Avis Budget (CAR) AI Stock Analysis

• Market Cap: $3.59B
• Dividend Yield: N/A
• Average Volume (3M): 800.06K
• Price to Earnings (P/E): ―
• Beta (1Y): 1.20
• Revenue Growth: -1.22%
• EPS Growth: -639.34%
• Country: US
• Employees: 17,000
• Sector: Industrials
• Sector Strength: 72
• Industry: Rental & Leasing Services
• EPS (TTM): -4.60
• Shares Outstanding: 35,258,650
• 10 Day Avg. Volume: 588,126
• 30 Day Avg. Volume: 800,061
• PEG Ratio: 0.10
• Price to Book (P/B): -1.44
• Price to Sales (P/S): 0.39
• P/FCF Ratio: -0.38
• Enterprise Value/Market Cap: 9.53
• Enterprise Value/Revenue: 2.94
• Enterprise Value/Gross Profit: 11.66
• Enterprise Value/Ebitda: 7.81
• 1Y Price Target: $105.60
• Price Target Upside: 3.65% Upside
• Rating Consensus: Hold
• Number of Analyst Covering: 5
• EPS Forecast (FY): 4.79
• Revenue Forecast (FY): $11.80B

• Rating: 43 Neutral
• Price Target: $97.00 ▼(-4.79% Downside)
• Action: Reiterated Date: 03/14/26
• Date: Action: Reiterated 03/14/26

CAR scores low primarily due to weakened profitability (losses in 2024–2025), a sharp 2025 revenue drop, and a structurally weak balance sheet with negative equity and high debt. Technicals also point to a sustained downtrend. The earnings call showed meaningful misses and near-term uncertainty, partially offset by concrete corrective actions and liquidity steps; valuation provides limited support given losses and no dividend signal.

Positive Factors

Operating cash flow resilience

Consistently strong operating cash flow provides durable liquidity to fund fleet rotations, service debt and absorb earnings volatility. For a capital-intensive rental model, robust OCF supports refinancing capacity and capital allocation flexibility even when net income is cyclical.

Reliable access to securitization funding

Regular issuance of fleet-backed ABS demonstrates continued market access to structured funding that matches asset lives. That ability is critical for financing large, cyclical vehicle purchases and reduces reliance on unsecured borrowing, supporting durable operational funding.

Fleet modernization and utilization improvement

A younger, more utilized fleet lowers maintenance and operating cost, improves customer experience and remarketing timing. Higher utilization and faster turnover increase revenue per unit and reduce residual-value exposure, strengthening long-term margin sustainability.

Negative Factors

Structurally weak balance sheet

Persistent negative equity and elevated debt magnify refinancing, covenant and solvency risk in downturns. High leverage narrows strategic options, raises financing costs and makes the company more sensitive to used-vehicle market swings and interest-rate moves over the medium term.

Sharp revenue decline and profitability loss

A large revenue collapse and multi-year loss profile erode scale economics, weaken ability to cover fixed fleet costs, and reduce retained earnings for reinvestment. Persistent demand and pricing weakness would impair debt service capacity and constrain recovery options.

EV residual-value and depreciation risk

A large EV impairment highlights structural uncertainty in EV resale values and lifecycle economics. Elevated depreciation and write-downs raise fleet remarketing volatility, increase capital recycling needs and complicate long-term fleet planning and profitability during the EV transition.

Avis Budget Business Overview & Revenue Model

Company Description

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.

How the Company Makes Money

Avis Budget makes money primarily by renting vehicles to customers and charging related fees for time- and usage-based access to cars. Its core revenue stream is vehicle rental revenue, typically priced by day (or hour for car sharing) and influenced by factors such as location (airport vs. neighborhood), vehicle class, rental duration, seasonality, and demand. In addition to base rental charges, the company generates revenue from ancillary products and fees, which commonly include optional protection products, supplemental liability-related offerings (where applicable), roadside assistance products, fuel-related charges (e.g., refueling or prepay options), add-ons such as GPS/navigation and child seats, additional driver fees, young driver fees, toll program charges, and other convenience or administrative fees tied to the rental. A significant portion of rentals are distributed through travel ecosystem partners and channels—such as airlines, online travel agencies, and corporate travel programs—where volume, negotiated corporate rates, loyalty programs, and broader travel demand can affect revenue and mix. Zipcar contributes through membership and usage fees associated with car-sharing access. Beyond customer-facing rental activity, overall earnings are materially affected by fleet economics: the company acquires and finances vehicles for its rental fleet and later disposes of them, so proceeds from vehicle sales and the difference between purchase cost and resale value (often referred to as residual value performance) can meaningfully impact results. The company’s ability to manage fleet size, utilization, pricing, vehicle acquisition costs, financing costs, and used-vehicle remarketing conditions are important factors contributing to profitability.

Avis Budget Financial Statement Overview

Summary

Financials are pressured: revenue was flat-to-down and fell sharply in 2025 (-39.3% YoY), profitability swung to losses in 2024–2025, and the balance sheet remains structurally weak with persistently negative equity and high debt. Operating cash flow is a relative bright spot (consistently strong), but free cash flow volatility and leverage-driven risk keep the score low.

Income Statement

Results have weakened meaningfully versus the strong 2021–2023 period. Revenue has been essentially flat to down recently, with 2025 showing a sharp decline (-39.3% YoY) and 2024 slightly down as well. Profitability has also deteriorated: net margins swung from healthy positives in 2021–2023 to losses in 2024 and 2025, indicating pressure from costs, pricing, and/or asset utilization. A partial offset is that gross profit improved sharply in 2025 versus 2024, but earnings remained negative, suggesting operating and below-the-line items are still weighing on results.

Balance Sheet

The balance sheet is the key weak point. Stockholders’ equity is negative in every year provided, which makes leverage structurally high and causes debt-to-equity to be negative (not economically meaningful, but directionally signals high leverage relative to capital). Total debt is very large (peaking around $26B in 2023–2024 and still ~$8.7B in 2025), increasing refinancing and cyclical risk in a demand-driven business. While assets are sizable, the persistent equity deficit reduces financial flexibility and can amplify volatility in downturns.

Cash Flow

Cash generation is mixed but shows resilience in operating cash flow. Operating cash flow is consistently positive and strong across years (roughly $3–5B in 2021–2025), and in most years it covers net income by more than 1x when income is positive. However, free cash flow is highly volatile, with very large negatives in 2023 and 2024 (suggesting heavy fleet or capital investment needs and/or working-capital swings), followed by a strong rebound to positive free cash flow in 2025. Overall, liquidity generation from operations is a strength, but the variability in free cash flow reduces predictability.

Breakdown	Dec 2025	Dec 2024	Dec 2023	Dec 2022	Dec 2021
Income Statement
Total Revenue	11.65B	11.79B	12.01B	11.99B	9.31B
Gross Profit	2.85B	3.00B	3.93B	4.77B	3.39B
EBITDA	4.38B	2.67B	6.43B	7.15B	4.74B
Net Income	-889.00M	-1.82B	1.63B	2.76B	1.28B
Balance Sheet
Total Assets	32.19B	29.95B	33.42B	25.93B	22.60B
Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments	519.00M	537.00M	559.00M	572.00M	537.00M
Total Debt	31.17B	26.04B	26.45B	20.92B	17.80B
Total Liabilities	35.24B	32.27B	33.76B	26.63B	22.81B
Stockholders Equity	-3.13B	-2.33B	-349.00M	-703.00M	-220.00M
Cash Flow
Free Cash Flow	-11.98B	-6.54B	-11.63B	576.00M	-2.59B
Operating Cash Flow	3.30B	3.52B	3.83B	4.71B	3.49B
Investing Cash Flow	-5.16B	-2.75B	-7.35B	-4.30B	-6.31B
Financing Cash Flow	1.86B	-781.00M	3.51B	-360.00M	2.69B

Avis Budget Technical Analysis

• Technical Analysis Sentiment: Neutral
• Last Price: 101.88
• 50DMA: Negative
• 100DMA: Negative
• 200DMA: Negative
• MACD: Negative
• RSI: Neutral
• STOCH: Neutral

Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For CAR, the sentiment is Neutral. The current price of 101.88 is above the 20-day moving average (MA) of 98.05, below the 50-day MA of 112.14, and below the 200-day MA of 141.61, indicating a neutral trend. The MACD of -3.64 indicates Negative momentum. The RSI at 47.96 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 68.63 is Neutral, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Neutral sentiment for CAR.

Avis Budget Peers Comparison

Name	Overall Rating	Market Cap	P/E Ratio	ROE	Dividend Yield	Revenue Growth	EPS Growth
Sector *	63 Neutral	$10.79B	15.43	7.44%	2.01%	2.89%	-14.66%
PRG	63 Neutral	$1.15B	8.05	21.17%	1.72%	3.71%	9.14%
R	61 Neutral	$7.61B	16.03	16.36%	1.75%	1.68%	9.91%
HRI	58 Neutral	$3.65B	4,644.29	0.06%	1.79%	19.40%	-120.47%
WSC	51 Neutral	$3.20B	-64.81	-5.35%	1.44%	-3.64%	867.62%
HTZ	47 Neutral	$1.32B	-2.13	193.77%	―	-7.36%	62.27%
CAR	43 Neutral	$3.59B	-5.08	32.05%	―	-1.22%	-639.34%

Avis Budget Corporate Events

Avis Budget Raises $668 Million Through Asset-Backed Notes

On March 11, 2026, Avis Budget’s subsidiary Avis Budget Rental Car Funding (AESOP) LLC issued $668.2 million in asset-backed securities across two series of Class A through D notes with maturities of three and five years, secured by vehicles in the company’s U.S. fleet and related assets. The subsidiary also issued additional subordinated Class R notes retained by an affiliated entity to meet U.S. risk-retention requirements, underscoring the company’s ongoing use of securitization markets to fund its domestic fleet and maintain liquidity for its rental operations.

The most recent analyst rating on (CAR) stock is a Hold with a $97.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Avis Budget stock, see the CAR Stock Forecast page.

Avis Budget Nears Dismissal of Shareholder Derivative Lawsuits

Avis Budget Group, Inc., a major player in the global vehicle rental and mobility services market, was the nominal defendant in two shareholder derivative lawsuits filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey in 2025. These suits targeted certain current and former officers and directors and stemmed from Avis’s February 2025 announcement that it was accelerating fleet rotation and recording a non-cash impairment for the fourth quarter of 2024.

On October 22, 2025, the plaintiffs in these derivative actions moved to voluntarily dismiss their cases, and on November 24, 2025, the court ordered that Avis shareholders receive notice and an opportunity to intervene before any dismissal. If no shareholder moves to intervene by April 13, 2026, the Jones and Dua derivative actions will be dismissed without prejudice, easing immediate litigation pressure on Avis while preserving the possibility of similar claims being refiled in the future.

The most recent analyst rating on (CAR) stock is a Buy with a $128.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Avis Budget stock, see the CAR Stock Forecast page.

Avis Budget refinances fleet with new asset-backed notes

On December 30, 2025, Avis Budget’s subsidiary Interpace Funding LLC issued $965 million in alternative funding asset-backed securities secured by vehicles in the company’s U.S. fleet and related assets, structured as floating-rate Class A Notes and fixed-rate Class B and Class C Notes with a targeted two-year term and final maturity in June 2028. The following day, December 31, 2025, the company used the proceeds to fully repay $965 million of previously outstanding asset-backed variable funding notes issued by its Avis Budget Rental Car Funding (AESOP) LLC unit, effectively refinancing its fleet-backed debt and maintaining access to structured financing while potentially optimizing its capital structure and funding costs.

The most recent analyst rating on (CAR) stock is a Hold with a $142.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Avis Budget stock, see the CAR Stock Forecast page.