NEW YORK, Aug. 15, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C., a nationally recognized shareholder rights law firm, is investigating potential claims against Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: HTZ) on behalf of long-term stockholders following a class action complaint that was filed against Hertz on May 31, 2024 with a Class Period from April 27, 2023 to April 24, 2024. Our investigation concerns whether the board of directors of Hertz have breached their fiduciary duties to the company.
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.
In October 2021, Hertz announced that, "[a]s consumer interest in [EVs] skyrockets," the Company made "a significant investment to offer the largest EV rental fleet in North America and one of the largest in the world[,]" including "an initial order of 100,000 Teslas by the end of 2022 and new EV charging infrastructure across the company's global operations." The Company thereafter entered into multiple strategic partnerships with cities and others to promote its EV rental business, and concurrently continued to expand its EV fleet.
The Complaint alleges that, throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company's business, operations, and prospects. Specifically, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) Hertz had downplayed the financial impact of vehicle depreciation, and/or overstated its ability to track and manage vehicle depreciation; (ii) demand for Hertz's EVs was not as strong as Defendants had led investors to believe; (iii) Hertz had too many vehicles, particularly EVs, in its fleet to remain profitable; (iv) as a result of all the foregoing, Hertz was likely to incur significant losses on the disposition of both its ICE vehicles and EVs; (v) all the foregoing was likely to, and did, have a significant negative impact on Hertz's financial results; and (vi) as a result, the Company's public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.
On January 11, 2024, Hertz revealed in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that it would sell approximately 20,000 EVs from its U.S. fleet, or about one-third of its global EV fleet, "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 to their fair values, less related expenses associated with the disposition of the vehicles." Hertz further advised that "Adjusted Corporate EBITDA for the fourth quarter of 2023 will be negatively impacted by the incremental net depreciation expense associated with the EV sales plan, and further burdened by higher depreciation expense in the ordinary course as residual values for vehicles generally fell throughout the quarter greater than previously expected."
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.
On March 15, 2024, Hertz announced that Defendant Stephen M. Scherr ("Scherr") would resign from his roles as the Company's Chief Executive Officer ("CEO") and Chairman of the Board of Directors by the end of the month, and that the Company had appointed Wayne Gilbert West as its new CEO.
Then, 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. In discussing these results, Hertz revealed that vehicle depreciation in the quarter increased $588 million, or $339 on a per-unit basis, primarily driven by deterioration in estimated forward residual values and disposition losses on ICE vehicles compared to gains in the prior-year quarter. The Company also disclosed that, of the $339 per unit increase, $119 was related to EVs held for sale. 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.
If you are a long-term stockholder of Hertz, have information, would like to learn more about these claims, or have any questions concerning this announcement or your rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contact Brandon Walker or Marion Passmore by email at investigations@bespc.com, by telephone at (212) 355-4648, or by filling out this contact form. There is no cost or obligation to you.
About Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C.:
Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C. is a nationally recognized law firm with offices in New York and California. The firm represents individual and institutional investors in commercial, securities, derivative, and other complex litigation in state and federal courts across the country. For more information about the firm, please visit www.bespc.com. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.
Contact Information:
Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C.
Brandon Walker, Esq.
Marion Passmore, Esq.
(212) 355-4648
investigations@bespc.com
www.bespc.com
