Cash flow generation remains highly volatile and capital-intensive, evidenced by a $423 million working capital outflow in 2026Q1 and a historical CapEx/Rev ratio that peaked at 165.2% in 2025Q2.
| Metric | TTM | Dec'25 | Dec'24 | Dec'23 | Dec'22 | Dec'21 | Dec'20 | Dec'19 | Dec'18 | Dec'17 | Dec'16 | Dec'15 | Dec'14 | Dec'13 | Dec'12 | Dec'11 | Dec'10 | Dec'09 | Dec'08 | Dec'07 | Dec'06 | Dec'05 | Dec'04 | Dec'03 | Dec'02 | Dec'01 | Dec'00 | Dec'99 | Dec'98 | Dec'97 | Jan'97 |
|---|
| Cash from Operations | 3.11B | 3.3B | 3.52B | 3.83B | 4.71B | 3.49B | 691M | 2.59B | 2.61B | 2.65B | 2.63B | 2.58B | 2.58B | 2.25B | 1.89B | 1.58B | 1.64B | 1.49B | 1.7B | 1.71B | 252M | 3.29B | 5.42B | 7.2B | 1.33B | 2.78B | 1.44B | 3.03B | 620.3M | 1.21B | 260.6M |
| Operating CF Margin % | - | 28.29% | 29.84% | 31.88% | 39.24% | 37.49% | 12.79% | 28.19% | 28.59% | 29.93% | 30.36% | 30.39% | 30.39% | 28.39% | 25.68% | 26.75% | 31.63% | 29.06% | 28.48% | 28.63% | 4.43% | 61.02% | 32.46% | 39.59% | 9.45% | 31.11% | 36.54% | 56.13% | 11.74% | 22.74% | 11.1% |
| Operating CF Growth % | -68.39% | -6.31% | -8.1% | -18.67% | 34.83% | 405.21% | -73.28% | -0.88% | -1.47% | 0.72% | 1.74% | 0.19% | 14.47% | 19.27% | 19.71% | -3.78% | 9.99% | -12.5% | -0.58% | 580.16% | -92.35% | -39.17% | -24.78% | 441.1% | -52.19% | 93.87% | -52.64% | 388.8% | -48.68% | 363.85% | 110.16% |
| Net Income | -667M | -889M | -1.82B | 1.63B | 2.76B | 1.28B | -684M | 302M | 165M | 361M | 163M | 313M | 245M | 16M | 290M | -29M | 54M | -47M | -1.12B | -947M | -451M | 1.34B | 1.82B | 1.47B | 1.08B | 385M | 660M | -55M | 539.6M | 55.4M | 164.1M |
| Depreciation & Amortization | 2.96B | 3.97B | 4.01B | 3.45B | 2.81B | 2.48B | 2.56B | 3.14B | 2.23B | 2.21B | 2.13B | 2.06B | 2.02B | 1.83B | 1.56B | 1.49B | 1.37B | 1.49B | 1.73B | 1.65B | 1.47B | 1.29B | 3.19B | 3.46B | 2.72B | 2.17B | 330M | 1.07B | 1.58B | 2B | 704.3M |
| Stock-Based Compensation | 10M | 0 | 19M | 30M | 25M | 30M | 9M | 22M | 24M | 13M | 27M | 28M | 34M | 24M | 16M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Deferred Taxes | -24M | -24M | -905M | 191M | 682M | 378M | -317M | -103M | 14M | -192M | 51M | 58M | 65M | 37M | 128M | 32M | -20M | -60M | -241M | -57M | -200M | 227M | 502M | 453M | 438M | 402M | -33M | 252M | -110.8M | -42.6M | -36M |
| Other Non-Cash Items | 1.79B | 1.08B | 3.15B | -608M | -814M | -923M | -813M | -866M | 137M | 286M | 327M | 269M | 282M | 451M | 281M | 288M | 52M | 35M | 63M | -38M | -143M | 320M | -9M | 200M | 39M | -193M | -226M | 1B | -54.1M | -70.9M | -900K |
| Working Capital Changes | -953M | -838M | -938M | -867M | -753M | 243M | -65M | 89M | 39M | -26M | -69M | -139M | -26M | -108M | -276M | 31M | -16M | 43M | 17M | -88M | -421M | 115M | -2M | 257M | -3.1B | -128M | 323M | -854M | -912.2M | -317.5M | 68.2M |
| Change in Receivables | 134M | 60M | 51M | -43M | -97M | -143M | 115M | 10M | -44M | -59M | -65M | -42M | -60M | -66M | -65M | 29M | -20M | 0 | 50M | -6M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -74M | 10M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Change in Inventory | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 143M | -115M | -10M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -3.06B | -242M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Change in Payables | 10M | 110M | 63M | -72M | 217M | 414M | -181M | 84M | 48M | 49M | -9M | -79M | -3M | -28M | -28M | 20M | 108M | -19M | -40M | -120M | -87M | 0 | 0 | 0 | -17M | 232M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cash from Investing | -3.85B | -4.98B | -2.75B | -7.35B | -4.3B | -6.31B | 3.18B | -2.75B | -3.43B | -2.2B | -2.15B | -2.83B | -2.81B | -2.23B | -2.07B | -2.37B | -1.6B | 166M | -2.1B | -1.92B | 3.29B | -2.48B | -4.57B | -3.4B | -1.92B | -6.4B | -1.17B | 1.86B | -4.35B | -2.5B | -74.8M |
| Capital Expenditures | -11.46B | -15.27B | -10.06B | -15.46B | -4.13B | -6.08B | 3.26B | -2.68B | -3.17B | -2.13B | -2.15B | -2.45B | -2.39B | -1.64B | -2B | -8.72B | -8.09B | -6.81B | -8.69B | -10.73B | -11.44B | -540M | -469M | -463M | -399M | -349M | -217M | -482M | -3.21B | -182.7M | -59.7M |
| CapEx % of Revenue | 97.47% | 131.08% | 85.35% | 128.73% | 34.44% | 65.34% | 60.31% | 29.19% | 34.77% | 24.13% | 24.8% | 28.78% | 28.18% | 20.69% | 27.23% | 147.86% | 156.07% | 132.8% | 145.24% | 179.2% | 201.14% | 10% | 2.81% | 2.55% | 2.83% | 3.9% | 5.52% | 8.92% | 60.7% | 3.44% | 2.54% |
| Acquisitions | 5.27B | 10.59B | 0 | 8.34B | -6.61B | 4.08B | 8.75B | 10.46B | 9.65B | 9.59B | 10.47B | 9.44B | -416M | -537M | 0 | 7.2B | -2M | 0 | -91M | -11M | 4.05B | -2.09B | -1.75B | -327M | -1.37B | -2.76B | 4M | 3.51B | 314.8M | 117.5M | 0 |
| Investments | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Other Investing | 2.64B | -9M | 7.41B | 6M | 6.57B | -4.12B | -8.82B | -10.45B | -9.77B | 5M | 34M | 3M | 9.25B | 8.82B | 9.13B | -845M | 6.49B | 6.98B | 6.69B | 8.78B | 10.69B | -2.56B | -2.42B | -2.55B | -149M | -3.19B | -897M | -1.22B | 24.6M | -2.5B | -55.9M |
| Cash from Financing | 767M | 1.68B | -781M | 3.51B | -360M | 2.69B | -4.04B | 318M | 667M | -308M | -438M | 115M | 182M | 76M | 250M | 424M | 380M | -1.47B | 463M | 239M | -4.7B | -393M | -1.11B | -3.08B | -1.27B | 4.64B | -483M | -4.79B | 4.69B | 795.7M | 34.4M |
| Debt Issued (Net) | 1.59B | 1.68B | -639M | 4.88B | 2.96B | 4.16B | -3.94B | 385M | 920M | -74M | -6M | 544M | 524M | 166M | 279M | 534M | 451M | -1.39B | 558M | 198M | -4.34B | 490M | -765M | -2.33B | -1.03B | 4.17B | -1.17B | -494M | 2.21B | 945.8M | -4M |
| Equity Issued (Net) | -1M | -7M | -70M | -951M | -3.33B | -1.46B | -119M | -67M | -216M | -210M | -398M | -436M | -297M | -48M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -33M | 50M | -197M | -1.06B | 107M | -644M | -176M | 623M | 222M | -2.74B | -87M | -39.1M | 42.8M |
| Dividends Paid | 0 | 0 | 0 | -355M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -113M | -423M | -333M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -6.6M | -2.8M |
| Share Repurchases | -1M | -7M | -70M | -951M | -3.33B | -1.46B | -119M | -67M | -216M | -210M | -387M | -393M | -297M | -48M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -33M | 0 | -243M | -1.35B | -1.32B | -1.09B | -288M | -254M | -381M | -2.86B | -258M | -171.3M | 0 |
| Other Financing | -822M | 0 | -72M | -66M | 6M | -11M | 15M | 0 | -37M | -24M | 11M | -36M | -45M | -42M | -29M | -110M | -71M | -72M | -62M | -9M | -53M | -8M | -39M | -111M | -64M | -153M | 466M | -1.56B | 2.56B | 0 | -1.6M |
| Net Change in Cash | 121M | 81M | -47M | 2M | 16M | -139M | -135M | 165M | -166M | 181M | 38M | -172M | -69M | 87M | 72M | -377M | 429M | 224M | 44M | 42M | -374M | 368M | -248M | 714M | -1.82B | 1.03B | -201M | 155M | 941.7M | -484.4M | 220.2M |
| Free Cash Flow | 1.95B | -11.98B | -6.54B | -11.63B | 576M | -2.59B | 3.95B | -91M | -563M | 513M | 482M | 137M | 188M | 611M | -114M | -7.15B | -6.45B | -5.32B | -6.99B | -9.01B | -11.19B | 2.75B | 4.95B | 6.74B | 932M | 2.44B | 1.22B | 2.55B | -2.59B | 1.03B | 200.9M |
| FCF Margin % | 16.59% | -102.8% | -55.51% | -96.85% | 4.8% | -27.85% | 73.1% | -0.99% | -6.17% | 5.8% | 5.57% | 1.61% | 2.22% | 7.7% | -1.55% | -121.12% | -124.44% | -103.74% | -116.76% | -150.57% | -196.71% | 51.02% | 29.65% | 37.04% | 6.62% | 27.21% | 31.02% | 47.2% | -48.96% | 19.31% | 8.56% |
| FCF Growth % | 131.46% | -83.04% | 43.73% | -2119.1% | 122.21% | -165.69% | 4439.56% | 83.84% | -209.75% | 6.43% | 251.82% | -27.13% | -69.23% | 635.96% | 98.4% | -10.76% | -21.21% | 23.82% | 22.48% | 19.46% | -506.21% | -44.32% | -26.58% | 623.07% | -61.72% | 99.75% | -52.2% | 198.57% | -352.11% | 410.75% | 114.18% |
| FCF per Share | 55.24 | -340.28 | -184.34 | -299.74 | 11.90 | -39.24 | 56.01 | -1.20 | -7.03 | 6.05 | 5.17 | 1.30 | 1.70 | 5.48 | -0.94 | -67.93 | -50.92 | -52.08 | -68.57 | -87.42 | -111.24 | 26.49 | 47.99 | 64.98 | 8.34 | 25.93 | 16.40 | 33.95 | -29.22 | 12.76 | 5.02 |
| FCF Conversion (FCF/Net Income) | -2.92x | -3.71x | -1.93x | 2.35x | 1.70x | 2.72x | -1.01x | 8.56x | 15.81x | 7.34x | 16.13x | 8.26x | 10.53x | 140.81x | 6.51x | -54.41x | 30.37x | -31.72x | -1.52x | -1.87x | -0.13x | 2.46x | 2.60x | 6.15x | 1.57x | 7.23x | 2.39x | -55.13x | 1.15x | 21.82x | 1.59x |
| Interest Paid | 0 | 0 | 1.27B | 988M | 543M | 509M | 503M | 0 | 497M | 460M | 461M | 454M | 474M | 457M | 552M | 465M | 483M | 461M | 468M | 461M | 996M | 576M | 584M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Taxes Paid | 0 | 0 | 50M | 169M | 192M | 75M | 44M | 0 | 53M | 58M | 60M | 29M | 45M | 58M | 65M | 51M | 142M | 20M | 15M | 26M | 275M | 188M | 82M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Fleet depreciation and debt
As reported in financial statements, the OCF/NI ratio has exhibited extreme volatility, reaching a peak of 209.25 in 2025Q2, which suggests that net income is currently a poor proxy for the company's actual ability to generate cash from its core rental operations.
The massive divergence between net income and operating cash flow indicates that non-cash charges and working capital swings are heavily distorting reported profitability. Investors should monitor this gap closely, as it implies that the company's accounting earnings may be significantly decoupled from its underlying liquidity generation.
Based on the provided quarterly data, FCF margins have remained largely negative, bottoming out at -137.7% in 2025Q2, which highlights the intense capital requirements necessary to maintain the fleet despite the company's efforts to manage its operational cost structure.
The persistent inability to generate positive free cash flow suggests that the business model is currently consuming more capital than it produces. This trajectory warrants further investigation into whether the current fleet investment cycle is sustainable without continued reliance on external financing.
According to recent SEC filings, the company's CapEx/Rev ratio has frequently exceeded 100%, peaking at 165.2% in 2025Q2, reflecting a highly capital-intensive business model that requires constant, massive reinvestment to keep the rental fleet competitive and operational.
This level of capital intensity suggests that the company is essentially a pass-through for vehicle manufacturers, with little room for operational efficiency to offset the high cost of fleet turnover. The reliance on such heavy capital expenditure may indicate that the company is vulnerable to any disruption in vehicle supply or financing markets.
As indicated by the quarterly cash flow statements, working capital changes have been consistently negative, with a significant outflow of $423 million in 2026Q1, suggesting that the company is struggling to optimize its cash conversion cycle amidst shifting demand.
The recurring negative working capital impact appears to be a structural drag on cash flow, potentially driven by the timing of fleet-related payables and inventory management. This trend suggests that the company may be facing increased pressure to fund its operations through debt rather than internal cash generation.
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying CAR stock.
Avis Budget Group, Inc. (CAR) generated $3.30B in net cash from operating activities in 2025. This reflects the cash generated directly from core business operations.
Avis Budget Group, Inc. (CAR) reported negative free cash flow of $11.98B in 2025, indicating capital requirements exceeded cash from operations.
Avis Budget Group, Inc. (CAR) spent $15.27B on capital expenditures in 2025. CapEx represents the cash invested in physical assets like property, plant, and equipment to maintain or grow the business.
In 2025, Avis Budget Group, Inc. (CAR) spent $7.0M on share repurchases. This shows the company's commitment to returning capital to its equity investors.