Remember Hertz? The car rental company that went absolutely bonkers buying 100,000 Teslas and then watched their stock crater harder than a rental car hitting a pothole? Well, plot twist: they just had their best day in forever, shooting up 41% after finally figuring out how to run a business again.
Let’s rewind for a second. Hertz stock has been in what we’ll politely call “the toilet” for the past few years. We’re talking penny stock territory – under $3 per share. Ouch. The company made this massive bet on electric vehicles, loading up their fleet with Teslas like they were collecting Pokemon cards. Spoiler alert: it didn’t work out.
But here’s where it gets interesting. In April, hedge fund legend Bill Ackman (yes, that Bill Ackman) decided to throw some money at this dumpster fire. The stock briefly jumped to over $8, then promptly fell back down to around $5 because, well, buying EVs in bulk doesn’t magically fix your business model.
Fast forward to this week, and Hertz just dropped their Q3 earnings. And holy moly, they actually made money. Like, real profit. For the first time in two years.
Here’s the breakdown that made Wall Street do a double-take:
- Revenue: $2.5 billion (down 4% but beat expectations)
- Net income: $184 million (compared to losing $1.3 billion last year)
- Earnings per share: 42 cents (versus losing $4.24 per share in 2024)
So what changed? Hertz finally admitted their EV experiment was like bringing a Tesla to a gas fight. They dumped most of those electric cars and went back to good old-fashioned gas guzzlers that people actually want to rent. Revolutionary stuff, right?
They call it their “Buy Right, Hold Right, Sell Right” strategy, which sounds like corporate speak for “let’s try not to screw this up again.” But hey, it’s working. They slashed expenses from $4.2 billion to $2.2 billion year-over-year. That’s not just cutting costs – that’s performing financial surgery with a chainsaw.
CEO Gil West is feeling pretty good about himself, talking about “rebuilding foundations” and “creating platforms for growth.” The company is now targeting $1 billion in EBITDA by 2027, which would be impressive considering they’re currently at $190 million. That’s like saying you’re going to bench press 500 pounds when you can barely lift 100, but stranger things have happened.
Now, before you go YOLO-ing into Hertz stock, remember this: a 41% jump in one day is exciting, but it’s also the kind of volatility that can give you whiplash. This is still a company that nearly went bankrupt not too long ago. They’re in turnaround mode, which means they’re either going to the moon or back to penny stock land.
The smart money says wait for the dust to settle. Let’s see if they can string together a few more profitable quarters before we start calling this a comeback story. But credit where it’s due – sometimes admitting you were wrong and changing course is exactly what a company needs to do.
Who knows? Maybe Hertz will be the comeback story of 2026. Or maybe they’ll find another way to spectacularly mess things up. Either way, it’ll be entertaining to watch.