10-Q

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-Q 

x QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 

For the quarterly period ended September 30, 2017

¨ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

Commission File Number: 001-36449

TRUECAR, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Delaware (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) 04-3807511 (I.R.S. Employer Identification Number)

120 Broadway, Suite 200

Santa Monica, California 90401

(800) 200-2000

(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of registrant’s principal executive offices) 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.    Yes x    No  ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).    Yes x     No  ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer”, “smaller reporting company”, and "emerging growth company" in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

Large accelerated filer ¨	Accelerated filer x
Non-accelerated filer ¨ (do not check if a smaller reporting company)	Smaller reporting company ¨
	Emerging growth company x

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. x

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).    Yes ¨ No x

As of November 3, 2017, 99,986,517 shares of the registrant’s common stock were outstanding.

TRUECAR, INC.

INDEX

		Page
	PART I - FINANCIAL INFORMATION
Item 1.	Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements (unaudited)
	Consolidated Balance Sheets as of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016	5
	Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss for the Three and Nine Months Ended September 30, 2017 and 2016	6
	Consolidated Statement of Stockholders’ Equity for the Nine Months Ended September 30, 2017	7
	Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the Nine Months Ended September 30, 2017 and 2016	8
	Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements	9
Item 2.	Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations	17
Item 3.	Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk	31
Item 4.	Controls and Procedures	32
	PART II -  OTHER INFORMATION
Item 1.	Legal Proceedings	33
Item 1A.	Risk Factors	33
Item 2.	Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds	54
Item 6.	Exhibits	55
	Signatures	56

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SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, which statements involve substantial risks and uncertainties.  Forward-looking statements generally relate to future events or our future financial or operating performance.  In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements because they contain words such as “anticipates,” “believes,” “could,” “estimates,” “expects,” “intends,” “may,” “might,” “likely,” “plans,” “potential,” “predicts,” “projects,” “seeks,” “should,” “target,” “will,” “would” or similar expressions and the negatives of those terms. Forward-looking statements contained in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q include, but are not limited to, statements about:

• our future financial performance and our expectations regarding our revenue, cost of revenue, gross profit or gross margin, operating expenses, ability to grow revenue, scale our business, generate cash flow, our mission and ability to achieve, and maintain, future profitability; 

• our relationship with key industry participants, including car dealers and automobile manufacturers;

• anticipated trends, growth rates and challenges in our business and in the markets in which we operate;

• our expectations regarding the automotive trade-in pilot with a large vehicle wholesaler;

• our ability to anticipate market needs and develop new and enhanced products and services to meet those needs, including an automotive trade-in product offering and new programs with automobile manufacturers, and our ability to successfully monetize them; 

• maintaining and expanding our customer base in key geographies, including our ability to increase the number of high volume brand dealers in our network generally and in key geographies; 

• our reliance on our third-party service providers; 

• the impact of competition in our industry and innovation by our competitors; 

• our anticipated growth and growth strategies, including our ability to increase close rates and the rate at which site visitors prospect with a TrueCar certified dealer;

• our ability to increase dealer subscription rates as the number of dealers on subscription billing arrangements increases relative to those on a pay-per-sale billing model;  

• our ability to anticipate or adapt to future changes in our industry; 

• the impact on our business of seasonality, cyclical trends affecting the overall economy, and actual or threatened severe weather events; 

• our ability to hire and retain necessary qualified employees, including anticipated additions to our dealer, product and technology teams;  

• our ability to integrate recent additions to our management team; 

• our continuing ability to provide customers access to our products and services and the impact of any failure of our solution innovations; 

• the evolution of technology affecting our products, services and markets; 

• our ability to adequately protect our intellectual property; 

• the anticipated effect on our business of litigation to which we are a party; 

• our ability to stay abreast of new or modified laws and regulations that currently apply or become applicable to our business; 

• the expense and administrative workload associated with being a public company; 

• failure to maintain an effective system of internal controls necessary to accurately report our financial results and prevent fraud;

• our liquidity and working capital requirements;

• the estimates and estimate methodologies used in preparing our consolidated financial statements;

• the future trading prices of our common stock and the impact of securities analysts’ reports on these prices;

• the preceding and other factors discussed in Part II, Item 1A, “Risk Factors,” and in other reports we may file with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time; and

• the factors set forth in Part I, Item 2, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.”

We caution you that the foregoing list may not contain all of the forward-looking statements made in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. We discuss these risks in greater detail in the section entitled “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.  Given these uncertainties, you should not place

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undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date the statements are made. We assume no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect actual results, changes in assumptions or changes in other factors affecting forward-looking information, except to the extent required by applicable securities laws. If we do update one or more forward-looking statements, no inference should be drawn that we will make additional updates with respect to those or other forward-looking statements.

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TRUECAR, INC.

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(in thousands, except par value and share data)

(Unaudited)

	September 30, 2017			December 31, 2016
Assets
Current assets
Cash and cash equivalents	$	196,402		$	107,721
Accounts receivable, net of allowances of $3,094 and $2,600 at September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, respectively (includes related party receivables of $218 and $393 at September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, respectively)	39,587			36,867
Prepaid expenses	7,114			6,044
Other current assets	2,821			2,278
Total current assets	245,924			152,910
Property and equipment, net	68,380			66,941
Goodwill	53,270			53,270
Intangible assets, net	16,878			19,774
Other assets	1,589			1,553
Total assets	$	386,041		$	294,448
Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity
Current liabilities
Accounts payable (includes related party payables of $4,353 and $2,925 at September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, respectively)	$	21,309		$	13,827
Accrued employee expenses	6,692			8,951
Accrued expenses and other current liabilities (includes related party accrued expenses of $49 and $992 at September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, respectively)	10,954			12,583
Total current liabilities	38,955			35,361
Deferred tax liabilities	3,393			2,994
Lease financing obligations, net of current portion	29,086			28,833
Other liabilities	3,474			2,679
Total liabilities	74,908			69,867
Commitments and contingencies (Note 6)
Stockholders’ Equity
Preferred stock — $0.0001 par value; 20,000,000 shares authorized at September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, respectively; no shares issued and outstanding at September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016	—			—
Common stock — $0.0001 par value; 1,000,000,000 shares authorized at September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016; 99,892,583 and 86,159,527 shares issued and outstanding at September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, respectively	10			9
Additional paid-in capital	653,732			542,807
Accumulated deficit	(342,609		)	(318,235		)
Total stockholders’ equity	311,133			224,581
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity	$	386,041		$	294,448

See accompanying notes to condensed consolidated financial statements.

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TRUECAR, INC. 

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE LOSS

(in thousands except per share data)

(Unaudited)

	Three Months Ended   September 30,						Nine Months Ended September 30,
	2017			2016			2017			2016
Revenues	$	82,440		$	75,139		$	240,016		$	203,426
Costs and operating expenses:
Cost of revenue (exclusive of depreciation and amortization presented separately below)	7,088			6,320			20,610			18,910
Sales and marketing (includes related party expenses of $4,207 and $3,724 for the three months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016, and $12,750 and $10,384 for the nine months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016, respectively)	48,383			42,557			137,498			112,797
Technology and development	15,357			13,153			43,117			40,315
General and administrative	14,993			13,765			44,034			45,259
Depreciation and amortization	5,765			6,035			17,517			17,807
Total costs and operating expenses	91,586			81,830			262,776			235,088
Loss from operations	(9,146		)	(6,691		)	(22,760		)	(31,662		)
Interest income	402			91			784			286
Interest expense	(654		)	(645		)	(1,955		)	(1,885		)
Loss before provision for income taxes	(9,398		)	(7,245		)	(23,931		)	(33,261		)
Provision for income taxes	121			191			443			497
Net loss	$	(9,519	)	$	(7,436	)	$	(24,374	)	$	(33,758	)
Net loss per share, basic and diluted	$	(0.10	)	$	(0.09	)	$	(0.26	)	$	(0.40	)
Weighted average common shares outstanding, basic and diluted	98,665			84,822			93,108			84,075
Other comprehensive loss:
Comprehensive loss	$	(9,519	)	$	(7,436	)	$	(24,374	)	$	(33,758	)

See accompanying notes to condensed consolidated financial statements.

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TRUECAR, INC. 

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY

(in thousands except share data)

(Unaudited)

	Common Stock					Accumulated Deficit			Stockholders’ Equity
	Shares	Amount		APIC
Balance at December 31, 2016	86,159,527	$	9	$	542,807	$	(318,235	)	$	224,581
Net loss	—	—		—		(24,374		)	(24,374		)
Issuance of common stock in follow-on offering, net of underwriting discounts and offering costs	1,150,000	—		17,398		—			17,398
Stock-based compensation	—	—		23,654		—			23,654
Shares issued in connection with employee stock plans, net of shares withheld for employee taxes	12,583,056	1		69,873		—			69,874
Balance at September 30, 2017	99,892,583	$	10	$	653,732	$	(342,609	)	$	311,133

See accompanying notes to condensed consolidated financial statements.

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TRUECAR, INC. 

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(in thousands)

(Unaudited)

	Nine Months Ended   September 30,
	2017			2016
Cash flows from operating activities
Net loss	$	(24,374	)	$	(33,758	)
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities:
Depreciation and amortization	17,481			17,711
Deferred income taxes	399			437
Bad debt expense and other reserves	1,062			817
Stock-based compensation	22,661			18,033
Common stock warrant expense	—			13
Non-cash interest expense on lease financing obligation	312			314
Write-off and loss on disposal of fixed assets	148			392
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:
Accounts receivable	(3,782		)	(2,928		)
Prepaid expenses	(1,070		)	(1,181		)
Other current assets	(167		)	(638		)
Other assets	(36		)	(311		)
Accounts payable	7,400			(5,134		)
Accrued employee expenses	(2,835		)	756
Accrued expenses and other liabilities	(1,081		)	1,479
Other liabilities	795			1,396
Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities	16,913			(2,602		)
Cash flows from investing activities
Purchase of property and equipment	(15,194		)	(12,872		)
Net cash used in investing activities	(15,194		)	(12,872		)
Cash flows from financing activities
Proceeds from public offering, net of underwriting discounts and offering costs	17,398			—
Repurchase of common stock option awards	—			(100		)
Proceeds from exercise of common stock options	71,868			5,406
Taxes paid related to net share settlement of equity awards	(2,304		)	(751		)
Proceeds from financing obligation drawdown	—			1,521
Net cash provided by financing activities	86,962			6,076
Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents	88,681			(9,398		)
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period	107,721			112,371
Cash and cash equivalents at end of period	$	196,402		$	102,973
Supplemental disclosures of non-cash activities
Stock-based compensation capitalized for software development	993			760
Capitalized assets included in accounts payable, accrued employee expenses and other accrued expenses	909			143
Proceeds receivable from exercise of stock options included in other current assets	530			—
Taxes payable related to net share settlement of equity awards included in accrued employee expenses	220			—

 See accompanying notes to condensed consolidated financial statements.

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TRUECAR, INC. 

NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

(Unaudited)

1. Organization and Nature of Business

TrueCar, Inc. (“TrueCar”) is an Internet-based information, technology, and communication services company. Hereinafter, TrueCar, Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiaries TrueCar.com, Inc. and ALG, Inc. are collectively referred to as “TrueCar” or the “Company”; TrueCar.com, Inc. is referred to as “TrueCar.com” and ALG, Inc. is referred to as “ALG”. TrueCar was incorporated in the state of Delaware in February 2005 and began business operations in April 2005. Its principal corporate offices are located in Santa Monica, California.

TrueCar is a digital automotive marketplace that (i) provides pricing transparency about what other people paid for their cars and enables consumers to engage with TrueCar Certified Dealers who are committed to providing a superior purchase experience; (ii) empowers Certified Dealers to attract these informed, in-market consumers in a cost-effective, accountable manner; and (iii) allows automobile manufacturers (“OEMs”) to more effectively target their incentive spending at deep-in-market consumers during their purchase process. TrueCar has established a diverse software ecosystem on a common technology infrastructure, powered by proprietary data and analytics. Consumers access TrueCar’s platform through the TrueCar.com website and TrueCar mobile applications or through the car-buying websites and mobile applications that TrueCar operates for its affinity group marketing partners (“Auto Buying Programs”). An affinity group is comprised of a network of members or employees that provides discounts to its members.

ALG provides forecasts, consulting, and other services regarding determination of the residual value of an automobile at future given points in time, which are used to underwrite automotive loans and leases and by financial institutions to measure exposure and risk across loan, lease, and fleet portfolios. ALG also obtains automobile purchase data from a variety of sources and uses this data to provide consumers and dealers with highly accurate, geographically specific, real-time pricing information.

2. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Basis of Presentation

The Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) and applicable rules and regulations of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) for quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and Article 10-1 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, some information and footnote disclosures required by GAAP for complete financial statements have been condensed or omitted pursuant to such rules and regulations. In the opinion of the Company’s management, the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements and notes have been prepared on the same basis as the audited consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2016 and include all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring adjustments) necessary for a fair statement of the interim periods presented.

The condensed consolidated balance sheet at December 31, 2016 has been derived from the audited financial statements at that date, but does not include all of the disclosures required by GAAP. The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto contained in the Company’s Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 1, 2017. 

Use of Estimates

The preparation of consolidated financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the dates of the consolidated financial statements, and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. Assets and liabilities which are subject to judgment and use of estimates include sales allowances and allowances for doubtful accounts, the fair value of assets and liabilities assumed in business combinations, fair value of the capitalized facility leases, the recoverability of goodwill and long-lived assets, valuation allowances with respect to deferred tax assets, useful lives associated with property and equipment and intangible assets, lease exit liabilities, contingencies, and the valuation and assumptions underlying stock-based compensation and other equity instruments. On an ongoing basis, the Company evaluates its estimates compared to historical experience and trends, which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying value of assets and liabilities. In addition, the Company engaged valuation specialists to assist with management’s determination of the valuation of its capitalized facility leases, fair values of assets and liabilities assumed in business combinations, the fair value of reporting units in connection with annual goodwill impairment testing, and in periods prior to the Company’s initial public offering, valuation of common stock.

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Segments

The Company has one operating segment. The Company’s chief operating decision maker (“CODM”) is the President and Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Financial Officer, who manage the Company’s operations based on consolidated financial information for purposes of evaluating financial performance and allocating resources.

The CODM review financial information on a consolidated basis, accompanied by information about transaction revenue and forecasts, consulting and other revenue (Note 12). All of the Company’s principal operations, decision-making functions and assets are located in the United States.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In May 2017, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued guidance amending the existing accounting standard for stock-based awards in order to provide clarity and to reduce both diversity in practice and the cost and complexity of applying the existing guidance as it relates to modifications of stock-based payment awards. The new guidance will be effective for all entities for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2017 and interim periods therein, with early adoption permitted. The adoption of this guidance is not expected to have a material impact on the Company's consolidated financial statements.

In January 2017, the FASB issued guidance simplifying the test for goodwill impairment. This standard eliminates Step 2 from the goodwill impairment test, instead requiring an entity to recognize a goodwill impairment charge for the amount by which the goodwill carrying amount exceeds the reporting unit's fair value. This guidance is effective for interim and annual goodwill impairment tests in fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, and early adoption is permitted. The adoption of this guidance is not expected to have a material impact on the Company's consolidated financial statements.

In October 2016, the FASB issued new guidance which requires the recognition of the income tax consequences of an intra-entity transfer of an asset, other than inventory, when the transfer occurs. This removes the exception to postpone recognition until the asset has been sold to an outside party. This standard is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim reporting periods within those annual reporting periods, with early adoption permitted. It is required to be applied on a modified retrospective basis through a cumulative-effect adjustment to the balance sheet as of the beginning of the fiscal year of adoption. The adoption of this guidance is not expected to have a material impact on the Company's consolidated financial statements.

In February 2016, the FASB issued guidance amending the existing accounting standards for lease accounting, including requiring lessees to recognize most leases on their balance sheets and making targeted changes to lessor accounting. The new guidance will be effective for public entities for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2018 and interim periods therein. Early adoption is permitted. The new leases standard requires a modified retrospective transition approach for all leases existing at, or entered into after, the date of initial application, with an option to use certain transition relief. The Company is evaluating the methods and impact of adopting this guidance on its consolidated financial statements.

In May 2014, the FASB issued guidance related to revenue from contracts with customers. Under this guidance, revenue is recognized when promised goods or services are transferred to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration that is expected to be received for those goods or services. The updated standard will replace all existing revenue recognition guidance under GAAP when it becomes effective and permits the use of either the full retrospective or cumulative effect transition method. In August 2015, the FASB deferred the effective date to January 1, 2018, with early adoption beginning January 1, 2017. In 2016, the FASB issued additional guidance to clarify the implementation guidance. The Company plans to adopt this guidance beginning January 1, 2018 using the cumulative effect or “modified retrospective” transition method. While the Company is continuing to assess all potential impacts of the standard, the Company has identified an impact related to the recognition of costs to obtain customer contracts. Currently, sales commissions are expensed as incurred. Under the new revenue standard, certain sales commissions will be deferred and recognized over a period of time. The Company continues to evaluate the new revenue standard and is assessing the impact this identified difference in accounting treatment may have on the consolidated financial statements.

3. Fair Value Measurements

Fair value is defined as the exchange price that would be received for an asset or paid to transfer a liability (an exit price) in the principal or most advantageous market for the asset or liability in an orderly transaction between market participants on the measurement date.

Valuation techniques used to measure fair value must maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs. Accounting standards describe a fair value hierarchy based on three levels of inputs, of which the first two are considered observable and the last unobservable, that may be used to measure fair value which are the following:

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• Level 1 — Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities or funds.

• Level 2 — Inputs other than Level 1 that are observable, either directly or indirectly, such as quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities; quoted prices in markets that are not active; or other inputs that are observable or can be corroborated by observable market data for substantially the full term of the assets or liabilities.

• Level 3 — Unobservable inputs that are supported by little or no market activity and that are significant to the fair value of the assets or liabilities.

The carrying amounts of cash equivalents, accounts receivable, prepaid and other current assets, accounts payable, and accrued expenses and other current liabilities approximate fair value because of the short maturity of these items.

 The following table summarizes the Company’s financial assets measured at fair value on a recurring basis at September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016 by level within the fair value hierarchy. Financial assets are classified in their entirety based on the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement (in thousands):

	At September 30, 2017				At December 31, 2016
	Level 1		Total Fair Value		Level 1		Total Fair Value
Cash equivalents	$	196,217	$	196,217	$	107,721	$	107,721
Total Assets	$	196,217	$	196,217	$	107,721	$	107,721

4. Property and Equipment, net

Property and equipment consisted of the following at September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016 (in thousands):

	September 30, 2017			December 31, 2016
Computer equipment, software, and internally developed software	$	79,316		$	65,973
Furniture and fixtures	4,679			3,705
Leasehold improvements	7,108			6,067
Capitalized facility leases	39,302			39,302
	130,405			115,047
Less: Accumulated depreciation	(62,025		)	(48,106		)
Total property and equipment, net	$	68,380		$	66,941

The Company is considered the owner, for accounting purposes only, of one of its Santa Monica, California leased office spaces and of its San Francisco, California leased office space (collectively, the “Premises”) as it had taken on certain risks of construction build cost overages above normal tenant improvement allowances. Accordingly, at September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, the Company has capitalized $39.3 million related to the Premises, which represents the estimated fair value of the leased properties, additions for capitalized interest incurred during the construction periods, and capitalized costs related to improvements to the building. At September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, the Company recorded accumulated amortization of $1.9 million and $1.2 million, respectively. Additionally, at September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, the Company recognized a corresponding lease financing obligation of approximately $31.2 million and $30.9 million, respectively.

Included in the table above are property and equipment of $5.7 million and $4.3 million at September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, respectively, which are capitalizable, but had not yet been placed in service. The $5.7 million and $4.3 million balances at September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, respectively, were comprised primarily of capitalized software not ready for its intended use.

Total depreciation and amortization expense of property and equipment was $4.8 million and $5.0 million for the three months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016, respectively. Total depreciation and amortization expense of property and equipment was $14.6 million and $14.7 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016, respectively.

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Amortization of internal use capitalized software development costs was $3.4 million and $3.9 million for the three months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016, respectively. Amortization of internal use capitalized software development costs was $10.8 million and $11.3 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016, respectively.

5. Credit Facility

In February 2015, the Company entered into a third amended and restated loan and security agreement (“Third Amended Credit Facility”) with a financial institution for a $35.0 million secured revolving credit facility that expires on February 18, 2018. The Third Amended Credit Facility provides a $10.0 million subfacility for the issuance of letters of credit and contains an increase option permitting the Company, subject to the lender's consent, to increase the revolving credit facility by up to $15.0 million, to an aggregate maximum of $50.0 million.

The Third Amended Credit Facility bears interest, at the Company’s option, at either (i) the prime rate published by The Wall Street Journal, plus a spread of -0.25% to 0.50%, or (ii) a LIBOR rate determined in accordance with the terms of the Third Amended Credit Facility, plus a spread of 1.75% to 2.50%. In each case, the spread is based on the Company’s adjusted quick ratio, which is a ratio of the Company’s cash and cash equivalents plus net billed accounts receivable to current liabilities plus all borrowings under the credit facility.

Interest is due and payable quarterly in arrears for prime rate loans and on the earlier of the last day of each quarter or the end of an interest period, as defined in the Third Amended Credit Facility, for LIBOR rate loans. The Company is also obligated to pay an unused revolving line facility fee of 0.00% to 0.20% per annum based on the Company’s adjusted quick ratio.

The Third Amended Credit Facility requires the Company to maintain an adjusted quick ratio of at least 1.50 to 1.00 on the last day of each quarter. If this adjusted quick ratio is not maintained, then the facility requires the Company to maintain, as measured at each quarter end, a maximum consolidated leverage ratio of 3.00 or 2.50 to 1.00, and a fixed charge coverage ratio of at least 1.25 to 1.00.

Consolidated leverage ratio is a ratio of all funded indebtedness, including all capital lease obligations, plus all letters of credit under the facility to the Company’s Adjusted EBITDA for the trailing twelve months. Fixed charge coverage ratio is the ratio of our Adjusted EBITDA less cash paid for income taxes to our cash paid for interest plus capital expenditures for the trailing twelve months. This credit facility also limits the Company’s ability to pay dividends. At September 30, 2017, the Company was in compliance with all financial covenants.

The Company’s future material domestic subsidiaries are required, upon the lender’s request, to become co-borrowers under the credit facility. The credit facility contains acceleration clauses that accelerate any borrowings in the event of default. The obligations of the Company and its future material domestic subsidiaries are collateralized by substantially all of their respective assets, subject to certain exceptions and limitations.

At September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, the Company had no outstanding amounts under the Third Amended Credit Facility. The amount available was $30.7 million, reduced for the letters of credit issued and outstanding under the subfacility of $4.3 million at September 30, 2017.

6. Commitments and Contingencies

Lease Exit Costs

In December 2015, the Company consolidated its Santa Monica, California office locations. In accordance with accounting for exit and disposal activities, the Company recognized a liability for lease exit costs incurred once the Company no longer derived economic benefit from the related leases. The liability was recognized and measured based on a discounted cash flow model when the cease use date occurred. The liability was determined based on the remaining lease rental due, reduced by estimated sublease rental income that could be reasonably obtained for the properties. In the second quarter of 2016, due to a deterioration in the local commercial real estate market, the Company updated its estimates of sublease rental income for these spaces and recorded additional lease exit costs. In the first quarter of 2017, the Company completed the execution of subleases for its properties and recorded a benefit of $0.1 million in lease exit costs. The benefit is recorded in general and administrative expense in the consolidated statement of comprehensive loss for the nine months ended September 30, 2017. The remaining liability is recorded in accrued expenses and other current liabilities (current portion) and other liabilities (non-current portion) within the consolidated balance sheets.

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The following table presents a roll forward of the lease exit liability for the nine months ended September 30, 2017:

	Lease Exit Costs
Accrual at December 31, 2016	$	2,657
Benefit	(133		)
Cash Payments	(1,020		)
Accrual at September 30, 2017	$	1,504

Legal Proceedings

From time to time, the Company may become subject to legal proceedings, claims, and litigation arising in the ordinary course of business. When the Company becomes aware of a claim or potential claim, it assesses the likelihood of any loss or exposure. In accordance with authoritative guidance, the Company records loss contingencies in its financial statements only for matters in which losses are probable and can be reasonably estimated. Where a range of loss can be reasonably estimated with no best estimate in the range, the Company records the minimum estimated liability. If the loss is not probable or the amount of the loss cannot be reasonably estimated, the Company discloses the nature of the specific claim if the likelihood of a potential loss is reasonably possible and the amount involved is material. The Company continuously assesses the potential liability related to the Company’s pending litigation and revises its estimates when additional information becomes available. The Company is not currently a party to any material legal proceedings, other than as described below.

On March 9, 2015, the Company was named as a defendant in a lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (the “NY Lanham Act Litigation”). The complaint in the NY Lanham Act Litigation, purportedly filed on behalf of numerous automotive dealers who are not participating on the TrueCar platform, alleges that the Company has violated the Lanham Act as well as various state laws prohibiting unfair competition and deceptive acts or practices related to the Company’s advertising and promotional activities. The complaint seeks injunctive relief in addition to over $250 million in damages as a result of the alleged diversion of customers from the plaintiffs’ dealerships to TrueCar Certified Dealers. On April 7, 2015, the Company filed an answer to the complaint. Thereafter, the plaintiffs amended their complaint, and on July 13, 2015, the Company filed a motion to dismiss the amended complaint. On January 6, 2016, the Court granted in part and denied in part the Company’s motion to dismiss with respect to some, but not all, of the advertising and promotional activities challenged in the amended complaint. The litigation is currently in the expert discovery phase. The Company believes that the portions of the amended complaint that survived the Company’s motion to dismiss are without merit, and it intends to vigorously defend itself in this matter. We have not recorded an accrual related to this matter as of September 30, 2017, as we do not believe a loss is probable or reasonably estimable.

On May 20, 2015, the Company was named as a defendant in a lawsuit filed by the California New Car Dealers Association in the Superior Court for the County of Los Angeles (the “CNCDA Litigation”). The complaint in the CNCDA Litigation seeks declaratory and injunctive relief based on allegations that the Company is operating in the State of California as an unlicensed automobile dealer and autobroker. The complaint does not seek monetary relief. On July 20, 2015, the Company filed a “demurrer” to the complaint, which is a pleading that requests the court to dismiss the case. Thereafter, the plaintiffs amended their complaint, and on September 11, 2015, the Company filed a demurrer to the amended complaint. On December 7, 2015, the Court granted the Company’s demurrer in its entirety, but afforded the CNCDA the opportunity to file a second amended complaint. The CNCDA filed a second amended complaint on January 4, 2016. The second amended complaint reiterates the claims in the prior complaints and adds claims under theories based on the federal Lanham Act and California unfair competition law. On February 3, 2016, the Company filed a demurrer to the second amended complaint. On March 30, 2016, the Court granted in part and denied in part the Company’s demurrer to the second amended complaint, dismissing the Lanham Act claim but declining to dismiss the balance of the claims at the demurrer stage of the litigation. On May 31, 2016, based on certain intervening developments in state law, the Court announced that it would reconsider its March 30, 2016 order, and it invited the parties to file new briefs on the demurrer issues. On July 15, 2016, the Court heard oral argument on reconsideration of the demurrer issues. On July 25, 2016, the Court granted in part and denied in part the Company’s demurrer to the second amended complaint, just as it had done in its March 30, 2016 order. The litigation is currently approaching the conclusion of the discovery phase and was previously scheduled for trial in August 2017. On April 3, 2017, the Court indicated that the trial date would be postponed to a future date. On May 17, 2017, the Court scheduled trial to begin on December 11, 2017. The Company believes that the portions of the second amended complaint that survived the Court’s reconsideration of the Company’s demurrer are without merit, and it intends to vigorously defend itself in this matter. The Company has not recorded an accrual related to this matter as of September 30, 2017, as the Company does not believe a loss is probable or reasonably estimable.

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On December 23, 2015, the Company was named as a defendant in a putative class action lawsuit filed by Gordon Rose in the California Superior Court for the County of Los Angeles (the “California Consumer Class Action”). The complaint asserted claims for unjust enrichment, violation of the California Consumer Legal Remedies Act, and violation of the California Business and Professions Code, based principally on factual allegations similar to those asserted in the NY Lanham Act Litigation and the CNCDA Litigation. The complaint sought an award of unspecified damages, interest, disgorgement, injunctive relief, and attorneys’ fees. In the complaint, the plaintiff sought to represent a class of California consumers defined as “[a]ll California consumers who purchased an automobile by using TrueCar, Inc.’s price certificate during the applicable statute of limitations.” On January 12, 2016, the Court entered an order staying all proceedings in the case pending an initial status conference, which was previously scheduled for April 13, 2016. On March 16, 2016, the case was reassigned to a different judge. As a result of that reassignment, the initial status conference was rescheduled for and held on May 26, 2016. By stipulation, the stay of discovery was continued until a second status conference, which was scheduled for October 12, 2016. On July 13, 2016, the plaintiff amended his complaint. The amended complaint continues to assert claims for unjust enrichment, violation of the California Consumer Legal Remedies Act, and violation of the California Business and Professions Code. The amended complaint retains the same proposed class definition as the initial complaint. Like the initial complaint, the amended complaint seeks an award of unspecified damages, punitive and exemplary damages, interest, disgorgement, injunctive relief, and attorneys’ fees. On September 12, 2016, the Company filed a demurrer to the amended complaint. On October 12, 2016, the Court heard oral argument on the demurrer. On October 13, 2016, the Court granted in part and denied in part the Company’s demurrer to the amended complaint, dismissing the unjust enrichment claim but declining to dismiss the balance of the claims at the demurrer stage of the litigation. At a status conference held on January 26, 2017, the Court ruled that discovery could then proceed regarding matters related to class certification only. At a status conference held on July 25, 2017, the Court set a deadline of January 8, 2018 for the filing of the plaintiff’s motion for class certification and provided that discovery may continue to proceed regarding matters related to class certification only at this time. An additional status conference has been scheduled for January 12, 2018. The Company believes that the amended complaint is without merit, and it intends to vigorously defend itself in this matter. The Company has not recorded an accrual related to this matter as of September 30, 2017, as the Company does not believe a loss is probable or reasonably estimable.

On June 30, 2017, the Company was named as a defendant in a putative class action lawsuit filed by Kip Haas in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California (the “Federal Consumer Class Action”). The complaint asserts claims for violation of the California Business and Professions Code, based principally on allegations of false and misleading advertising and unfair business practices. The complaint seeks an award of unspecified damages, interest, injunctive relief, and attorneys’ fees. In the complaint, the plaintiff seeks to represent a class of consumers defined as “[a]ll consumers who, between the applicable statute of limitations and the present, obtained a TrueCar ‘guaranteed’ price” and “[a]ll consumers, who, between the applicable statute of limitations and the present, obtained a TrueCar ‘guaranteed’ price pertaining to a vehicle located at Riverside Mazda.” The Company believes the complaint is without merit, and intends to vigorously defend itself in this matter in the event that a settlement is not consummated on terms agreeable to the Company. On or around October 23, 2017, the parties reached an agreement in principle to settle this matter on an individual (non-classwide) basis in exchange for the payment of an immaterial amount to Mr. Haas, which has been accrued as of September 30, 2017.

On October 18, 2017, the Company was named as a defendant in a lawsuit filed by Cox Automotive, Inc. ("Cox Automotive") in the Supreme Court of the State of New York in the County of Nassau (the “Cox Automotive Litigation”). As it relates to the Company, the complaint in the Cox Automotive Litigation seeks an award of unspecified damages, disgorgement, return of property taken or retained, injunctive relief and attorneys’ fees. The complaint in the Cox Automotive Litigation alleges that the Company engaged in tortious interference with a contractual relationship between Cox Automotive and one of its former employees, among other claims against the former Cox Automotive employee, who is also named as a defendant in the lawsuit. On October 20, 2017, the court granted a temporary restraining order prohibiting the Company from employing the former Cox Automotive employee pending the court’s ruling on the request by Cox Automotive for the entry of a preliminary injunction. Oral argument, on request by Cox Automotive for the entry of a preliminary injunction has been scheduled for November 13, 2017. The Company believes that the complaint is without merit, and it intends to vigorously defend itself in this matter. The Company has not recorded an accrual related to this matter as of September 30, 2017, as the Company does not believe a loss is probable or reasonably estimable.

Employment Contracts

The Company has entered into employment contracts with certain executives of the Company. Employment under these contracts is at-will employment. However, under the provisions of the contracts, the Company would incur severance obligations up to twelve months of the executive’s annual base salary for certain events such as involuntary terminations.

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Indemnifications

In the ordinary course of business, the Company may provide indemnities of varying scope and terms to customers, vendors, lessors, investors, directors, officers, employees and other parties with respect to certain matters, including, but not limited to, losses arising out of the Company’s breach of such agreements, services to be provided by the Company, or from intellectual property infringement claims made by third-parties. These indemnifications may survive termination of the underlying agreement and the maximum potential amount of future payments the Company could be required to make under these indemnification provisions may not be subject to maximum loss provisions. The maximum potential amount of future payments the Company could be required to make under these indemnification provisions is indeterminable. To date, there has not been a material claim paid by the Company, nor has the Company been sued in connection with these indemnification arrangements. At September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, the Company has not accrued a liability for these guarantees, because the likelihood of incurring a payment obligation, if any, in connection with these guarantees is not probable or reasonably estimable. 

7. Stockholders’ Equity

On January 19, 2017, the Company filed a shelf registration statement on Form S-3 under which the Company may, from time to time, sell securities up to a total dollar amount of $100 million, and selling stockholders may sell, from time to time, up to 20 million of shares of common stock (“2017 Shelf Registration”). The 2017 Shelf Registration was declared effective by the SEC on February 6, 2017. 

On April 26, 2017, the Company entered into an underwriting agreement to sell up to 1,150,000 shares of its common stock at $16.50 per share in a public offering (including shares subject to the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares). The Company sold 1,150,000 shares in the offering with aggregate net proceeds to the Company of $17.4 million, net of underwriting discounts and commissions and offering costs of $1.6 million. Selling stockholders party to the underwriting agreement also sold an aggregate of 9,200,000 shares of common stock in the offering (including shares subject to the underwriters' option to purchase additional shares). The Company did not receive any proceeds from the shares sold by the selling stockholders. The offering closed on May 2, 2017.

8. Stock-based Awards

Stock Options

A summary of the Company’s stock option activity for the nine months ended September 30, 2017 is as follows:

	Number of Options		Weighted-Average Exercise Price		Weighted-Average Remaining Contractual Life
					(in years)
Outstanding at December 31, 2016	24,541,512		$	8.29	5.49
Granted	4,812,839		18.41
Exercised	(11,517,023	)	6.29
Canceled/forfeited	(748,821	)	8.68
Outstanding at September 30, 2017	17,088,507		$	12.48	7.90

At September 30, 2017, total remaining stock-based compensation expense for unvested stock option awards was $60.2 million, which is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of 3.2 years. For the three months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016, the Company recorded stock-based compensation expense for stock option awards of $5.3 million and $3.5 million, respectively. For the nine months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016, the Company recorded stock-based compensation expense for stock option awards of $12.3 million and $10.9 million, respectively.

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Restricted Stock Units

Activity in connection with restricted stock units is as follows for the nine months ended September 30, 2017:

	Number of Shares		Weighted- Average Grant Date Fair Value
Non-vested — December 31, 2016	4,339,320		$	7.85
Granted	2,054,374		18.34
Vested	(1,217,878	)	9.10
Canceled/forfeited	(328,678	)	8.88
Non-vested — September 30, 2017	4,847,138		$	11.91

At September 30, 2017, total remaining stock-based compensation expense for non-vested restricted stock units is $54.6 million, which is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of 3.1 years. The Company recorded $4.6 million and $2.8 million in stock-based compensation expense for restricted stock units for the three months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016, respectively. The Company recorded $10.4 million and $7.1 million in stock-based compensation expense for restricted stock units for the nine months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016, respectively.

Stock-based Compensation Cost

The Company recorded stock-based compensation cost relating to stock options and restricted stock awards in the following categories on the accompanying consolidated statements of comprehensive loss (in thousands):

	Three Months Ended   September 30,				Nine Months Ended   September 30,
	2017		2016		2017		2016
Cost of revenue	$	339	$	256	$	775	$	711
Sales and marketing	3,358		1,655		7,263		4,154
Technology and development	2,598		1,200		5,496		3,025
General and administrative	3,613		3,130		9,127		10,143
Total stock-based compensation expense	9,908		6,241		22,661		18,033
Amount capitalized to internal software use	443		292		993		760
Total stock-based compensation cost	$	10,351	$	6,533	$	23,654	$	18,793

9. Income Taxes

In determining quarterly provisions for income taxes, the Company uses the annual estimated effective tax rate applied to the actual year-to-date loss. The Company’s annual estimated effective tax rate differs from the statutory rate primarily as a result of state taxes, tax amortization of goodwill and changes in the Company’s valuation allowance. The Company recorded $0.1 million and $0.2 million in income tax expense for the three months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016, respectively. The Company recorded $0.4 million and $0.5 million in income tax expense for each of the nine months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016.

There were no material changes to the Company’s unrecognized tax benefits in the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017, and the Company does not expect to have any significant changes to unrecognized tax benefits through the end of the fiscal year. Due to the presence of net operating loss carryforwards, all income tax years remain open for examination by the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) and various state taxing authorities.

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10. Net Loss Per Share

The following table sets forth the computation of basic and diluted net loss per share (in thousands, except per share data): 

	Three Months Ended   September 30,						Nine Months Ended   September 30,
	2017			2016			2017			2016
Net loss	$	(9,519	)	$	(7,436	)	$	(24,374	)	$	(33,758	)
Weighted-average common shares outstanding	98,665			84,822			93,108			84,075
Net loss per share - basic and diluted	$	(0.10	)	$	(0.09	)	$	(0.26	)	$	(0.40	)

The following table presents the number of anti-dilutive shares excluded from the calculation of diluted net loss per share at September 30, 2017 and 2016 (in thousands):

	September 30,
	2017	2016
Options to purchase common stock	17,089	25,552
Common stock warrants	1,459	1,605
Non-vested restricted stock unit awards	4,847	4,578
Total shares excluded from net loss per share	23,395	31,735

11. Related Party Transactions

Transactions with USAA

USAA is a large stockholder in the Company and the Company's most significant affinity marketing partner. The Company has entered into arrangements with USAA to operate its Auto Buying Program. The Company has amounts due from USAA at September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016 of $0.2 million and $0.4 million, respectively. In addition, the Company has amounts due to USAA at September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016 of $4.4 million and $3.9 million, respectively. The Company recorded sales and marketing expense of $4.2 million and $3.7 million for the three months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016, respectively, related to service arrangements entered into with USAA. The Company recorded sales and marketing expenses of $12.8 million and $10.4 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016, respectively, related to such service arrangements.

12. Revenue Information

The CODM reviews separate revenue information for its Transaction and Forecasts, Consulting and Other service offerings. All other financial information is reviewed by the CODM on a consolidated basis.

The following table presents the Company’s revenue categories during the periods presented (in thousands):

	Three Months Ended   September 30,				Nine Months Ended   September 30,
	2017		2016		2017		2016
Transaction revenue	$	77,526	$	70,306	$	225,161	$	189,556
Forecasts, consulting and other revenue	4,914		4,833		14,855		13,870
Total revenues	$	82,440	$	75,139	$	240,016	$	203,426

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Item 2.   MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and related notes thereto included in Item 1 “Financial Statements” in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. In addition to historical financial information, the following discussion and analysis contains forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties, and assumptions. Our actual results and timing of selected events may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of many factors, including, but not limited to, those discussed in the section titled “Risk Factors” included elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.  See “Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.”

Overview

Our Mission: We exist to be the most transparent brand in automotive, to serve as a catalyst that dramatically improves the way people discover, buy and sell cars.

We have established an intelligent, data-driven online marketplace powered by proprietary market data and analytics. Our company-branded marketplace is available on our TrueCar website and mobile applications. In addition, we customize and operate our marketplace on a co-branded basis for our many affinity group marketing partners, including financial institutions like USAA, Chase and American Express, membership-based organizations like Consumer Reports, AARP, Sam's Club, and AAA, and employee buying programs for large enterprises such as IBM and Walmart. We enable users to obtain market-based pricing data on new and used cars, and to connect with our network of TrueCar Certified Dealers. We also allow automobile manufacturers, known in the industry as OEMs, to connect with TrueCar users during the purchase process and efficiently deliver targeted incentives to consumers.

        We benefit consumers by providing information related to what others have paid for a make, model and trim of car in their area and guaranteed savings off the manufacturer's suggested retail price, or MSRP, for that make, model and trim, as well as, in most instances, price offers on actual vehicle inventory, which we refer to as VIN-based offers, from our network of TrueCar Certified Dealers. Guaranteed savings off MSRP are reflected in a Guaranteed Savings Certificate which the consumer may then take to the dealer and apply toward the purchase of the specified make, model and trim of car. VIN-based offers provide consumers with price offers for specific vehicles from specific dealers. We benefit our network of TrueCar Certified Dealers by enabling them to attract these informed, in-market consumers in a cost-effective, accountable manner, which we believe helps them to sell more cars profitably. We benefit OEMs by allowing them to more effectively target their incentive spending at deep-in-market consumers during their purchase process.

        Our network of over 15,000 TrueCar Certified Dealers consists primarily of new car franchises, representing all major makes of cars, as well as independent dealers selling used vehicles. TrueCar Certified Dealers operate in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Our subsidiary, ALG, Inc., provides forecasts and consulting services regarding determination of the residual value of an automobile at given future points in time. These residual values are used to underwrite automotive loans and leases to determine payments by consumers. In addition, financial institutions use this information to measure exposure and risk across loan, lease, and fleet portfolios.

During the three months ended September 30, 2017, we generated revenues of $82.4 million and recorded a net loss of $9.5 million. Of the $82.4 million in revenues, $77.5 million, or 94.0%, consisted of transaction revenues with the remaining $4.9 million, or 6.0%, derived primarily from the sale of forecasts, consulting and other revenue to the automotive and financial services industries. Revenues from the sale of forecasts, consulting and other services are derived primarily from the operations of our ALG subsidiary. Transaction revenues primarily consist of fees paid to us by our network of TrueCar Certified Dealers.

Since the third quarter of 2016, we have made multiple product enhancements that have improved the consumer experience resulting in improved revenue growth rates for the nine months ended September 30, 2017 as compared to the nine months ended September 30, 2016. Over time, we intend to increase the number of transactions on our platform, and thereby revenue, by continuing to:

(i) increase the rate at which visitors to our website and our affinity group marketing partner sites, and users of our mobile applications, prospect with a TrueCar certified dealer by investing in delivering a more engaging experience to consumers and dealers;

(ii) invest in additional dealer support personnel to improve and expand our dealer relationships; and

(iii) better communicate the benefits of fully registering on TrueCar to consumers using different and stronger messaging.

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We plan to continue to focus on cost containments in areas outside of our dealer, product, technology, and research efforts in order to invest in the changes that will continue to improve the consumer and dealer experiences and drive revenue growth in the future.

Key Metrics

We regularly review a number of key metrics to evaluate our business, measure our performance, identify trends affecting our business, formulate financial projections and make operating and strategic decisions.

	Three Months Ended   September 30,				Nine Months Ended   September 30,
	2017		2016		2017		2016
Average Monthly Unique Visitors	7,702,254		7,600,900		7,420,807		6,991,128
Units(1)	253,527		220,633		713,313		588,146
Monetization	$	306	$	319	$	316	$	322
Franchise Dealer Count	12,286		10,759		12,286		10,759
Independent Dealer Count	2,938		2,537		2,938		2,537

(1) We issued full credits of the amount originally invoiced with respect to 5,048 and 4,547 units during the three months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016, respectively. For the nine months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016, we issued full credits of the amount originally invoiced with respect to 16,324 and 13,285 units, respectively. The number of units has not been adjusted downwards related to units credited as discussed in the description of the unit metric below.

Average Monthly Unique Visitors

We define a monthly unique visitor as an individual who has visited our website, our landing page on our affinity group marketing partner sites, or our mobile applications within a calendar month. We identify unique visitors through cookies for browser-based visits on either a desktop computer or mobile device and through device IDs for mobile application visits. In addition, if a TrueCar.com user logs-in, we supplement their identification with their log-in credentials to attempt to avoid double counting on TrueCar.com across devices, browsers and mobile applications. If an individual accesses our service using different devices or different browsers on the same device within a given month, the first access through each such device or browser is counted as a separate monthly unique visitor, except where adjusted based upon TrueCar.com log-in information. We calculate average monthly unique visitors as the sum of the monthly unique visitors in a given period, divided by the number of months in that period. We view our average monthly unique visitors as a key indicator of the growth in our business and audience reach, the strength of our brand, and the visibility of car-buying services to the member base of our affinity group marketing partners.

The number of average monthly unique visitors increased 1.3% to approximately 7.7 million in the three months ended September 30, 2017 from approximately 7.6 million in the same period of 2016. The number of average monthly unique visitors increased 6.1% to approximately 7.4 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2017 from 7.0 million in the same period of 2016. We attribute the growth in our average monthly unique visitors principally to television and digital marketing advertising campaigns and also to increased efforts from our affinity group marketing partners to drive greater member awareness and traffic to our platform.

Units

We define units as the number of automobiles purchased by our users from TrueCar Certified Dealers through TrueCar.com, our TrueCar branded mobile applications or the car-buying sites we maintain for our affinity group marketing partners. A unit is counted following such time as we have matched the sale to a TrueCar user with one of TrueCar Certified Dealers. We view units as a key indicator of the growth of our business, the effectiveness of our product and the size and geographic coverage of our network of TrueCar Certified Dealers.

On occasion we issue credits to our TrueCar Certified Dealers with respect to units sold. However, we do not adjust our unit metric for these credits as we believe that in substantially all cases a vehicle has in fact been purchased through our platform given the high degree of accuracy of our sales matching process. Credits are most frequently issued to a dealer that claims that it had a pre-existing relationship with a purchaser of a vehicle, and we determine whether we will issue a credit based on a number of factors, including the facts and circumstances related to the dealer claim and the level of claim activity at the dealership. In most cases, we issue credits in order to maintain strong business relations with the dealer and not because we have made an erroneous sales match or billing error.

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The number of units increased 14.9% to 253,527 in the three months ended September 30, 2017 from 220,633 in the three months ended September 30, 2016. The number of units increased 21.3% to 713,313 in the nine months ended September 30, 2017 from 588,146 in the same period of 2016. We attribute this growth in units to the effectiveness of our marketing activities, product enhancements, and the growing number and geographic coverage of TrueCar Certified Dealers in our network.

Monetization

We define monetization as the average transaction revenue per unit, which we calculate by dividing all of our transaction revenue in a given period by the number of units in that period. Our monetization decreased 4.1% to $306 during the three months ended September 30, 2017 from $319 for the same period in 2016, primarily as a result of a decrease in OEM incentive revenue. Our monetization decreased 1.9% to $316 during the nine months ended September 30, 2017 from $322 for the same period in 2016. We expect our monetization to be affected in the future by changes in our pricing structure, the unit mix between new and used cars, with used cars providing higher monetization, and by the introduction of new products and services, including new OEM incentive programs.

Franchise Dealer Count

We define franchise dealer count as the number of franchise dealers in the network of TrueCar Certified Dealers at the end of a given period. This number is calculated by counting the number of brands of new cars sold by dealers in the TrueCar Certified Dealer network at their locations, and includes both single-location proprietorships as well as large consolidated dealer groups. The network comprises of dealers with a range of unit sales volume per dealer, with dealers representing certain brands consistently achieving higher than average unit sales volume. We view our ability to increase our franchise dealer count, particularly dealers representing high volume brands, as an indicator of our market penetration and the likelihood of converting users of our platform into unit sales. Our TrueCar Certified Dealer network includes independent non-franchised dealers that primarily sell used cars and are not included in franchise dealer count.

Our franchise dealer count was 12,286 at September 30, 2017, an increase from 10,759 at September 30, 2016, an increase from 11,151 at December 31, 2016, an increase from 11,734 at March 31, 2017, and an increase from 12,204 at June 30, 2017. Note that our franchise dealer count excludes Genesis franchises on our program due to Hyundai’s transition of Genesis to a stand-alone brand. In order to facilitate period over period comparisons, we have continued to count each Hyundai franchise that also has a Genesis franchise as one franchise dealer rather than two. We intend to increase the number of dealers representing high volume brands in our dealer network, generally, and in key geographies, by investing to improve the dealer experience and increasing dealer satisfaction.

Independent Dealer Count

We define independent dealer count as the number of dealers in the network of TrueCar Certified Dealers at the end of a given period that exclusively sell used vehicles and are not directly affiliated with a new car manufacturer. This number is calculated by counting each location individually, and includes both single-location proprietorships as well as large consolidated dealer groups. Our independent dealer count was 2,938 at September 30, 2017, an increase from 2,537 at September 30, 2016, an increase from 2,597 at December 31, 2016, an increase from 2,716 at March 31, 2017, and an increase from 2,860 at June 30, 2017.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

Adjusted EBITDA and Non-GAAP net income (loss) are financial measures that are not calculated in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States, or GAAP. We define Adjusted EBITDA as net loss adjusted to exclude interest income, interest expense, depreciation and amortization, stock-based compensation, non-cash warrant expense, certain litigation costs, severance charges, lease exit costs, and income taxes. We define Non-GAAP net income (loss) as net loss adjusted to exclude stock-based compensation, non-cash warrant expense, certain litigation costs, severance charges, and lease exit costs. We have provided below a reconciliation of each of Adjusted EBITDA and Non-GAAP net income (loss) to net loss, the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure. Neither Adjusted EBITDA nor Non-GAAP net income (loss) should be considered as an alternative to net loss or any other measure of financial performance calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP. In addition, our Adjusted EBITDA and Non-GAAP net income (loss) measures may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other organizations as they may not calculate Adjusted EBITDA or Non-GAAP net income (loss) in the same manner as we calculate these measures. 

We use Adjusted EBITDA and Non-GAAP net income (loss) as operating performance measures as each is (i) an integral part of our reporting and planning processes; (ii) used by our management and board of directors to assess our operational performance, and together with operational objectives, as a measure in evaluating employee compensation and

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bonuses; and (iii) used by our management to make financial and strategic planning decisions regarding future operating investments. We believe that using Adjusted EBITDA and Non-GAAP net income (loss) facilitates operating performance comparisons on a period-to-period basis because these measures exclude variations primarily caused by changes in the excluded items noted above. In addition, we believe that Adjusted EBITDA, Non-GAAP net income (loss) and similar measures are widely used by investors, securities analysts, rating agencies and other parties in evaluating companies as measures of financial performance and debt service capabilities.

Our use of each of Adjusted EBITDA and Non-GAAP net income (loss) has limitations as an analytical tool, and you should not consider them in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of our results as reported under GAAP. Some of these limitations are:

• Adjusted EBITDA does not reflect the payment or receipt of interest or the payment of income taxes; 

• neither Adjusted EBITDA nor Non-GAAP net income (loss) reflects changes in, or cash requirements for, our working capital needs; 

• although depreciation and amortization are non-cash charges, the assets being depreciated and amortized may have to be replaced in the future, and Adjusted EBITDA does not reflect cash capital expenditure requirements for such replacements or for new capital expenditures or any other contractual commitments;

• neither Adjusted EBITDA nor Non-GAAP net income (loss) reflects the costs to advance our claims in respect of certain litigation or the costs to defend ourselves in various complaints filed against us, which we expect to continue to be significant;

• neither Adjusted EBITDA nor Non-GAAP net income (loss) reflects the cash severance costs due to certain former executives and former members of our product and technology teams affected by a reorganization;

• neither Adjusted EBITDA nor Non-GAAP net income (loss) reflects the lease exit costs associated with consolidation of the Company's office locations in Santa Monica, California;

• neither Adjusted EBITDA nor Non-GAAP net income (loss) consider the potentially dilutive impact of shares issued or to be issued in connection with stock-based compensation or warrant issuances; and

• other companies, including companies in our own industry, may calculate Adjusted EBITDA and Non-GAAP net income (loss) differently than we do, limiting their usefulness as a comparative measure.

Because of these limitations, you should consider Adjusted EBITDA and Non-GAAP net income (loss) alongside other financial performance measures, including our net loss, our other GAAP results, and various cash flow metrics. In addition, in evaluating Adjusted EBITDA and Non-GAAP net income (loss) you should be aware that in the future we will incur expenses such as those that are the subject of adjustments in deriving Adjusted EBITDA and Non-GAAP net income (loss), and you should not infer from our presentation of Adjusted EBITDA and Non-GAAP net income (loss) that our future results will not be affected by these expenses or any unusual or non-recurring items.

The following table presents a reconciliation of net loss to Adjusted EBITDA for each of the periods presented:

	Three Months Ended   September 30,						Nine Months Ended   September 30,
	2017			2016			2017			2016
	(in thousands)						(in thousands)
Reconciliation of Net Loss to Adjusted EBITDA:
Net loss	$	(9,519	)	$	(7,436	)	$	(24,374	)	$	(33,758	)
Non-GAAP adjustments:
Interest income	(402		)	(91		)	(784		)	(286		)
Interest expense	654			645			1,955			1,885
Depreciation and amortization	5,765			6,035			17,517			17,807
Stock-based compensation	9,908			6,241			22,661			18,033
Warrant expense (reduction)	—			13			—			13
Certain litigation costs (1)	1,491			193			4,140			615
Severance charges (2)	—			—			—			1,783
Lease exit costs (3)	—			—			(133		)	2,684
Provision for income taxes	121			191			443			497
Adjusted EBITDA	$	8,018		$	5,791		$	21,425		$	9,273

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(1) The excluded amounts relate to legal costs incurred in connection with complaints filed by non-TrueCar dealers and the California New Car Dealers Association against TrueCar, and securities and consumer class action lawsuits. We believe the exclusion of these costs is appropriate to facilitate comparisons of our core operating performance on a period-to-period basis. Based on the nature of the specific claims underlying the excluded litigation matters, once these matters are resolved, we do not believe our operations are likely to entail defending against the types of claims raised by these matters. We expect the cost of defending these claims to continue to be significant pending resolution.

(2) We incurred $1.3 million in severance costs in the second quarter of 2016 related to a reorganization of our product and technology teams to better align our resources with business objectives as we transition from multiple software platforms to a unified architecture. In addition, we incurred severance costs of $0.5 million related to an executive who terminated during the second quarter of 2016. We believe excluding the impacts of these terminations is consistent with our use of Adjusted EBITDA and Non-GAAP net income (loss) as we do not believe they are useful indicators of ongoing operating results.

(3) Represents updated estimates to our lease termination costs associated with the consolidation of the Company's office locations in Santa Monica, California in December 2015. We believe that their exclusion is appropriate to facilitate period-to-period operating performance comparisons.

The following table presents a reconciliation of net loss to Non-GAAP net income (loss) for each of the periods presented:

	Three Months Ended   September 30,						Nine Months Ended   September 30,
	2017			2016			2017			2016
	(in thousands)						(in thousands)
Reconciliation of Net Loss to Non-GAAP Net Income (Loss):
Net loss	$	(9,519	)	$	(7,436	)	$	(24,374	)	$	(33,758	)
Non-GAAP adjustments:
Stock-based compensation	9,908			6,241			22,661			18,033
Warrant expense (reduction)	—			13			—			13
Certain litigation costs (1)	1,491			193			4,140			615
Severance charges (2)	—			—			—			1,783
Lease exit costs (3)	—			—			(133		)	2,684
Non-GAAP net income (loss) (4)	$	1,880		$	(989	)	$	2,294		$	(10,630	)

(1) The excluded amounts relate to legal costs incurred in connection with complaints filed by non-TrueCar dealers and the California New Car Dealers Association against TrueCar, and securities and consumer class action lawsuits. We believe the exclusion of these costs is appropriate to facilitate comparisons of our core operating performance on a period-to-period basis. Based on the nature of the specific claims underlying the excluded litigation matters, once these matters are resolved, we do not believe our operations are likely to entail defending against the types of claims raised by these matters. We expect the cost of defending these claims to continue to be significant pending resolution.

(2) We incurred $1.3 million in severance costs in the second quarter of 2016 related to a reorganization of our product and technology teams to better align our resources with business objectives as we transition from multiple software platforms to a unified architecture. In addition, we incurred severance costs of $0.5 million related to an executive who terminated during the second quarter of 2016. We believe excluding the impacts of these terminations is consistent with our use of Adjusted EBITDA and Non-GAAP net income (loss) as we do not believe they are useful indicators of ongoing operating results.

(3) Represents updated estimates to our lease termination costs associated with the consolidation of the Company's office locations in Santa Monica, California in December 2015. We believe that their exclusion is appropriate to facilitate period-to-period operating performance comparisons.

(4) There is no income tax impact related to the adjustments made to calculate Non-GAAP net income (loss) because of our available net operating loss carryforwards and the full valuation allowance recorded against our net deferred tax assets at September 30, 2017 and September 30, 2016.

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Components of Operating Results 

Revenues

Our revenues are comprised of transaction revenues, and forecasts, consulting and other revenue.

Transaction Revenue. Revenue consists of fees paid by dealers participating in our network of TrueCar Certified Dealers. Dealers pay us these fees either on a per vehicle basis for sales to our users or in the form of a subscription arrangement. Subscription arrangements fall into several types: flat rate subscriptions, subscriptions subject to downward adjustment based on a minimum number of vehicle sales (“guaranteed sales”) and subscriptions based on introduction volume, including those subject to downward adjustment based on a minimum number of introductions (“guaranteed introductions”).

Under flat rate subscription arrangements, fees are charged at a monthly flat rate regardless of the number of sales made to users of our platform by the dealer. For flat rate subscription arrangements, we recognize the fees as revenue over the subscription period on a straight line basis which corresponds to the period that we are providing the dealer with access to our platform.

Under guaranteed sales subscription arrangements, fees are charged based on the number of guaranteed sales multiplied by a fixed amount per vehicle. To the extent that the actual number of vehicles sold by the dealers to users of our platform is less than the number of guaranteed sales, we provide a credit to the dealer. To the extent that the actual number of vehicles sold exceeds the number of guaranteed sales, we are not entitled to any additional fees.

Certain of our subscription arrangements are charged based on volume of introductions provided while other introduction based subscription arrangements operate under a guaranteed introduction model. Under guaranteed introductions subscription arrangements, fees are charged based on a periodically-updated formula that considers, among other things, the introductions anticipated to be provided to the dealer. To the extent that the number of actual introductions is less than the number of guaranteed introductions, we provide a credit to the dealer. To the extent that the actual number of introductions provided exceeds the number guaranteed, we are not entitled to any additional fees.

For guaranteed sales and guaranteed introductions subscription arrangements, we recognize revenue based on the lesser of (i) the actual number of sales generated or introductions delivered through our platform during the subscription period multiplied by the contracted price per sale/introduction or (ii) the guaranteed number of sales or introductions multiplied by the contracted price per sale/introduction.

In addition, we enter into arrangements with automobile manufacturers to promote the sale of their vehicles through the offering of additional consumer incentives to our consumers. These manufacturers pay us a per-vehicle fee for promotion of the incentive and we recognize the per-vehicle incentive fee when the vehicle sale has occurred between the consumer and the dealer.

Forecasts, Consulting and Other Revenue. We derive this type of revenue primarily from the provision of forecasts and consulting services to the automotive and financial services industries through our ALG subsidiary. The forecasts and consulting services that ALG provides typically relate to the determination of the residual value of an automobile at given future points in time. These residual values are used to underwrite automotive loans and leases to determine payments by consumers. In addition, financial institutions use this information to measure exposure and risk across loan, lease and fleet portfolios. Our customers generally pay us for these services as information is delivered to them.

Costs and Operating Expenses

Cost of Revenue (exclusive of depreciation and amortization). Cost of revenue includes expenses related to the fulfillment of our services, consisting primarily of data costs and licensing fees paid to third party service providers and expenses related to operating our website and mobile applications, including those associated with our data centers, hosting fees, data processing costs required to deliver introductions to our network of TrueCar Certified Dealers, employee costs related to certain dealer operations, sales matching, employee and consulting costs related to delivering data and consulting services to our customers, and facilities costs. Cost of revenue excludes depreciation and amortization of software costs and other hosting and data infrastructure equipment used to operate our platforms, which are included in the depreciation and amortization line item on our statement of comprehensive loss.

Sales and Marketing. Sales and marketing expenses consist primarily of: television, digital, and radio advertising; media production costs; affinity group partner marketing fees, which also includes loan subvention costs where we pay certain affinity group marketing partners a portion of consumers’ borrowing costs for car loan products offered by these affinity group marketing partners, and common stock warrants issued to USAA; marketing sponsorship programs; and digital customer acquisition. In addition, sales and marketing expenses include employee related expenses for sales, customer support, marketing and public relations employees, including salaries, bonuses, benefits, severance, and stock-based compensation

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expenses; third-party contractor fees; and facilities costs. Marketing and advertising costs promote our services and are expensed as incurred, except for media production costs which are expensed the first time the advertisement is aired.

Technology and Development. Technology and development expenses consist primarily of employee related expenses including salaries, bonuses, benefits, severance, and stock-based compensation expenses, third-party contractor fees, facilities costs, software costs, as well as our product development, product management, research and analytics, and internal IT functions.

General and Administrative. General and administrative expenses consist primarily of employee related expenses including salaries, bonuses, benefits, severance, and stock-based compensation expenses for executive, finance, accounting, legal, and human resources. General and administrative expenses also include legal, accounting, and other third-party professional service fees, bad debt, lease exit costs, and facilities costs.

Depreciation and Amortization. Depreciation consists primarily of depreciation expense recorded on property and equipment. Amortization expense consists primarily of amortization recorded on intangible assets, capitalized software costs and leasehold improvements.

Interest Income. Interest income consists of interest earned on our cash and cash equivalents.

Interest Expense. Interest expense consists primarily of interest on our built-to-suit lease financing obligations.  

Provision for Income Taxes. We are subject to federal and state income taxes in the United States. We provided a full valuation allowance against our net deferred tax assets at September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016 as it is more likely than not that some or all of our deferred tax assets will not be realized. As a result of the valuation allowance, our income tax benefit (or expense) is significantly less than the federal statutory rate of 34%. Our provision for income taxes in the three and nine months endedSeptember 30, 2017 and 2016 primarily reflects a tax expense associated with the amortization of tax deductible goodwill that is not an available source of income to realize deferred tax assets.

Results of Operations

The following table sets forth our selected consolidated statements of operations data for each of the periods indicated.

	Three Months Ended   September 30,						Nine Months Ended   September 30,
	2017			2016			2017			2016
	(in thousands)						(in thousands)
Consolidated Statements of Operations Data:
Revenues	$	82,440		$	75,139		$	240,016		$	203,426
Costs and operating expenses:
Cost of revenue (exclusive of depreciation and amortization presented separately below)	7,088			6,320			20,610			18,910
Sales and marketing	48,383			42,557			137,498			112,797
Technology and development	15,357			13,153			43,117			40,315
General and administrative	14,993			13,765			44,034			45,259
Depreciation and amortization	5,765			6,035			17,517			17,807
Total costs and operating expenses	91,586			81,830			262,776			235,088
Loss from operations	(9,146		)	(6,691		)	(22,760		)	(31,662		)
Interest income	402			91			784			286
Interest expense	(654		)	(645		)	(1,955		)	(1,885		)
Loss before provision for income taxes	(9,398		)	(7,245		)	(23,931		)	(33,261		)
Provision for income taxes	121			191			443			497
Net loss	$	(9,519	)	$	(7,436	)	$	(24,374	)	$	(33,758	)
Other Non-GAAP Financial Information:
Adjusted EBITDA	$	8,018		$	5,791		$	21,425		$	9,273
Non-GAAP net income (loss)	$	1,880		$	(989	)	$	2,294		$	(10,630	)

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Comparison of the Three and Nine Months Ended September 30, 2017 and 2016

Revenues

	Three Months Ended   September 30,				Nine Months Ended   September 30,
	2017		2016		2017		2016
	(in thousands)
Transaction revenue	$	77,526	$	70,306	$	225,161	$	189,556
Forecasts, consulting and other revenue	4,914		4,833		14,855		13,870
Revenues	$	82,440	$	75,139	$	240,016	$	203,426

Three months ended September 30, 2017 compared to three months ended September 30, 2016. The increase in our revenues of $7.3 million or 9.7% for the three months ended September 30, 2017 as compared to the three months ended September 30, 2016 primarily reflected the increase in our transaction revenue. Transaction revenue and forecasts, consulting and other revenue comprised 94.0% and 6.0%, respectively, of revenues for the three months ended September 30, 2017 as compared to 93.6% and 6.4%, respectively, for the same period in 2016. The increase in transaction revenue for the three months ended September 30, 2017 primarily reflected a 14.9% increase in units partially offset by a 4.1% decrease in monetization. Forecasts, consulting and other revenue for the three months ended September 30, 2017 remained materially consistent with the three months ended September 30, 2016. We anticipate that our revenue will continue to grow as a result of our investments in dealer relationships, in consumer messaging and in our technology platform, which we believe will enable our business to continue to scale.

Nine months ended September 30, 2017 compared to nine months ended September 30, 2016. The increase in our revenues of $36.6 million or 18.0% for the nine months ended September 30, 2017 as compared to the nine months ended September 30, 2016 primarily reflected the increase in our transaction revenue. Transaction revenue and forecasts, consulting and other revenue comprised 93.8% and 6.2%, respectively, of revenues for the nine months ended September 30, 2017 as compared to 93.2% and 6.8%, respectively, for the same period in 2016. The increase in transaction revenue for the nine months ended September 30, 2017 primarily reflected a 21.3% increase in units partially offset by a 1.9% decrease in monetization. The increase in forecasts, consulting and other revenue for the nine months ended September 30, 2017 as compared to the nine months ended September 30, 2016 of $1.0 million or 7.1% was primarily due to revenue from the delivery of a large project in our ALG business in the first quarter of 2017. We do not expect similar sized projects to reoccur for the remainder of the year.

Costs and Operating Expenses

Cost of Revenue (exclusive of depreciation and amortization)

	Three Months Ended   September 30,						Nine Months Ended   September 30,
	2017			2016			2017			2016
	(dollars in thousands)
Cost of revenue (exclusive of depreciation and amortization)	$	7,088		$	6,320		$	20,610		$	18,910
Cost of revenue (exclusive of depreciation and amortization) as a percentage of revenues	8.6		%	8.4		%	8.6		%	9.3		%

Three months ended September 30, 2017 compared to three months ended September 30, 2016. Cost of revenue increased $0.8 million or 12.2% for the three months ended September 30, 2017 as compared to the three months ended September 30, 2016 primarily due to costs for an automotive trade-in pilot program with a large vehicle wholesaler that commenced in the second quarter of 2017. We expect to incur these costs during the pilot program during which we do not anticipate material revenue.

Nine months ended September 30, 2017 compared to nine months ended September 30, 2016. Cost of revenue increased $1.7 million or 9.0% for the nine months ended September 30, 2017 as compared to the nine months ended

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September 30, 2016 primarily due to costs for an automotive trade-in pilot program with a large vehicle wholesaler that commenced in the second quarter of 2017.

Sales and Marketing Expenses

	Three Months Ended   September 30,						Nine Months Ended   September 30,
	2017			2016			2017			2016
	(dollars in thousands)
Sales and marketing expenses	$	48,383		$	42,557		$	137,498		$	112,797
Sales and marketing expenses as a percentage of revenues	58.7		%	56.6		%	57.3		%	55.4		%

Three months ended September 30, 2017 compared to three months ended September 30, 2016. Sales and marketing expenses increased $5.8 million or 13.7% for the three months ended September 30, 2017 as compared to the three months ended September 30, 2016. The increase primarily reflected a $3.3 million increase in revenue share paid to affinity marketing partners, a $2.7 million increase in salaries and employee related expenses primarily due to increased headcount, and a $1.7 million increase in stock-based compensation. These increases were partially offset by a decrease of $2.2 million in advertising costs. We expect sales and marketing expenses to continue to increase in dollar amount due to increased headcount to better serve dealers and OEMs, as well as increased media production costs, television and radio advertising, digital customer acquisition costs, affinity group marketing partner fees, and marketing programs as we grow our business.

Nine months ended September 30, 2017 compared to nine months ended September 30, 2016. Sales and marketing expenses increased $24.7 million or 21.9% for the nine months ended September 30, 2017 as compared to the nine months ended September 30, 2016. The increase primarily reflected a $11.2 million increase in salaries and employee related expenses primarily due to increased headcount, a $6.5 million increase in revenue share paid to affinity marketing partners, a $3.1 million increase in stock-based compensation, a $2.3 million increase in conference and travel related expenses, a $1.6 million increase in advertising costs, and a $0.5 million increase in facilities costs. These increases were partially offset by a decrease of $0.9 million in professional fees for outsourced services.

Technology and Development Expenses

	Three Months Ended   September 30,						Nine Months Ended   September 30,
	2017			2016			2017			2016
	(dollars in thousands)
Technology and development expenses	$	15,357		$	13,153		$	43,117		$	40,315
Technology and development expenses as a percentage of revenues	18.6		%	17.5		%	18.0		%	19.8		%
Capitalized software costs	$	4,302		$	3,020		$	11,577		$	9,361

Three months ended September 30, 2017 compared to three months ended September 30, 2016. Technology and development expenses increased $2.2 million or 16.8% for the three months ended September 30, 2017 as compared to the three months ended September 30, 2016. The increase was primarily due to an increase in stock-based compensation of $1.4 million and a $0.3 million increase in salaries and employee related expenses primarily due to increased headcount.

Capitalized software costs increased $1.3 million primarily due to an increase in the amount of third party software costs capitalized related to internal use software.

We expect our technology and development expenses to increase in dollar amount as we continue to increase our developer headcount to upgrade and enhance our technology infrastructure, invest in our products, expand the functionality of our platform and provide new product offerings. We also expect technology and development expenses to continue to be affected by variations in the amount of capitalized internally developed software.

Nine months ended September 30, 2017 compared to nine months ended September 30, 2016. Technology and development expenses increased $2.8 million or 7.0% for the nine months ended September 30, 2017 as compared to the nine months ended September 30, 2016. The increase was primarily due to an increase in stock-based compensation of $2.5 million,

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an increase in hosting costs of $0.7 million, and an increase in facilities costs of $0.6 million partially offset by a decrease in severance costs of $1.6 million primarily related to a reorganization in our product and technology teams in the second quarter of 2016.

Capitalized software costs increased $2.2 million primarily due to an increase in the amount of third party software costs and salaries capitalized for the development of internal use software.

General and Administrative Expenses

	Three Months Ended   September 30,						Nine Months Ended   September 30,
	2017			2016			2017			2016
	(dollars in thousands)
General and administrative expenses	$	14,993		$	13,765		$	44,034		$	45,259
General and administrative expenses as a percentage of revenues	18.2		%	18.3		%	18.3		%	22.2		%

Three months ended September 30, 2017 compared to three months ended September 30, 2016. General and administrative expenses increased $1.2 million or 8.9% for the three months ended September 30, 2017 as compared to the three months ended September 30, 2016. The increase primarily reflected a $1.2 million increase in legal fees and a $0.5 million increase in stock-based compensation partially offset by a $0.6 million decrease in salaries and employee related expenses primarily due to decreased bonus expense. Due to ongoing litigation matters, we expect general and administrative expenses to vary depending on the timing and course of these litigation proceedings and related legal fees.

Nine months ended September 30, 2017 compared to nine months ended September 30, 2016. General and administrative expenses decreased $1.2 million or 2.7% for the nine months ended September 30, 2017 as compared to the nine months ended September 30, 2016. The decrease primarily reflected a $2.7 million lease exit charge in the second quarter of 2016, a $1.0 million decrease in stock-based compensation primarily driven by a reduction in compensation expense related to employees who terminated in 2016, and a $0.7 million decrease in salaries and employee related expenses primarily due to decreased bonus expense. These decrease in expenses were partially offset by a $3.2 million increase in legal fees to support our litigation efforts.

Depreciation and Amortization Expenses

	Three Months Ended   September 30,				Nine Months Ended   September 30,
	2017		2016		2017		2016
	(dollars in thousands)
Depreciation and amortization expenses	$	5,765	$	6,035	$	17,517	$	17,807

Three months ended September 30, 2017 compared to three months ended September 30, 2016. Depreciation and amortization expenses decreased $0.3 million or 4.5% for the three months ended September 30, 2017 compared to the three months ended September 30, 2016. We expect our depreciation and amortization expenses to continue to be affected by the amount of capitalized internally developed software costs, property and equipment, and the timing of placing projects in service.

Nine months ended September 30, 2017 compared to nine months ended September 30, 2016. Depreciation and amortization expenses decreased $0.3 million or 1.6% for the nine months ended September 30, 2017 compared to the nine months ended September 30, 2016.

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Interest Expense

	Three Months Ended   September 30,				Nine Months Ended   September 30,
	2017		2016		2017		2016
	(dollars in thousands)
Interest expense	$	654	$	645	$	1,955	$	1,885

Three months ended September 30, 2017 compared to three months ended September 30, 2016. Interest expense was $0.7 million for the three months ended September 30, 2017, and $0.6 million for the three months ended September 30, 2016, and primarily consists of interest expense incurred on our lease financing obligation for our Santa Monica leased office space and our San Francisco leased office space. We expect to incur a consistent level of interest expense on our lease financing obligation in future periods.

Nine months ended September 30, 2017 compared to nine months ended September 30, 2016. Interest expense was $2.0 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2017, $1.9 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2016, and primarily consists of interest expense incurred on our lease financing obligation for our Santa Monica leased office space and our San Francisco leased office space.

Provision for Income Taxes

	Three Months Ended   September 30,				Nine Months Ended   September 30,
	2017		2016		2017		2016
	(dollars in thousands)
Provision for income taxes	$	121	$	191	$	443	$	497

Our provision for income taxes for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016 primarily reflected tax expense due to amortization of tax deductible goodwill that is not an available source of income to realize our deferred tax assets.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

At September 30, 2017, our principal sources of liquidity were cash and cash equivalents totaling $196.4 million.

We have incurred cumulative losses of $342.6 million from our operations through September 30, 2017, and expect to incur additional losses in the future. We believe that our existing sources of liquidity will be sufficient to fund our operations for at least the next 12 months. However, our future capital requirements will depend on many factors, including our rate of revenue growth, the expansion of our sales and marketing activities, and the timing and extent of our spending to support our technology and development efforts. To the extent that existing cash and cash equivalents, and cash from operations are insufficient to fund our future activities, we may need to raise additional funds through public or private equity or debt financing. Additional funds may not be available on terms favorable to us or at all.

Credit Facility

On February 18, 2015, we amended our credit facility to provide advances of up to $35.0 million. This credit facility provides a $10.0 million subfacility for the issuance of letters of credit and contains an increase option permitting us, subject to the lender's consent, to increase the revolving credit facility by up to $15.0 million, to an aggregate maximum of $50.0 million. The credit facility has a three-year term and matures on February 18, 2018. No amounts were outstanding at September 30, 2017. The amount available under the amended credit facility at September 30, 2017 was $30.7 million, reduced for the letters of credit issued and outstanding under the subfacility of $4.3 million. See Note 5 of our condensed consolidated financial statements herein for more information about our amended credit facility.

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Cash Flows

The following table summarizes our cash flows:

	Nine Months Ended September 30,
	2017			2016
Consolidated Cash Flow Data:	(in thousands)
Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities	$	16,913		$	(2,602	)
Net cash used in investing activities	(15,194		)	(12,872		)
Net cash provided by financing activities	86,962			6,076
Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents	$	88,681		$	(9,398	)

Operating Activities

Our net loss and cash flows provided by or used in operating activities are significantly influenced by our investments in headcount and infrastructure to support our growth, marketing, advertising, and sponsorship expenses. Our net loss has been significantly greater than cash provided by or used in operating activities due to the inclusion of non-cash expenses and charges.

Cash provided by operating activities for the nine months ended September 30, 2017 was $16.9 million. This was primarily due to our net loss of $24.4 million, which, adjusted for non-cash items, including stock-based compensation expense of $22.7 million and depreciation and amortization expense of $17.5 million, resulted in $17.7 million in cash provided by operations. Net cash provided by operations also reflected a decrease of $0.8 million related to changes in operating assets and liabilities.

The $0.8 million decrease related to changes in operating assets and liabilities primarily reflected an increase in accounts receivable of $3.8 million primarily related to increased revenues, a decrease in accrued employee expenses of $2.8 million primarily due to a decrease in accrued bonus, a decrease in accrued expenses and other liabilities of $1.1 million primarily due to decreased accrued marketing fees, and an increase in prepaid expenses of $1.1 million primarily due to an increase in prepaid insurance, software, and other costs. These uses of cash were partially offset by an increase in accounts payable of $7.4 million primarily due to an increase in marketing fees payable to our affinity group partners and advertisers, and an increase in other liabilities of $0.8 million primarily due to increased deferred rent.

Cash used in operating activities for the nine months ended September 30, 2016 was $2.6 million. This was primarily due to our net loss of $33.8 million, which, adjusted for non-cash items, including depreciation and amortization expense of $17.7 million and stock-based compensation expense of $18.0 million, resulted in $4.0 million in cash provided by operations. Net cash used in operations also reflected a decrease of $6.6 million related to changes in operating assets and liabilities, which primarily reflected a decrease of $5.1 million in accounts payable primarily due to decreased affinity group marketing fees, an increase of $2.9 million in accounts receivable primarily due to an increase in revenue, and an increase of $1.2 million in prepaid expenses primarily due to an increase in prepaid insurance and marketing fees. These uses of cash were partially offset by a $1.5 million increase in accrued expenses and other liabilities primarily due to increased accrued legal and marketing fees and a $1.4 million increase in other liabilities primarily due to an increase in lease exit costs recorded in the second quarter of 2016.

Investing Activities

Our investing activities consist primarily of capital expenditures for capitalized software development costs and property and equipment.

Cash used in investing activities of $15.2 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2017 resulted from $10.1 million of investments in software, $3.2 million of investments in furniture, leasehold, and facility improvements, and $1.9 million of investments in computer hardware.

Cash used in investing activities of $12.9 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2016 resulted from $9.1 million of investments in software, $2.8 million of investments in furniture, leasehold, and facility improvements, and $1.0 million of investments in computer hardware.

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Financing Activities

Cash provided by financing activities of $87.0 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2017 reflects $69.6 million of proceeds from the exercise of stock options, net of taxes paid for the net share settlement of certain equity awards, and $17.4 million of proceeds from our public offering of common stock that closed in May 2017, net of underwriting discounts and commissions and offering costs.

Cash provided by financing activities of $6.1 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2016 primarily reflects $4.7 million of proceeds from the exercise of stock options, net of taxes paid for the net share settlement of certain equity awards, and a $1.5 million tenant improvement reimbursement related to our Santa Monica capitalized facility lease, partially offset by $0.1 million paid for the repurchase of common stock option awards.

Contractual Obligations and Known Future Cash Requirements

In April 2017, we signed a memorandum of understanding for a six-month automotive trade-in pilot program with a large vehicle wholesaler. In October 2017, the pilot was extended through January 2018. The pilot program is expected to enable consumers to use our TrueCar branded website or mobile application to view real-time vehicle valuation information based on specific vehicle characteristics and receive offers for the vehicle from participating dealers in the TrueCar network. We anticipate incurring additional cash costs of approximately $1.0 million per quarter during the pilot program.

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

We do not engage in transactions that generate relationships with unconsolidated entities or financial partnerships, such as entities often referred to as structured finance or special purpose entities, as part of our ongoing business. Accordingly, our operating results, financial condition and cash flows are not subject to off-balance sheet risks.

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Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

Management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations is based upon our condensed consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. The preparation of these condensed consolidated financial statements requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenue, expenses, and related disclosures. On an ongoing basis, we evaluate our estimates and assumptions, including, but not limited to, those related to revenue recognition, allowance for doubtful accounts and sales allowances, stock-based compensation, income taxes, goodwill and other intangible assets, internal use capitalized software development costs, and contingencies and litigation. We base our estimates on historical experience and on various other estimates and assumptions that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results could differ from these estimates and assumptions.

There have been no material changes to the critical accounting policies previously disclosed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed with the SEC on March 1, 2017.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

See Note 2 to our condensed consolidated financial statements included herein.

Item 3.   Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk

Market risk represents the risk of loss that may affect our financial position due to adverse changes in financial market prices and rates. We are exposed to market risks related to changes in interest rates.

Interest Rate Risk

We had cash and cash equivalents of $196.4 million at September 30, 2017, which consists entirely of bank deposits and short-term money market funds. Such interest-earning instruments carry a degree of interest rate risk. To date, fluctuations in interest income have not been significant.

We do not enter into investments for trading or speculative purposes and have not used any derivative financial instruments to manage our interest rate risk exposure.

To the extent we borrow funds under our credit facility, we would be subject to fluctuations in interest rates. See Note 5 to the condensed consolidated financial statements herein. As of September 30, 2017, we had no borrowings under the credit facility. We believe that we do not have a material exposure to changes in the fair value as a result of changes in interest rates.

Inflation Risk

We do not believe that inflation has had a material effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations. However, if our costs were to become subject to significant inflationary pressures, we may not be able to fully offset such higher costs through price increases. Our inability or failure to do so could harm our business, operating results and financial condition.

Foreign Currency Exchange Risk

Historically, as our operations and sales have been primarily in the United States, we have not faced any significant foreign currency risk. If we plan for international expansion, our risks associated with fluctuation in currency rates will become greater, and we will continue to reassess our approach to managing this risk. 

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Item 4.   Controls and Procedures

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

Our management, with the participation of our chief executive officer and chief financial officer, evaluated the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures as of September 30, 2017. The term “disclosure controls and procedures,” as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (or the “Exchange Act”), means controls and other procedures of a company that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by a company in the reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported, within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. Disclosure controls and procedures include, without limitation, controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by a company in the reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to the company’s management, including its principal executive and principal financial officers, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. Management recognizes that any controls and procedures, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable assurance of achieving their objectives and management necessarily applies its judgment in evaluating the cost-benefit relationship of possible controls and procedures. Based on the evaluation of our disclosure controls and procedures as of September 30, 2017, our chief executive officer and chief financial officer concluded that, as of such date, our disclosure controls and procedures were effective at the reasonable assurance level. 

Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting

There was no change in our internal control over financial reporting identified in connection with the evaluation required by Rule 13a-15(d) and 15d-15(d) of the Exchange Act that occurred during the period covered by this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

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PART II—OTHER INFORMATION

Item 1. Legal Proceedings

Refer to the disclosure under the heading “Legal Proceedings” in Note 6 “Commitments and Contingencies” to our condensed consolidated financial statements included in this report for legal proceedings. From time to time, we may be involved in various legal proceedings arising from the normal course of our business activities.

Item 1A.    Risk Factors

Investing in our common stock involves a high degree of risk. You should consider carefully the risks and uncertainties described below, together with all of the other information in this report, including our consolidated financial statements and related notes, and Part I, Item 2, “Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” before making an investment in our common stock. If any of the following risks is realized, our business, financial condition, operating results and prospects could be materially and adversely affected. In that event, the trading price of our common stock could decline and you could lose part or all of your investment. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or not believed by us to be material could also impact us.

Risks Related to Our Business and Industry

The growth of our business relies significantly on our ability to grow and optimize the geographic coverage of dealers in our network of TrueCar Certified Dealers and increase the representation of high volume brands in our network, such that we are able to increase the number of transactions between our users and TrueCar Certified Dealers. Failure to do so would limit our growth.

Some automotive brands consistently achieve higher than average sales volume per dealer. As a consequence, dealers representing those brands make a disproportionately greater contribution to our unit volume. Our ability to grow and to optimize the geographic coverage of dealers in our network of TrueCar Certified Dealers, increase the number of dealers representing high volume brands and grow the overall number of dealers in our network is an important factor in growing our business.

As described elsewhere in this “Risk Factors” section, we are a relatively new participant in the automobile retail industry and our business has sometimes been viewed in a negative light by car dealerships. Although we have taken steps intended to improve our relationships with, and image among, car dealerships, including the commitments made in our pledge to dealers, there can be no assurance that our efforts will be successful. We may be unable to maintain or grow the number of car dealers in our network, in a geographically optimized manner or at all, or increase the proportion of dealers in our network representing high volume brands. During the second half of 2015, we experienced both a decline in the proportion of such high volume dealers in our network and slowed quarter-over-quarter revenue growth. If we experience a similar decline in the future it could have a material adverse effect on our business, growth, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

In addition, our ability to increase the number of TrueCar Certified Dealers in an optimized manner depends on strong relationships with other constituents, including car manufacturers and state dealership associations. From time to time, car manufacturers have communicated concerns about our business to the dealers in our network. For example, some car manufacturers maintain guidelines that prohibit dealers from advertising a car at a price that is below an established floor. If a TrueCar Certified Dealer submits pricing information to our users that falls below pricing guidelines established by the applicable manufacturer, the manufacturer may discourage that dealer from remaining in the network and may discourage other dealers within its brand from joining the network. For example, in late 2011, Honda publicly announced that it would not provide advertising allowances to dealers that remained in our network of TrueCar Certified Dealers. While we subsequently addressed Honda’s concerns and it ceased withholding advertising allowances from our TrueCar Certified Dealers, discord with specific car manufacturers impedes our ability to grow our dealer network. More recently, Toyota and Nissan modified their marketing covenants to include guidelines on minimum allowable advertised pricing in January 2016 and January 2017, respectively. We have implemented certain changes designed to accommodate these guidelines; however it is unclear whether we will ultimately be able to do so without making material, unfavorable adjustments to our business practices or user experience. If we are unable to successfully accommodate these guidelines without making material, unfavorable adjustments to our business practices or user experience, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, growth, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

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In addition, state dealership associations maintain significant influence over the dealerships in their state as lobbying groups and as thought leaders. To the extent that these associations view us in a negative light, our reputation with car dealers in the corresponding state may be negatively affected. If our relationships with car manufacturers or state dealership associations suffer, our ability to maintain and grow the number of car dealers in our network will be harmed.

We cannot assure you that we will expand our network of TrueCar Certified Dealers in a manner that provides a sufficient number of dealers by brand and geography for our unique visitors and failure to do so would limit our growth.

If key industry participants, including car dealers and automobile manufacturers, perceive us in a negative light or our relationships with them suffer harm, our ability to grow and our financial performance may be damaged.

Our primary source of revenue consists of fees paid by TrueCar Certified Dealers to us in connection with the sales of automobiles to our users. In addition, our value proposition to consumers depends on our ability to provide pricing information on automobiles from a sufficient number of automobile dealers by brand and in a given consumer’s geographic area. If our relationships with our network of TrueCar Certified Dealers suffer harm in a manner that leads to the departure of these dealers from our network, then our revenue and ability to maintain and grow unique visitor traffic will be adversely affected.

At the end of 2011 and the beginning of 2012, due to certain regulatory and publicity-related challenges, many dealers canceled their agreements with us and our franchise dealer count fell from 5,571 at November 30, 2011 to 3,599 at February 28, 2012. More recently, 279 franchise dealers became inactive as the result of a contractual dispute with a large dealer group, and our franchise dealer count decreased from 9,300 at June 30, 2015 to 8,702 at September 30, 2015. At September 30, 2017 our franchise dealer count was 12,286.

TrueCar Certified Dealers have no contractual obligation to maintain their relationship with us. Accordingly, these dealers may leave our network at any time or may develop or use other products or services in lieu of ours. Further, while we believe that our service provides a lower cost, accountable customer acquisition channel, dealers may have difficulty rationalizing their marketing spend across TrueCar and other channels, which potentially has the effect of diluting our dealer value proposition. If we are unable to create and maintain a compelling value proposition for dealers to become and remain TrueCar Certified Dealers, our dealer network would not grow and could decline.

In addition, although the automobile dealership industry is fragmented, a small number of groups have significant influence over the industry. These groups include state and national dealership associations, state regulators, car manufacturers, consumer groups, individual dealers and consolidated dealer groups. To the extent that these groups believe that automobile dealerships should not do business with us, this belief may become quickly and widely shared by automobile dealerships and we may lose a significant number of dealers in our network. In May 2015, the California New Car Dealers Association filed a lawsuit alleging that we are operating in the State of California as an unlicensed automobile dealer and autobroker. For more information concerning this lawsuit, refer to the risk factor below, “We face litigation and are party to legal proceedings that could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.” A significant number of automobile dealerships are also members of larger dealer groups, and to the extent that a group decides to leave our network, this decision would typically apply to all dealerships within the group.

Furthermore, automobile manufacturers may provide their franchise dealers with financial or other marketing support, provided that such dealers adhere to certain marketing guidelines. Automobile manufacturers may determine that the manner in which certain of their franchise dealers use our platform is inconsistent with the terms of such marketing guidelines, which determination could result in potential or actual loss of the manufacturers’ financial or other marketing support to the dealers whose use of the platform is deemed objectionable. The potential or actual loss of such marketing support may cause such dealers to cease being members of our TrueCar Certified Dealer network, which may adversely affect our ability to maintain or grow the number and productivity of dealers in our network or the revenue derived from those dealers.

We cannot assure you that we will maintain strong relationships with the dealers in our network of TrueCar Certified Dealers or that we will not suffer dealer attrition in the future. We may also have disputes with dealers from time to time, including relating to the collection of fees from them and other matters. We may need to modify our products, change pricing or take other actions to address dealer concerns in the future. If a significant number of these automobile dealerships decided to leave our network or change their financial or business relationship with us, then our business, growth, operating results, financial condition and prospects would suffer.

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If we are unable to provide a compelling car-buying experience to our users, the number of transactions between our users and TrueCar Certified Dealers will decline and our revenue and results of operations will suffer harm.

The user experience on our company‑branded platform on the TrueCar website has evolved since its launch in 2010, but has not changed dramatically. We cannot assure you that we are able to provide a compelling car‑buying experience to our users, and our failure to do so could mean that the number of transactions between our users and TrueCar Certified Dealers may decline and we would be unable to effectively monetize our user traffic. We believe that our ability to provide a compelling car‑buying experience is subject to a number of factors, including:

• our ability to launch new products that are effective and have a high degree of consumer engagement;

• our ability to constantly innovate and improve our existing products;

• compliance of the dealers within our network of TrueCar Certified Dealers with applicable laws, regulations and the rules of our platform, including honoring the TrueCar certificates submitted by our users; and

• our access to a sufficient amount of data to enable us to provide relevant pricing information to consumers.

Changes to management, including turnover of our top executives, or an inability to retain, attract and integrate qualified personnel, could harm our ability to develop and successfully grow our business.

We believe our success has depended, and continues to depend, on the efforts and talents of our executives and employees. Our future success depends on our continuing ability to attract, develop, motivate and retain highly qualified and skilled employees. Qualified individuals are in high demand, and we may incur significant costs to attract and retain them. In order to attract and retain executives and other key employees in a competitive marketplace, we must provide competitive compensation packages, including cash and stock‑based compensation. Our primary forms of stock‑based incentive awards are stock options and restricted stock units. If the anticipated value of such stock‑based incentive awards does not materialize, if our stock‑based compensation otherwise ceases to be viewed as a valuable benefit, or if our total compensation package is not viewed as being competitive, our ability to attract, retain and motivate executives and key employees could be weakened.

The loss of any of our senior management or key employees could materially adversely affect our ability to execute our business plan and strategy, and we may not be able to find adequate replacements on a timely basis, or at all. Our executive officers and other employees are at‑will employees, which means they may terminate their employment relationship with us at any time, and their knowledge of our business and industry would be extremely difficult to replace. In the second half of 2015, we experienced increased turnover in key executive positions, including our chief executive officer and president. Our current executives may view the business differently than prior members of management, and over time may make changes to our strategic focus, operations or business plans with corresponding changes in how we report our results of operations. We can make no assurances that our current executives will be able to properly manage any such shift in focus or that any changes to our business would ultimately prove successful. We cannot ensure that we will be able to retain the services of any members of our senior management or other key employees. If we do not succeed in attracting well‑qualified employees, retaining and motivating existing employees or integrating new executives and employees, our business could be materially and adversely affected.

Our growth in recent years may not be indicative of our future growth and, we may not be able to manage future growth effectively.

Our revenue grew from $38.1 million in 2010 to $277.5 million in 2016. However, beginning in the third quarter of 2015, we began experiencing slowed revenue growth. Although revenue growth has generally improved, we expect that in the future, as our revenue increases, our rate of growth may again decline. In addition, we may not be able to grow as fast or at all if we do not accomplish the following:

• expand our dealer network in a geographically optimized manner, including increasing dealers in our network representing high volume brands; 

• increase the number of transactions between our users and TrueCar Certified Dealers;

• successfully increase dealer subscription rates as the number of dealers on subscription billing arrangements increases relative to those on a pay-per-sale billing model;

• successfully grow the revenue we derive from car manufacturer incentive programs;

• maintain and grow our affinity group marketing partner relationships and increase the productivity of our current affinity group marketing partners; 

• increase the number of users of our products and services, and in particular the number of unique visitors to the TrueCar website and our TrueCar branded mobile applications; 

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• further improve the quality of our existing products and services, and introduce high quality new products and services; and 

• introduce third party ancillary products and services.

We may not successfully accomplish any of these objectives. We plan to continue our investment in future growth. We expect to continue to expend substantial financial and other resources on:

• marketing and advertising; 

• dealer outreach and training, including the hiring of additional personnel in our dealer team;

• technology and product development, including the hiring of additional personnel in our product development and technical teams, harmonization of our software infrastructure, and the development of new products and new features for existing products; and 

• general administration, including legal, accounting and other compliance expenses related to being a public company.

In addition, our historical growth has placed and may continue to place significant demands on our management and our operational and financial resources. We have also experienced significant growth in the number of users of our platform as well as the amount of data that we analyze. We have hired, and expect to continue hiring, additional personnel, particularly in our dealer, product and technology teams. The additional personnel in our dealer team are intended to enhance the service experience and the productivity of our dealer network while the additional personnel in our product and technology teams are focusing on developing new products and features, harmonizing our technology infrastructure and delivering a better experience to consumers and dealers. Finally, our organizational structure is becoming more complex as we continue to add additional staff, and we will need to improve our operational, financial and management controls as well as our reporting systems and procedures. We will require significant capital expenditures and the allocation of valuable management resources to grow and change in these areas without undermining our corporate culture of rapid innovation, teamwork and attention to the car-buying experience for the consumer and the economics of the dealer.

We may be unable to maintain or grow relationships with information data providers or may experience interruptions in the data feeds they provide, which may limit the information that we are able to provide to our users and dealers as well as the timeliness of such information and may impair our ability to attract or retain consumers and TrueCar Certified Dealers and to timely invoice our dealers.

We receive automobile purchase data from many third-party data providers, including our network of TrueCar Certified Dealers, dealer management system, or DMS, data feed providers, data aggregators and integrators, survey companies, purveyors of registration data and our affinity group marketing partners. In the states in which we employ a pay-per-sale billing model, we use this data to match purchases with users that obtained a Guaranteed Savings Certificate from a TrueCar Certified Dealer so that we may collect a transaction fee from those dealers and recognize revenue from the related transactions.

From time to time, we experience interruptions in one or more data feeds that we receive from third-party data providers, particularly DMS system data feed providers, in a manner that affects our ability to timely invoice the dealers in our network. These interruptions may occur for a number of reasons, including changes to the software used by these data feed providers and difficulties in renewing our agreements with third-party data feed providers. In the states in which we employ a pay-per-sale billing model, an interruption in the data feeds that we receive may affect our ability to match automobile purchases with users that obtained a Guaranteed Savings Certificate from a TrueCar Certified Dealer, thereby delaying our submission of an invoice to an automobile dealer in our network for a given transaction and delaying the timing of cash receipts from the dealer. The redundancies of data feeds received from multiple providers may not result in sufficient data to match automobile purchases with users that obtained a Guaranteed Savings Certificate from a TrueCar Certified Dealer. In the case of an interruption in our data feeds, our billing structure may transition to a subscription model for automobile dealers in our network until the interruption ceases. However, our subscription billing model may result in lower revenues during an interruption and, when an interruption ceases, we are not always able to retroactively match a transaction and collect a fee. In addition, our likelihood of collection of the fee owed to us for a given transaction decreases for those periods in which we are unable to submit an invoice to automobile dealers. Interruptions which occur in close proximity to the end of a given reporting period could result in delays in our ability to recognize those transaction revenues in that reporting period and these shortfalls in transaction revenue could be material to our operating results.

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We have a history of losses and we may not achieve or maintain profitability in the future.

We have not been profitable since inception and had an accumulated deficit of $342.6 million at September 30, 2017. From time to time in the past, we have made significant investments in our operations which have not resulted in corresponding revenue growth and, as a result, increased our losses. We expect to make significant future investments to support the further development and expansion of our business and these investments may not result in increased revenue or growth on a timely basis or at all. Our revenue growth has been highly influenced by marketing expenditures. Incremental marketing expenditures in certain situations do not result in sufficient incremental revenue to cover their cost. This limits the growth in revenue that can be achieved through marketing expenditures. In addition, as a public company, we have and will continue to incur significant legal, accounting and other expenses that we did not incur as a private company. Such expenses will increase after we cease to be an “emerging growth company.” For more information concerning our “emerging growth company” status, refer to the risk factor below, “Complying with the laws and regulations affecting public companies has increased our costs and the demands on management and could harm our operating results.” As a result of these increased expenditures, we have to generate and sustain increased revenue to achieve and maintain profitability.

We may incur significant losses in the future for a number of reasons, including slowing demand for our products and services, increasing competition, weakness in the automobile industry generally, as well as other risks described in this report, and we may encounter unforeseen expenses, difficulties, complications and delays, and other unknown factors. If we incur losses in the future, we may not be able to reduce costs effectively because many of our costs are fixed. In addition, to the extent that we reduce variable costs to respond to losses, this may affect our ability to acquire consumers and dealers and grow our revenues. Accordingly, we may not be able to achieve or maintain profitability and we may continue to incur significant losses in the future, and this could cause the price of our common stock to decline.

We have operated our business at scale for a limited period of time and we cannot predict whether we will continue to grow. If we are unable to successfully respond to changes in the market, our business could be harmed.

Our business has grown as users and automobile dealers have increasingly used our products and services. However, our business is relatively new and has operated at a substantial scale for only a limited period of time. Given this limited history, it is difficult to predict whether we will be able to maintain or grow our business. We expect that our business will evolve in ways which may be difficult to predict. For example, marketing expenditures in certain situations become inefficient, particularly with respect to the TrueCar website and our branded mobile applications. Continued revenue growth will require more focus on increasing the number of transactions from which we derive revenue by growing our network of TrueCar Certified Dealers, including dealers representing high volume brands, both on an overall basis and in important geographies, as well as growth in the revenue we derive from car manufacturer incentive programs. It is also possible that car dealers could broadly determine that they no longer believe in the value of our services. In the event of these or any other developments, our continued success will depend on our ability to successfully adjust our strategy to meet the changing market dynamics. If we are unable to do so, our business could be harmed and our results of operations and financial condition could be materially and adversely affected.

The loss of a significant affinity group marketing partner or a significant reduction in the number of cars purchased from our TrueCar Certified Dealers by members of our affinity group marketing partners would reduce our revenue and harm our operating results.

Our financial performance is substantially dependent upon the number of automobiles purchased from TrueCar Certified Dealers by users of the TrueCar website, our branded mobile applications and the car-buying sites we maintain for our affinity group marketing partners. Currently, a majority of the automobiles purchased by our users were matched to the car-buying sites we maintain for our affinity group marketing partners. As a result, our relationships with our affinity group marketing partners are critical to our business and financial performance. However, several aspects of our relationship with affinity groups might change in a manner that harms our business and financial performance, including: 

• affinity group marketing partners might terminate their relationship with us or make such relationship non-exclusive, resulting in a reduction in the number of transactions between users of our platform and TrueCar Certified Dealers; 

• affinity group marketing partners might de-emphasize the automobile buying programs within their offerings or alter the user experience for members in a way that results in a decrease in the number of transactions between their members and our TrueCar Certified Dealers; or 

• the economic structure of our agreements with affinity group marketing partners might change, resulting in a decrease in our operating margins on transactions by their members.

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A significant change to our relationships with affinity group marketing partners may have a negative effect on our business in other ways. For example, the termination by an affinity group marketing partner of our relationship may create the perception that our products and services are no longer beneficial to the members of affinity groups or a more general negative association with our business. In addition, a termination by an affinity group marketing partner may result in the loss of the data provided to us by them with respect to automobile transactions. This loss of data may decrease the quantity and quality of the information that we provide to consumers and may also reduce our ability to identify transactions for which we can invoice dealers. If our relationships with affinity group marketing partners change our business, revenue, operating results and prospects may be harmed.

Any adverse change in our relationship with United Services Automobile Association, or USAA, could harm our business.

The largest source of user traffic and unit sales from our affinity group marketing partners comes from the site we maintain for USAA, which is also a large stockholder. In 2016, 254,241 units, or 32%, of all units purchased by users from TrueCar Certified Dealers during that period, were matched to users of the car‑buying site we maintain for USAA. In the quarter ended September 30, 2017, 64,841 units, or 26%, of all units purchased by users from TrueCar Certified Dealers during that period, were matched to users of the car‑buying site we maintain for USAA. As such, USAA has a significant influence on our operating results. We define units as the number of automobiles purchased by our users from TrueCar Certified Dealers through the TrueCar website and our branded mobile applications or the car‑buying sites we maintain for our affinity group marketing partners. At September 30, 2017, USAA beneficially owned 9,042,990 shares, which represented 9.0% of our outstanding common stock.

In May 2014, we entered into an extension of our affinity group marketing agreement with USAA that extends through February 13, 2020, but we cannot assure you that our agreement with USAA will be extended at the expiration of the current agreement on terms satisfactory to us, or at all. In addition, USAA has broad discretion in how the car-buying site we maintain for USAA is promoted and marketed on its own website. Changes in this promotion and marketing have in the past and may in the future adversely affect the volume of user traffic we receive from USAA. More recently, USAA made changes to the user experience for its car-buying site, which we believe contributed to a decrease in the number of transactions between its members and our TrueCar Certified Dealers during the third quarter of 2017. Changes in our relationship with USAA or its promotion and marketing of our platform, or maintenance of its present car-buying site user experience could adversely affect our business and operating results in the future. 

The success of our business relies heavily on our marketing and branding efforts, especially with respect to the TrueCar website and our branded mobile applications, as well as those efforts of the affinity group marketing partners whose websites we power, and these efforts may not be successful.

We believe that an important component of our growth will be the growth of our business derived from the TrueCar website and our TrueCar branded mobile applications. Because TrueCar.com is a consumer brand, we rely heavily on marketing and advertising to increase the visibility of this brand with potential users of our products and services. We currently advertise through television and radio marketing campaigns, digital and online media, sponsorship programs and other means, the goal of which is to increase the strength, recognition and trust in the TrueCar brand and drive more unique visitors to our website and mobile applications. We incurred expenses of $137.5 million and $112.8 million on sales and marketing during the nine months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016, respectively.

Our business model relies on our ability to scale rapidly and to decrease incremental user acquisition costs as we grow. Our revenue growth has been highly influenced by marketing expenditures. Incremental marketing expenditures in certain situations do not result in the acquisition of sufficient users visiting our website and mobile applications to permit recovery of such costs through revenue growth. This limits the growth in revenue that can be achieved through marketing expenditures. If we are unable to recover our marketing costs through increases in user traffic and in the number of transactions by users of our platform it could have a material adverse effect on our growth, results of operations and financial condition.

Additionally, to the extent that we discontinue our broad marketing campaigns or elect to reduce our sales and marketing costs to decrease our losses, this may affect our ability to acquire consumers and dealers and grow our revenues. Our current and potential competitors may have significantly more financial, marketing and other resources than we have and the ability to devote greater resources to the promotion and support of their products and services. The realities of competing for users and brand visibility, as well as ensuring the satisfaction of our dealers, may limit our ability to reduce our own marketing expenditures, potentially negatively impacting our operating margins and financial results.

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In addition, the number of transactions generated by the members of our affinity group marketing partners depends in part on the emphasis that these affinity group marketing partners place on marketing the purchase of cars within their platforms. For example, USAA is a large diversified financial services group of companies serving the United States military community with hundreds of highly competitive product and service offerings. At any given time, USAA’s car-buying service may or may not be a priority relative to its other offerings. Consequently, changes in how USAA promotes and markets the car-buying site we maintain for them can and has, from time to time in the past, affected the volume of purchases generated by USAA members. For example, in the past USAA adjusted the location and prominence of the links to our platform on its web pages, adversely affecting the volume of traffic to our platform. Should USAA or one or more of our other affinity group marketing partners decide to de-emphasize the marketing of our platform, or if their marketing efforts are otherwise unsuccessful, our revenue, business and financial results will be harmed.

Failure to increase our revenue or reduce our sales and marketing expense or our technology and development expense as a percentage of revenue would adversely affect our financial condition and profitability.

We expect to make significant future investments to support the further development and expansion of our business and these investments may not result in increased revenue or growth on a timely basis or at all. Furthermore, these investments may not decrease as a percentage of revenue if our business grows. In particular, we intend to increase expenditures to launch new products and enhance our existing products and services, continue to grow and train our network of TrueCar Certified Dealers and upgrade our system architecture. We also intend to continue investing to increase awareness of our brand, including via television and radio advertisements. There can be no assurance that these investments will increase revenue or that we will eventually be able to decrease our sales and marketing expense, or our technology and development expense, as a percentage of revenue, and failure to do so would adversely affect our financial condition and profitability.

We are subject to a complex framework of federal and state laws and regulations primarily concerning vehicle sales, advertising and brokering, many of which are unsettled, still developing and contradictory, which have in the past, and could in the future, subject us to claims, challenge our business model or otherwise harm our business.

Various aspects of our business are or may be subject, directly or indirectly, to U.S. federal and state laws and regulations. Failure to comply with such laws or regulations may result in the suspension or termination of our ability to do business in affected jurisdictions or the imposition of significant civil and criminal penalties, including fines or the award of significant damages against us and our TrueCar Certified Dealers in class action or other civil litigation.

State Motor Vehicle Sales, Advertising and Brokering Laws

The advertising and sale of new or used motor vehicles is highly regulated by the states in which we do business. Although we do not sell motor vehicles, state regulatory authorities or third parties could take the position that some of the regulations applicable to dealers or to the manner in which motor vehicles are advertised and sold generally are directly applicable to our business. If our products and services are determined to not comply with relevant regulatory requirements, we or our TrueCar Certified Dealers could be subject to significant civil and criminal penalties, including fines, or the award of significant damages in class action or other civil litigation as well as orders interfering with our ability to continue providing our products and services in certain states. In addition, even absent such a determination, to the extent dealers are uncertain about the applicability of such laws and regulations to our business, we may lose, or have difficulty increasing the number of, TrueCar Certified Dealers in our network, which would affect our future growth.

Several states in which we do business have laws and regulations that strictly regulate or prohibit the brokering of motor vehicles or the making of so-called “bird-dog” payments by dealers to third parties in connection with the sale of motor vehicles through persons other than licensed salespersons. If our products or services are determined to fall within the scope of such laws or regulations, we may be forced to implement new measures, which could be costly, to reduce our exposure to those obligations, including the discontinuation of certain products or services in affected jurisdictions. Additionally, such a determination could subject us or our TrueCar Certified Dealers to significant civil or criminal penalties, including fines, or the award of significant damages in class action or other civil litigation.

In addition to generally applicable consumer protection laws, many states in which we do business have laws and regulations that specifically regulate the advertising for sale of new or used motor vehicles. These state advertising laws and regulations are frequently subject to multiple interpretations and are not uniform from state to state, sometimes imposing inconsistent requirements on the advertiser of a new or used motor vehicle. If the content displayed on the websites we operate is determined or alleged to be inaccurate or misleading, under motor vehicle advertising laws, generally applicable consumer protection laws, or otherwise, we could be subject to significant civil and criminal penalties, including fines, or the award of significant damages in class action or other civil litigation. Moreover, such allegations, even if unfounded or decided in our

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favor, could be extremely costly to defend, could require us to pay significant sums in settlements, and could interfere with our ability to continue providing our products and services in certain states.

From time to time, certain state authorities, dealer associations, and others have taken the position that aspects of our products and services violate state brokering, bird-dog, or advertising laws. When such allegations have arisen, we have endeavored to resolve the identified concerns on a consensual and expeditious basis, through negotiation and education efforts, without resorting to the judicial process. In certain instances, we have nevertheless been obligated to suspend all or certain aspects of our business operations in a state pending the resolution of such issues, the resolution of which included the payment of fines in 2011 and 2012 in the aggregate amount of approximately $26,000. For example, in the beginning of 2012, following implementation of our first nationwide television advertising campaign, state regulatory inquiries with respect to the compliance of our products and services with state brokering, bird-dog, and advertising laws intensified to a degree not previously experienced by us. Responding to and resolving these inquiries, as well as our efforts to ameliorate the related adverse publicity and loss of TrueCar Certified Dealers from our network, resulted in decreased revenues and increased expenses and, accordingly, increased our losses during much of 2012.

In May 2015, we were named as a defendant in a lawsuit filed in the Superior Court for the County of Los Angeles (the “CNCDA Litigation”). The complaint, filed by the California New Car Dealers Association, seeks declaratory and injunctive relief based on allegations that we are operating in the State of California as an unlicensed automobile dealer and autobroker. For more information concerning the CNCDA Litigation, refer to the risk factor below, “We face litigation and are party to legal proceedings that could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.”

In July 2015, we were named as a defendant in a lawsuit filed in the California Superior Court for the County of Los Angeles (the “Participating Dealer Litigation”). The complaint, filed by numerous dealers participating on the TrueCar platform, and as subsequently amended, sought declaratory and injunctive relief based on allegations that the Company is engaging in unfairly competitive practices and is operating as an unlicensed automobile dealer and autobroker in contravention of various state laws. On September 29, 2015, the plaintiffs voluntarily dismissed this lawsuit “without prejudice,” which means that the Participating Dealer Litigation is currently resolved, but that it could be re-filed at a later date. For more information concerning this lawsuit, refer to the risk factor below, “We face litigation and are party to legal proceedings that could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.”

In September 2015, we received a letter from the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles (the “Texas DMV Notice”) asserting that certain aspects of our advertising in Texas constitute false, deceptive, unfair, or misleading advertising within the meaning of applicable Texas law. On September 24, 2015, we responded to the Texas DMV Notice in an effort to resolve the concerns raised by the Texas DMV Notice without making material, unfavorable adjustments to our business practices or user experience in Texas. In light of the fact that no further action has been taken with respect to this matter subsequent to our response to the Texas DMV Notice, we consider the issues raised by the Texas DMV Notice to be informally resolved, but we cannot assure you that this matter or similar matters will not reemerge in the future.

In December 2015, we were named as a defendant in a putative class action lawsuit filed by Gordon Rose in the California Superior Court for the County of Los Angeles (the “California Consumer Class Action”). The complaint asserts claims for unjust enrichment, violation of the California Consumer Legal Remedies Act, and violation of the California Business and Professions Code, based in part on allegations that we are operating in the State of California as an unlicensed automobile dealer and autobroker. The plaintiff seeks to represent a class of California consumers defined as “[a]ll California consumers who purchased an automobile by using TrueCar, Inc.’s price certificate during the applicable statute of limitations.” For more information concerning this lawsuit, refer to the risk factor below, “We face litigation and are party to legal proceedings that could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.”

In July 2016, we received a letter from the Mississippi Motor Vehicle Commission (the “Mississippi MVC Letter”) asserting that an aspect of our advertising in Mississippi was not in compliance with a regulation adopted by the Mississippi Motor Vehicle Commission. On July 19, 2016, we responded to the Mississippi MVC Letter in an effort to resolve the concerns raised by the Mississippi MVC Letter without making material, unfavorable adjustments to our business practices or user experience in Mississippi. In light of the fact that no further action has been taken with respect to this matter subsequent to our response to the Mississippi MVC Letter, we consider the issues raised by the Mississippi MVC Letter to be informally resolved, but we cannot assure you that this matter or similar matters will not reemerge in the future.

In August 2016, we met with investigators from the California Department of Motor Vehicles (the “California DMV”) regarding an allegation made by a dealer that we were operating as an unlicensed automobile auction in California (the “Unlicensed Auction Allegation”). We provided the investigators with information about our business in an effort to resolve the

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concerns raised by the Unlicensed Auction Allegation. In October 2016, we were informally advised by an investigator for the California DMV that the concerns raised by the Unlicensed Auction Allegation had been resolved, but that the investigators would continue to evaluate our responses regarding certain matters related to the advertising of new motor vehicles. In light of the fact that no further action has been taken with respect to this matter, we consider the issues raised by the Unlicensed Auction Allegation to be informally resolved, but we cannot assure you that this matter or similar matters will not reemerge in the future.

In March 2017, we received an investigatory subpoena from the Consumer Protection Office of the Attorney General of the State of Ohio issued pursuant to the Ohio Consumer Sales Practices Act. The investigatory subpoena requested certain information related to online content displayed by us related to vehicles listed for sale by TrueCar Certified Dealers in Ohio. On April 18, 2017, we responded to the investigatory subpoena and supplied the information sought by it. In light of the fact that no further action has been taken with respect to this matter subsequent to our response to the investigatory subpoena, we consider this matter to be resolved, but we cannot assure you that this matter or similar matters will not reemerge in the future.

In June 2017, we were named as a defendant in the Federal Consumer Class Action. The complaint asserts claims for violation of the California Business and Professions Code, based principally on allegations of false and misleading advertising and unfair business practices. The complaint seeks an award of unspecified damages, interest, injunctive relief, and attorneys’ fees. In the complaint, the plaintiff seeks to represent a class of consumers defined as “[a]ll consumers who, between the applicable statute of limitations and the present, obtained a TrueCar ‘guaranteed’ price” and “[a]ll consumers, who, between the applicable statute of limitations and the present, obtained a TrueCar ‘guaranteed’ price pertaining to a vehicle located at Riverside Mazda.” For more information concerning this lawsuit, refer to the risk factor below, “We face litigation and are party to legal proceedings that could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.”

If state regulators or other third parties take the position in the future that our products or services violate applicable brokering, bird-dog, or advertising laws or regulations, responding to such allegations could be costly, could require us to pay significant sums in settlements, could require us to pay civil and criminal penalties, including fines, could interfere with our ability to continue providing our products and services in certain states, or could require us to make adjustments to our products and services or the manner in which we derive revenue from our participating dealers, any or all of which could result in substantial adverse publicity, loss of TrueCar Certified Dealers from our network, decreased revenues, increased expenses, and decreased profitability.

Federal Advertising Regulations

The Federal Trade Commission, or the FTC, has authority to take actions to remedy or prevent advertising practices that it considers to be unfair or deceptive and that affect commerce in the United States. If the FTC takes the position in the future that any aspect of our business constitutes an unfair or deceptive advertising practice, responding to such allegations could require us to pay significant damages, settlements, and civil penalties, or could require us to make adjustments to our products and services, any or all of which could result in substantial adverse publicity, loss of participating dealers, lost revenues, increased expenses, and decreased profitability.

In March 2015, we were named as a defendant in a lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (the “NY Lanham Act Litigation”). The complaint, purportedly filed on behalf of numerous automotive dealers who are not on the TrueCar platform, seeks injunctive relief in addition to over $250 million in damages based on allegations that we violated the Lanham Act as well as various state laws prohibiting unfair competition and deceptive acts or practices related to our advertising and promotional activities. For more information concerning the NY Lanham Act Litigation, refer to the risk factor below, “We face litigation and are party to legal proceedings that could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.”

Federal Antitrust Laws

The antitrust laws prohibit, among other things, any joint conduct among competitors that would lessen competition in the marketplace. Some of the information that we obtain from dealers is competitively sensitive and, if disclosed inappropriately, could potentially be used by dealers to impede competition or otherwise diminish independent pricing activity. A governmental or private civil action alleging the improper exchange of information, or unlawful participation in price maintenance or other unlawful or anticompetitive activity, even if unfounded, could be costly to defend and adversely impact our ability to maintain and grow our dealer network.

In addition, governmental or private civil actions related to the antitrust laws could result in orders suspending or terminating our ability to do business or otherwise altering or limiting certain of our business practices, including the manner in

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which we handle or disclose dealer pricing information, or the imposition of significant civil or criminal penalties, including fines or the award of significant damages against us and our TrueCar Certified Dealers in class action or other civil litigation.

Other

The foregoing description of laws and regulations to which we are or may be subject is not exhaustive, and the regulatory framework governing our operations is subject to continuous change. The enactment of new laws and regulations or the interpretation of existing laws and regulations in an unfavorable way may affect the operation of our business, directly or indirectly, which could result in substantial regulatory compliance costs, civil or criminal penalties, including fines, adverse publicity, loss of participating dealers, lost revenues, increased expenses, and decreased profitability. Further, investigations by government agencies, including the FTC, into allegedly anticompetitive, unfair, deceptive or other business practices by us or our TrueCar Certified Dealers, could cause us to incur additional expenses and, if adversely concluded, could result in substantial civil or criminal penalties and significant legal liability.

We face litigation and are party to legal proceedings that could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

In March 2015, we were named as a defendant in the NY Lanham Act Litigation. The complaint in the NY Lanham Act Litigation, purportedly filed on behalf of numerous automotive dealers who are not on the TrueCar platform, alleges that we violated the Lanham Act as well as various state laws prohibiting unfair competition and deceptive acts or practices related to our advertising and promotional activities. The complaint seeks injunctive relief in addition to over $250 million in damages as a result of the alleged diversion of customers from the plaintiffs’ dealerships to TrueCar Certified Dealers. On April 7, 2015, we filed an answer to the complaint. Thereafter, the plaintiffs amended their complaint, and on July 13, 2015, we filed a motion to dismiss the amended complaint. On January 6, 2016, the Court granted in part and denied in part our motion to dismiss. The litigation is currently in the expert discovery phase. We believe that the portions of the amended complaint that survived our motion to dismiss are without merit, and we intend to vigorously defend ourselves in this matter. Based on the current stage of the proceedings in this case, the outcome of this legal proceeding, including the anticipated legal defense costs, remains uncertain; however, we may incur significant legal fees, settlements or damage awards resulting from this or other civil litigation. If this matter is not resolved in our favor, losses arising from the results of litigation or settlements, as well as ongoing defense costs, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

In May 2015, we were named as a defendant in the CNCDA Litigation. The complaint in the CNCDA Litigation seeks declaratory and injunctive relief based on allegations that we are operating in the State of California as an unlicensed automobile dealer and autobroker. On July 20, 2015, we filed a “demurrer” to the complaint, which is a pleading that requests the court to dismiss the case. The plaintiffs subsequently amended their complaint, and on September 11, 2015, we filed a demurrer to the amended complaint. On December 7, 2015, the Court granted our demurrer in its entirety, but afforded the CNCDA the opportunity to file a second amended complaint. The CNCDA filed a second amended complaint on January 4, 2016. The second amended complaint reiterates the claims in the prior complaints and adds claims under theories based on the federal Lanham Act and California unfair competition law. On February 3, 2016, we filed a demurrer to the second amended complaint. On March 30, 2016, the Court granted in part and denied in part our demurrer to the second amended complaint, dismissing the Lanham Act claim but declining to dismiss the balance of the claims at the demurrer stage of the litigation. On May 31, 2016, based on certain intervening developments in state law, the Court announced that it would reconsider its March 30, 2016 order, and it invited the parties to file new briefs on the demurrer issues. On July 15, 2016, the Court heard oral argument on reconsideration of the demurrer issues. On July 25, 2016, the Court granted in part and denied in part the Company’s demurrer to the second amended complaint, just as it had done in its March 30, 2016 order. The litigation is currently approaching the conclusion of the discovery phase and was previously scheduled for trial in August 2017. On April 3, 2017, the Court indicated that the trial date would be postponed to a future date. On May 17, 2017, the Court scheduled trial to begin on December 11, 2017. We believe that the portions of the second amended complaint that survived the Court’s reconsideration of our demurrer are without merit, and we intend to vigorously defend ourselves in this matter. Based on the current stage of the proceedings in this case, the outcome of this legal proceeding, including the anticipated legal defense costs, remains uncertain; however, we may incur significant legal fees, settlements or damage awards resulting from this or other civil litigation. If this matter is not resolved in our favor, losses arising from the results of litigation or settlements, as well as ongoing defense costs, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

In May 2015, a purported securities class action complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California (the “Federal Securities Litigation”) by Satyabrata Mahapatra naming TrueCar and two other individuals not

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affiliated with TrueCar as defendants. On June 15, 2015, the plaintiff filed a Notice of Errata and Correction purporting to name Scott Painter and Michael Guthrie as individual defendants in lieu of the two individual defendants named in the complaint. On October 5, 2015, the plaintiffs amended their complaint. As amended, the complaint in the Federal Securities Litigation seeks an award of unspecified damages, interest and attorneys’ fees based on allegations that the defendants made false and/or misleading statements, and failed to disclose material adverse facts about TrueCar’s business, operations, prospects and performance. Specifically, the amended complaint alleges that during the putative class period, the defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) TrueCar’s business practices violated unfair competition and deceptive trade practice laws (i.e., the issues raised in the NY Lanham Act Litigation); (ii) TrueCar acts as a dealer and broker in car sales transactions without proper licensing, in violation of various states’ laws that govern car sales (i.e., the issues raised in the CNCDA Litigation); and (iii) as a result of the above, TrueCar’s registration statements, prospectuses, quarterly and annual reports, financial statements, SEC filings, press releases, and other statements and documents were materially false and misleading at times relevant to the amended complaint and putative class period. The amended complaint asserts a putative class period stemming from May 16, 2014 to July 23, 2015. On October 19, 2015, we filed a motion to dismiss the amended complaint. On December 9, 2015, the Court granted our motion to dismiss and dismissed the case in its entirety. On January 8, 2016, the plaintiff filed a notice of appeal. On June 20, 2016, the plaintiff filed a motion for voluntary dismissal of the appeal. The motion was granted by the Court on June 27, 2016. As this case has been dismissed, we do not anticipate a loss related to this matter. However, if similar litigation is filed against us, we may incur significant legal fees, adverse changes in our dealer network, settlements or damage awards as a result. If any such matters are not resolved in our favor, losses arising from the results of litigation or settlements, as well as ongoing defense costs or adverse changes in our dealer network, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

In July 2015, we were named as a defendant in the Participating Dealer Litigation. Both as originally filed and as subsequently amended, the complaint in the Participating Dealer Litigation sought declaratory and injunctive relief based on allegations that the Company is engaging in unfairly competitive practices and is operating as an unlicensed automobile dealer and autobroker in contravention of various state laws. Neither the original nor amended complaint sought an award of money damages. On September 29, 2015, the plaintiffs voluntarily dismissed this lawsuit “without prejudice,” which means that the Participating Dealer Litigation is currently resolved, but that it could be re-filed at a later date. If the Participating Dealer Litigation is re-filed at a later date or if similar litigation is filed against us, we may incur significant legal fees, adverse changes in our dealer network, settlements or damage awards as a result. If any such matters are not resolved in our favor, losses arising from the results of litigation or settlements, as well as ongoing defense costs or adverse changes in our dealer network, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

In August 2015, the Company, certain of its executives and directors, and the underwriters of the Company’s initial public offering and secondary offering were named as defendants in a putative class action lawsuit filed by Ning Shen and William Fitzpatrick in California Superior Court under the federal securities laws (the “California State Court Securities Litigation”).  The complaint alleged that TrueCar’s registration statements in connection with the offerings contained false or misleading statements of material facts, and failed to disclose material adverse facts about the Company’s business, operations, prospects, and performance.  On September 2, 2015, following our removal of the action from California state court to the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, the plaintiffs voluntarily dismissed this lawsuit “without prejudice,” which means that the California State Court Securities Litigation is currently resolved, but that it could be re-filed at a later date. If the California State Court Securities Litigation is re-filed at a later date or if additional similar litigation, such as the Federal Securities Litigation, is filed against us, we may incur significant legal fees, settlements or damage awards as a result. If any such matters are not resolved in our favor, losses arising from the results of litigation or settlements, as well as ongoing defense costs, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

In December 2015, we were named as a defendant in the California Consumer Class Action. The complaint asserted claims for unjust enrichment, violation of the California Consumer Legal Remedies Act, and violation of the California Business and Professions Code, based principally on factual allegations similar to those asserted in the NY Lanham Act Litigation and the CNCDA Litigation. In the complaint, the plaintiff sought to represent a class of California consumers defined as “[a]ll California consumers who purchased an automobile by using TrueCar, Inc.’s price certificate during the applicable statute of limitations.” On January 12, 2016, the Court entered an order staying all proceedings in the case pending an initial status conference, which was previously scheduled for April 13, 2016. On March 16, 2016, the case was reassigned to a different judge. As a result of that reassignment, the initial status conference was rescheduled for and held on May 26, 2016. By stipulation, the stay of discovery was continued until a second status conference, which was scheduled for October 12, 2016. On July 13, 2016, the plaintiff amended his complaint. The amended complaint continues to assert claims for unjust enrichment, violation of the California Consumer Legal Remedies Act, and violation of the California Business and Professions Code. The amended complaint retains the same proposed class definition as the initial complaint. Like the initial complaint, the amended complaint seeks an award of unspecified damages, punitive and exemplary damages, interest, disgorgement, injunctive relief, and attorneys’ fees. On September 12, 2016, the Company filed a demurrer to the amended complaint. On

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October 12, 2016, the Court heard oral argument on the demurrer. On October 13, 2016, the Court granted in part and denied in part the Company’s demurrer to the amended complaint, dismissing the unjust enrichment claim but declining to dismiss the balance of the claims at the demurrer stage of the litigation. At a status conference held on January 26, 2017, the Court ruled that discovery could then proceed regarding matters related to class certification only. At a status conference held on July 25, 2017, the Court set a deadline of January 8, 2018 for the filing of the plaintiff’s motion for class certification and provided that discovery may continue to proceed regarding matters related to class certification only at this time. An additional status conference has been scheduled for January 12, 2018. We believe that the amended complaint is without merit, and we intend to vigorously defend ourselves in this matter. Based on the current stage of the proceedings in this case, the outcome of this legal proceeding, including the anticipated legal defense costs, remains uncertain; however, we may incur significant legal fees, settlements or damage awards resulting from this or other civil litigation. If this matter is not resolved in our favor, losses arising from the results of litigation or settlements, as well as ongoing defense costs, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

In June 2017, we were named as a defendant in the Federal Consumer Class Action. The complaint asserts claims for violation of the California False Advertising Act and violation of California’s Unfair Business Practices Act, based principally on allegations of false and misleading advertising and unfair business practices. The complaint seeks an award of unspecified damages, interest, injunctive relief, and attorneys’ fees. In the complaint, the plaintiff seeks to represent a class of consumers defined as “[a]ll consumers who, between the applicable statute of limitations and the present, obtained a TrueCar ‘guaranteed’ price” and “[a]ll consumers, who, between the applicable statute of limitations and the present, obtained a TrueCar ‘guaranteed’ price pertaining to a vehicle located at Riverside Mazda.” We believe that the complaint is without merit, and we intend to vigorously defend ourselves in this matter in the event that a settlement is not consummated on terms agreeable to the Company. On or around October 23, 2017, the parties reached an agreement in principle to settle this matter on an individual (non-classwide) basis for the payment of an immaterial amount to Mr. Haas. Because the anticipated settlement has not yet been consummated, based on the preliminary nature of the proceedings in this case, the outcome of this legal proceeding, including the anticipated legal defense costs, remains uncertain; however, we may incur significant legal fees, settlements or damage awards resulting from this or other civil litigation. If this matter is not settled on terms consistent with the agreement in principle or otherwise resolved in our favor, losses arising from the results of litigation or settlements, as well as ongoing defense costs, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

In October 2017, we were named as a defendant in a lawsuit filed by Cox Automotive, Inc. ("Cox Automotive") in the Supreme Court of the State of New York in the County of Nassau (the “Cox Automotive Litigation”). As it relates to us, the complaint in the Cox Automotive Litigation seeks an award of unspecified damages, disgorgement, return of property taken or retained, injunctive relief and attorneys’ fees. The complaint in the Cox Automotive Litigation alleges that we engaged in tortious interference with a contractual relationship between Cox Automotive and one of its former employees, among other claims against the former employee, who is also named as a defendant in the lawsuit. We believe that the complaint is without merit, and we intend to vigorously defend ourselves in this matter. On October 20, 2017, the court granted a temporary restraining order prohibiting us from employing the former Cox Automotive employee pending the court’s ruling on the request by Cox Automotive for the entry of a preliminary injunction. Oral argument, on request by Cox Automotive, for the entry of a preliminary injunction has been scheduled for November 13, 2017. Based on the preliminary nature of the proceedings in this case, the outcome of this legal proceeding, including the anticipated legal defense costs, remains uncertain; however, we may incur significant legal fees, settlements or damage awards resulting from this or other civil litigation. If this matter is not resolved in our favor, losses arising from the results of litigation or settlements, as well as ongoing defense costs, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

As a public company, we face the risk of shareholder lawsuits, particularly if we experience declines in the price of our common stock. In the past, following periods of volatility in the overall market and the market prices of a particular company’s securities, securities class action lawsuits have often been instituted against affected companies, and as noted immediately above, such lawsuits have been instituted against us in the form of the Federal Securities Litigation and the California State Court Securities Litigation. Additional lawsuits of this type or similar types, if instituted against us or one or more of our officers or directors, whether arising from alleged facts the same as, similar to, or different from those alleged in the Federal Securities Litigation or the California State Court Securities Litigation, could result in significant legal fees, settlements, or damage awards, as well as the diversion of our management’s attention and resources, and thus could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

We will incur significant legal fees in our defense of the NY Lanham Act Litigation, the CNCDA Litigation and the California Consumer Class Action, and we may incur significant fees in our defense of the Federal Consumer Class Action and the Cox Automotive Litigation or fees associated with additional lawsuits that may be filed against us or one or more of our officers or directors hereafter. The legal fees arising from any or all of these matters could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

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We participate in a highly competitive market, and pressure from existing and new companies may adversely affect our business and operating results.

We face significant competition from companies that provide listings, information, lead generation, and car-buying services designed to reach consumers and enable dealers to reach these consumers.

Our competitors offer various products and services that compete with us. Some of these competitors include:

• Internet search engines and online automotive sites such as Google, AutoTrader.com, eBay Motors, Autoweb.com (formerly Autobytel.com), Edmunds.com, KBB.com, Cargurus.com and Cars.com; 

• sites operated by automobile manufacturers such as General Motors and Ford;

• providers of offline, membership-based car-buying services such as the Costco Auto Program; and 

• offline automotive classified listings, such as trade periodicals and local newspapers. 

We compete with many of the above-mentioned companies and other companies for a share of car dealers’ overall marketing budget for online and offline media marketing spend. To the extent that car dealers view alternative marketing and media strategies to be superior to TrueCar, we may not be able to maintain or grow the number of TrueCar Certified Dealers and our TrueCar Certified Dealers may sell fewer cars to users of our platform, and our business, operating results and financial condition will be harmed.

We also expect that new competitors will continue to enter the automotive retail industry with competing products and services, which could have an adverse effect on our revenue, business and financial results.

Our competitors could significantly impede our ability to expand and optimize our network of TrueCar Certified Dealers and to reach consumers. Our competitors may also develop and market new technologies that render our existing or future products and services less competitive, unmarketable or obsolete. In addition, if our competitors develop products or services with similar or superior functionality to our solutions, we may need to decrease the prices for our solutions in order to remain competitive. If we are unable to maintain our current pricing structure due to competitive pressures, our revenue will be reduced and our operating results will be negatively affected.

Our current and potential competitors may have significantly more financial, technical, marketing and other resources than we have, and the ability to devote greater resources to the development, promotion, and support of their products and services. Additionally, they may have more extensive automotive industry relationships than we have, longer operating histories and greater name recognition. As a result, these competitors may be better able to respond more quickly with new technologies and to undertake more extensive marketing or promotional campaigns. In addition, to the extent any of our competitors have existing relationships with dealers or automobile manufacturers for marketing or data analytics solutions, those dealers and automobile manufacturers may be unwilling to continue to partner with us. If we are unable to compete with these companies, the demand for our products and services could substantially decline.

In addition, if one or more of our competitors were to merge or partner with another of our competitors, the change in the competitive landscape could adversely affect our ability to compete effectively. Our competitors may also establish or strengthen cooperative relationships with our current or future third-party data providers, technology partners, or other parties with whom we have relationships, thereby limiting our ability to develop, improve, and promote our solutions. We may not be able to compete successfully against current or future competitors, and competitive pressures may harm our revenue, business and financial results.

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We rely, in part,on Internet search engines to drive traffic to our website, and if we fail to appear prominently in the search results, our traffic would decline and our business would be adversely affected.

We depend in part on Internet search engines such as Google, Bing, and Yahoo! to drive traffic to our website. For example, when a user types an automobile into an Internet search engine, we rely on a high organic search ranking of our webpages in these search results to refer the user to our website. However, our ability to maintain high, non-paid search result rankings is not within our control. Our competitors’ Internet search engine optimization efforts may result in their websites receiving a higher search result page ranking than ours, or Internet search engines could revise their methodologies in a way that would adversely affect our search result rankings. If Internet search engines modify their search algorithms in ways that are detrimental to us, or if our competitors’ efforts are more successful than ours, overall growth in our user base could slow or our user base could decline. Internet search engine providers could provide automobile dealer and pricing information directly in search results, align with our competitors or choose to develop competing services. Our website has experienced fluctuations in search result rankings in the past, and we anticipate similar fluctuations in the future. Any reduction in the number of users directed to our website through Internet search engines could harm our business and operating results.

The failure to maintain our brand would harm our ability to grow unique visitor traffic and to expand our dealer network.

Maintaining and enhancing the TrueCar brand largely depends on the success of our efforts to maintain the trust of our users and TrueCar Certified Dealers and to deliver value to each of our users and TrueCar Certified Dealers. If our existing or potential users perceive that we are not focused primarily on providing them with a better car-buying experience or if dealers do not perceive TrueCar as offering a compelling value proposition, our reputation and the strength of our brand will be adversely affected.

Complaints or negative publicity about our business practices, our marketing and advertising campaigns, our compliance with applicable laws and regulations, the integrity of the data that we provide to users, data privacy and security issues, and other aspects of our business, irrespective of their validity, could diminish users’ and dealers’ confidence in and use of our products and services and adversely affect our brand. These concerns could also diminish the trust of existing and potential affinity group marketing partners. There can be no assurance that we will be able to maintain or enhance our brand, and failure to do so would harm our business growth prospects and operating results.

Our ability to enhance our current product offerings, or grow complementary product offerings, may be limited, which could negatively impact our growth rate, revenues and financial performance.

As we introduce new offerings or enhance existing products and services on our platform we may incur losses or otherwise fail to enter these markets successfully. Our expansion into these markets may place us in competitive and regulatory environments with which we are unfamiliar and involves various risks, including the need to invest significant resources and the possibility that returns on such investments will not be achieved for several years, if at all. In attempting to establish our new product offerings we expect to incur significant expenses and face various other challenges, such as expanding our sales force and technology teams or management personnel to cover these markets and complying with complicated regulations that may apply to these markets. In addition, we may not successfully demonstrate the value of these expanded or complementary products to consumers, and failure to do so would compromise our ability to successfully expand our user experience and could harm our growth rate, revenue and operating performance.

If we suffer a significant interruption in our ability to gain access to third-party data, we may be unable to maintain key aspects of our user experience, including the TrueCar Curve, and our business and operating results will suffer.

Our business relies on our ability to analyze data for the benefit of our users and the TrueCar Certified Dealers in our network. We use data obtained pursuant to agreements with third parties to power certain aspects of the user experience on our platform, including the TrueCar Curve, a graphical distribution of what others paid for the same make and model of car. In addition, the effectiveness of our user acquisition efforts depends in part on the availability of data relating to existing and potential users of our platform. If we are unable to renew data agreements, or utilize alternative data sources, as certain agreements expire, and we experience a material disruption in the data provided to us, the information that we provide to our users and TrueCar Certified Dealers may be limited, the quality of this information may suffer, the user experience may be negatively affected and certain functionality on our platform may be disabled, and our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows could be materially and adversely affected.

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Our business is subject to risks related to the larger automotive ecosystem, including consumer demand, global supply chain challenges and other macroeconomic issues.

Decreases in consumer demand could adversely affect the market for automobile purchases and, as a result, reduce the number of consumers using our platform. Consumer purchases of new and used automobiles generally decline during recessionary periods and other periods in which disposable income is adversely affected. For example, the number of new vehicle sales in the United States decreased from approximately 16.1 million in 2007 to approximately 10.4 million in 2009, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Various economic uncertainties, including stock market and commodity pricing volatility, could lead to such a downturn that may impact our business. Purchases of new and used automobiles are typically discretionary for consumers and have been, and may continue to be, affected by negative trends in the economy, including the cost of energy and gasoline, the availability and cost of credit, reductions in business and consumer confidence, stock market volatility, new tariffs or border adjustment taxes and increased unemployment. A reduction in the number of automobiles purchased by consumers could adversely affect automobile dealers and car manufacturers and lead to a reduction in other spending by these constituents, including targeted incentive programs. In addition, our business may be negatively affected by challenges to the larger automotive ecosystem, including global supply chain challenges, such as those resulting from the Japanese tsunami in 2011 and other macroeconomic issues. The foregoing could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

We may fail to respond adequately to changes in technology and consumer demands that could lead to decreased demand for automobiles.

In recent years, the market for motor vehicles has been characterized by rapid changes in technology and consumer demands.  Self-driving technology, ride sharing, transportation networks and other fundamental changes in automotive and transportation could have a substantial impact on consumer demand for the purchase or lease of automobiles.  If we fail to respond adequately to a decline in the demand for automobile purchases, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, growth, operating results, financial condition and prospects.

Our unique visitors, revenue and operating results fluctuate due to seasonality.

Our revenue trends are a reflection of consumers’ car buying patterns. Across the automotive industry, consumers tend to purchase a higher volume of cars in the second and third quarters of each year, due in part to the introduction of new vehicle models from manufacturers. In the past, these seasonal trends have not been pronounced due the overall growth of our business, but we expect that in the future our revenues will be affected by these seasonal trends. Our business will also be impacted by cyclical trends affecting the overall economy, specifically the retail automobile industry, as well as by actual or threatened severe weather events.

We may require additional capital to pursue our business objectives and respond to business opportunities, challenges or unforeseen circumstances. If capital is not available to us, our operating results, business and financial condition may be harmed.

Since our founding, we have raised substantial equity and debt financing to support the growth of our business. Because we intend to continue to make investments to support the growth of our business, we may require additional capital to pursue our business objectives and respond to business opportunities, challenges or unforeseen circumstances, including to increase our marketing expenditures to improve our brand awareness, develop new products or services or further improve existing products and services, enhance our operating infrastructure and acquire complementary businesses and technologies. Accordingly, we may need to engage in equity or debt financings to secure additional funds. However, additional funds may not be available when we need them, on terms that are acceptable to us, or at all. In addition, our current revolving credit facility contains restrictive covenants relating to our capital raising activities and other financial and operational matters, and any debt financing that we secure in the future could involve further restrictive covenants which may make it more difficult for us to obtain additional capital and to pursue business opportunities. Volatility in the credit markets may also have an adverse effect on our ability to obtain debt financing.

If we raise additional funds through further issuances of equity or convertible debt securities, our existing stockholders could suffer significant dilution, and any new equity securities we issue could have rights, preferences and privileges superior to those of holders of our common stock. If we are unable to obtain adequate financing or financing on terms satisfactory to us, when we require it, our ability to continue to pursue our business objectives and to respond to business opportunities, challenges or unforeseen circumstances could be significantly limited, and our business, operating results, financial condition and prospects could be adversely affected.

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We collect, process, store, share, disclose and use personal information and other data, and our actual or perceived failure to protect such information and data could damage our reputation and brand and harm our business and operating results.

We collect, process, store, share, disclose and use personal information and other data provided by consumers and dealers. We rely on encryption and authentication technology licensed from third parties to effect secure transmission of such information. We may need to expend significant resources to protect against security breaches or to address problems caused by breaches. Any failure or perceived failure to maintain the security of personal and other data that is provided to us by consumers and dealers could harm our reputation and brand and expose us to a risk of loss or litigation and possible liability, any of which could harm our business and operating results.

In addition, from time to time, concerns have been expressed about whether our products, services, or processes compromise the privacy of our users. Concerns about our practices with regard to the collection, use or disclosure of personal information or other privacy-related matters, even if unfounded, could harm our business and operating results.

There are numerous federal, state and local laws around the world regarding privacy and the collection, processing, storing, sharing, disclosing, using and protecting of personal information and other data, the scope of which are changing, subject to differing interpretations, and which may be costly to comply with and may be inconsistent between countries and jurisdictions or conflict with other rules. We generally comply with industry standards and are subject to the terms of our privacy policies and privacy-related obligations to third parties. We strive to comply with all applicable laws, policies, legal obligations and industry codes of conduct relating to privacy and data protection, to the extent possible. However, it is possible that these obligations may be interpreted and applied in new ways or in a manner that is inconsistent from one jurisdiction to another and may conflict with other rules or our practices or that new regulations could be enacted. Any failure or perceived failure by us to comply with our privacy policies, our privacy-related obligations to consumers or other third parties, or our privacy-related legal obligations, or any compromise of security that results in the unauthorized release or transfer of sensitive information, which may include personally identifiable information or other user data, may result in governmental enforcement actions, litigation or public statements against us by consumer advocacy groups or others and could cause consumers and automobile dealers to lose trust in us, which could have a material adverse effect on our business. Additionally, if vendors, developers or other third parties that we work with violate applicable laws or our policies, such violations may also put consumer or dealer information at risk and could in turn harm our reputation, business and operating results.

A significant disruption in service on our website or of our mobile applications could damage our reputation and result in a loss of consumers, which could harm our business, brand, operating results and financial condition.

Our brand, reputation and ability to attract consumers, affinity groups and advertisers depend on the reliable performance of our technology platform and content delivery. We may experience significant interruptions with our systems. Interruptions in these systems, whether due to system failures, computer viruses, denial‑of‑service attacks or physical or electronic break‑ins, could affect the security or availability of our products and services on our website and mobile application, and prevent or inhibit the ability of consumers to access our products and services. Problems with the reliability or security of our systems or with the upgrading and architectural unification of those system could harm our reputation, result in a loss of consumers, dealers and affinity group marketing partners, and result in additional costs. In addition, a significant disruption in our billing systems could affect our ability to match automobile purchases with users that obtained a Guaranteed Savings Certificate and delay or prevent us from submitting invoices to TrueCar Certified Dealers, receiving payment for such invoices and recognizing revenue related to such purchases.

Although we are developing a unified architecture, our systems currently employ multiple software platforms. As we upgrade our system architecture we may encounter challenges that could impact our business, and our ability to quickly change aspects of our consumer and dealer experiences may be limited. During the third quarter of 2016 we began hosting certain of our systems using an enterprise cloud computing provider; however, a substantial portion of the computer hardware and communications and network infrastructure used to operate our website, mobile applications and billing systems continues to be located at co-location facilities in Los Angeles and Chicago. Although we have two locations, our systems are not fully redundant. In addition, we do not own or control the operation of these facilities. Our systems and operations are vulnerable to damage or interruption from fire, flood, power loss, telecommunications failure, terrorist attacks, acts of war, denial-of-service attacks, electronic and physical break-ins, computer viruses, earthquakes and similar events. The occurrence of any of these events could result in damage to our systems and hardware or could cause them to fail.

Problems faced by our third-party web-hosting providers could adversely affect the experience of our consumers and dealers. Such providers could close their facilities without adequate notice. Any financial difficulties, up to and including bankruptcy, faced by our third-party web-hosting providers or any of the service providers with whom they contract may have

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negative effects on our business, the nature and extent of which are difficult to predict. If our third-party web-hosting providers are unable to keep up with our growing capacity needs, our business could be harmed.

Any errors, defects, disruptions, or other performance or reliability problems with our network operations could cause interruptions in access to our products as well as delays and additional expense in arranging new facilities and services and could harm our reputation, business, operating results, and financial condition.

We have begun utilizing an enterprise cloud computing provider to operate certain aspects of our service and any disruption of or interference with our use of these operations could adversely affect our business operations and financial results.

We utilize a cloud‑based computing platform operated by a third party in connection with certain aspects of our business operations. We are in the process of architecting our software and computer systems so as to utilize cloud‑based data processing, storage capabilities and other cloud‑based services. As of September 30, 2017, a portion of our computing processes are cloud‑based, and we are working to significantly increase our use of enterprise cloud services. As a result, now and increasingly going forward, any disruption of or interference with the use of these cloud services, including disruptions due to system failures, denial‑of‑service or other cyberattacks and computer viruses, or an interruption to the third‑party systems or in the infrastructure which allows us to connect to the third‑party systems for an extended period, may impact our ability to operate the business and could adversely impact our operations and our business.

Failure to adequately protect our intellectual property could harm our business and operating results.

Our business depends on our intellectual property, the protection of which is crucial to the success of our business. We rely on a combination of patent, trademark, trade secret and copyright law and contractual restrictions to protect our intellectual property. In addition, we attempt to protect our intellectual property, technology and confidential information by requiring our employees and consultants to enter into confidentiality and assignment of inventions agreements and third parties to enter into nondisclosure agreements. These agreements may not effectively prevent unauthorized use or disclosure of our confidential information, intellectual property or technology and may not provide an adequate remedy in the event of unauthorized use or disclosure of our confidential information, intellectual property or technology. Despite our efforts to protect our proprietary rights, unauthorized parties may attempt to copy aspects of our website features, software and functionality or obtain and use information that we consider proprietary.

Competitors may adopt service names similar to ours, thereby harming our ability to build brand identity and possibly leading to user confusion. In addition, there could be potential trade name or trademark infringement claims brought by owners of other registered trademarks or trademarks that incorporate variations of the term “TrueCar.”

We currently hold the “TrueCar.com” and “True.com” Internet domain names as well as various other related domain names. The regulation of domain names in the United States is subject to change. Regulatory bodies could establish additional top-level domains, appoint additional domain name registrars or modify the requirements for holding domain names. As a result, we may not be able to acquire or maintain all domain names that use the name TrueCar.

We may in the future be subject to intellectual property disputes, which are costly to defend and could harm our business and operating results.

We may from time to time face allegations that we have infringed the trademarks, copyrights, patents and other intellectual property rights of third parties, including from our competitors or non-practicing entities.

Patent and other intellectual property litigation may be protracted and expensive, and the results are difficult to predict and may require us to stop offering some features, purchase licenses or modify our products and features while we develop non-infringing substitutes or may result in significant settlement costs.

In addition, we use open source software in our products and will use open source software in the future. From time to time, we may face claims against companies that incorporate open source software into their products, claiming ownership of, or demanding release of, the source code, the open source software or derivative works that were developed using such software, or otherwise seeking to enforce the terms of the applicable open source license. These claims could also result in litigation, require us to purchase a costly license or require us to devote additional research and development resources to change our platform or services, any of which would have a negative effect on our business and operating results.

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Even if these matters do not result in litigation or are resolved in our favor or without significant cash settlements, these matters, and the time and resources necessary to litigate or resolve them, could harm our business, our operating results and our reputation.

Complying with the laws and regulations affecting public companies has increased our costs and the demands on management and could harm our operating results.

As a public company, we incur significant legal, accounting and other expenses that we did not incur as a private company and these expenses will increase after we cease to be an “emerging growth company.” Based on the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates as of June 30, 2017, we will cease to be an “emerging growth company”, effective as of December 31, 2017. In addition, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and rules implemented by the SEC and NASDAQ impose various requirements on public companies, including requiring changes in corporate governance practices. Our management and other personnel devote a substantial amount of time to these compliance initiatives. Moreover, these rules and regulations have increased and will continue to increase our legal, accounting and financial compliance costs and have made and will continue to make some activities more time consuming and costly. For example, these rules and regulations make it more difficult and more expensive for us to obtain director and officer liability insurance, and we may be required to accept reduced policy limits and coverage or to incur substantial costs to maintain the same or similar coverage. These rules and regulations could also make it more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified persons to serve on our board of directors or our board committees or as executive officers.

As an “emerging growth company” we are currently exempt from the requirement to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (“Section 404”). When we cease to be an “emerging growth company” and our independent registered public accounting firm is required to undertake an assessment of our internal control over financial reporting, the cost of our compliance with Section 404 will correspondingly increase. Our compliance with applicable provisions of Section 404 requires that we incur substantial accounting expense and expend significant management time on compliance-related issues as we implement additional corporate governance practices and comply with reporting requirements. Moreover, if we or our independent registered public accounting firm identifies deficiencies in our internal control over financial reporting that are deemed to be material weaknesses, the market price of our stock could decline and we could be subject to sanctions or investigations by the SEC or other regulatory authorities, which would require additional financial and management resources.

Furthermore, investor perceptions of our company may suffer if, in the future, material weaknesses are found, and this could cause a decline in the market price of our stock. Irrespective of compliance with Section 404, any failure of our internal control over financial reporting could have a material adverse effect on our stated operating results and harm our reputation. If we are unable to implement these changes effectively or efficiently, it could harm our operations, financial reporting or financial results and could result in an adverse opinion on internal control from our independent registered public accounting firm.

In addition to compliance with Section 404, we also will be required to hold a say-on-pay vote and a say-on-frequency vote at our 2018 annual meeting of stockholders, and will no longer be entitled to provide the reduced executive compensation disclosures permitted by emerging growth companies in our annual report on the Form 10-K and proxy statement for the year ending December 31, 2017. As a result, we expect that our loss of “emerging growth company” status will require additional attention from management and will result in increased costs to us, which could include higher legal fees, accounting fees and fees associated with investor relations activities, among others.

We may acquire other companies or technologies, which could divert our management’s attention, result in additional dilution to our stockholders and otherwise disrupt our operations and harm our operating results.

Our success will depend, in part, on our ability to grow our business in response to the demands of consumers, dealers and other constituents within the automotive industry, as well as competitive pressures. In some circumstances, we may determine to do so through the acquisition of complementary businesses and technologies rather than through internal development, such as our acquisition of ALG in 2011. The identification of suitable acquisition candidates can be difficult, time-consuming and costly, and we may not be able to successfully complete identified acquisitions. The risks we face in connection with acquisitions include: 

• diversion of management time and focus from operating our business to addressing acquisition integration challenges; 

• coordination of technology, research and development and sales and marketing functions; 

• transition of the acquired company’s users to our website and mobile applications; 

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• retention of employees from the acquired company; 

• cultural challenges associated with integrating employees from the acquired company into our organization; 

• integration of the acquired company’s accounting, management information, human resources and other administrative systems; 

• the need to implement or improve controls, procedures and policies at a business that prior to the acquisition may have lacked effective controls, procedures and policies; 

• potential write-offs of intangibles or other assets acquired in such transactions that may have an adverse effect our operating results in a given period;

• liability for activities of the acquired company before the acquisition, including patent and trademark infringement claims, violations of laws, commercial disputes, tax liabilities and other known and unknown liabilities; and 

• litigation or other claims in connection with the acquired company, including claims from terminated employees, consumers, former stockholders or other third parties.

Our failure to address these risks or other problems encountered in connection with our past or future acquisitions and investments could cause us to fail to realize the anticipated benefits of these acquisitions or investments, cause us to incur unanticipated liabilities and harm our business generally. Future acquisitions could also result in dilutive issuances of our equity securities, the incurrence of debt, contingent liabilities, amortization expenses or the write-off of goodwill, any of which could harm our financial condition. Also, the anticipated benefits of any acquisitions may not materialize.

If our intangible assets and goodwill become impaired we may be required to record a significant non-cash charge to earnings which would materially and adversely affect our results of operations.

We had goodwill and intangible assets of $70.1 million at September 30, 2017. Under accounting principles generally accepted in the United States, we review our goodwill for impairment annually in the fourth quarter of each fiscal year, or more frequently if events or changes in circumstances indicate the carrying value may not be fully recoverable. We review our intangible assets for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amounts may not be recoverable. While we have not recognized any impairment charges since our inception, we may recognize impairment charges in future periods in connection with our acquisitions or from other businesses we may seek to acquire in the future. The carrying value of our goodwill and intangible assets may not be recoverable due to factors such as a decline in our stock price and market capitalization, reduced estimates of future revenues or cash flows or slower growth rates in our industry. Estimates of future revenues and cash flows are based on a long-term financial outlook of our operations. Actual performance in the near-term or long-term could be materially different from these forecasts, which could impact future estimates and the recorded value of the intangibles. For example, a significant, sustained decline in our stock price and market capitalization may result in impairment of our intangible assets, including goodwill, and a significant charge to earnings in our consolidated financial statements during the period in which an impairment is determined to exist. In the event we had to reduce the carrying value of our goodwill or intangible assets, any such impairment charge could materially and adversely affect our results of operations.

If our ability to use our net operating loss carryforwards and other tax attributes is limited, we may not receive the benefit of those assets.

We had federal net operating loss carryforwards of approximately $250.2 million and state net operating loss carryforwards of approximately $176.5 million at December 31, 2016. The federal and state net operating loss carryforwards begin to expire in the years ending December 31, 2025 and 2017, respectively. At December 31, 2016, we had federal and state research and development credit carryforwards of approximately $0.8 million and $0.4 million, respectively. The federal credit carryforwards begin to expire in the year ending December 31, 2028. The state credit carryforwards can be carried forward indefinitely.

The Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (“IRC”), imposes substantial restrictions on the utilization of net operating losses and other tax attributes in the event of an “ownership change” of a corporation. Accordingly, our ability to use pre‑change net operating loss and research tax credits may be limited as prescribed under IRC Sections 382 and 383. Therefore, if we generate taxable income in the future, our ability to reduce our federal income tax liability may be subject to limitation.

A cumulative ownership change of more than 50% over a three‑year period, along with other limitations imposed by certain state and local jurisdictions, may limit the amount of net operating losses and credits that we may utilize in any one year. As a result of historical equity issuances, we have determined that the annual utilization of our net operating losses and tax credits are subject to the provision of IRC Sections 382 and 383. Future changes in our stock ownership, including future equity offerings, as well as other changes that may be outside our control, could potentially result in further limitations on our ability to utilize our net operating loss and credit carryforwards.

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Risks Related to Ownership of Our Common Stock

We may fail to meet our publicly announced guidance or other expectations about our business and future operating results, which would cause our stock price to decline.

We have provided and may continue to provide guidance about our business and future operating results, including financial results for the quarter and year ending December 31, 2017, as part of our press releases, investor conference calls or otherwise. In developing this guidance, our management must make certain assumptions and judgments about our future performance. For example, in the second quarter of 2015, our business results varied significantly from guidance for the quarter and the price of our common stock declined. Our future business results may vary significantly from management's guidance due to a number of factors, many of which are outside of our control, and which could materially and adversely affect our operations, financial condition and operating results. If our publicly announced guidance of future operating results fails to meet expectations of securities analysts, investors or other interested parties, the price of our common stock could decline.

Concentration of ownership among our existing executive officers, directors, their affiliates, and holders of 5% or more of our outstanding commons stock may prevent new investors from influencing significant corporate decisions.

As of September 30, 2017, our executive officers, directors, and holders of 5% or more of our outstanding common stock beneficially own, in the aggregate, approximately 63% of our outstanding shares of common stock. Some of these persons or entities may have interests that are different from yours. For example, these stockholders may support proposals and actions with which you may disagree or which are not in your interests. These stockholders are able to exercise a significant level of control over all matters requiring stockholder approval, including the election of directors, amendment of our certificate of incorporation, and approval of significant corporate transactions. This control could have the effect of delaying or preventing a change of control of our company or changes in management and will make the approval of certain transactions difficult or impossible without the support of these stockholders, which in turn could reduce the price of our common stock.

The price of our common stock has been and may continue to be volatile, and the value of your investment could decline.

The trading price of our common stock has been volatile since our initial public offering and is likely to continue to fluctuate substantially. For the nine months ended September 30, 2017, the trading price of our common stock fluctuated from a low of $12.40 per share to a high of $21.75 per share. For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016, the trading price of our common stock fluctuated from a low of $4.42 per share to a high of $13.29 per share. The trading price of our common stock depends on a number of factors, including those described in this “Risk Factors” section, many of which are beyond our control and may not be related to our operating performance. These fluctuations could cause you to lose all or part of your investment in our common stock since you might be unable to sell your shares at or above the price you paid. Factors that could cause fluctuations in the trading price of our common stock include the following: 

• price and volume fluctuations in the overall stock market from time to time; 

• volatility in the market prices and trading volumes of high technology stocks; 

• changes in operating performance and stock market valuations of other technology companies generally, or those in our industry in particular; 

• sales of shares of our common stock by us or our stockholders; 

• failure of securities analysts to maintain coverage of us, changes in financial estimates by any securities analysts who follow our company, or our failure to meet these estimates or the expectations of investors; 

• announcements by us or our competitors of new products; 

• the public’s reaction to our press releases, other public announcements, and filings with the SEC;

• rumors and market speculation involving us or other companies in our industry; 

• actual or anticipated changes in our operating results or fluctuations in our operating results; 

• actual or anticipated developments in our business, our competitors’ businesses, or the competitive landscape generally; 

• our ability to control costs, including our operating expenses;

• litigation involving us, our industry or both, or investigations by regulators into our operations or those of our competitors; 

• developments or disputes concerning our intellectual property or other proprietary rights; 

• announced or completed acquisitions of businesses or technologies by us or our competitors;

• new laws or regulations or new interpretations of existing laws or regulations applicable to our business; 

• changes in accounting standards, policies, guidelines, interpretations, or principles; 

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• any significant change in our management; 

• conditions in the automobile industry; and 

• general economic conditions and slow or negative growth of our markets.

The effect of such factors on the trading market for our stock may be enhanced by the lack of a large and established trading market for our stock. In addition, the stock market in general, and the market for technology companies in particular, have experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have often been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of those companies. Broad market and industry factors may seriously affect the market price of our common stock, regardless of our actual operating performance. Additionally, as a public company, we face the risk of shareholder lawsuits, particularly if we experience declines in the price of our common stock. In the past, following periods of volatility in the overall market and the market prices of a particular company’s securities, securities class action lawsuits have often been instituted against affected companies. We have been, and may in the future be, subject to such legal actions.

Sales of substantial amounts of our common stock in the public markets, or the perception that such sales might occur, could depress the market price of our common stock.

The market price for our common stock could decline as a result of the sale of substantial amounts of our common stock, particularly sales by our directors, executive officers and significant stockholders, a large number of shares of our common stock becoming available for sale or the perception in the market that holders of a large number of shares intend to sell their shares.

As of September 30, 2017, there were 17.1 million shares underlying options and 4.8 million shares underlying restricted stock units. If these additional shares are sold, or if it is perceived that they will be sold in the public market, the trading price of our stock could decline. Under Rule 144, shares held by non‑affiliates for more than six months may generally be sold without restriction, other than a current public information requirement, and may be sold freely without any restrictions after one year. Shares held by affiliates may also be sold under Rule 144, subject to applicable restrictions, including volume and manner of sale limitations.

In January 2017, we filed the 2017 Shelf Registration pursuant to which we may offer and sell from time to time up to $100 million of securities of any combination of common stock, preferred stock, debt securities, warrants, depositary shares, subscription rights and/or units at prices and on terms that we may determine, and pursuant to which up to 20 million of shares of common stock may be offered and sold from time to time by selling stockholders. The 2017 Shelf Registration was declared effective by the SEC on February 6, 2017. On May 2, 2017, an offering pursuant to the 2017 Shelf Registration was effected. We sold 1.15 million shares of the Company's common stock and certain selling stockholders sold 9.2 million shares of common stock in the offering.

We or selling stockholders may periodically offer additional securities in amounts, prices and terms to be announced when and if the securities are offered. At the time any of the securities covered by the 2017 Shelf Registration are offered for sale, a prospectus supplement will be prepared and filed with the SEC containing specific information about the terms of any such offering.

You may experience future dilution as a result of future equity offerings.

To the extent that we raise additional funds through the sale of equity or convertible debt securities, the issuance of such securities will result in dilution to our stockholders. We may sell shares or other securities in any other offering at a price per share that is less than the price per share paid by investors in the past, and investors purchasing shares or other securities in the future could have rights superior to existing stockholders. The price per share at which we sell additional shares of our common stock, or securities convertible or exchangeable into common stock, in future transactions may be higher or lower than the price per share paid in the past.

Anti-takeover provisions contained in our certificate of incorporation and bylaws, as well as provisions of Delaware law, could impair a takeover attempt.

Our certificate of incorporation, bylaws and Delaware law contain provisions which could have the effect of rendering more difficult, delaying, or preventing an acquisition deemed undesirable by our board of directors. Our corporate governance documents include provisions: 

• creating a classified board of directors whose members serve staggered three-year terms;

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• authorizing “blank check” preferred stock, which could be issued by our board of directors without stockholder approval and may contain voting, liquidation, dividend and other rights superior to our common stock; 

• limiting the liability of, and providing indemnification to, our directors and officers; 

• limiting the ability of our stockholders to call and bring business before special meetings; 

• requiring advance notice of stockholder proposals for business to be conducted at meetings of our stockholders and for nominations of candidates for election to our board of directors; 

• controlling the procedures for the conduct and scheduling of board of directors and stockholder meetings; and 

• providing our board of directors with the express power to postpone previously scheduled annual meetings and to cancel previously scheduled special meetings.

These provisions, alone or together, could delay or prevent hostile takeovers and changes in control or changes in our management.

As a Delaware corporation, we are also subject to provisions of Delaware law, including Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation law, which prevents some stockholders holding more than 15% of our outstanding common stock from engaging in certain business combinations without approval of the holders of substantially all of our outstanding common stock.

Any provision of our certificate of incorporation, bylaws or Delaware law that has the effect of delaying or deterring a change in control could limit the opportunity for our stockholders to receive a premium for their shares of our common stock, and could also affect the price that some investors are willing to pay for our common stock.

If securities or industry analysts do not publish or cease publishing research or reports about us, our business or our market, or if they change their recommendations regarding our stock adversely, our stock price and trading volume could decline.

The trading market for our common stock is influenced by the research and reports that industry or securities analysts may publish about us, our business, our market or our competitors. If any of the analysts who may cover us change their recommendation regarding our stock adversely, or provide more favorable relative recommendations about our competitors, our stock price would likely decline. If any analyst who may cover us were to cease coverage of our company or fail to regularly publish reports on us, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which in turn could cause our stock price or trading volume to decline.

We do not expect to declare any dividends in the foreseeable future.

We do not anticipate declaring any cash dividends to holders of our common stock in the foreseeable future. In addition, the terms of our credit facility currently prohibit us from paying cash dividends on our capital stock. Consequently, investors may need to rely on sales of their common stock after price appreciation, which may never occur, as the only way to realize any future gains on their investment. Investors seeking cash dividends should not purchase our common stock.

Item 2.    Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds

(a) Sales of Unregistered Securities

None.

(b) Use of Proceeds from Public Offerings of Common Stock

Our initial public offering of common stock was effected through a Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-195036), which was declared or became effective on May 15, 2014. There has been no material change in the planned use of proceeds from our IPO or follow-on offerings as described in our final prospectuses filed with the SEC on May 16, 2014, November 12, 2014, and April 27, 2017, respectively, pursuant to Rule 424(b). Pending the uses described, we have invested the net proceeds in short-term, investment-grade interest-bearing securities and obligations, such as money market accounts.

54

Item 6.   Exhibits

The documents listed below are incorporated by reference or are filed with this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, in each case as indicated therein (numbered in accordance with Item 601 of Regulation S-K).

Exhibit  Number	Description	Incorporated by  Reference From Form	Incorporated  by Reference from Exhibit Number	Date Filed
3.1	Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of the Registrant.	S-1/AFile No. 333-195036	3.2	5/5/2014
3.2	Amended and Restated Bylaws of the Registrant.	S-1/AFile No. 333-195036	3.4	5/5/2014
31.1	Certification of the Chief Executive Officer pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.	Filed herewith
31.2	Certification of the Chief Financial Officer pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.	Filed herewith
32.1(1)	Certification of the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.	Furnished herewith
101.INS	XBRL Instance Document	Filed herewith
101.SCH	XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document	Filed herewith
101.CAL	XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document	Filed herewith
101.DEF	XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document	Filed herewith
101.LAB	XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document	Filed herewith
101.PRE	XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document	Filed herewith

#    Indicates a management contract or compensatory plan.

(1) This certification is deemed not filed for purpose of section 18 of the Exchange Act or otherwise subject to the liability of that section, nor shall it be deemed incorporated by reference into any filing under the Securities Act or the Exchange Act.

55

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.

			TRUECAR, INC.
Date:	November 8, 2017	By:	/s/ Chip Perry
			Chip Perry
			President & Chief Executive Officer
			(Principal Executive Officer)
Date:	November 8, 2017	By:	/s/ Michael Guthrie
			Michael Guthrie
			Chief Financial Officer
			(Principal Financial Officer)
Date:	November 8, 2017	By:	/s/ John Pierantoni
			John Pierantoni
			Chief Accounting Officer
			(Principal Accounting Officer)

56

EX-31.1

Exhibit 31.1

Certification of Principal Executive Officer

Pursuant to

Securities Exchange Act Rules 13a-14(a) and 15d-14(a),

As Adopted Pursuant to

Securities 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002

I, Chip Perry, certify that:

1. I have reviewed this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q of TrueCar, Inc.;

2. Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;

3. Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;

4. The registrant’s other certifying officer(s) and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a–15(e) and 15d–15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the registrant and have:

a. Designed such disclosure controls and  procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared;

b. Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles;

c. Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and 

d. Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant’s most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant’s fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an annual report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting; and

5. The registrant’s other certifying officer(s) and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the registrant’s auditors and the audit committee of the registrant’s board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):

a. All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and

b. Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.

Date:	November 8, 2017
	/s/ Chip Perry
	Chip Perry
	President and Chief Executive Officer
	(Principal Executive Officer)

EX-31.2

Exhibit 31.2

Certification of Principal Financial Officer

Pursuant to

Securities Exchange Act Rules 13a-14(a) and 15d-14(a),

As Adopted Pursuant to

Securities 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002

I, Michael Guthrie, certify that:

1. I have reviewed this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q of TrueCar, Inc.;

2. Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;

3. Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;

4. The registrant’s other certifying officer(s) and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a–15(e) and 15d–15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the registrant and have:

a. Designed such disclosure controls and  procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared;

b. Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles;

c. Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and 

d. Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant’s most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant’s fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an annual report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting; and

5. The registrant’s other certifying officer(s) and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the registrant’s auditors and the audit committee of the registrant’s board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):

a. All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and

b. Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.

Date:	November 8, 2017
	/s/ Michael Guthrie
	Michael Guthrie
	Chief Financial Officer
	(Principal Financial Officer)

EX-32.1

Exhibit 32.1

CERTIFICATIONS OF PRINCIPAL EXECUTIVE OFFICER

AND PRINCIPAL FINANCIAL OFFICER

PURSUANT TO 18 U.S.C. SECTION 1350,

AS ADOPTED PURSUANT TO

SECTION 906 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002

In connection with the Quarterly Report of TrueCar, Inc. (the “Company”), on Form 10-Q for the period ended  September 30, 2017 as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Report”), Chip Perry, as Chief Executive Officer, and Michael Guthrie,  as Chief Financial Officer, of the Company, each hereby certifies, pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (18 U.S.C. Section 1350), to his knowledge:

1. The Report fully complies with the requirements of Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934; and

2. The information contained in the Report fairly presents, in all material respects, the financial condition and results of operations of the Company.

Date:	November 8, 2017	By:	/s/ Chip Perry
			Chip Perry
			President and Chief Executive Officer
			(Principal Executive Officer)
Date:	November 8, 2017	By:	/s/ Michael Guthrie
			Michael Guthrie
			Chief Financial Officer
			(Principal Financial Officer)

XML

Document and Entity Information - shares	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2017	Nov. 03, 2017
Document and Entity Information
Entity Registrant Name	TrueCar, Inc.
Entity Central Index Key	0001327318
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Sep. 30, 2017
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2017
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q3
Amendment Flag	false
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		99,986,517

XML

Consolidated Balance Sheets - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Sep. 30, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Current assets
Cash and cash equivalents	$ 196,402	$ 107,721
Accounts receivable, net of allowances of $3,094 and $2,600 at September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, respectively (includes related party receivables of $218 and $393 at September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, respectively)	39,587	36,867
Prepaid expenses	7,114	6,044
Other current assets	2,821	2,278
Total current assets	245,924	152,910
Property and equipment, net	68,380	66,941
Goodwill	53,270	53,270
Intangible assets, net	16,878	19,774
Other assets	1,589	1,553
Total assets	386,041	294,448
Current liabilities
Accounts payable (includes related party payables of $4,353 and $2,925 at September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, respectively)	21,309	13,827
Accrued employee expenses	6,692	8,951
Accrued expenses and other current liabilities (includes related party accrued expenses of $49 and $992 at September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, respectively)	10,954	12,583
Total current liabilities	38,955	35,361
Deferred tax liabilities	3,393	2,994
Lease financing obligations, net of current portion	29,086	28,833
Other liabilities	3,474	2,679
Total liabilities	74,908	69,867
Commitments and contingencies (Note 6)
Stockholders’ Equity
Preferred stock — $0.0001 par value; 20,000,000 shares authorized at September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, respectively; no shares issued and outstanding at September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016	0	0
Common stock — $0.0001 par value; 1,000,000,000 shares authorized at September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016; 99,892,583 and 86,159,527 shares issued and outstanding at September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, respectively	10	9
Additional paid-in capital	653,732	542,807
Accumulated deficit	(342,609)	(318,235)
Total stockholders’ equity	311,133	224,581
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity	$ 386,041	$ 294,448

XML

Consolidated Balance Sheets (Parenthetical) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Sep. 30, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Statement of Financial Position [Abstract]
Allowance for doubtful accounts receivables- current	$ 3,094	$ 2,600
Related party accounts receivable- current	218	393
Related party accounts payable- current	4,353	2,925
Related party accrued expenses and other current liabilities	$ 49	$ 992
Preferred stock, par value ( in dollar per share)	$ 0.0001	$ 0.0001
Preferred stock, shares authorized (in shares)	20,000,000	20,000,000
Preferred stock, share issued (in shares)	0	0
Preferred stock, shares outstanding (in shares)	0	0
Common stock, par value (in dollars per shares)	$ 0.0001	$ 0.0001
Common stock, shares authorized (in shares)	1,000,000,000	1,000,000,000
Common stock, shares issued (in shares)	99,892,583	86,159,527
Common stock, shares outstanding (in shares)	99,892,583	86,159,527

XML

Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss - USD ($) shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2017	Sep. 30, 2016	Sep. 30, 2017	Sep. 30, 2016
Income Statement [Abstract]
Revenues	$ 82,440	$ 75,139	$ 240,016	$ 203,426
Costs and operating expenses:
Cost of revenue (exclusive of depreciation and amortization presented separately below)	7,088	6,320	20,610	18,910
Sales and marketing (includes related party expenses of $4,207 and $3,724 for the three months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016, and $12,750 and $10,384 for the nine months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016, respectively)	48,383	42,557	137,498	112,797
Technology and development	15,357	13,153	43,117	40,315
General and administrative	14,993	13,765	44,034	45,259
Depreciation and amortization	5,765	6,035	17,517	17,807
Total costs and operating expenses	91,586	81,830	262,776	235,088
Loss from operations	(9,146)	(6,691)	(22,760)	(31,662)
Interest income	402	91	784	286
Interest expense	(654)	(645)	(1,955)	(1,885)
Loss before provision for income taxes	(9,398)	(7,245)	(23,931)	(33,261)
Provision for income taxes	121	191	443	497
Net loss	$ (9,519)	$ (7,436)	$ (24,374)	$ (33,758)
Net loss per share attributable to common stockholders:
Net loss per share, basic and diluted (in dollars per share)	$ (0.10)	$ (0.09)	$ (0.26)	$ (0.40)
Weighted average common shares outstanding, basic and diluted (in shares)	98,665	84,822	93,108	84,075
Other comprehensive loss:
Comprehensive loss	$ (9,519)	$ (7,436)	$ (24,374)	$ (33,758)

XML

Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss (Parenthetical) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2017	Sep. 30, 2016	Sep. 30, 2017	Sep. 30, 2016
Sales and marketing
Costs and expenses with related parties	$ 4,207	$ 3,724	$ 12,750	$ 10,384

XML

Consolidated Statements of Stockholders' Equity - 9 months ended Sep. 30, 2017 - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Total	Common stock	APIC	Accumulated Deficit
Beginning Balance at Dec. 31, 2016	$ 224,581	$ 9	$ 542,807	$ (318,235)
Balance (in shares) at Dec. 31, 2016	86,159,527	86,159,527
Increase (Decrease) in Stockholders' Equity
Net loss	$ (24,374)			(24,374)
Stock Issued During Period, Value, New Issues	17,398		17,398
Stock Issued During Period, Shares, New Issues		1,150,000
Stock-based compensation	23,654		23,654
Shares issued in connection with employee stock plans, net of shares withheld for employee taxes	69,874	$ 1	69,873
Shares issued in connection with employee stock plans, net of shares withheld for employee taxes (in shares)		12,583,056
Ending Balance at Sep. 30, 2017	$ 311,133	$ 10	$ 653,732	$ (342,609)
Balance (in shares) at Sep. 30, 2017	99,892,583	99,892,583

XML

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows - USD ($) $ in Thousands	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2017	Sep. 30, 2016
Statement of Cash Flows [Abstract]
Net loss	$ (24,374)	$ (33,758)
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities:
Depreciation and amortization	17,481	17,711
Deferred income taxes	399	437
Bad debt expense and other reserves	1,062	817
Stock-based compensation	22,661	18,033
Common stock warrant expense	0	13
Non-cash interest expense on lease financing obligation	312	314
Write-off and loss on disposal of fixed assets	148	392
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:
Accounts receivable	(3,782)	(2,928)
Prepaid expenses	(1,070)	(1,181)
Other current assets	(167)	(638)
Other assets	(36)	(311)
Accounts payable	7,400	(5,134)
Accrued employee expenses	(2,835)	756
Accrued expenses and other liabilities	(1,081)	1,479
Other liabilities	795	1,396
Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities	16,913	(2,602)
Cash flows from investing activities
Purchase of property and equipment	(15,194)	(12,872)
Net cash used in investing activities	(15,194)	(12,872)
Cash flows from financing activities
Proceeds from public offering, net of underwriting discounts and offering costs	17,398	0
Repurchase of common stock option awards	0	(100)
Proceeds from exercise of common stock options	71,868	5,406
Taxes paid related to net share settlement of equity awards	(2,304)	(751)
Proceeds from financing obligation drawdown	0	1,521
Net cash provided by financing activities	86,962	6,076
Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents	88,681	(9,398)
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period	107,721	112,371
Cash and cash equivalents at end of period	196,402	102,973
Supplemental disclosures of non-cash activities
Stock-based compensation capitalized for software development	993	760
Capitalized assets included in accounts payable, accrued employee expenses and other accrued expenses	909	143
Proceeds receivable from exercise of stock options included in other current assets	530	0
Taxes payable related to net share settlement of equity awards included in accrued employee expenses	$ 220	$ 0

XML

Organization and Nature of Business

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2017

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

Organization and nature of business

Organization and Nature of Business

TrueCar, Inc. (“TrueCar”) is an Internet-based information, technology, and communication services company. Hereinafter, TrueCar, Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiaries TrueCar.com, Inc. and ALG, Inc. are collectively referred to as “TrueCar” or the “Company”; TrueCar.com, Inc. is referred to as “TrueCar.com” and ALG, Inc. is referred to as “ALG”. TrueCar was incorporated in the state of Delaware in February 2005 and began business operations in April 2005. Its principal corporate offices are located in Santa Monica, California.

TrueCar is a digital automotive marketplace that (i) provides pricing transparency about what other people paid for their cars and enables consumers to engage with TrueCar Certified Dealers who are committed to providing a superior purchase experience; (ii) empowers Certified Dealers to attract these informed, in-market consumers in a cost-effective, accountable manner; and (iii) allows automobile manufacturers (“OEMs”) to more effectively target their incentive spending at deep-in-market consumers during their purchase process. TrueCar has established a diverse software ecosystem on a common technology infrastructure, powered by proprietary data and analytics. Consumers access TrueCar’s platform through the TrueCar.com website and TrueCar mobile applications or through the car-buying websites and mobile applications that TrueCar operates for its affinity group marketing partners (“Auto Buying Programs”). An affinity group is comprised of a network of members or employees that provides discounts to its members.

ALG provides forecasts, consulting, and other services regarding determination of the residual value of an automobile at future given points in time, which are used to underwrite automotive loans and leases and by financial institutions to measure exposure and risk across loan, lease, and fleet portfolios. ALG also obtains automobile purchase data from a variety of sources and uses this data to provide consumers and dealers with highly accurate, geographically specific, real-time pricing information.

XML

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2017

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Summary of significant accounting policies

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Basis of Presentation

The Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) and applicable rules and regulations of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) for quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and Article 10-1 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, some information and footnote disclosures required by GAAP for complete financial statements have been condensed or omitted pursuant to such rules and regulations. In the opinion of the Company’s management, the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements and notes have been prepared on the same basis as the audited consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2016 and include all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring adjustments) necessary for a fair statement of the interim periods presented.

The condensed consolidated balance sheet at December 31, 2016 has been derived from the audited financial statements at that date, but does not include all of the disclosures required by GAAP. The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto contained in the Company’s Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 1, 2017. 

Use of Estimates

The preparation of consolidated financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the dates of the consolidated financial statements, and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. Assets and liabilities which are subject to judgment and use of estimates include sales allowances and allowances for doubtful accounts, the fair value of assets and liabilities assumed in business combinations, fair value of the capitalized facility leases, the recoverability of goodwill and long-lived assets, valuation allowances with respect to deferred tax assets, useful lives associated with property and equipment and intangible assets, lease exit liabilities, contingencies, and the valuation and assumptions underlying stock-based compensation and other equity instruments. On an ongoing basis, the Company evaluates its estimates compared to historical experience and trends, which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying value of assets and liabilities. In addition, the Company engaged valuation specialists to assist with management’s determination of the valuation of its capitalized facility leases, fair values of assets and liabilities assumed in business combinations, the fair value of reporting units in connection with annual goodwill impairment testing, and in periods prior to the Company’s initial public offering, valuation of common stock.

Segments

The Company has one operating segment. The Company’s chief operating decision maker (“CODM”) is the President and Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Financial Officer, who manage the Company’s operations based on consolidated financial information for purposes of evaluating financial performance and allocating resources.

The CODM review financial information on a consolidated basis, accompanied by information about transaction revenue and forecasts, consulting and other revenue (Note 12). All of the Company’s principal operations, decision-making functions and assets are located in the United States.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In May 2017, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued guidance amending the existing accounting standard for stock-based awards in order to provide clarity and to reduce both diversity in practice and the cost and complexity of applying the existing guidance as it relates to modifications of stock-based payment awards. The new guidance will be effective for all entities for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2017 and interim periods therein, with early adoption permitted. The adoption of this guidance is not expected to have a material impact on the Company's consolidated financial statements.

In January 2017, the FASB issued guidance simplifying the test for goodwill impairment. This standard eliminates Step 2 from the goodwill impairment test, instead requiring an entity to recognize a goodwill impairment charge for the amount by which the goodwill carrying amount exceeds the reporting unit's fair value. This guidance is effective for interim and annual goodwill impairment tests in fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, and early adoption is permitted. The adoption of this guidance is not expected to have a material impact on the Company's consolidated financial statements.

In October 2016, the FASB issued new guidance which requires the recognition of the income tax consequences of an intra-entity transfer of an asset, other than inventory, when the transfer occurs. This removes the exception to postpone recognition until the asset has been sold to an outside party. This standard is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim reporting periods within those annual reporting periods, with early adoption permitted. It is required to be applied on a modified retrospective basis through a cumulative-effect adjustment to the balance sheet as of the beginning of the fiscal year of adoption. The adoption of this guidance is not expected to have a material impact on the Company's consolidated financial statements.

In February 2016, the FASB issued guidance amending the existing accounting standards for lease accounting, including requiring lessees to recognize most leases on their balance sheets and making targeted changes to lessor accounting. The new guidance will be effective for public entities for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2018 and interim periods therein. Early adoption is permitted. The new leases standard requires a modified retrospective transition approach for all leases existing at, or entered into after, the date of initial application, with an option to use certain transition relief. The Company is evaluating the methods and impact of adopting this guidance on its consolidated financial statements.

In May 2014, the FASB issued guidance related to revenue from contracts with customers. Under this guidance, revenue is recognized when promised goods or services are transferred to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration that is expected to be received for those goods or services. The updated standard will replace all existing revenue recognition guidance under GAAP when it becomes effective and permits the use of either the full retrospective or cumulative effect transition method. In August 2015, the FASB deferred the effective date to January 1, 2018, with early adoption beginning January 1, 2017. In 2016, the FASB issued additional guidance to clarify the implementation guidance. The Company plans to adopt this guidance beginning January 1, 2018 using the cumulative effect or “modified retrospective” transition method. While the Company is continuing to assess all potential impacts of the standard, the Company has identified an impact related to the recognition of costs to obtain customer contracts. Currently, sales commissions are expensed as incurred. Under the new revenue standard, certain sales commissions will be deferred and recognized over a period of time. The Company continues to evaluate the new revenue standard and is assessing the impact this identified difference in accounting treatment may have on the consolidated financial statements.

XML

Fair Value Measurements

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2017

Fair Value Disclosures [Abstract]

Fair value measurements

Fair Value Measurements

Fair value is defined as the exchange price that would be received for an asset or paid to transfer a liability (an exit price) in the principal or most advantageous market for the asset or liability in an orderly transaction between market participants on the measurement date.

Valuation techniques used to measure fair value must maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs. Accounting standards describe a fair value hierarchy based on three levels of inputs, of which the first two are considered observable and the last unobservable, that may be used to measure fair value which are the following:

• Level 1 — Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities or funds.

• Level 2 — Inputs other than Level 1 that are observable, either directly or indirectly, such as quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities; quoted prices in markets that are not active; or other inputs that are observable or can be corroborated by observable market data for substantially the full term of the assets or liabilities.

• Level 3 — Unobservable inputs that are supported by little or no market activity and that are significant to the fair value of the assets or liabilities.

The carrying amounts of cash equivalents, accounts receivable, prepaid and other current assets, accounts payable, and accrued expenses and other current liabilities approximate fair value because of the short maturity of these items.

 The following table summarizes the Company’s financial assets measured at fair value on a recurring basis at September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016 by level within the fair value hierarchy. Financial assets are classified in their entirety based on the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement (in thousands):

	At September 30, 2017				At December 31, 2016
	Level 1		Total Fair Value		Level 1		Total Fair Value
Cash equivalents	$	196,217	$	196,217	$	107,721	$	107,721
Total Assets	$	196,217	$	196,217	$	107,721	$	107,721

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Property and Equipment, net

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2017

Property, Plant and Equipment [Abstract]

Property and equipment, net

Property and Equipment, net

Property and equipment consisted of the following at September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016 (in thousands):

	September 30, 2017			December 31, 2016
Computer equipment, software, and internally developed software	$	79,316		$	65,973
Furniture and fixtures	4,679			3,705
Leasehold improvements	7,108			6,067
Capitalized facility leases	39,302			39,302
	130,405			115,047
Less: Accumulated depreciation	(62,025		)	(48,106		)
Total property and equipment, net	$	68,380		$	66,941

The Company is considered the owner, for accounting purposes only, of one of its Santa Monica, California leased office spaces and of its San Francisco, California leased office space (collectively, the “Premises”) as it had taken on certain risks of construction build cost overages above normal tenant improvement allowances. Accordingly, at September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, the Company has capitalized $39.3 million related to the Premises, which represents the estimated fair value of the leased properties, additions for capitalized interest incurred during the construction periods, and capitalized costs related to improvements to the building. At September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, the Company recorded accumulated amortization of $1.9 million and $1.2 million, respectively. Additionally, at September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, the Company recognized a corresponding lease financing obligation of approximately $31.2 million and $30.9 million, respectively.

Included in the table above are property and equipment of $5.7 million and $4.3 million at September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, respectively, which are capitalizable, but had not yet been placed in service. The $5.7 million and $4.3 million balances at September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, respectively, were comprised primarily of capitalized software not ready for its intended use.

Total depreciation and amortization expense of property and equipment was $4.8 million and $5.0 million for the three months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016, respectively. Total depreciation and amortization expense of property and equipment was $14.6 million and $14.7 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016, respectively.

Amortization of internal use capitalized software development costs was $3.4 million and $3.9 million for the three months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016, respectively. Amortization of internal use capitalized software development costs was $10.8 million and $11.3 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016, respectively.

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Credit Facility

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2017

Debt Disclosure [Abstract]

Credit facility

Credit Facility

In February 2015, the Company entered into a third amended and restated loan and security agreement (“Third Amended Credit Facility”) with a financial institution for a $35.0 million secured revolving credit facility that expires on February 18, 2018. The Third Amended Credit Facility provides a $10.0 million subfacility for the issuance of letters of credit and contains an increase option permitting the Company, subject to the lender's consent, to increase the revolving credit facility by up to $15.0 million, to an aggregate maximum of $50.0 million.

The Third Amended Credit Facility bears interest, at the Company’s option, at either (i) the prime rate published by The Wall Street Journal, plus a spread of -0.25% to 0.50%, or (ii) a LIBOR rate determined in accordance with the terms of the Third Amended Credit Facility, plus a spread of 1.75% to 2.50%. In each case, the spread is based on the Company’s adjusted quick ratio, which is a ratio of the Company’s cash and cash equivalents plus net billed accounts receivable to current liabilities plus all borrowings under the credit facility.

Interest is due and payable quarterly in arrears for prime rate loans and on the earlier of the last day of each quarter or the end of an interest period, as defined in the Third Amended Credit Facility, for LIBOR rate loans. The Company is also obligated to pay an unused revolving line facility fee of 0.00% to 0.20% per annum based on the Company’s adjusted quick ratio.

The Third Amended Credit Facility requires the Company to maintain an adjusted quick ratio of at least 1.50 to 1.00 on the last day of each quarter. If this adjusted quick ratio is not maintained, then the facility requires the Company to maintain, as measured at each quarter end, a maximum consolidated leverage ratio of 3.00 or 2.50 to 1.00, and a fixed charge coverage ratio of at least 1.25 to 1.00.

Consolidated leverage ratio is a ratio of all funded indebtedness, including all capital lease obligations, plus all letters of credit under the facility to the Company’s Adjusted EBITDA for the trailing twelve months. Fixed charge coverage ratio is the ratio of our Adjusted EBITDA less cash paid for income taxes to our cash paid for interest plus capital expenditures for the trailing twelve months. This credit facility also limits the Company’s ability to pay dividends. At September 30, 2017, the Company was in compliance with all financial covenants.

The Company’s future material domestic subsidiaries are required, upon the lender’s request, to become co-borrowers under the credit facility. The credit facility contains acceleration clauses that accelerate any borrowings in the event of default. The obligations of the Company and its future material domestic subsidiaries are collateralized by substantially all of their respective assets, subject to certain exceptions and limitations.

At September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, the Company had no outstanding amounts under the Third Amended Credit Facility. The amount available was $30.7 million, reduced for the letters of credit issued and outstanding under the subfacility of $4.3 million at September 30, 2017.

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Commitments and Contingencies

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2017

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Commitments and contingencies

Commitments and Contingencies

Lease Exit Costs

In December 2015, the Company consolidated its Santa Monica, California office locations. In accordance with accounting for exit and disposal activities, the Company recognized a liability for lease exit costs incurred once the Company no longer derived economic benefit from the related leases. The liability was recognized and measured based on a discounted cash flow model when the cease use date occurred. The liability was determined based on the remaining lease rental due, reduced by estimated sublease rental income that could be reasonably obtained for the properties. In the second quarter of 2016, due to a deterioration in the local commercial real estate market, the Company updated its estimates of sublease rental income for these spaces and recorded additional lease exit costs. In the first quarter of 2017, the Company completed the execution of subleases for its properties and recorded a benefit of $0.1 million in lease exit costs. The benefit is recorded in general and administrative expense in the consolidated statement of comprehensive loss for the nine months ended September 30, 2017. The remaining liability is recorded in accrued expenses and other current liabilities (current portion) and other liabilities (non-current portion) within the consolidated balance sheets.

The following table presents a roll forward of the lease exit liability for the nine months ended September 30, 2017:

	Lease Exit Costs
Accrual at December 31, 2016	$	2,657
Benefit	(133		)
Cash Payments	(1,020		)
Accrual at September 30, 2017	$	1,504

Legal Proceedings

From time to time, the Company may become subject to legal proceedings, claims, and litigation arising in the ordinary course of business. When the Company becomes aware of a claim or potential claim, it assesses the likelihood of any loss or exposure. In accordance with authoritative guidance, the Company records loss contingencies in its financial statements only for matters in which losses are probable and can be reasonably estimated. Where a range of loss can be reasonably estimated with no best estimate in the range, the Company records the minimum estimated liability. If the loss is not probable or the amount of the loss cannot be reasonably estimated, the Company discloses the nature of the specific claim if the likelihood of a potential loss is reasonably possible and the amount involved is material. The Company continuously assesses the potential liability related to the Company’s pending litigation and revises its estimates when additional information becomes available. The Company is not currently a party to any material legal proceedings, other than as described below.

On March 9, 2015, the Company was named as a defendant in a lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (the “NY Lanham Act Litigation”). The complaint in the NY Lanham Act Litigation, purportedly filed on behalf of numerous automotive dealers who are not participating on the TrueCar platform, alleges that the Company has violated the Lanham Act as well as various state laws prohibiting unfair competition and deceptive acts or practices related to the Company’s advertising and promotional activities. The complaint seeks injunctive relief in addition to over $250 million in damages as a result of the alleged diversion of customers from the plaintiffs’ dealerships to TrueCar Certified Dealers. On April 7, 2015, the Company filed an answer to the complaint. Thereafter, the plaintiffs amended their complaint, and on July 13, 2015, the Company filed a motion to dismiss the amended complaint. On January 6, 2016, the Court granted in part and denied in part the Company’s motion to dismiss with respect to some, but not all, of the advertising and promotional activities challenged in the amended complaint. The litigation is currently in the expert discovery phase. The Company believes that the portions of the amended complaint that survived the Company’s motion to dismiss are without merit, and it intends to vigorously defend itself in this matter. We have not recorded an accrual related to this matter as of September 30, 2017, as we do not believe a loss is probable or reasonably estimable.

On May 20, 2015, the Company was named as a defendant in a lawsuit filed by the California New Car Dealers Association in the Superior Court for the County of Los Angeles (the “CNCDA Litigation”). The complaint in the CNCDA Litigation seeks declaratory and injunctive relief based on allegations that the Company is operating in the State of California as an unlicensed automobile dealer and autobroker. The complaint does not seek monetary relief. On July 20, 2015, the Company filed a “demurrer” to the complaint, which is a pleading that requests the court to dismiss the case. Thereafter, the plaintiffs amended their complaint, and on September 11, 2015, the Company filed a demurrer to the amended complaint. On December 7, 2015, the Court granted the Company’s demurrer in its entirety, but afforded the CNCDA the opportunity to file a second amended complaint. The CNCDA filed a second amended complaint on January 4, 2016. The second amended complaint reiterates the claims in the prior complaints and adds claims under theories based on the federal Lanham Act and California unfair competition law. On February 3, 2016, the Company filed a demurrer to the second amended complaint. On March 30, 2016, the Court granted in part and denied in part the Company’s demurrer to the second amended complaint, dismissing the Lanham Act claim but declining to dismiss the balance of the claims at the demurrer stage of the litigation. On May 31, 2016, based on certain intervening developments in state law, the Court announced that it would reconsider its March 30, 2016 order, and it invited the parties to file new briefs on the demurrer issues. On July 15, 2016, the Court heard oral argument on reconsideration of the demurrer issues. On July 25, 2016, the Court granted in part and denied in part the Company’s demurrer to the second amended complaint, just as it had done in its March 30, 2016 order. The litigation is currently approaching the conclusion of the discovery phase and was previously scheduled for trial in August 2017. On April 3, 2017, the Court indicated that the trial date would be postponed to a future date. On May 17, 2017, the Court scheduled trial to begin on December 11, 2017. The Company believes that the portions of the second amended complaint that survived the Court’s reconsideration of the Company’s demurrer are without merit, and it intends to vigorously defend itself in this matter. The Company has not recorded an accrual related to this matter as of September 30, 2017, as the Company does not believe a loss is probable or reasonably estimable.

On December 23, 2015, the Company was named as a defendant in a putative class action lawsuit filed by Gordon Rose in the California Superior Court for the County of Los Angeles (the “California Consumer Class Action”). The complaint asserted claims for unjust enrichment, violation of the California Consumer Legal Remedies Act, and violation of the California Business and Professions Code, based principally on factual allegations similar to those asserted in the NY Lanham Act Litigation and the CNCDA Litigation. The complaint sought an award of unspecified damages, interest, disgorgement, injunctive relief, and attorneys’ fees. In the complaint, the plaintiff sought to represent a class of California consumers defined as “[a]ll California consumers who purchased an automobile by using TrueCar, Inc.’s price certificate during the applicable statute of limitations.” On January 12, 2016, the Court entered an order staying all proceedings in the case pending an initial status conference, which was previously scheduled for April 13, 2016. On March 16, 2016, the case was reassigned to a different judge. As a result of that reassignment, the initial status conference was rescheduled for and held on May 26, 2016. By stipulation, the stay of discovery was continued until a second status conference, which was scheduled for October 12, 2016. On July 13, 2016, the plaintiff amended his complaint. The amended complaint continues to assert claims for unjust enrichment, violation of the California Consumer Legal Remedies Act, and violation of the California Business and Professions Code. The amended complaint retains the same proposed class definition as the initial complaint. Like the initial complaint, the amended complaint seeks an award of unspecified damages, punitive and exemplary damages, interest, disgorgement, injunctive relief, and attorneys’ fees. On September 12, 2016, the Company filed a demurrer to the amended complaint. On October 12, 2016, the Court heard oral argument on the demurrer. On October 13, 2016, the Court granted in part and denied in part the Company’s demurrer to the amended complaint, dismissing the unjust enrichment claim but declining to dismiss the balance of the claims at the demurrer stage of the litigation. At a status conference held on January 26, 2017, the Court ruled that discovery could then proceed regarding matters related to class certification only. At a status conference held on July 25, 2017, the Court set a deadline of January 8, 2018 for the filing of the plaintiff’s motion for class certification and provided that discovery may continue to proceed regarding matters related to class certification only at this time. An additional status conference has been scheduled for January 12, 2018. The Company believes that the amended complaint is without merit, and it intends to vigorously defend itself in this matter. The Company has not recorded an accrual related to this matter as of September 30, 2017, as the Company does not believe a loss is probable or reasonably estimable.

On June 30, 2017, the Company was named as a defendant in a putative class action lawsuit filed by Kip Haas in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California (the “Federal Consumer Class Action”). The complaint asserts claims for violation of the California Business and Professions Code, based principally on allegations of false and misleading advertising and unfair business practices. The complaint seeks an award of unspecified damages, interest, injunctive relief, and attorneys’ fees. In the complaint, the plaintiff seeks to represent a class of consumers defined as “[a]ll consumers who, between the applicable statute of limitations and the present, obtained a TrueCar ‘guaranteed’ price” and “[a]ll consumers, who, between the applicable statute of limitations and the present, obtained a TrueCar ‘guaranteed’ price pertaining to a vehicle located at Riverside Mazda.” The Company believes the complaint is without merit, and intends to vigorously defend itself in this matter in the event that a settlement is not consummated on terms agreeable to the Company. On or around October 23, 2017, the parties reached an agreement in principle to settle this matter on an individual (non-classwide) basis in exchange for the payment of an immaterial amount to Mr. Haas, which has been accrued as of September 30, 2017.

On October 18, 2017, the Company was named as a defendant in a lawsuit filed by Cox Automotive, Inc. ("Cox Automotive") in the Supreme Court of the State of New York in the County of Nassau (the “Cox Automotive Litigation”). As it relates to the Company, the complaint in the Cox Automotive Litigation seeks an award of unspecified damages, disgorgement, return of property taken or retained, injunctive relief and attorneys’ fees. The complaint in the Cox Automotive Litigation alleges that the Company engaged in tortious interference with a contractual relationship between Cox Automotive and one of its former employees, among other claims against the former Cox Automotive employee, who is also named as a defendant in the lawsuit. On October 20, 2017, the court granted a temporary restraining order prohibiting the Company from employing the former Cox Automotive employee pending the court’s ruling on the request by Cox Automotive for the entry of a preliminary injunction. Oral argument, on request by Cox Automotive for the entry of a preliminary injunction has been scheduled for November 13, 2017. The Company believes that the complaint is without merit, and it intends to vigorously defend itself in this matter. The Company has not recorded an accrual related to this matter as of September 30, 2017, as the Company does not believe a loss is probable or reasonably estimable.

Employment Contracts

The Company has entered into employment contracts with certain executives of the Company. Employment under these contracts is at-will employment. However, under the provisions of the contracts, the Company would incur severance obligations up to twelve months of the executive’s annual base salary for certain events such as involuntary terminations.

Indemnifications

In the ordinary course of business, the Company may provide indemnities of varying scope and terms to customers, vendors, lessors, investors, directors, officers, employees and other parties with respect to certain matters, including, but not limited to, losses arising out of the Company’s breach of such agreements, services to be provided by the Company, or from intellectual property infringement claims made by third-parties. These indemnifications may survive termination of the underlying agreement and the maximum potential amount of future payments the Company could be required to make under these indemnification provisions may not be subject to maximum loss provisions. The maximum potential amount of future payments the Company could be required to make under these indemnification provisions is indeterminable. To date, there has not been a material claim paid by the Company, nor has the Company been sued in connection with these indemnification arrangements. At September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, the Company has not accrued a liability for these guarantees, because the likelihood of incurring a payment obligation, if any, in connection with these guarantees is not probable or reasonably estimable.

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Stockholders' Equity

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2017

Equity [Abstract]

Stockholders' Equity

Stockholders’ Equity

On January 19, 2017, the Company filed a shelf registration statement on Form S-3 under which the Company may, from time to time, sell securities up to a total dollar amount of $100 million, and selling stockholders may sell, from time to time, up to 20 million of shares of common stock (“2017 Shelf Registration”). The 2017 Shelf Registration was declared effective by the SEC on February 6, 2017. 

On April 26, 2017, the Company entered into an underwriting agreement to sell up to 1,150,000 shares of its common stock at $16.50 per share in a public offering (including shares subject to the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares). The Company sold 1,150,000 shares in the offering with aggregate net proceeds to the Company of $17.4 million, net of underwriting discounts and commissions and offering costs of $1.6 million. Selling stockholders party to the underwriting agreement also sold an aggregate of 9,200,000 shares of common stock in the offering (including shares subject to the underwriters' option to purchase additional shares). The Company did not receive any proceeds from the shares sold by the selling stockholders. The offering closed on May 2, 2017.

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Stock-based Awards

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2017

Disclosure of Compensation Related Costs, Share-based Payments [Abstract]

Stock based awards

Stock-based Awards

Stock Options

A summary of the Company’s stock option activity for the nine months ended September 30, 2017 is as follows:

	Number of Options		Weighted-Average Exercise Price		Weighted-Average Remaining Contractual Life
					(in years)
Outstanding at December 31, 2016	24,541,512		$	8.29	5.49
Granted	4,812,839		18.41
Exercised	(11,517,023	)	6.29
Canceled/forfeited	(748,821	)	8.68
Outstanding at September 30, 2017	17,088,507		$	12.48	7.90

At September 30, 2017, total remaining stock-based compensation expense for unvested stock option awards was $60.2 million, which is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of 3.2 years. For the three months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016, the Company recorded stock-based compensation expense for stock option awards of $5.3 million and $3.5 million, respectively. For the nine months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016, the Company recorded stock-based compensation expense for stock option awards of $12.3 million and $10.9 million, respectively.

Restricted Stock Units

Activity in connection with restricted stock units is as follows for the nine months ended September 30, 2017:

	Number of Shares		Weighted- Average Grant Date Fair Value
Non-vested — December 31, 2016	4,339,320		$	7.85
Granted	2,054,374		18.34
Vested	(1,217,878	)	9.10
Canceled/forfeited	(328,678	)	8.88
Non-vested — September 30, 2017	4,847,138		$	11.91

At September 30, 2017, total remaining stock-based compensation expense for non-vested restricted stock units is $54.6 million, which is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of 3.1 years. The Company recorded $4.6 million and $2.8 million in stock-based compensation expense for restricted stock units for the three months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016, respectively. The Company recorded $10.4 million and $7.1 million in stock-based compensation expense for restricted stock units for the nine months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016, respectively.

Stock-based Compensation Cost

The Company recorded stock-based compensation cost relating to stock options and restricted stock awards in the following categories on the accompanying consolidated statements of comprehensive loss (in thousands):

	Three Months Ended   September 30,				Nine Months Ended   September 30,
	2017		2016		2017		2016
Cost of revenue	$	339	$	256	$	775	$	711
Sales and marketing	3,358		1,655		7,263		4,154
Technology and development	2,598		1,200		5,496		3,025
General and administrative	3,613		3,130		9,127		10,143
Total stock-based compensation expense	9,908		6,241		22,661		18,033
Amount capitalized to internal software use	443		292		993		760
Total stock-based compensation cost	$	10,351	$	6,533	$	23,654	$	18,793

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Income Taxes

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2017

Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]

Income taxes

Income Taxes

In determining quarterly provisions for income taxes, the Company uses the annual estimated effective tax rate applied to the actual year-to-date loss. The Company’s annual estimated effective tax rate differs from the statutory rate primarily as a result of state taxes, tax amortization of goodwill and changes in the Company’s valuation allowance. The Company recorded $0.1 million and $0.2 million in income tax expense for the three months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016, respectively. The Company recorded $0.4 million and $0.5 million in income tax expense for each of the nine months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016.

There were no material changes to the Company’s unrecognized tax benefits in the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017, and the Company does not expect to have any significant changes to unrecognized tax benefits through the end of the fiscal year. Due to the presence of net operating loss carryforwards, all income tax years remain open for examination by the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) and various state taxing authorities.

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Net Loss Per Share

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2017

Earnings Per Share [Abstract]

Net loss per share

Net Loss Per Share

The following table sets forth the computation of basic and diluted net loss per share (in thousands, except per share data): 

	Three Months Ended   September 30,						Nine Months Ended   September 30,
	2017			2016			2017			2016
Net loss	$	(9,519	)	$	(7,436	)	$	(24,374	)	$	(33,758	)
Weighted-average common shares outstanding	98,665			84,822			93,108			84,075
Net loss per share - basic and diluted	$	(0.10	)	$	(0.09	)	$	(0.26	)	$	(0.40	)

The following table presents the number of anti-dilutive shares excluded from the calculation of diluted net loss per share at September 30, 2017 and 2016 (in thousands):

	September 30,
	2017	2016
Options to purchase common stock	17,089	25,552
Common stock warrants	1,459	1,605
Non-vested restricted stock unit awards	4,847	4,578
Total shares excluded from net loss per share	23,395	31,735

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Related Party Transactions

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2017

Related Party Transactions [Abstract]

Related party transactions

Related Party Transactions

Transactions with USAA

USAA is a large stockholder in the Company and the Company's most significant affinity marketing partner. The Company has entered into arrangements with USAA to operate its Auto Buying Program. The Company has amounts due from USAA at September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016 of $0.2 million and $0.4 million, respectively. In addition, the Company has amounts due to USAA at September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016 of $4.4 million and $3.9 million, respectively. The Company recorded sales and marketing expense of $4.2 million and $3.7 million for the three months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016, respectively, related to service arrangements entered into with USAA. The Company recorded sales and marketing expenses of $12.8 million and $10.4 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016, respectively, related to such service arrangements.

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Revenue Information

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2017

Segment Reporting [Abstract]

Revenue information

Revenue Information

The CODM reviews separate revenue information for its Transaction and Forecasts, Consulting and Other service offerings. All other financial information is reviewed by the CODM on a consolidated basis.

The following table presents the Company’s revenue categories during the periods presented (in thousands):

	Three Months Ended   September 30,				Nine Months Ended   September 30,
	2017		2016		2017		2016
Transaction revenue	$	77,526	$	70,306	$	225,161	$	189,556
Forecasts, consulting and other revenue	4,914		4,833		14,855		13,870
Total revenues	$	82,440	$	75,139	$	240,016	$	203,426

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Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2017

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Basis of presentation

Basis of Presentation

The Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) and applicable rules and regulations of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) for quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and Article 10-1 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, some information and footnote disclosures required by GAAP for complete financial statements have been condensed or omitted pursuant to such rules and regulations. In the opinion of the Company’s management, the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements and notes have been prepared on the same basis as the audited consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2016 and include all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring adjustments) necessary for a fair statement of the interim periods presented.

The condensed consolidated balance sheet at December 31, 2016 has been derived from the audited financial statements at that date, but does not include all of the disclosures required by GAAP. The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto contained in the Company’s Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 1, 2017.

Use of estimates

Use of Estimates

The preparation of consolidated financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the dates of the consolidated financial statements, and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. Assets and liabilities which are subject to judgment and use of estimates include sales allowances and allowances for doubtful accounts, the fair value of assets and liabilities assumed in business combinations, fair value of the capitalized facility leases, the recoverability of goodwill and long-lived assets, valuation allowances with respect to deferred tax assets, useful lives associated with property and equipment and intangible assets, lease exit liabilities, contingencies, and the valuation and assumptions underlying stock-based compensation and other equity instruments. On an ongoing basis, the Company evaluates its estimates compared to historical experience and trends, which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying value of assets and liabilities. In addition, the Company engaged valuation specialists to assist with management’s determination of the valuation of its capitalized facility leases, fair values of assets and liabilities assumed in business combinations, the fair value of reporting units in connection with annual goodwill impairment testing, and in periods prior to the Company’s initial public offering, valuation of common stock.

Segments

Segments

The Company has one operating segment. The Company’s chief operating decision maker (“CODM”) is the President and Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Financial Officer, who manage the Company’s operations based on consolidated financial information for purposes of evaluating financial performance and allocating resources.

The CODM review financial information on a consolidated basis, accompanied by information about transaction revenue and forecasts, consulting and other revenue (Note 12). All of the Company’s principal operations, decision-making functions and assets are located in the United States.

Recent accounting pronouncements

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In May 2017, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued guidance amending the existing accounting standard for stock-based awards in order to provide clarity and to reduce both diversity in practice and the cost and complexity of applying the existing guidance as it relates to modifications of stock-based payment awards. The new guidance will be effective for all entities for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2017 and interim periods therein, with early adoption permitted. The adoption of this guidance is not expected to have a material impact on the Company's consolidated financial statements.

In January 2017, the FASB issued guidance simplifying the test for goodwill impairment. This standard eliminates Step 2 from the goodwill impairment test, instead requiring an entity to recognize a goodwill impairment charge for the amount by which the goodwill carrying amount exceeds the reporting unit's fair value. This guidance is effective for interim and annual goodwill impairment tests in fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, and early adoption is permitted. The adoption of this guidance is not expected to have a material impact on the Company's consolidated financial statements.

In October 2016, the FASB issued new guidance which requires the recognition of the income tax consequences of an intra-entity transfer of an asset, other than inventory, when the transfer occurs. This removes the exception to postpone recognition until the asset has been sold to an outside party. This standard is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim reporting periods within those annual reporting periods, with early adoption permitted. It is required to be applied on a modified retrospective basis through a cumulative-effect adjustment to the balance sheet as of the beginning of the fiscal year of adoption. The adoption of this guidance is not expected to have a material impact on the Company's consolidated financial statements.

In February 2016, the FASB issued guidance amending the existing accounting standards for lease accounting, including requiring lessees to recognize most leases on their balance sheets and making targeted changes to lessor accounting. The new guidance will be effective for public entities for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2018 and interim periods therein. Early adoption is permitted. The new leases standard requires a modified retrospective transition approach for all leases existing at, or entered into after, the date of initial application, with an option to use certain transition relief. The Company is evaluating the methods and impact of adopting this guidance on its consolidated financial statements.

In May 2014, the FASB issued guidance related to revenue from contracts with customers. Under this guidance, revenue is recognized when promised goods or services are transferred to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration that is expected to be received for those goods or services. The updated standard will replace all existing revenue recognition guidance under GAAP when it becomes effective and permits the use of either the full retrospective or cumulative effect transition method. In August 2015, the FASB deferred the effective date to January 1, 2018, with early adoption beginning January 1, 2017. In 2016, the FASB issued additional guidance to clarify the implementation guidance. The Company plans to adopt this guidance beginning January 1, 2018 using the cumulative effect or “modified retrospective” transition method. While the Company is continuing to assess all potential impacts of the standard, the Company has identified an impact related to the recognition of costs to obtain customer contracts. Currently, sales commissions are expensed as incurred. Under the new revenue standard, certain sales commissions will be deferred and recognized over a period of time. The Company continues to evaluate the new revenue standard and is assessing the impact this identified difference in accounting treatment may have on the consolidated financial statements.

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Fair Value Measurements (Tables)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2017

Fair Value Disclosures [Abstract]

Summary of financial assets measured at fair value on a recurring basis

The following table summarizes the Company’s financial assets measured at fair value on a recurring basis at September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016 by level within the fair value hierarchy. Financial assets are classified in their entirety based on the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement (in thousands):

	At September 30, 2017				At December 31, 2016
	Level 1		Total Fair Value		Level 1		Total Fair Value
Cash equivalents	$	196,217	$	196,217	$	107,721	$	107,721
Total Assets	$	196,217	$	196,217	$	107,721	$	107,721

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Property and Equipment, net (Tables)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2017

Property, Plant and Equipment [Abstract]

Schedule of property and equipment

Property and equipment consisted of the following at September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016 (in thousands):

	September 30, 2017			December 31, 2016
Computer equipment, software, and internally developed software	$	79,316		$	65,973
Furniture and fixtures	4,679			3,705
Leasehold improvements	7,108			6,067
Capitalized facility leases	39,302			39,302
	130,405			115,047
Less: Accumulated depreciation	(62,025		)	(48,106		)
Total property and equipment, net	$	68,380		$	66,941

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Commitments and Contingencies (Tables)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2017

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Schedule of lease exit liability

The following table presents a roll forward of the lease exit liability for the nine months ended September 30, 2017:

	Lease Exit Costs
Accrual at December 31, 2016	$	2,657
Benefit	(133		)
Cash Payments	(1,020		)
Accrual at September 30, 2017	$	1,504

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Stock-based Awards (Tables)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2017

Disclosure of Compensation Related Costs, Share-based Payments [Abstract]

Summary of stock option activity

A summary of the Company’s stock option activity for the nine months ended September 30, 2017 is as follows:

	Number of Options		Weighted-Average Exercise Price		Weighted-Average Remaining Contractual Life
					(in years)
Outstanding at December 31, 2016	24,541,512		$	8.29	5.49
Granted	4,812,839		18.41
Exercised	(11,517,023	)	6.29
Canceled/forfeited	(748,821	)	8.68
Outstanding at September 30, 2017	17,088,507		$	12.48	7.90

Schedule of activity in connection with restricted stock

Activity in connection with restricted stock units is as follows for the nine months ended September 30, 2017:

	Number of Shares		Weighted- Average Grant Date Fair Value
Non-vested — December 31, 2016	4,339,320		$	7.85
Granted	2,054,374		18.34
Vested	(1,217,878	)	9.10
Canceled/forfeited	(328,678	)	8.88
Non-vested — September 30, 2017	4,847,138		$	11.91

Schedule of stock-based compensation cost relating to stock options and restricted stock awards

The Company recorded stock-based compensation cost relating to stock options and restricted stock awards in the following categories on the accompanying consolidated statements of comprehensive loss (in thousands):

	Three Months Ended   September 30,				Nine Months Ended   September 30,
	2017		2016		2017		2016
Cost of revenue	$	339	$	256	$	775	$	711
Sales and marketing	3,358		1,655		7,263		4,154
Technology and development	2,598		1,200		5,496		3,025
General and administrative	3,613		3,130		9,127		10,143
Total stock-based compensation expense	9,908		6,241		22,661		18,033
Amount capitalized to internal software use	443		292		993		760
Total stock-based compensation cost	$	10,351	$	6,533	$	23,654	$	18,793

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Net Loss Per Share (Tables)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2017

Earnings Per Share [Abstract]

Computation of basic and diluted net loss per share

The following table sets forth the computation of basic and diluted net loss per share (in thousands, except per share data): 

	Three Months Ended   September 30,						Nine Months Ended   September 30,
	2017			2016			2017			2016
Net loss	$	(9,519	)	$	(7,436	)	$	(24,374	)	$	(33,758	)
Weighted-average common shares outstanding	98,665			84,822			93,108			84,075
Net loss per share - basic and diluted	$	(0.10	)	$	(0.09	)	$	(0.26	)	$	(0.40	)

Anti-dilutive shares excluded from the calculation of diluted net loss per share

The following table presents the number of anti-dilutive shares excluded from the calculation of diluted net loss per share at September 30, 2017 and 2016 (in thousands):

	September 30,
	2017	2016
Options to purchase common stock	17,089	25,552
Common stock warrants	1,459	1,605
Non-vested restricted stock unit awards	4,847	4,578
Total shares excluded from net loss per share	23,395	31,735

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Revenue Information (Tables)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2017

Segment Reporting [Abstract]

Schedule of revenue categories

The following table presents the Company’s revenue categories during the periods presented (in thousands):

	Three Months Ended   September 30,				Nine Months Ended   September 30,
	2017		2016		2017		2016
Transaction revenue	$	77,526	$	70,306	$	225,161	$	189,556
Forecasts, consulting and other revenue	4,914		4,833		14,855		13,870
Total revenues	$	82,440	$	75,139	$	240,016	$	203,426

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Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Details 1 - Segments)	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2017 segment
Accounting Policies [Abstract]
Number of operating segments	1

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Fair Value Measurements (Details) - Recurring - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Sep. 30, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Level 1
Fair Value Measurements
Cash equivalents	$ 196,217	$ 107,721
Total assets	196,217	107,721
Total fair value
Fair Value Measurements
Cash equivalents	196,217	107,721
Total assets	$ 196,217	$ 107,721

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Property and Equipment, net (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2017	Sep. 30, 2016	Sep. 30, 2017	Sep. 30, 2016	Dec. 31, 2016
Property and Equipment, net
Property and equipment, gross	$ 130,405		$ 130,405		$ 115,047
Less: Accumulated depreciation	(62,025)		(62,025)		(48,106)
Total property and equipment, net	68,380		68,380		66,941
Property and equipment capitalized but not placed in service	5,700		5,700		4,300
Total depreciation and amortization expense			17,481	$ 17,711
Property and Equipment
Property and Equipment, net
Total depreciation and amortization expense	4,800	$ 5,000	14,600	14,700
Computer equipment, software, and internally developed software
Property and Equipment, net
Property and equipment, gross	79,316		79,316		65,973
Furniture and fixtures
Property and Equipment, net
Property and equipment, gross	4,679		4,679		3,705
Leasehold Improvements
Property and Equipment, net
Property and equipment, gross	7,108		7,108		6,067
Capitalized facility leases
Property and Equipment, net
Property and equipment, gross	39,302		39,302		39,302
Less: Accumulated depreciation	(1,900)		(1,900)		(1,200)
Lease financing obligation	31,200		31,200		$ 30,900
Internally developed software
Property and Equipment, net
Amortization	$ 3,400	$ 3,900	$ 10,800	$ 11,300

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Credit Facility (Details)	1 Months Ended
	Feb. 28, 2015	Sep. 30, 2017 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($)	Feb. 18, 2015 USD ($)
Credit facility
Amount outstanding		$ 0	$ 0
Remaining borrowing capacity		30,700,000.0	30,700,000.0
Letters of credit outstanding, amount		$ 4,300,000	$ 4,300,000
Revolving line of credit
Credit facility
Maximum borrowing capacity				$ 35,000,000.0
Increase in maximum borrowing capacity, subject to lender's consent				15,000,000.0
Maximum borrowing capacity, subject to lender's consent				50,000,000
Quick ratio minimum	1.5
Maximum consolidated leverage ratio, upper end of range	3.00
Maximum consolidated leverage ratio, lower end of range	2.50
Minimum fixed charge coverage ratio	1.25
Revolving line of credit | Minimum
Credit facility
Unused facility fee (as a percent)	0.00%
Revolving line of credit | Maximum
Credit facility
Unused facility fee (as a percent)	0.20%
Revolving line of credit | Prime rate | Minimum
Credit facility
Variable rate basis spread (as a percent)	(0.25%)
Revolving line of credit | Prime rate | Maximum
Credit facility
Variable rate basis spread (as a percent)	0.50%
Revolving line of credit | LIBOR | Minimum
Credit facility
Variable rate basis spread (as a percent)	1.75%
Revolving line of credit | LIBOR | Maximum
Credit facility
Variable rate basis spread (as a percent)	2.50%
Letters of credit
Credit facility
Maximum borrowing capacity				$ 10,000,000.0

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Commitments and Contingencies Lease Exit Liability (Details) - Facility Closing $ in Thousands	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2017 USD ($)
Restructuring Reserve [Roll Forward]
Beginning balance	$ 2,657
Benefit	(133)
Cash Payments	(1,020)
Ending balance	$ 1,504

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Commitments and Contingencies - Legal Proceedings (Details) $ in Millions	1 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2015 USD ($)
Lawsuit alleging violations of Lanham act and other state laws | Minimum
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Damages sought	$ 250

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Commitments and Contingencies - Employee Contracts and Severance Costs (Details)	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2017
Employment contracts
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Maximum term of executive's annual base salary to determine severance obligations	12 months

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Stockholders' Equity (Details) - USD ($)	May 02, 2017	Jan. 19, 2017	Apr. 26, 2017
Class of Stock [Line Items]
Securities authorized (up to)		$ 100,000,000
Number of shares sold by selling stockholders (in shares)	9,200,000
Common stock
Class of Stock [Line Items]
Selling stockholders may sell shares of stock (up to)		20,000,000
Common stock, shares authorized (up to) (in shares)			1,150,000
Price per share to sell common stock (in dollars per share)			$ 16.50
Number of shares sold in offering	1,150,000
Net proceeds from offering	$ 17,400,000
Underwriter commission and offering costs	$ 1,600,000

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Stock-based Awards (Details - Options) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended		12 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2017	Sep. 30, 2016	Sep. 30, 2017	Sep. 30, 2016	Dec. 31, 2016
Additional disclosure
Stock-based compensation expense	$ 9,908	$ 6,241	$ 22,661	$ 18,033
Options
Number of Options
Outstanding at the beginning of period (in shares)			24,541,512
Granted (in shares)			4,812,839
Exercised (in shares)			(11,517,023)
Canceled/forfeited (in shares)			(748,821)
Outstanding at the end of the period (in shares)	17,088,507		17,088,507		24,541,512
Weighted-Average Exercise Price
Outstanding at the beginning of period (in dollars per share)			$ 8.29
Granted (in dollars per share)			18.41
Exercised (in dollars per share)			6.29
Canceled/forfeited (in dollars per share)			8.68
Outstanding at the end of the period (in dollars per share)	$ 12.48		$ 12.48		$ 8.29
Additional disclosure
Weighted average remaining contractual life (in years)			7 years 10 months 24 days		5 years 5 months 27 days
Remaining stock-based compensation expense for unvested awards	$ 60,200		$ 60,200
Weighted average period over which remaining stock based compensation expense for unvested awards is expected to be recognized			3 years 2 months 19 days
Stock-based compensation expense	$ 5,300	$ 3,500	$ 12,300	$ 10,900

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Stock-based Awards (Details 2 - RSUs) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2017	Sep. 30, 2016	Sep. 30, 2017	Sep. 30, 2016
Stock-based Awards
Stock based compensation expense	$ 9,908	$ 6,241	$ 22,661	$ 18,033
Non-vested restricted stock unit awards
Stock-based Awards
Remaining stock based compensation expense for non vested restricted stock units	54,600		$ 54,600
Weighted average period over which remaining stock based compensation expense for unvested awards is expected to be recognized			3 years 1 month 17 days
Stock based compensation expense	$ 4,600	$ 2,800	$ 10,400	$ 7,100
Number of Shares
Non-vested at the beginning of period (in shares)			4,339,320
Granted (in shares)			2,054,374
Vested (in shares)			(1,217,878)
Canceled/forfeited (in shares)			(328,678)
Non-vested at the end of the period (in per share)	4,847,138		4,847,138
Weighted-Average Grant Date Fair Value
Non-vested at the beginning of period (in dollars per share)			$ 7.85
Granted (in dollars per share)			18.34
Vested (in dollars per share)			9.10
Canceled/forfeited (in dollars per share)			8.88
Non-vested at the end of the period (in dollars per share)	$ 11.91		$ 11.91

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Stock-based Awards (Details 3 - Stock comp by FSLI) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2017	Sep. 30, 2016	Sep. 30, 2017	Sep. 30, 2016
Stock-based Compensation Cost
Stock-based compensation expense	$ 9,908	$ 6,241	$ 22,661	$ 18,033
Amount capitalized to internal software use	443	292	993	760
Total stock-based compensation cost	10,351	6,533	23,654	18,793
Cost of revenue
Stock-based Compensation Cost
Stock-based compensation expense	339	256	775	711
Sales and marketing
Stock-based Compensation Cost
Stock-based compensation expense	3,358	1,655	7,263	4,154
Technology and development
Stock-based Compensation Cost
Stock-based compensation expense	2,598	1,200	5,496	3,025
General and administrative
Stock-based Compensation Cost
Stock-based compensation expense	$ 3,613	$ 3,130	$ 9,127	$ 10,143

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Income Taxes (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2017	Sep. 30, 2016	Sep. 30, 2017	Sep. 30, 2016
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]
Income tax expense	$ 121	$ 191	$ 443	$ 497

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Net Loss Per Share (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2017	Sep. 30, 2016	Sep. 30, 2017	Sep. 30, 2016
Earnings Per Share [Abstract]
Net loss	$ (9,519)	$ (7,436)	$ (24,374)	$ (33,758)
Weighted average common shares outstanding (in shares)	98,665	84,822	93,108	84,075
Net loss per share, basic and diluted (in dollars per share)	$ (0.10)	$ (0.09)	$ (0.26)	$ (0.40)

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Net Loss Per Shares (Details 2) - shares shares in Thousands	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2017	Sep. 30, 2016
Anti-dilutive shares excluded from the calculation of diluted net loss per share attributable to common stockholders
Total shares excluded from net loss per share	23,395	31,735
Options to purchase common stock
Anti-dilutive shares excluded from the calculation of diluted net loss per share attributable to common stockholders
Total shares excluded from net loss per share	17,089	25,552
Common stock warrants
Anti-dilutive shares excluded from the calculation of diluted net loss per share attributable to common stockholders
Total shares excluded from net loss per share	1,459	1,605
Non-vested restricted stock unit awards
Anti-dilutive shares excluded from the calculation of diluted net loss per share attributable to common stockholders
Total shares excluded from net loss per share	4,847	4,578

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Related Party Transactions (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2017	Sep. 30, 2016	Sep. 30, 2017	Sep. 30, 2016	Dec. 31, 2016
Related Party Transactions
Receivable from related party	$ 218		$ 218		$ 393
USAA
Related Party Transactions
Receivable from related party	200		200		400
Due to Related Parties	4,400		4,400		$ 3,900
USAA | Sales and marketing
Related Party Transactions
Costs under related party agreements	$ 4,200	$ 3,700	$ 12,800	$ 10,400

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Revenue Information (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2017	Sep. 30, 2016	Sep. 30, 2017	Sep. 30, 2016
Revenue Information
Revenue	$ 82,440	$ 75,139	$ 240,016	$ 203,426
Transaction revenue
Revenue Information
Revenue	77,526	70,306	225,161	189,556
Forecasts, consulting and other revenue
Revenue Information
Revenue	$ 4,914	$ 4,833	$ 14,855	$ 13,870