Hertz Global Holdings Inc (HTZ)
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symbol.quality_heading
We found at least one documented issue that threatens the company itself — regardless of how the stock is currently valued.
Whoever buys today bets that the operating turnaround holds even without the used-car tailwind, that the $17 billion debt load and the 8% PIK interest meter do not devour the recovery before it reaches the shareholder, and that a negative, still-falling equity turns back into real substance rather than diluting through new shares. Whoever waits checks four lines in every quarterly report (10-Q): the equity deficit (last −$786 million), the direction of fleet depreciation, the interest burden and the shares outstanding. With negative equity, $17 billion in debt and expensive PIK notes, the drop is long — the decision is yours.
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Hertz is back — the brand many remember from the 2021 Reddit frenzy, when a bankrupt car rental company suddenly became a stock-market legend. In 2025 the net loss shrank from $2.9 billion to $747 million, and the business is visibly recovering. Yet half the progress comes from normalized fleet depreciation, not from operations — and equity has gone negative: from plus $153 million (end of 2024) to minus $786 million (March 31, 2026), against $17 billion in debt. On Reddit the stock is a quiet topic again with 5 mentions in 24 hours (ApeWisdom, as of July 23, 2026). We read the annual reports (10-K) and the quarterly report (10-Q). Not investment advice — just the sober question of what a famous name is worth when the balance sheet has a hole in it.
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Stock Watch
This analysis is as of July 23, 2026. Stock Watch will tell you what's changed at HTZ since then.
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Appears in These Scanners
This stock currently matches 7 of our scanner strategies — each hit links to the scanner.
Only genuine hits from verified scanners count; pure ranking metrics (P/E, P/S, and similar, which just sort the whole universe) don't count as a hit. Scanners marked in red are red-flag signals (risk/short scanners) — appearing there is not a seal of approval. View all scanners
Basics
Performance
Valuation
Profitability
Balance Sheet & Safety
Growth
Quality & Screener
AI Rating
NeutralAutovermieter ohne KI-Umsatz: Die ausgewerteten Filings nennen KI nur als konditionale „may use/may incorporate“-Absicht und als Boilerplate-Risiko, ohne belegten operativen KI-Einsatz und ohne KI-Umsatzquelle.
View the full file — quotes, sources, reviewed filings
„We may incorporate AI solutions into our business, and we may leverage AI, including generative AI, into our business operations."
Wir könnten KI-Lösungen in unser Geschäft integrieren und KI, einschließlich generativer KI, in unseren Geschäftsbetrieb einbinden.
„there are significant risks in using AI, and there can be no assurance that the use of AI will enhance our business or be beneficial to our business operations, including our efficiency or our profitability."
Der Einsatz von KI birgt erhebliche Risiken, und es kann nicht zugesichert werden, dass der Einsatz von KI unser Geschäft verbessert oder unserem Geschäftsbetrieb – einschließlich Effizienz oder Profitabilität – zugutekommt.
Filings Reviewed: 10-K 2026-02-26 · 10-Q 2026-05-08 · 10-K 2025-02-18
Rated on July 23, 2026 · How the Rating Is Built
Highlighted are things our editorial team noticed: green = stands out as strong, red = deserves a closer look. No single metric is a verdict on its own — always read it in context.
Quarterly Figures
| Quarter | EPS (Earnings Per Share) | EPS YoY (%) | Sales ($M) | Sales YoY (%) | Net Margin (%) | OCF ($M) | FCF ($M) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024: Q2 | -1.44 | -300.00 | 2,353 | -3.40 | -36.80 | 546 | -3,203 |
| 2024: Q3 | -4.34 | -720.00 | 2,576 | -4.70 | -51.70 | 894 | 395 |
| 2024: Q4 | -1.56 | -14.70 | 2,040 | -6.60 | -23.50 | 414 | 82 |
| 2025: Q1 | -1.12 | 12.50 | 1,813 | -12.80 | -24.40 | 251 | -2,618 |
| 2025: Q2 | -0.34 | 76.40 | 2,185 | -7.10 | -13.50 | 346 | -2,725 |
| 2025: Q3 | 0.12 | 102.80 | 2,478 | -3.80 | 7.40 | 835 | 626 |
| 2025: Q4 | -0.63 | 59.60 | 2,028 | -0.60 | -9.60 | 193 | -2,218 |
| 2026: Q1 | -0.72 | 35.70 | 2,004 | 10.50 | -16.60 | 20 | -3,611 |
- EPS (Earnings Per Share):
- Quarterly profit divided by the total share count — how much of the profit works out to a single share.
- YoY (Year over Year):
- Change versus the same quarter a year ago — this is how you compare without seasonal distortion (e.g. the holiday shopping season).
- Sales:
- All revenue for the quarter, before any costs are deducted — the top line of the income statement.
- Net Margin:
- What percentage of sales is left over as profit in the end. Negative means the company is posting a loss.
- OCF (Operating Cash Flow):
- The cash that actually flows into the till from the core business during the quarter — harder to dress up than book profit.
- FCF (Free Cash Flow):
- Operating cash flow minus capital expenditures — the money that's genuinely free to use, say for paying down debt, buybacks, or dividends.
Assessment: Opportunities & Risks
The direction is right: net loss narrowed from −$2,862 million (2024) to −$747 million (2025), adjusted corporate EBITDA from −$1,541 million to −$339 million, and Q1 2026 with +10.5 percent revenue and a further narrower loss. The "Back-to-Basics" program is directionally working.
Half the progress is accounting: fleet depreciation fell by $1.7 billion to $1,927 million (2024: $3,611 million), and the $1,048 million special impairment from 2024 dropped out — both explain the lion's share of the earnings improvement before a single car was rented more often. A used-car price cycle, not a model leap.
Equity is negative and falling: +$153 million (end of 2024) → −$459 million (end of 2025) → −$786 million (March 31, 2026), against $3,249 million in accumulated losses. The substance erodes as long as losses exceed fresh capital — the most honest single number in the analysis.
$17,054 million in total debt (vehicle $11,629 + non-vehicle $5,425), including expensive 8.000% second-lien PIK exchangeable notes due 2029, whose interest grows in new notes. The $1,077 million interest expense (2025) exceeded the entire reduction in the net loss — the recovery must first clock the interest meter.
The share count rose from 306.7 to 315.1 million (March 31, 2026), the PIK notes are additionally exchangeable into shares, and the 2021 Reddit meme past makes the price prone to attention-driven, fundamentally unwarranted swings.
Hertz is the phoenix trap in pure form: a world-famous brand that already rose from bankruptcy once, with a real operating turnaround (net loss from −$2,862 million to −$747 million, adjusted corporate EBITDA from −$1,541 million to −$339 million, Q1 2026 revenue +10.5 percent) — but with a balance sheet that tips in the middle of that very turnaround: equity slid from +$153 million to −$786 million, debt stands at $17 billion including 8% PIK notes, the $1,077 million interest burden eats half the progress, and the halved loss comes half from normalized fleet depreciation. Whoever invests buys a leveraged bet on a resale and restructuring cycle — carried by a familiar story, not by balance-sheet substance. Not investment advice.
- Hertz reached the research list via the Reddit hype scanner (5 mentions in 24 hours, ApeWisdom, as of July 23, 2026) — an echo of the 2021 meme legend, not a fundamental signal. The real test comes from the SEC filings.
- Important for classification: today's listed entity (CIK 0001657853) is the new company after the 2021 emergence, not the old entity that went bankrupt in 2020. Old "Hertz" price histories can show an extinguished stock.
- The number basis is evergreen: revenue, earnings, equity and debt as of fiscal year 2025 (ended December 31, 2025) resp. March 31, 2026; no daily prices. The net loss refers to Hertz Global Holdings; the operating subsidiary The Hertz Corporation reports slightly different figures (partly due to the public warrants at the holding level).
About the Company
Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. operates as a vehicle rental company. It operates through two segments: Americas RAC and International RAC. The company offers vehicle rental services under the Hertz, Dollar, and Thrifty brands from company-operated, licensee, and franchisee locations in the United States, Africa, Asia, Australia, Canada, the Caribbean, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, and New Zealand. It also sells vehicles and value-added services. The company was founded in 1918 and is headquartered in Estero, Florida.
| Employees | 26,000 |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Estero, FL |
| Website | hertz.com |
| IPO Date | 1. Jul 2021 |
| Next Earnings | 6. Aug 2026 |
Management
| Name | Title | Birth Year |
|---|---|---|
| Wayne Gilbert West | CEO & Director | 1961 |
| Scott M. Haralson | Executive VP & CFO | 1973 |
| Michael S. Moore | COO & EVP | 1966 |
| Christopher G. Berg | Executive VP & Chief Administrative Officer | 1979 |
| Sandeep Dube | Executive VP & Chief Commercial Officer | 1976 |
| Mark Kosman | Senior VP & Chief Accounting Officer | 1965 |
| Piero Bussani | EVP, Chief Legal Officer & Corporate Secretary | 1965 |
| Lauren Fritts | Senior VP & Chief Communications Officer | 1983 |
| Jyoti Chopra | Executive Vice President & Chief Human Resources Officer | 1964 |
| Gregory A. May | Executive Vice President of Fleet Management | – |
Executives per the latest required filings; titles kept in their original language. Source: fundamental data.
Chart
Interactive price chart (TradingView).
Data as of: July 31, 2026 · Source: fundamental data & SEC filings (annual and quarterly reports, 10-K/10-Q)
Note: pure fact-based analysis, not investment advice and not a solicitation to buy or sell. All figures without guarantee.