Mobility Global (MBGL) Q3 2026 earnings review
Mobility Global sales speed up, but standalone costs cut profit
Mobility Global, the owner of CARFAX vehicle history reports and dealer software, grew sales faster in its first standalone quarter while new interest and overhead bills cut profit. Revenue rose 7%, with both business lines speeding up from the first half. Chief executive Bill Eager credited joint selling across the group for signing a major carmaker and lifted the bottom of the full-year operating profit target, though by our math the unchanged revenue plan points to growth slowing below 7% in the fourth quarter.
| Sales at constant currency | +7.6% +7.1% across the first nine months |
|---|---|
| Ebitda, excluding one-offs | $195M +2% from a year ago (41% margin) |
| Profit per share, excluding one-offs | $0.40 -9% from a year ago |
| Full-year Ebitda outlook | Raised $2.5M middle of the range: $755M (~40% margin) |
⚖️ Verdict: 🟢 Bullish
The story got better because the business proved it can speed up B2B sales and generate enough cash to start an $800 million share buyback before year-end, ahead of its earlier timetable. One caution: B2B profit margin excluding one-offs fell from 34% to 27% as overhead costs in that unit jumped.
The question now is whether the sales rebound comes from lasting subscription contracts and lower dealer churn, or if rising overhead and marketing costs will keep eating into margins. If June's sales fix worked and the cost jump is temporary, earnings growth will catch up to revenue; if not, margins stay below the 41% first-half pace. The segment breakdown in the third-quarter filing and the 2027 outlook next quarter will tell.
🐂 Bull Case
Joint Selling Lifted Both Business Lines
"Our first full quarter as a standalone public company was a solid one, with growth stepping up from the first half across both segments," chief executive Bill Eager said. Mobility Global sells CARFAX vehicle history reports and B2B (business-to-business) software for carmakers and dealers. Eager is "bringing our CARFAX and B2B businesses together as One Mobility Global" to sell across both.
That joint effort signed a large global carmaker to B2B Sales Solutions, its dealer marketing software. Total sales from businesses owned a year ago, at constant exchange rates, rose 7.6%, faster than the 7.1% pace across the first nine months. B2B revenue grew 6.5% from a year ago and 5.1% from the second quarter, which pushes back against worries that the unit had stalled.
What to watch: the segment breakdown in the quarterly filing, which splits subscription sales between CARFAX and B2B. A rise in B2B subscriptions above $131 million would show the rebound comes from recurring contracts rather than one-off projects.
Cash Flow Rebounded and Buybacks Start Early
In the first half of the year, operating cash flow fell 19% because working capital tied up cash. In the third quarter, working capital brought in $98 million, lifting operating cash flow 42% from a year ago to $205 million. Even after capital spending more than doubled to $19 million, free cash flow rose 37% to $186 million.
With that cash, the board approved an $800 million share buyback program in October and declared a second $0.06 quarterly dividend. The automotive data provider now plans to start buying back shares before the end of 2026 and spend $350 million to $450 million through 2027, ahead of its earlier plan to wait until early 2027.
What to watch: actual share repurchases in the fourth-quarter report. Buying shares before year-end will confirm that standalone tax and interest bills are leaving enough spare cash.
CARFAX Expanded Its Dealer Network and Tools
CARFAX runs a vehicle history database and consumer apps that bring car buyers to dealers. This quarter the unit rolled out CARFAX Homegrown across its consumer listings, Car Care maintenance app and dealer software. The tool "gives consumers more ways to find vehicles sold and serviced by the same dealership" and helps dealers buy and sell those cars.
Since the end of 2025, CARFAX added about 8,000 service shops to pass 100,000, grew Car Care users by 7 million to 60 million, and added 2 billion vehicle history records to top 40 billion. The group also kept its promise to begin reporting profit per share excluding one-offs, which came in at $0.40.
What to watch: full-year 2027 financial targets in the fourth-quarter release. A wider set of targets will show how much revenue management expects these new dealer tools to add next year.
Positives this quarter didn't test
One standing growth driver received no new numbers in the earnings release.
- International CARFAX expansion: after launching in Germany in July alongside Italy and Spain, the release gave no European revenue or dealer counts; the quarterly filing's geographic note will show whether international sales sped up.
🐻 Bear Case
Higher Overhead Cut B2B Segment Profit
Eager pointed to "growth stepping up from the first half across both segments" as the businesses come together. While B2B revenue rose $10 million from a year ago to $164 million, the segment's profit moved the other way. B2B operating profit fell from $23 million to $13 million, and its Ebitda (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) excluding one-offs dropped 13% to $45 million.
- B2B Ebitda margin excluding one-offs: 27.4%, down 6.3 percentage points from 33.8% a year ago by our math
- Company selling and general expenses (advertising and overhead): 42.5% of revenue, up 12.1 percentage points
- Company operating-related expenses (cost of delivering services): 22.0% of revenue, down 7.0 percentage points
Inside B2B, selling and general expenses rose by $25 million while operating-related expenses fell by $7 million. Even if some cost shifted between lines after the spin-off, total B2B expenses before depreciation grew $18 million on $10 million of new sales. What to watch: B2B expenses in the fourth quarter, which will show whether this overhead jump is a permanent standalone cost.
Interest and Separation Bills Cut Net Profit
This was the Virginia-based company's first full quarter paying its own bills after separating from S&P Global in July. Revenue grew 7.4%, and Ebitda excluding one-offs rose 2.1% to $195 million. However, reported net income fell 41% to $42 million, and profit per share excluding one-offs dropped 9% from $0.44 to $0.40.
Two standalone costs caused the drop. Net interest expense jumped from $4 million a year ago to $26 million because the business now carries $1.98 billion of debt from the spin-off. It also booked $16 million of one-time separation transaction costs inside corporate overhead, plus $19 million of capital spending as it builds its own technology systems.
What to watch: fourth-quarter net interest expense and separation transaction costs. Those lines will show whether annual interest is tracking near $110 million and how fast the one-time stand-up bills are winding down.
Risks this quarter didn't answer
Six standing concerns cannot be checked from the earnings release alone and await the quarterly filing or conference call.
- CARFAX sales recovery: CARFAX grew 7.6%, down from 8.0% in the second quarter; the filing's split of price increases versus new business will show if June's return to unbundled selling worked.
- B2B subscription trend: total B2B rose, but the release does not split out B2B subscriptions to test if they moved off $131 million.
- Non-US transactional sales: constant-currency growth trailed reported growth over nine months, and the filing will show how CARFAX Canada and Planning Solutions performed.
- Marketing cost inflation: the release does not break out digital advertising spend from general overhead.
- Marketplace competition: no disclosure on whether car-shopping sites switched to rival Experian AutoCheck.
- System separation from S&P Global: $16 million of transaction costs were booked, with no count of retired transition systems.
💲 Other KPIs
Unearned revenue — cash customers have paid upfront for subscriptions not yet delivered — fell 14.7% from $102 million in the second quarter, by our math, while staying 11.5% above the $78 million balance at the end of 2025. Because most customers pay monthly, this balance builds early in the year and winds down in the second half.
Net debt — long-term borrowings minus cash on hand — fell by $165 million in the quarter, by our math. Long-term debt stayed at $1,981 million, while strong third-quarter cash generation lifted cash from $186 million at the end of June to $351 million, giving the business room to fund its new dividend and upcoming buybacks.
Average diluted shares rose 0.3% from 295 million a year ago, by our math, sitting inside the 295 million to 297 million range management indicated for the second half. No shares were bought back during the third quarter, so the new $800 million repurchase plan will begin reducing this count in the fourth quarter.
🔮 Guidance
Unchanged. The full-year plan still calls for 7.3% revenue growth at the middle of the range, by our math. After $1,401 million in the first nine months, that leaves about $476.5 million for the fourth quarter, or 6.8% growth from a year ago — a step down from 7.4% in the third quarter, makes the target look achievable.
Raised. Management lifted the bottom of the dollar range by $5 million, moving the middle of the range up $2.5 million to $755 million, or 6.2% full-year growth by our math, while keeping the margin target near 40%. That leaves $174 million for the fourth quarter, up 6.7% against an easy year-ago comparison of $163 million (a 36.5% margin).
❓ Key Questions
Why did B2B overhead jump while service costs fell?
B2B selling and general expenses rose by $25 million from a year ago while operating-related expenses fell by $7 million, cutting the unit's Ebitda margin excluding one-offs from 34% to 27%. How much of that increase was an accounting shift versus new spending?
Did CARFAX new-business sales recover after the June unbundling?
In June, CARFAX reversed its bundled package strategy after it slowed down dealer sales. How much of third-quarter subscription growth came from new business versus early-year price increases?
Did B2B subscription revenue grow from the second quarter?
B2B subscription revenue sat near $130 million to $131 million for three straight quarters before this report. How much of the third-quarter B2B revenue increase to $164 million came from recurring subscriptions versus one-time sales?
What caused the $98 million working-capital cash inflow?
After working capital drained cash in the first half, a $98 million inflow lifted third-quarter operating cash flow by 42%. Was this driven by timing of bills with former parent S&P Global or normal customer collections?