Avis Budget Group Narrows Loss vs 2024 After EV Write-Down as It Sets Up 2026

Avis Budget Group reported results for the fourth quarter and full-year 2025. Revenue was $2.7 billion, basically flat versus $2.71 billion in the fourth quarter of 2024. The key change is the bottom line: the fourth quarter net loss improved to $856 million from a $1.958 billion loss a year earlier. That is still a loss, but it is a much smaller one than last year’s very high write-down quarter. Adjusted EBITDA moved to $5 million from a $101 million loss in the fourth quarter of 2024, which signals that operating performance improved even though demand metrics softened.

How good or bad are the numbers vs last year

The year-over-year comparison is mixed, but clearer when you separate “business performance” from “one-time fleet charges.” On the positive side, the company cut its full-year net loss to $995 million from $1.821 billion in 2024, and raised full-year Adjusted EBITDA to $748 million from $628 million. That points to a better earnings base than 2024. On the negative side, full-year revenue slipped to $11.7 billion from $11.789 billion in 2024, so growth did not drive the improvement. In short, results look “better” mainly because 2024 included a much larger fleet reset, while 2025 still had meaningful fleet-related pain.

What drove the change: 2025 EV write-down vs 2024 fleet write-down

In the fourth quarter of 2025, the headline issue was a $518 million impairment and related charges tied to certain US EV rental vehicles. Avis said it reviewed its EV strategy, shortened the vehicles’ useful life, and wrote down their value to fair value. That is a big hit, but it is far smaller than the prior year’s fleet action. In the fourth quarter of  2024, Avis said its results reflected a decision to accelerate fleet rotations in the Americas, which led to a one-time non-cash impairment of $2.3 billion, plus $180 million of other non-cash-related charges. Compared with last year, the fourth quarter of 2025 was still challenging, but the “accounting shock” was much lower.

What this means for travel

For travelers, the big story is fleet discipline and availability. In the fourth quarter of 2025, Avis said revenue per day (excluding FX) fell 2 percent and rental days fell 1 percent versus the same quarter of 2024—so demand and pricing were slightly weaker. But profitability improved: Americas Adjusted EBITDA was $1 million (vs a $63 million loss last year), and International was $21 million (vs an $11 million loss). Avis also highlighted actions that can affect 2026 supply and pricing, including issuing $965 million of asset-backed securities to refinance fleet funding, ending the quarter with $818 million of liquidity and $2.1 billion of fleet funding capacity. The next thing to watch is whether management (CEO Brian Choi) can keep improving earnings without cutting fleets so hard that airport availability tightens too much during peak travel periods.

Avis is also cutting non-core mobility losses—its Zipcar unit is exiting the UK, showing the wider “reset” behind the 2026 plan.

Most recent update

The most recent official update is the earnings release. For the most detailed “apples-to-apples” comparison tables (the fourth quarter and full-year 2024 figures like $2.710 billion fourth quarter revenue, $1.958 billion fourth quarter net loss, and $628 million full-year Adjusted EBITDA), the company’s fourth quarter 2024 press release filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission is the clean reference point.