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Avis Budget Group, Inc.: Q4 FY2025 earnings call

What management said about Q4 FY2025, from the documents filed with the SEC on 18 February 2026: press release. The quarter’s numbers.

Key takeaways

  • Fourth-quarter revenue slipped 2%: Fourth-quarter revenue was $2,664 million against $2,710 million a year earlier. Revenue per day excluding exchange effects fell 2% and rental days fell 1%. Source
  • Quarter net loss with $5 million EBITDA: Net loss was $856 million and Adjusted EBITDA $5 million. The third-quarter release had reported net income of $360 million and Adjusted EBITDA of $559 million. Source
  • Americas Adjusted EBITDA $1 million: Americas Adjusted EBITDA was $1 million, against a $63 million loss a year earlier. Management attributed the change to lower fleet costs, partly offset by lower revenue per day. Source
  • Americas fleet cost per unit down 21%: Americas per-unit fleet cost per month was $338 in the fourth quarter, against $430, down 21%. The full-year Americas figure was $333 against $376. Source
  • Liquidity about $818 million at quarter-end: Liquidity at the end of the quarter was about $818 million, with an additional $2.1 billion of fleet funding capacity. The third-quarter release had cited nearly $1.0 billion and $1.9 billion. Source
  • EV fleet strategy reviewed in Q4: Management reviewed its fleet strategy for certain United States electric vehicle rental cars in the fourth quarter and shortened their useful lives. Source
  • $518 million impairment on EV cars: The company recorded $518 million of long-lived asset impairment and related charges on those vehicles, reducing their carrying value to fair value. The charge is in the net loss for the quarter and year. Source

“As we enter 2026, we’ve repositioned the business and turned a challenging fourth quarter into a catalyst for meaningful change,”

Brian Choi, Avis Budget Group CEO

What changed from last quarter

  • New: Fleet strategy changed for certain US EV rental cars, shortening their useful life. Source
  • New: EVs sold to a joint venture in December, with tax credits monetized for cash. Source
  • New: Alternative funding asset-backed securities issued, with a June 2028 maturity date. Source

Results and growth drivers

  • Fourth-quarter revenue slipped 2%: Fourth-quarter revenue was $2,664 million against $2,710 million a year earlier. Revenue per day excluding exchange effects fell 2% and rental days fell 1%. Source
  • Quarter net loss with $5 million EBITDA: Net loss was $856 million and Adjusted EBITDA $5 million. The third-quarter release had reported net income of $360 million and Adjusted EBITDA of $559 million. Source
  • Full-year Adjusted EBITDA rose 19%: Full-year net loss was $995 million. Adjusted EBITDA rose 19% to $748 million from $628 million. Source

Segments and regions

  • Americas Adjusted EBITDA $1 million: Americas Adjusted EBITDA was $1 million, against a $63 million loss a year earlier. Management attributed the change to lower fleet costs, partly offset by lower revenue per day. Source
  • International Adjusted EBITDA $21 million: International Adjusted EBITDA was $21 million against an $11 million loss. Management cited stronger revenue per day and lower fleet costs, partly offset by fewer rental days. Source
  • Full-year segment Adjusted EBITDA split: Full-year Americas Adjusted EBITDA was $552 million, flat, while International was $290 million, up 80% from $161 million. Source
  • Segment revenue by region: Full-year Americas revenue was $8,900 million, down 2%. International revenue was $2,752 million, up 3%, and fourth-quarter International revenue rose 5% to $624 million. Source
  • Corporate costs higher for the year: Corporate and other costs were $17 million in the fourth quarter against $27 million, and $94 million for the year against $84 million, up 12%. Source

“We are tightening fleet discipline, strengthening our balance sheet, and raising the bar on customer experience to drive sustainable earnings growth.”

Brian Choi, Avis Budget Group CEO

Fleet, pricing and footprint

  • Americas revenue per day down 4%: Americas revenue per day was $66.01 in the fourth quarter, against $68.57, down 4%. Full-year Americas revenue per day was $68.75 against $70.94. Source
  • International revenue per day up 5%: International revenue per day excluding exchange effects was $56.76, up 5%. Reported revenue per day rose 11% to $59.89 against $54.15. Source
  • Americas utilization higher in year: Americas vehicle utilization was 67.9% in the fourth quarter, up 0.5 points, and 69.9% for the full year, up 1.2 points. International utilization was 68.2%, down 0.1 points. Source
  • Average rental fleet shrank 2%: Average rental fleet was 660,421 vehicles in the fourth quarter against 671,966, down 2%. The full-year average was 684,148 against 695,084. Source
  • Brand footprint about 10,000 locations: The release describes approximately 10,000 rental locations, against approximately 10,250 in the third-quarter release, in about 180 countries. Source

Costs, margins and fleet charges

  • Americas fleet cost per unit down 21%: Americas per-unit fleet cost per month was $338 in the fourth quarter, against $430, down 21%. The full-year Americas figure was $333 against $376. Source
  • Total fleet cost down 19% ex-FX: Total per-unit fleet cost per month excluding exchange effects was $322, down 19% from $397. International was $273, down 10% from $304. Source
  • Depreciation and operating costs lower: Vehicle depreciation and lease charges were $646 million in the fourth quarter against $801 million. Operating expenses were $1,465 million against $1,563 million. Source
  • Selling and admin costs rose: Selling, general and administrative expenses were $321 million in the fourth quarter against $312 million, and $1,447 million for the year against $1,352 million. Source
  • Restructuring charges higher than last year: Restructuring and other related charges were $37 million in the fourth quarter against $14 million, and $131 million for the full year against $37 million. Source
  • Other fleet charges excluded from EBITDA: Adjusted EBITDA excludes other fleet charges, which were $390 million for the full year. The definition was revised in the first quarter of 2025 to exclude them. Source

Demand and rental volumes

  • Full-year demand described as sustained: Full-year revenue was $11,652 million, down 1% from $11,789 million, which management attributed to sustained year-over-year demand. Source
  • Americas rental days flat in quarter: Americas rental days were 30,901 thousand in the fourth quarter, flat against 30,877 thousand, and up 1% for the full year to 129,451 thousand. Source
  • Total rental days flat for the year: Total rental days were 175,121 thousand for the full year, flat against 175,705 thousand. The fourth-quarter total fell 1%. Source

Capital, cash and returns to shareholders

  • Liquidity about $818 million at quarter-end: Liquidity at the end of the quarter was about $818 million, with an additional $2.1 billion of fleet funding capacity. The third-quarter release had cited nearly $1.0 billion and $1.9 billion. Source
  • Joint venture sale brought tax credit cash: In December the company sold EVs to a joint venture and received $183 million in cash for monetizing tax credits on those vehicles. Source
  • Asset-backed securities repaid fleet debt: The company issued $965 million of alternative funding asset-backed securities with a targeted two-year term, maturing June 2028, and used the proceeds to pay down other fleet debt. Source
  • Full-year Adjusted Free Cash Flow negative: Net cash from operations was $3,296 million for the year. Adjusted Free Cash Flow was negative $698 million, after $228 million of capital expenditures and $859 million of vehicle program outflows. Share repurchases were $7 million. Source
  • Corporate debt and equity deficit higher: Corporate debt was $6,073 million at year-end against $5,393 million. Stockholders' equity attributable to Avis Budget Group was negative $3,129 million, against negative $2,327 million. Source
  • Vehicle and corporate interest higher: Vehicle interest, net, was $231 million in the fourth quarter against $217 million. Corporate interest expense was $106 million against $92 million. Source

Electric vehicle fleet review

  • EV fleet strategy reviewed in Q4: Management reviewed its fleet strategy for certain United States electric vehicle rental cars in the fourth quarter and shortened their useful lives. Source
  • $518 million impairment on EV cars: The company recorded $518 million of long-lived asset impairment and related charges on those vehicles, reducing their carrying value to fair value. The charge is in the net loss for the quarter and year. Source
  • Impairment tied to Interpace Ventures deal: The release links the accelerated rotation of those vehicles to the Interpace Ventures transaction, with the charge recorded in the Americas reportable segment. Source

Strategy and leadership

  • CEO says business repositioned: Brian Choi, Avis Budget Group CEO, said the business has been repositioned and the fourth quarter turned into a catalyst for meaningful change. Source
  • Priorities: fleet, balance sheet, customers: Management named three priorities for sustainable earnings growth: fleet discipline, strengthening the balance sheet, and a higher bar for customer experience. Source
  • Third-quarter framing centred on growth: The third-quarter release described a return to revenue growth while continuing to invest in the future. The fourth-quarter release frames the year around repositioning.

Coming up, as management said on 18 February 2026

  • Supplemental financials published online: Fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 supplemental financials are to be available on the investor relations website. Source

Figures management reported

FigureReported
Total rental days (000s), fourth quarter Source41,321 (vs 41,833 a year earlier)
Average rental fleet, fourth quarter Source660,421 (vs 671,966 a year earlier)
Vehicle utilization, fourth quarter Source68.0% (vs 67.7% a year earlier)

Risks management discussed

  • Demand: Americas revenue per day fell, offsetting part of the segment's fleet-cost gain in the quarter. Source
  • Demand: International rental days fell in the quarter, offsetting part of the segment's revenue-per-day gain. Source
  • Operational: Fleet strategy changes for certain US EV rental cars shortened vehicle useful lives and led to a $518 million impairment. Source

Earlier plans management reported on

  • Not stated: Management said it is tightening fleet discipline and strengthening the balance sheet; the release gives no status against this plan. Source

Other quarters

Summarised with AI from the documents the company filed with the SEC. Every point is checked against the filing before it is shown: management’s own words word for word, figures against the line or table row they come from. A point that fails the check is left out. Source opens the filing at that line.