What happened The stock of TrueCar (NASDAQ: TRUE) trailed the market by a wide margin last month, losing 23% compared with a 3% spike in the S&P 500, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence. The decline added to losses for shareholders recently, with the stock down 33% in the past year versus a 4% increase in the wider market. Image source: Getty Images. So what February's slump was driven by a fourth-quarter earnings report that surprised investors -- and not in a good way. TrueCar said on Feb. 14 that "operational issues" around the company's shift to a new technology platform contributed to a 10% decline in visitors to its website during the period. That in turn powered sales and profit metrics that missed management's guidance. Now what CEO Chip Perry and his team believe the demand challenges will continue to affect results into at least the start of 2019, and so TrueCar's return to double-digit revenue growth might not occur until a year later than management's prior target. Given the extra uncertainty around that rebound plan, it's no surprise that investors chose to push shares lower last month while they wait for more clarity in the online auto retailer's operating trends. 10 stocks we like better than TrueCarWhen investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has quadrupled the market.* David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the ten best stocks for investors to buy right now... and TrueCar wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys. See the 10 stocks *Stock Advisor returns as of March 1, 2019Demitrios Kalogeropoulos has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends TrueCar. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.