What Happened?
Shares of global car rental company Hertz (NASDAQ: HTZ) jumped 6.2% in the afternoon session after investors reacted positively to strong earnings from its competitor, Avis Budget Group (CAR).
Avis reported third-quarter results that beat Wall Street's revenue expectations, with sales up 1.1% year on year to $3.52 billion. The company's profit of $10.11 per share was also 28% above analysts' consensus estimates. The strong performance from a key player in the car rental industry appeared to create positive sentiment across the sector, lifting shares of its peers. Separately, it was reported that the Colorado Supreme Court considered a case on whether car rental companies that offer insurance policies, like Hertz, could be deemed “insurers.”.
After the initial pop the shares cooled down to $5.35, up 4.6% from previous close.
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What Is The Market Telling Us
Hertz’s shares are extremely volatile and have had 63 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The previous big move we wrote about was 29 days ago when the stock dropped 1.4% on the news that the company completed a $425 million offering of senior notes and announced an expected legal settlement payment of over $154 million. The debt offering, which included the full exercise of the initial purchasers' option to buy an additional $50 million of notes, was seen as a move to strengthen the company's financial position. Hertz's Chief Financial Officer highlighted that the participation of key investors, including Pershing Square, underscored strong confidence in the company. To lessen the impact of potential new shares from the offering, Hertz also entered into capped call transactions. Separately, the company disclosed it expected to receive a settlement payment of approximately $154 million related to an automotive parts antitrust case. These developments were viewed positively as they bolstered the company's cash position and financial flexibility.
Hertz is up 43.3% since the beginning of the year, but at $5.35 per share, it is still trading 38.2% below its 52-week high of $8.65 from April 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Hertz’s shares at the IPO in June 2021 would now be looking at an investment worth $198.04.
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