Avis Budget says ‘nothing below $1B of adjusted EBITDA acceptable’ this year

On the company’s Q3 earnings call this morning, CFO Izilda Martins of Avis Budget (CAR) stated, according to a transcript of the call: “We will maintain our flexibility to acquire new vehicles as well as dispose of others should the opportunity arise. Our 2025 buy is going well and almost complete. We expect lower holding costs as we transition these vehicles into our fleet. Demand around the holiday periods look strong and price will move seasonally in the fourth quarter as it normally does. As I mentioned earlier in the year, nothing below a $1 billion of adjusted EBITDA is acceptable to us. This year we have experienced unprecedented challenges in fleet costs and vehicle interest as they are the highest in our history and the year started with the broader industry being over fleeted putting pressure on revenue per day. However, despite these challenges, we have still achieved nearly $730 million of adjusted EBITDA or nearly $850 million, excluding approximately $120 million in uncharacteristic fleet losses. We remain focused on achieving a $1 billion in adjusted EBITDA this year, excluding fleet losses. We will give more details regarding fleet cost and our future earnings potential in our next call.”