Avis Budget (CAR) Risk Factors

We are subject to multiple, and sometimes conflicting, laws and regulations in the countries in which we operate that relate to, among others, consumer protection, competition and antitrust, customer privacy and data protection, securities and public disclosure, automotive retail sales, franchising, corruption and anti-bribery, environmental matters, taxes, automobile-related liability, labor and employment matters, cost and fee recovery, currency-exchange and other various banking and financial industry regulations, health and safety, insurance rates and products, claims management, protection of our trademarks and other intellectual property and other trade-related laws and regulations. We cannot predict the nature, scope or effect of future regulatory requirements to which our global operations may be subject or the manner in which existing or future laws may be administered or interpreted. Any alleged or actual violations of any law or regulation, change in law, regulation, trade treaties or tariffs, or changes in the interpretation of existing laws or regulations may subject us to government scrutiny, investigation and civil and criminal penalties, limit our ability to provide services in any of the countries in which we operate and could result in a material adverse impact on our reputation, business, financial position or results of operations. In certain countries where we have Company-operated locations, we may recover certain costs from consumers, including costs associated with the title and registration of our vehicles, or concession costs imposed by an airport authority or the owner and/or operator of the premises from which our vehicles are rented. We may in the future be subject to potential laws or regulations that could negatively impact our ability to separately state, charge and recover such costs, which could adversely impact our financial condition or results of operations. We are seeking Advanced Pricing Agreements with certain tax authorities to obtain certainty regarding our transfer pricing policy. While this effort is ongoing, the process of negotiating and ultimately entering into these agreements has been lengthy and may take several more years. The ultimate results of our negotiations of these agreements with tax authorities, the expiration of such agreements, or changes in circumstances or in the interpretation of such agreements could increase our tax costs in these jurisdictions, including through the assessment of significant interest charges and/or penalties if non-compliance is adjudicated. To the extent we do not have an existing Advance Pricing Agreement or other agreement, governmental authorities could challenge our transfer pricing policy in the future and, if challenged, we may not prevail, which could increase our tax costs or reduce savings related to our transfer pricing policy.

We are subject to a wide variety of environmental laws and regulations in connection with our operations, including, among other things, with respect to the ownership or use of tanks for the storage of petroleum products such as gasoline, diesel fuel and motor and waste oils; the treatment or discharge of waste waters; and the generation, storage, transportation and off-site treatment or disposal of solid or liquid wastes. We maintain liability insurance covering storage tanks at our locations. In the United States, we administer an environmental compliance program designed to ensure that these tanks are properly registered in the jurisdiction in which they are located and are in compliance with applicable technical and operational requirements. The tank systems located at each of our locations may not at all times remain free from undetected leaks, and the use of these tanks has resulted in, and from time to time in the future may result in, spills, which may be significant and may require remediation and expose us to material uninsured liability or liabilities in excess of insurance. We may also be subject to requirements related to the remediation of substances that have been released into the environment at properties owned or operated by us or at properties to which we send substances for treatment or disposal. Such remediation requirements may be imposed without regard to fault and liability for environmental remediation can be substantial. These remediation requirements and other environmental regulations differ depending on the country where the property is located. We have made, and will continue to make, expenditures to comply with environmental laws and regulations, including, among others, expenditures for the remediation of contamination at our owned and leased properties, as well as contamination at other locations at which our wastes have reportedly been identified. Our compliance with existing or future environmental laws and regulations may, however, require material expenditures by us or otherwise have an adverse impact on our financial condition or results of operations. Governments are likely to continue to pursue measures related to climate change and greenhouse gas emissions, including vehicle travel restrictions. Should rules establishing limitations on greenhouse gas or other emissions or rules imposing fees on entities deemed to be responsible for greenhouse gas emissions, or rules establishing bans on diesel or fuel vehicles from entering certain locations become effective in the countries in which we operate, demand for our services could be affected, our fleet and/or other costs could increase, and our business could be adversely impacted.

Our vehicles may be subject to safety recalls by their manufacturers, which could have an adverse impact on our business when we remove recalled vehicles from our rentable fleet. We cannot control nor predict the number of vehicles that will be subject to manufacturer recalls in the future. Recalls often require us to retrieve vehicles from customers and/or hold vehicles until we can arrange for the repairs described in the recalls to be completed. As such, recalls can increase our costs, negatively impact our revenues and/or reduce our fleet utilization. If a large number of vehicles were to be the subject of one or more recalls, or if needed replacement parts were not in adequate supply, we may be unable to utilize recalled vehicles for a significant period of time. We may also be subject to material liability claims or regulatory action related to vehicles subject to a safety recall. Depending on the nature and severity of the recall, it could create customer service problems, reduce the residual value of the vehicles involved, harm our reputation and/or have an adverse impact on our financial condition or results of operations.

Our vehicle rental licensee and dealer locations are independently owned and operated. We also operate many of our Company-owned locations through agreements with independent operators, which are third-party independent contractors who receive commissions to operate such locations. We also enter into service contracts with various third-party vendors that provide services for us or in support of our business. Under our agreements with our licensees, dealers, independent operators and third-party vendors (collectively referred to as "third-party operators"), the third-party operators retain control over the employment and management of all personnel at their locations or in support of the services that they provide our Company. These agreements also generally require that third-party operators comply with all laws and regulations applicable to their businesses, including relevant internal policies and standards. Regulators, courts or others may seek to hold us responsible for the actions of, or failures to act by, third-party operators or their employees based on theories of vicarious liability, negligence, joint operations or joint employer liability. Although we actively monitor the operations of these third-party operators, and under certain circumstances have the ability to terminate their agreements for failure to adhere to contracted operational standards, we are unlikely to detect all misconduct or noncompliance by a third-party operator or its employees. It is our policy to vigorously seek to be dismissed from any claims involving third-party operators and to pursue indemnity for any adverse outcomes that affect the Company. Failure of third-party operators to comply with laws and regulations or our operational standards, or our inability to be dismissed from claims against our third-party operators, may expose us to liability, damages and negative publicity that may damage our brand and reputation and adversely affect our financial condition or results of operations.

Fleet costs typically represent our single largest expense and can vary from year to year based on the prices that we are able to purchase and dispose of our vehicles. We purchase program vehicles, which are guaranteed a rate of depreciation through agreements with auto manufacturers, and non-program, or risk vehicles. In 2023, on average approximately 90% of our rental fleet was comprised of risk vehicles. The costs of our risk vehicles may be adversely impacted by the relative strength of the used car market, particularly the market for one- to two-year old used vehicles, or potentially by the insolvency or bankruptcy of an auto manufacturer from whom we purchase vehicles. We currently sell risk vehicles through various sales channels in the used vehicle marketplace, including traditional auctions, and alternative disposition channels, including online auctions, direct-to-dealer sales and directly to consumers through either retail lots or online. These channels may not produce stable vehicle prices in the future, as the market for used vehicles is subject to changes in demand for such vehicles, consumer interests, inventory levels, new car pricing, interest rates, fuel costs, tariffs and general economic conditions, and recent reports have suggested that prices in the used vehicle market may decrease in 2024. A reduction in residual values for risk vehicles in our rental fleet could cause us to sustain a substantial loss on the sale of such vehicles or require us to depreciate those vehicles at a more accelerated rate than previously anticipated while we own them. If the market value of the vehicles in our fleet is reduced or our ability to sell vehicles in the used vehicle marketplace were to become severely limited, we may have difficulty meeting collateral requirements under our asset-backed financing facilities, which could lead to decreased capacity in such facilities and effectively increase our fleet costs or adversely impact our profitability. In addition, if we are unable to meet our collateral requirements under such facilities, the outstanding principal amount due may be required to be repaid earlier than anticipated. If that were to occur, the holders of our asset-backed debt may have the ability to exercise their right to instruct the trustee to direct the return of program vehicles and/or the sale of risk vehicles to generate proceeds sufficient to repay such debt. Program vehicles enable us to determine our depreciation expense in advance of purchase. Our program vehicles also generally provide us with flexibility to reduce the size of our fleet rapidly. This flexibility is negatively affected as the percentage of program vehicles in our fleet is reduced as has been the trend over the last several years, or if the features of the programs provided by auto manufacturers are less favorable. Our inability to reduce the size of our fleet in response to seasonal demand fluctuations, economic constraints or other changes in demand could have an adverse impact on our fleet costs and results of operations. Failure by a manufacturer to fulfill its obligations under any program agreement or incentive payment obligation, due to insolvency, bankruptcy or other reasons, could leave us with a material expense if we are unable to dispose of program vehicles at prices estimated at the time of purchase or with a substantial unpaid claim against the manufacturer, particularly with respect to program vehicles that were either (i) resold for an amount less than the amount guaranteed under the applicable program; or (ii) returned to the manufacturer, but for which we were not paid, and therefore we could incur a substantial loss as a result of such failure to perform. While we source our fleet purchases from a wide range of auto manufacturers, we are exposed to risk to the extent that any auto manufacturer significantly curtails production. Such production may be curtailed as a result of a wide range of factors, including impacts of a pandemic and supply chain impacts, including shortages of parts, which have impacted certain manufacturers in the past. We are also exposed to risk to the extent that any auto manufacturer increases the cost of vehicles, including as a result of inflation, labor shortages or disruptions, or supply chain disruptions, or declines to sell vehicles to us on terms or at prices consistent with past practice. Should any of these risks occur, we may be unable to obtain a sufficient number of vehicles to operate our business without significantly increasing our fleet costs or reducing our volumes.

We typically utilize derivative instruments to manage fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, interest rates and fuel prices. The derivative instruments we use to manage our risk are usually in the form of interest rate swaps and caps and foreign exchange and commodity contracts. Periodically, we are required to determine the change in fair value, called the "mark-to-market," of some of these derivative instruments, which could expose us to substantial mark-to-market losses or gains if such rates or prices fluctuate materially from the time we entered into the derivatives. Accordingly, volatility in rates or prices may adversely impact our financial position or results of operations and could impact the cost and effectiveness of our derivative instruments in managing our risks.

In our business, the third quarter of the year has historically been our most profitable quarter, as measured by net income and Adjusted EBITDA, due primarily to the increased level of summer leisure travel. We vary our fleet size over the course of the year to help manage seasonal variations in demand, as well as localized changes in demand that we may encounter in the various regions in which we operate. Any circumstance or occurrence that disrupts rental activity during the third quarter, especially in North America and Europe, could have a disproportionately adverse impact on our financial condition or results of operations.

Our global operations expose us to risks related to international, national and local economic and political conditions and instability. Operating our business in a number of different regions and countries exposes us to a number of other risks, including: - multiple and potentially conflicting laws, regulations, trade policies and agreements, and varying tax regimes that are subject to change;- the imposition of currency restrictions, restrictions on repatriation of earnings or other restraints, as well as difficulties in obtaining financing in foreign countries for local operations;- potential changes to import-export laws, trade treaties or tariffs in the countries where we purchase vehicles;- international trade disruptions or disputes;- local ownership or investment requirements, or compliance with local laws, regulations or business practices;- uncertainty and changes to political and regulatory regimes as a result of changing social, political, regulatory and economic environments in the United States and internationally;- national and international conflict, including terrorist acts; and - political and economic instability or civil unrest that may severely disrupt economic activity in affected countries. Exposure to these risks may adversely impact our financial condition or results of operations. Our licensees' vehicle rental operations may also be impacted by these risks, which in turn could impact the amount of royalty payments they make to us.