Avis Budget Group (CAR) Q2 2026 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Q2 2026 revenue was $3.0 billion, down 1% year-over-year, with net income of $35 million, a significant increase from $4 million in Q2 2025, driven by lower fleet costs and higher revenue per day, despite lower volume.

• Adjusted EBITDA for Q2 2026 was $286 million, up 3% year-over-year, with the highest second-quarter margin in three years.

• Vehicle utilization reached a record 73.2% in the Americas and 72.6% globally, up 1.9 points year-over-year, driven by technology investments and operational discipline.

• Strategic focus shifted to optimizing revenue per transaction and longer-duration rentals, with proactive fleet reduction and supply discipline in response to softening demand.

• The autonomous vehicle partnership with Waymo launched in Dallas, completing thousands of trips in its first month.

Financial highlights

• Americas Q2 2026 revenue was $2.29 billion (down 2% year-over-year), with Adjusted EBITDA of $237 million (up 8%).

• International Q2 2026 revenue was $710 million (flat year-over-year), with Adjusted EBITDA of $73 million (down 11%).

• Per-unit fleet costs decreased 4% year-over-year to $290 per month, and vehicle depreciation and lease charges fell to 19.4% of revenue.

• Adjusted Free Cash Flow for the first half of 2026 was $161 million, up from negative $475 million in the prior year period.

• Cash and cash equivalents at quarter-end were $558 million, with liquidity of approximately $1.0 billion and $1.9 billion in fleet funding capacity.

Outlook and guidance

• Full-year 2026 Adjusted EBITDA is projected between $850 million and $1 billion.

• Per-unit fleet costs per month are expected to range from $315 to $325 for FY 2026.

• Management remains focused on operational efficiency, analytics, and innovation to drive sustainable growth, with no broad demand recovery assumed.