Avis Budget Group, Inc. (CAR) Stock

Avis Budget Group, Inc. (CAR) is a Consumer Discretionary stock trading at $137.89 (as of 2026-09-02), with a market capitalization of $4.87B. Figures are sourced from first-party U.S. SEC EDGAR filings and market data.

Avis Budget Group, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides car and truck rentals, car sharing, and ancillary products and services to businesses and consumers. It operates the Avis brand, that offers vehicle rental and other mobility solutions to the premium commercial and leisure segments of the travel industry; the Budget Truck brand, a local, and one-way truck and cargo van rental businesses with a fleet of approximately 20,000 vehicles, which are rented through a network of approximately 465 dealer-operated and 385 company-operated locations that serve the consumer and light commercial sectors in the continental United States; and the Zipcar brand, a car sharing network. The company also operates various other car rental brands, such as Budget, Payless, Apex, Maggiore, MoriniRent, FranceCars, Amicoblue, Turiscar, and ACL Hire. In addition, it offers optional insurance products and coverages, such as supplemental liability, personal accident, personal effects protection, emergency sickness protection, and automobile towing protection and cargo insurance products; fuel service options, roadside assistance services, electronic toll collection services, curbside delivery, tablet rentals, access to satellite radio, portable navigation units, and child safety seat rentals; automobile towing equipment and other moving accessories, such as hand trucks, furniture pads, and moving supplies; and Business Intelligence solution, an online portal for corporate travel. Avis Budget Group, Inc. operates in approximately 10,400 locations worldwide. The company was formerly known as Cendant Corporation and changed its name to Avis Budget Group, Inc. in September 2006. Avis Budget Group, Inc. was founded in 1946 and is headquartered in Parsippany, New Jersey.

Understand Avis Budget Group, Inc.: how it makes money

Avis Budget Group rents cars, trucks, and cargo vans through the Avis and Budget Truck brands at airport and neighborhood locations, earning revenue from daily and weekly rental fees plus ancillary services. Revenue is heavily weighted to the Americas at 78%, with profitability hinging on fleet utilization and pricing against a fixed cost base of thousands of vehicles.

Every rental day must cover a fixed daily vehicle cost (depreciation, lease payments, insurance), so even a one-point slip in utilization or pricing flows through disproportionately to operating income, which is why the current -13.4% margin reflects a small gap in earned revenue per day.

Revenue by segment (latest quarter)
Americas$2.0B
International$0.6B

Business quality (Weak): Weak. Operating margin of -13.4% and negative ROE indicate the fleet is not yet covering its fixed costs. The business is capital-heavy, cyclical, and currently in a trough where recall disruptions and softening demand outpace indexing gains.

Bull case

  • Americas margin expanding despite soft demand: Americas EBITDA grew 7.7% with approximately 100 basis points of margin expansion, showing the core rental operation is still capturing pricing and cost leverage even as broader travel indicators weaken.
  • $650M settlement clears balance sheet overhang: The Pentwater settlement could free up $650 million for debt reduction, directly shrinking the interest expense that is a key driver behind the current -13.4% operating margin.
  • Waymo pilots optionality into autonomous fleet: Waymo Dallas operations are scaling and management views them as a repeatable strategic capability, giving the fleet a low-capital path toward autonomous operations that could step down per-vehicle labor costs over time.

Bear case

  • 18,000 vehicles grounded by recalls: Recalls grounded approximately 18,000 vehicles and will remain a second-half headwind, directly shrinking the supply available to generate rental days and compressing revenue per day across the fleet.
  • International earnings shrinking double digits: International EBITDA declined 11% amid weaker strategic accounts and inbound travel, and with overseas U.S. visitors down 8%, the $570M international segment (23% of revenue) faces sustained volume softness.
  • Refinancing gap adds 100 to 125 basis points: Future refinancing costs may exceed current rates by approximately 100 to 125 basis points, which on a capital-intensive fleet model translates to meaningful recurring interest expense that further compresses an already negative operating margin.
Valuation — source: SEC EDGAR (first-party)
Price$137.89
Market Cap$4.87B
Price / Sales0.41
Dividend Yield0.0%
DCF Value (model)$1800.45
DCF Upside vs Price1205.7%
Profitability & Growth — source: SEC EDGAR
Revenue (TTM)$11.65B
Net Margin-7.6%
Return on Equity19.6%
Debt / Equity-1.78
Current Ratio0.74
Revenue Growth (YoY)4.1%
EPS Growth (YoY)-44.2%
Financial Health — source: SEC EDGAR
Altman Z-Score0.38 (distress)
Valuation vs Sector & Industry
Sector P/E (Consumer Discretionary)20.1
Industry P/E (Personal Services)15.9
Smart-Money Activity — SEC Form 4 / 13F / Congressional disclosures
Top Institutional HolderSRS Investment Management, LLC ($2.54B)
Institutional Holders Tracked10
Congressional Trades (recent)1
Company
SectorConsumer Discretionary
IndustryPersonal Services
CEOBrian J. Choi
Employees17,000
CountryUS
IPO Date1983-09-14

Avis Budget Group, Inc. earnings call transcripts

  • CAR Q2 FY26 earnings call transcript (reported 2026-07-28) · analysis
  • CAR Q1 FY26 earnings call transcript (reported 2026-04-29) · analysis
  • CAR Q4 FY25 earnings call transcript (reported 2026-02-18) · analysis
  • CAR Q2 FY25 earnings call transcript (reported 2025-07-29) · analysis

All CAR earnings calls

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CAR earnings history · CAR institutional & insider holders · CAR KPIs & operating metrics · CAR financials · CAR investor presentations & press releases · CAR SEC filings · CAR peers · Congress trades · Insider trades · Short interest · Stock screener

Data as of 2026-09-02.

Figures sourced from U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC EDGAR) filings and market data. Not personalized investment advice.