Avis and Hertz Chart Their Futures After Yet Another Comeback
Photo Credit: A promotional image of a Zipcar vehicle. Zipcar
Skift Take
Car rental companies are looking to become transportation networking companies like Uber and Lyft, while also renting cars to drivers of those ridesharing services. But first, they need to bring their core business back on track.
Public car rental giants have spent the last couple years trying to get their houses in order. No small task, but it appears they have mostly done so.
Now, if they can manage to avoid the overconfidence that tanked their attempted comeback in 2018, the focus will be on projects that fully bring the sector into the 21st century.
Avis Budget Group posted solid results during the final quarter of 2018, beating analyst expectations on earnings per share and earning $2.05 billion in quarterly revenue. Avis' stock popped about 30 percent following earnings on Feb. 21, bringing its value back to where it stood in mid-2018. Avis ran into trouble last summer when it sent too many cars to Europe and the demand wasn't there, which sent its stock value into a tailspin.
Fleet management for other transportation providers, along with a wider variety of transportation options available on their digital platform, w
