Hertz Global Holdings, Inc (HTZ) · Nov 5, 2026 · Earnings

Hertz earnings beat on U.S. rentals, but adjusted EPS misses

Miss — Adjusted EPS $0.14 vs ~$0.21 consensus

Hertz earnings show a stronger U.S. rental business and three-year-high EBITDA, but adjusted EPS misses expectations as costs and debt remain heavy.

Hertz is in the middle of a turnaround: repairing the core U.S. rental business through better pricing, fleet discipline and cost control while building franchise, vehicle-services and mobility businesses around it. The prior quarter had already established the direction—stronger pricing, improving commercial metrics and better-than-expected EBITDA—so this report is mainly about whether that improvement is converting into durable earnings and cash flow.

The core U.S. rental business clearly improved, but the headline earnings result did not clear the market bar. Consolidated revenue was essentially in line with the published consensus of roughly $2.62 billion, while adjusted diluted EPS of $0.14 trailed consensus estimates around $0.21-$0.25. That makes this an earnings miss despite better operating performance underneath.

U.S. pricing and operating leverage are the real progress in this release. Americas revenue rose 7%, RPD increased 7%, and segment adjusted EBITDA rose 23% with capacity broadly flat. The company says RPD-to-adjusted DOE spread improved by $1.36 globally and by more than $2.50 in the U.S., which means higher pricing is beginning to translate into better rental economics rather than merely higher reported revenue.

The EBITDA improvement is meaningful, but it is not yet clean earnings conversion. Adjusted Corporate EBITDA reached $233 million, the strongest quarterly result in three years, while adjusted net income remained only $67 million and adjusted EPS stayed at $0.14 despite a much larger diluted share count. Management described this as its strongest quarterly revenue and Adjusted Corporate EBITDA performance in three years.

International operations and cost inflation keep the turnaround from being broad-based. International revenue increased only 1%, RPD and RPU each declined 1%, adjusted EBITDA fell 9%, and depreciation per unit rose 7%. Companywide adjusted DOE per transaction day rose 5%, with collision, maintenance and inflation costs offsetting part of the pricing benefit. The U.S. story is improving, but the global platform is still uneven.

Cash generation remains the main constraint. Adjusted free cash flow was negative $38 million in the quarter and negative $342 million for the first nine months, while total net debt increased to $17.3 billion from $16.2 billion at year-end. Fleet economics were stable—the company reported $285 net depreciation per unit per month, consistent with expectations—but the business is still absorbing heavy fleet investment and financing needs.

The mobility and franchise initiatives are still strategic options, not current earnings drivers. Oro received an $80 million strategic equity investment and has logged more than 10 million miles, while Hertz is expanding franchise and third-party vehicle transportation efforts. Those moves may make the platform more capital-efficient over time, but this quarter's measurable improvement came from U.S. rental pricing and execution, not from the newer businesses.

Bottom line: Hertz is making tangible progress in its core U.S. rental turnaround, with stronger pricing and EBITDA validating the operating strategy. But the earnings miss, weaker International segment, negative free cash flow and rising net debt mean the improvement is not yet a clean or complete financial recovery.

Original filing on SEC EDGAR

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