WhereIsAtlas · Car rental
Avis Budget Group
The car-rental giant that weathered decades — and now faces a shifting rental market and falling profits
Active — Avis is a major, still-active car-rental company. Like the wider rental industry, it has faced a shifting market — softening demand, rising fleet costs and changing rental habits — that hit its earnings and sent its stock tumbling. It also faced a consumer-affairs fine over certain fees.
Avis was founded in 1946 and grew into one of the world's largest car-rental companies, becoming the parent of Avis Budget Group, which also owns Budget. For decades it was a staple of travel — renting cars to business travelers and vacationers at airports and offices around the world.
In the mid-2020s, the rental industry faced a shift. After a post-pandemic boom when rental car prices spiked, the market normalized, and a combination of softer demand, higher vehicle depreciation and inflation hit the economics of renting cars. Avis Budget Group reported a massive earnings miss, and its stock tumbled.
Avis also attracted consumer complaints and, in one case, a consumer-affairs fine in Europe over certain fee practices. These pressures reflect a broader challenge facing the rental industry as the economics and habits of car rental change. Avis remains a major, operating business — but the easy days of the rental boom are clearly over.
Quick facts
- Founded
- 1946
- Parent
- Avis Budget Group (also owns Budget)
- The challenge
- Softening demand, rising fleet costs, a shifting market
- Result
- A massive earnings miss; stock tumbled
- Also
- Consumer-affairs fine over certain fees
- Status
- Still a major, operating rental company
- Story angle
- Navigating change, not collapse
Sources
- Avis stock tumbling amid shift in rental trends — MSN / reporting (2026-09-05)
- Avis car rental reviews and complaints — ConsumerAffairs (2026-09-05)
Related: blockbuster · kodak