HERTZ GL. HOLD. INC. NEW

S&P Global Ratings lowers Hertz’s corporate rating from B- to CCC+, citing heightened refinancing risks and an unsustainable capital structure. The agency also cut ratings on senior and subordinated secured claims; the outlook remains negative. Hertz has about $2.8 billion of liabilities maturing in 2028 and a further $2.5 billion in 2029, had roughly $1 billion of liquidity at the end of Q2 2026 and expects year‑end cash balances of $1.0–1.4 billion. S&P warns of further downgrades if refinancing difficulties occur; a switch of the outlook to “stable” would be possible with successful refinancing, stronger liquidity and improved metrics. » More on de.investing.com

Hertz reported Q2/2026 revenue of $2.4 billion, adjusted loss per share of $0.11 (better than the expected -$0.24) and adjusted EBITDA of $81 million. The stock climbed sharply in a few days, partly driven by a high short interest of around 60 percent, which encouraged short-covering and increased demand from retail traders. Operationally there are improvements from a younger vehicle fleet, but the balance sheet remains strained with negative shareholders’ equity of about $459 million and total debt of around $17.05 billion, so the price rise could be mainly technical. » More on finanzen.net

Options trading volume on Hertz Global Holdings reached 587,348 contracts, of which 490,664 were calls and 96,684 were puts. The most active contracts were calls expiring in August 2026 with strike prices of $2.50 and $2.00. Hertz shares rose 12.1% on Friday to $2.27, the three-month volatility climbed to 157.17% and the three-month skew fell to -4.29 percentage points. » More on de.investing.com