Avis Budget Group, Inc. (CAR) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Good morning, and welcome to the 2022 Annual Meeting of Avis Budget Group, Inc. [Operator Instructions] Now it is my pleasure to introduce Joseph A. Ferraro, President and Chief Executive Officer of Avis Budget Group. Mr. Ferraro, I turn the meeting over to you.

Thank you, and good morning. I'm Joe Ferraro, President and Chief Executive Officer of Avis Budget Group. It's my pleasure to welcome you to the 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders. I would like to start by first thanking our Board of Directors many of whom are joining this webcast today, including Bernardo Hees, Executive Chairman of the Board. I'd also like to thank the members of our senior leadership team, including Brian Choi, our Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer; and all the Avis Budget shareholders who are in attendance today. A representative from Deloitte & Touche, the company's independent auditors, is also present today. We appreciate the trust and loyalty we have placed in our company over the years, and I hope that you and your families are safe and healthy during these extraordinary times. I'd also like to give special thanks and recognition to all the employees of Avis Budget Group. As we continue to navigate through the challenges of the pandemic, including the emergence of multiple variants, our global workforce has remained committed, focused and dedicated. Our people continue to do everything they can to keep our company and our business up and running. Resiliency is paramount and overcoming challenges of every kind, and we are truly grateful for our outstanding efforts and hard work over this past year. We are currently experiencing a welcome return to recovery, seeing a strong demand for travel and achieving record results, and our highest priority remains the safety and well-being of our employees, customers and our partners. To honor that commitment, we have decided to hold our meeting in a virtual-only format again this year. Before we begin the formal portion of the meeting, let me call your attention to the agenda and rules of conduct that have been posted. After we complete the formal business portion of the meeting, there will be a general question-and-answer period for questions related to the company business. If you are a shareholder, who is attending the meeting and logged in with a valid control number issued by Computershare. You may ask a question by clicking on the message icon on your screen. I would now like to call this meeting to order and introduce Jean Sera, the company's Vice President and Senior Vice President, General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer and Corporate Secretary, I call upon her to give her report.

Thank you, and welcome to shareholders. In order to conduct the formal business of the meeting, it is necessary to establish that notice of the meeting was duly and properly mailed and that a quorum is present. We have received an affidavit of mailing signed by Computershare that the notice of this meeting, along with the related proxy materials was mailed on April 8, 2022 to our company's shareholders of record as of the close of business on April 1, 2022, our record date. A list of shareholders as of the record date is available for inspection by shareholders on the meeting website. Based on the affidavit from Computershare, this meeting is duly called with timely and proper notice. Based on the information provided by Computershare, a quorum of shareholders is present to conduct our meeting today. The company has appointed Christopher Coleman of Computershare as the Inspector of Election for this meeting to tabulate the votes. Mr. Ferraro will now conduct the formal business of the meeting.

There are 3 proposals on the agenda to be voted on today. The first proposal is the election of directors as nominated by the Board and set forth in the proxy statement. The second proposal is for the ratification of the appointment of Deloitte & Touche LLP as the company's registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year 2022. The third proposal is for the advisory approval of the compensation of our named executive officers. The Board recommends a vote for all director nominees and proposals. We will now pause so that the votes can be recorded by any shareholders who have logged in with a valid control number issued by Computershare. If you previously voted by proxy and do not want to change your vote, your vote has been recorded, and you do not need to vote today. I'll pause. [Voting]

The polls for voting at our 2022 Annual Meeting are now closed. I will ask the Secretary to please provide the results of voting.

Thank you. I can now report that all director nominees have been elected. The appointment of Deloitte & Touche LLP as the company's independent registered public accounting firm for fiscal year 2022 has been approved, and the compensation of our named executive officers has been approved by an advisory vote. The final voting results will be reported on a Form 8-K to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission within 4 business days of this meeting. With the conclusion of the official business, the meeting is now adjourned. Mr. Ferraro will now conduct a question-and-answer session. Today, the company may make statements about its future results and expectations, which constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Such statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements.

It appears that there are no questions. On behalf of the Board of Directors and our leadership team, I would like to thank all of you for taking the time to participate in our 2022 Annual Meeting of Shareholders. This now concludes our meeting.

The 2022 Annual Meeting of Avis Budget Group, Inc. has been concluded. You may now disconnect, and have a pleasant day.