On Thursday, shares of Hertz Global experienced a significant decline of 24%, marking what could be their steepest one-day percentage fall in the company’s history.
This drop followed the company’s announcement of a quarterly loss wider than anticipated, underscoring its challenges within the electric vehicle (EV) rental sector.
Hertz has been streamlining its operations in response to subdued demand, including plans to offload an additional 10,000 EVs, bringing the total planned sales for the year to 300,000.
Additionally, heightened repair expenses contributed to the company’s increased fleet maintenance costs.
During the quarter, the Estero, Florida-based company incurred a $588 million hit in vehicle depreciation expenses, with $195 million attributed to EVs designated for sale.
Gil West, Hertz’s newly appointed CEO, commented on the quarter’s performance, stating, “Fleet and direct operating costs weighed on this quarter’s performance.”
Excluding exceptional items, Hertz reported a loss of $1.28 per share, substantially surpassing Wall Street’s projection of a loss of 44 cents per share.
In response to Hertz’s downturn, peer company Avis Budget Group also experienced a 7% decline in its shares. Both Hertz and Avis have seen their market values halved over this year.
