It has been about a month since the last earnings report for Avis Budget Group (CAR Quick QuoteCAR - Free Report) . Shares have lost about 7% in that time frame, underperforming the S&P 500.

Will the recent negative trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is Avis Budget due for a breakout? Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late, let's take a quick look at its most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important drivers.

Avis Budget Q2 Earnings Miss Estimate

Avis Budget Group reported dismal second-quarter 2026 results. CAR’s earnings of 98 cents per share missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.16 by 54.6%. Earnings improved sharply from 10 cents in the year-ago quarter.

Revenues declined 1.3% year over year to $3 billion, missing the consensus of $3.08 billion by 2.8%. Lower rental days weighed on the top line, while disciplined fleet reductions helped lift total vehicle utilization to a second-quarter record of 72.6%.

CAR’s Fleet Discipline Supports Profitability

Avis Budget generated net income of $63 million compared with $5 million in the prior-year quarter. Net income attributable to the company was $35 million, up from $4 million a year earlier.

Adjusted EBITDA increased 3.2% year over year to $286 million. The improvement came despite lower revenues, reflecting reduced fleet costs, better utilization and tighter expense management.

Avis Budget Sees Rental Volumes Decline

Total rental days fell 2.3% year over year to 43.91 million. The average rental fleet declined 4.9% to 664,638 vehicles as management accelerated vehicle dispositions in response to weakening booking trends.

Revenue per day increased 1% to $68.29. Excluding currency effects, revenue per day was $67.84, up slightly from $67.62 in the year-ago quarter. Management prioritized longer-duration rentals, which carried lower daily rates but offered better transaction economics and reduced handling costs.

CAR’s Americas Segment Delivers Margin Gains

Americas revenues declined 1.9% year over year to $2.29 billion. Rental days decreased 2.1% to 32.60 million, while the average fleet contracted 5.4% to 489,192 vehicles.

Americas adjusted EBITDA rose 7.7% to $237 million. Vehicle utilization improved 2.5 percentage points to a record 73.2%, helping offset lower volumes. Revenue per day, excluding currency effects, edged up to $70.22 from $70.03.

Avis Budget’s International Results Stay Pressured

International revenues were $710 million, nearly flat year over year. Excluding exchange-rate effects, revenues declined 2.5% as rental days fell 2.9% to 11.31 million.

Adjusted EBITDA decreased 11% to $73 million. Management cited weaker commercial demand, lower inbound travel and increased industry fleet supply in several European markets. International revenue per day rose 3.4% as reported, but increased only 0.4% excluding currency effects.

CAR Benefits From Lower Fleet Costs

Vehicle depreciation and lease charges declined 8.3% year over year to $583 million. Total per-unit fleet costs fell 3.6% to $292 per month and decreased 4.3% to $290 excluding currency effects.

Operating expenses remained flat at $1.53 billion. Selling, general and administrative expenses declined 2.8% to $385 million, while vehicle interest expense increased slightly to $232 million. Corporate interest expense decreased to $108 million from $110 million.

Avis Budget Advances Liquidity and Deleveraging

CAR ended June with $558 million in cash and cash equivalents. Available liquidity was approximately $1 billion, with an additional $1.9 billion of fleet funding capacity.

During the quarter, the company issued $300 million of senior notes due in 2031 and used the proceeds to reduce notes due in 2027. It also refinanced its $2 billion revolving credit facility, extending the maturity to June 2031. Net corporate leverage stood at 7.4 times, down one turn from year-end 2025.

CAR Reaffirms Its 2026 EBITDA Outlook

Avis Budget reiterated its full-year adjusted EBITDA guidance of $850 million to $1 billion. Management expects to reduce leverage by at least one full turn by the end of 2026.

For the third quarter, the company expects the Americas fleet to remain down by a mid-single-digit percentage. Stronger utilization should partly offset the fleet reduction, while revenue per day is projected to remain roughly flat year over year. Management expects year-over-year adjusted EBITDA growth despite continued pressure on rental volumes.

How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?

It turns out, fresh estimates have trended downward during the past month.

The consensus estimate has shifted -10.91% due to these changes.

VGM Scores

Currently, Avis Budget has a average Growth Score of C, though it is lagging a lot on the Momentum Score front with an F. However, the stock was allocated a score of A on the value side, putting it in the top quintile for this investment strategy.

Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of B. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in.

Outlook

Estimates have been broadly trending downward for the stock, and the magnitude of these revisions indicates a downward shift. Notably, Avis Budget has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). We expect an in-line return from the stock in the next few months.