expenses fell 10% to $47.0M (release). The net loss shrank to $4.1M, or $0.53 a share, from $10.9M, or $1.87, a year earlier. Adjusted EBITDA was $1.0M against a loss of $2.5M, the third positive quarter in a row in the company's words; it leaves out $1.0M of stock pay and $3.8M of depreciation (release).
Cash coming in. Operating cash flow in the nine months was $10.0M, against an outflow of $26.5M a year earlier, helped by $18.3M from running down inventory, which fell to $76.9M from $95.2M in January (release). Capital spending was $7.6M. Cash was $33.8M at 3 October against a $25.5M balance of convertible notes, with nothing drawn on the revolver (release). An $8.0M share sale in March added to the cash (10-Q, Aug 2026).
Insiders bought. The CEO, David Meniane, and the COO, Michael Huffaker, each bought about 105,000 shares between 27 August and 10 September, about $0.97M each and about $1.9M together, at $6.88 to $10.06 a share; about $1.8M of the $1.9M was paid at $9.11 to $10.06 (Form 4s, Aug and Sep 2026). A director, Barry Phelps, bought 10,000 shares at $6.15 and $6.48 in August (Form 4, Aug 2026). No insider sold in the open market in the year to 29 October (Form 4s). Directors and officers held 6.6% at 2 March, before these purchases (proxy, Mar 2026).
New channels. The company said its drop-ship partnership with A-Premium ran at about $55M a year at the end of the quarter, its app brought in 14.5% of online revenue, up from 12.9% a year earlier, and its new loyalty program had more than 200,000 members (release).
What the market is missing
The shares closed at $8.62 on 29 October, the day of the report. At that price CarParts.com is worth about $66M on 7.69M shares, against $517M of net sales over the last four reported quarters (53 weeks, as the fourth quarter of 2025 had 14), $33.8M of cash and a $25.5M balance of convertible notes. The CEO and COO paid more than that for every share they bought in September. What we think is underrated is the swing in cash: a year ago the nine months used $26.5M in operations; this year they produced $10.0M, and the quarter ended with nothing drawn on the revolver.
The risks
CarParts.com still loses money: $9.3M on a GAAP basis in the nine months, and that figure includes a $2.3M gain on selling its Philippines subsidiary and a $1.3M tax benefit (release). Nine-month sales fell 7% to $396.9M, so the third quarter's 1.2% rise is the only growth this year, and part of the cash came from running down inventory, which cannot repeat forever. Weighted shares are up 32% on a year earlier after share sales in September 2025 and March 2026, and a 1-for-10 reverse split in May took the stock back above Nasdaq's $1.00 minimum (8-K, Jun 2026). The convertible notes, $25.0M of principal paying 2% a year in kind, can convert at $12.00 a share at maturity on 10 September 2028, about 2.1M shares or 27% of today's count on the principal alone and about 29% with the interest, or must be repaid in cash, and holders can ask for repayment on a change of control (10-Q). The CFO resigned in November 2025 and the finance chief is still interim (8-K, Nov 2025). The company names its dependence on search engines for customers as a risk (release), and the shares trade about $0.27M a day.
What would change our mind
A return to negative adjusted EBITDA or operating cash outflows in the fourth quarter; sales falling again year over year; operating expenses rising back toward last year's level; a new share sale at or below today's price; or insiders selling.
Sources: CarParts.com third-quarter 2026 results release (8-K filed 29 Oct 2026); 10-Qs for the quarters to 4 April and 4 July 2026 and to 27 September 2025; 10-K for 2025 (5 Mar 2026); 8-Ks on the March 2026 private placement, the Nasdaq compliance letter (9 Jun 2026), the credit facility (16 Jun 2026) and the CFO's resignation (7 Nov 2025); proxy statement (31 Mar 2026); Form 4s for David Meniane, Michael Huffaker and Barry Phelps (Aug and Sep 2026); closes from Yahoo Finance, 28 and 29 Oct 2026, and Nasdaq, 29 Oct 2026.
By the numbers
| Quarter | Revenue | Gross margin | Net income | Cash | Debt | Diluted shares | Filing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q4 263 October 2026 | $129.3M | 33.4% | -$4.1M | $33.8M | n/a | 7.7M | 8-K, 29 October 2026 |
| Q3 264 July 2026 | $135.6M | 33.2% | -$3.2M | $38.2M | n/a | 7.6M | 10-Q, 7 August 2026 |
| Q2 264 April 2026 | $132.0M | 32.5% | -$1.9M | $37.9M | n/a | 6.9M | 10-Q, 8 May 2026 |
| Q1 26*3 January 2026 | $120.4M | 33.2% | -$11.6M | $25.8M | n/a | n/a | 10-K, 5 March 2026 |
| Q3 2527 September 2025 | $127.8M | 33.1% | -$10.9M | $36.0M | n/a | 5.8M | 10-Q, 10 November 2025 |
| Q2 2528 June 2025 | $151.9M | 32.8% | -$12.7M | $19.8M | n/a | 5.6M | 10-Q, 7 August 2026 |
| Q1 2529 March 2025 | $147.4M | 32.1% | -$15.3M | $38.5M | n/a | 5.7M | 10-Q, 8 May 2026 |
| Q4 24*28 December 2024 | $133.5M | 32.5% | -$15.4M | $36.4M | n/a | n/a | 10-K, 5 March 2026 |
Source: the company's 10-Q and 10-K filings on SEC EDGAR, as tagged in their XBRL data. Each quarter uses the most recent filing that reports it, so restated quarters compare cleanly. Quarters are labelled by the calendar quarter they end in. Debt is current plus long-term debt; net income is as reported, including any discontinued operations. *Fourth quarter: the full year in the 10-K less the first nine months. n/a: not reported for that quarter on its own.
Insiders
All directors and executive officers as a group (9 persons) own 6.6% of the shares (At 2 Mar 2026, before the March private placement and before the CEO, COO and a director bought about 220,000 shares in August and September 2026. No open-market insider sales in the year to 29 Oct 20), according to the DEF 14A filed 31 March 2026, as of 2 March 2026.
| Date | Who | Shares bought | Price | Value | Filing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 September 2026 | Michael HuffakerCOO | 13,250 | $10.06 | $133K | Form 4 |
| 10 September 2026 | David MenianeCEO | 13,250 | $10.06 | $133K | Form 4 |
| 9 September 2026 | Michael HuffakerCOO | 36,580 | $9.64 | $353K | Form 4 |
| 9 September 2026 | David MenianeCEO | 36,643 | $9.64 | $353K | Form 4 |
| 8 September 2026 | Michael HuffakerCOO | 21,718 | $9.35 | $203K | Form 4 |
| 8 September 2026 | David MenianeCEO | 21,742 | $9.35 | $203K | Form 4 |
| 4 September 2026 | Michael HuffakerCOO | 21,160 | $9.11 | $193K | Form 4 |
| 4 September 2026 | David MenianeCEO | 21,154 | $9.11 | $193K | Form 4 |
Open-market purchases (Form 4, transaction code P) over the last twelve months. Sales, grants and option exercises are not shown.
What to watch
- Early March 2027
Fourth-quarter and full-year 2026 results, the test of whether adjusted EBITDA stays positive for a fourth quarter (last year's results came on 5 March). 8-K Item 2.02, 5 Mar 2026
- Early May 2027
First-quarter 2027 results (this year's came on 7 May), with the 2026 10-K and its full-year cash flow before them. 8-K Item 2.02, 7 May 2026
- 10 September 2028
The convertible notes mature, $25.0M of principal plus interest paid in kind: holders can convert at $12.00 a share, or the company repays them in cash. 10-Q for the quarter ended 4 Jul 2026
Sources: Q3 2026 release (29 Oct 2026), 2025 10-K, Form 4s (Aug, Sep 2026), close 29 Oct 2026.
Market value: shares outstanding on the latest SEC filing cover page, times the latest price.