Consumer Nation
- Six Pack: Beer Buzz of the Week
- Time for Flash Sales to Adapt or Die
- What Flash Sites Are Suggesting About Consumers
- Building a Beer Brand, One 'Like' at a Time
- The Six Pack: Beer Buzz of the Week
- Wal-Mart's Strong Earnings Overshadow Bribery Allegations
- Lesson for JCPenney: Consumers Are Addicted to Deals
- Fuel Prices Trump Unemployment as Risk to Retailers: Study
- The Hot Beauty Product You Never Heard Of
- The Six Pack: Beer Buzz of the Week
RSS FEED
MOST SHARED
- Public Pensions Faulted for Bets on Rosy Returns
- Greece to Leave Euro Zone on June 18: Wealth Manager
- Banks Recapitalization Is a 'Necessary Evil': Strategist
- Winemaking Lures the Wealthy, But Not With Profits
- Italy 2-Year Borrowing Costs at Peak Since December
- Euro Rallies as Greece's Pro-Bailout Parties Gain Favor
- European Firms Plan for Greek Unrest and Euro Exit
- Will the Euro Misery Give Rise to Another Soros?
- Olive Oil Price Dip Adds to European Woes
- Europe’s Stronger Powers Must Reveal Plans: Ex-BoE Official
- A New Look at the ‘New Poor’
- Six Pack: Beer Buzz of the Week
- Greek Exit Could Trigger 50% Fall in Euro Stocks: Analyst
- Under Pressure, FHA Skews to Wealthier Home Buyers
- Big Stock Upside for Hudson City Deal: Analyst
- 5 High-Yield Stocks Ready to Boost Dividends
- Yoshikami: Four Things You Need to Know About Gold Now
- Steinbock: The Euro Zone Endgame Begins
- Option Bulls Take Another Shot on Idenix
- European Companies Plan for Greek Unrest and Euro Exit
- Public Pensions Faulted for Bets on Rosy Returns
- Will the Euro Misery Give Rise to Another Soros?
- Greece to Leave Euro Zone on June 18: Wealth Manager
- Italy 2-Year Borrowing Costs at Peak Since December
- Euro Bond Wins Supporters, but Details Remain Vague
- German, UK Bond Yields Will Go Even Lower
- Labor Board Member Resigns Over Leak to GOP Allies
- Banks Recapitalization Is a 'Necessary Evil': Strategist
Hertz CEO: We're Buying Cars...Lots of Cars
Text Size 
News Editor
Hertz Global Holdings is making a big bet on the consumer.
 |
Hertz [HTZ
Loading...
()
] has purchased 16,000 vehicles for about $350 million in the past six to eight weeks in the U.S. The company also is taking similar steps in Europe.
Frissora says he's taking advantage of excess dealer inventory, and he is not avoiding vehicles manufactured by General Motors [GMGMQ
Loading...
()
] or Chrysler Group, which are in the process of restructuring under bankruptcy protection.
Frissora's comments follow an upbeat earnings forecast. The car rental company raised its forecast for second-quarter earnings, saying demand for rental cars has stabilized and the outlook for summer reservations has improved.
In addition to a more optimistic view of summer travel, the company has been watching its costs very closely. It's worth noting that the company's revenue forecast was below analysts' views. Hertz expects earnings in the second quarter to be in the range of 9 cents to 10 cents a share, on revenue of between $1.7 billion and $1.75 billion.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, on average, expected Hertz to earn 1 cent a share on revenue of $1.89 million in the second quarter.
For the year, Hertz is expecting earnings to be in the range of 12 cents to 15 cents, compared with analysts' views for 23-cent loss.
The forecast from Hertz is notable too. The company had suspended earnings forecasts for the past eight months due to the uncertain conditions.
The cost controls the company put in place had resulted in a smaller fleet of vehicles. Hertz's U.S. fleet is 15 percent smaller than it was a year ago, while the European fleet is about 17 percent smaller.
The improvement in reservations at Hertz is a new development. Reservations are up for nine straight weeks in the U.S. and seven in Europe.
Much of the demand is coming from leisure travelers who are being attracted by the steep discounts being offered by those in the travel industry.
"Not only is there just improved demand because people are staying local," Fissora says. "There's incentives out there that consumers have never seen before, causing people, I think, in some cases, to initiate vacations that they might not normally would have even taken."
(CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated Hertz's second-quarter revenue forecast. The correct estimate is between $1.7 billion and $1.75 billion.)
More from Consumer Nation:
- Darden's Diet: Don't Bite Into Your Own Profits
- More Signs of A Stressed Consumer? Digital Coupon Use Surges
- Gas Prices Have Some Rethinking July 4 Plans
- Attention Shoppers: Start Spending...In A Bit
Questions? Comments? Email us at
Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes
