Avis Budget Group, Inc.

Avis Budget did not provide a consolidated revenue or EPS figure in the prepared remarks, but it said adjusted EBITDA grew year over year and Q2 adjusted EBITDA margin was the highest in 3 years. In the Americas, revenue declined 1.9% year over year while adjusted EBITDA rose 7.7%, with about 100 basis points of margin expansion; rental days fell 2.1% and fleet was 5.4% smaller. Americas RPD excluding FX rose 0.2%, and global RPD increased for a second consecutive quarter for the first time in 12 quarters. The company ended June 30 with more than $1 billion in available liquidity, about $1.9 billion of fleet funding capacity, and net corporate leverage of 7.4x, down 100 basis points since year-end 2025. Management reiterated full-year adjusted EBITDA guidance of $850 million to $1 billion and said Q3 should show year-over-year EBITDA growth with fleet still down in the mid-single-digit range and RPD roughly flat.

Brian Choi framed the quarter as a fast operational response to a weaker-than-expected demand environment, emphasizing that the company chose to resize fleet early rather than wait for conditions to deteriorate. He said Avis is running the business more like an asset manager, prioritizing profitability, utilization and returns over volume or market share. He also highlighted the $650 million Pentwater settlement, the Waymo Dallas launch, and expansion of Avis First as examples of actions meant to create long-term shareholder value. His tone was confident but cautious, repeatedly stressing discipline and adaptability.

Daniel Cunha said the quarter showed operating leverage: despite softer demand and fewer rental days, adjusted EBITDA improved year over year and the company achieved its highest second-quarter EBITDA margin in 3 years. He pointed to record second-quarter global utilization, with Americas utilization at 73.2%, and said U.S. recall-related issues remained a material headwind, with about 18,000 grounded vehicles and more than $50 million of directly attributable costs year to date. He also detailed balance-sheet actions: $300 million of 2031 notes issued, the 2027 maturity reduced from $650 million to $350 million, a $2 billion revolver extended to June 2031, and additional ABS and Canadian financing transactions. He said Avis expects to receive $650 million from the Pentwater settlement and plans to use part of it to retire the remaining 2027 notes, while continuing to delever at least a full turn of EBITDA by end-2026.

Analysts focused on whether Avis can further cut costs if weak demand persists, and Brian said cost discipline is foundational, with core operating expenses already tightened and ongoing investment in technology and operations funded by those savings. Questions also centered on autonomous vehicles and the Waymo partnership; management said it is too early to decide on vehicle ownership and is keeping both managed-fleet and owned-fleet options open. On fleet mix and RPD, management said Q3 should still look like Q2, with longer-duration rentals favored while fleet remains constrained, but this is not described as a permanent change. Analysts also asked about recalls, and Daniel said the second half should see a bit over half of the Q2 impact if parts supply improves as expected.