Overview

A class action lawsuit has been filed against Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. (“Hertz” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: HTZ) and certain of the Company’s current and former senior executive officers alleging violations of the federal securities laws.  The Hertz class action lawsuit is brought on behalf of all persons and entities who purchased or otherwise acquired Hertz securities between April 27, 2023, and April 24, 2024, both dates inclusive (the “Class Period”).  Investors have until July 30, 2024, to seek appointment as lead plaintiff of the Hertz class action lawsuit.

Hertz is a vehicle rental company that offers both internal combustion engine (“ICE”) vehicle and electric vehicle (“EV”) rental services from Company-operated, licensee, and franchisee locations across various countries.  The Company also sells vehicles and value-added services.  With hundreds of thousands of vehicles in its rental fleet, accurately measuring vehicle depreciation – i.e., the decrease in value of the various vehicles in its fleet over time – is critical to Hertz’s profitability.

The Hertz class action lawsuit alleges that on January 11, 2024, Hertz revealed in an U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing that it would sell approximately 20,000 EVs from its U.S. fleet, or about one-third of its global EV fleet in order to better balance supply against expected demand of EVs.  According to the Company, this would result in the recognition, during the fourth quarter of 2023, of approximately $245 million of incremental net depreciation expense related to the sale, which represents the write down of the EVs’ carrying values as of December 31, 2023.  On this news, Hertz’s stock price fell $0.40 per share, or 4.28%, to close at $8.95 per share on January 11, 2024.

Moreover, on April 25, 2024, Hertz issued a press release announcing its first quarter 2024 results.  Among other items, Hertz reported adjusted diluted earnings-per-share (“EPS”) of -$1.28 for the quarter, well short of the consensus estimate of -$0.43, and far worse than the adjusted diluted EPS of $0.39 that the Company had achieved in the same period the year prior.  Moreover, Hertz reported a $195 million charge to vehicle depreciation to write down EVs held for sale that were remaining in inventory at quarter-end to fair value and to recognize the disposition losses on EVs sold in the period.  On this news, Hertz’s stock price fell $1.12 per share, or 19.31%, to close at $4.68 per share on April 25, 2024.

As alleged in the Hertz class action lawsuit, Defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company’s business, operations, and prospects throughout the Class Period.  Specifically, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) Hertz had downplayed the financial impact of vehicle depreciation, and/or overstated its ability to track and manage vehicle depreciation; (2) demand for Hertz’s EVs was not as strong as Defendants had led investors to believe; (3) Hertz had too many vehicles, particularly EVs, in its fleet to remain profitable; (4) as a result of all the foregoing, Hertz was likely to incur significant losses on the disposition of both its ICE vehicles and EVs; (5) all the foregoing was likely to, and did, have a significant negative impact on Hertz’s financial results; and (6) as a result, the Company’s public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.

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If you purchased or otherwise acquired Hertz securities between April 27, 2023, and April 24, 2024, both dates inclusive, and you wish to serve as lead plaintiff in this lawsuit, we encourage you to submit your information to DiCello Levitt LLP via the form on this page. 

You can also contact DiCello Levitt partner Brian O’Mara by calling (888) 287-9005 or at investors@dicellolevitt.com. 

The deadline to apply to the Court to serve as a lead plaintiff in the Hertz lawsuit is July 30, 2024.