Shares of Avis Budget Group Inc. CAR, -2.83% rallied more than 6% in the extended session Monday after the car-rental company reported third-quarter earnings well above Wall Street expectations and said it expects the “strong” summer demand to carry through the end of the year. Avis earned $1.03 billion, or $21.67 a share, in the quarter, compared with $674 million, or $10.45 a share, in the year-ago period. Adjusted for one-time items, Avis earned $21.67 a share. Sales rose 18% to $3.55 billion, from $3.0 billion a year ago. Analysts polled by FactSet expected adjusted earnings of $14.46 a share on sales of $3.54 billion. “Despite growing concerns around an economic slowdown, our strong summer performance, driven by increased demand in both the commercial and leisure segments, carried through to September,” the company said in a statement. “We remain optimistic this will continue throughout the fall and into the holiday season.” Shares of Avis ended the regular trading day down 2.8%.
