Good morning, and welcome to the 2026 annual meeting of Avis Budget Group, Inc. This morning, there will be time for questions following the official business portion of the meeting. Shareholders who have entered a valid control number issued by Broadridge Financial Solutions may submit questions at any time during the meeting via the Ask a Question section on the left side of the meeting page. It is my pleasure to introduce Brian J. Choi, Chief Executive Officer of Avis Budget Group. Mr. Choi, I turn the meeting over to you.
Thank you, and good morning. I'm Brian Choi, Chief Executive Officer of Avis Budget Group. It is my pleasure to welcome you to the 2026 Annual Meeting of Stockholders. I'd like to start by thanking the members of our board of directors, many of whom are attending this webcast today. Also present today are members of our senior leadership team, including Daniel Cunha, our Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, and a representative from Deloitte & Touche, the company's independent auditors. I'd also like to thank all of the Avis Budget shareholders who are in attendance today. We appreciate the trust and loyalty you have placed in our company over the years, and on behalf of the board and the entire Avis Budget team, I thank you for your continued commitment and investment in our company.
I'd also like to give a very special thanks and recognition to all the employees of Avis Budget Group. Our global workforce is committed, focused, dedicated, and integral to continuing our success. 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 appropriate questions relating to the company's business. If you are a shareholder who is attending the meeting and logged in with a valid control number, you may ask a question via the Ask a Question section on the left side of the meeting page. Please select the topic of your question from the drop-down menu, type your question in the question box, and click Submit.
Each shareholder may submit two questions, with each question not exceeding 1,000 characters. I would now like to call the meeting to order and introduce Jean Sera, the company's General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, and call upon her to give her report.
Thank you, and welcome, 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 Broadridge that the notice of this meeting, along with the related proxy materials, was mailed commencing on April 2, 2026, to our company shareholders of record as of the close of business on March 25, 2026, our record date. A list of shareholders as of the record date has been available for inspection by shareholders at our principal executive office for the 10 days preceding the meeting. Based on the affidavit from Broadridge, this meeting is duly called with timely and proper notice. Based on information provided by Broadridge, a quorum of shareholders is present to conduct our meeting today.
The company has appointed Jim Raitt of American Election Services as the Inspector of Election for this meeting to tabulate the votes. Mr. Choi will now conduct the formal business of the meeting.
There are four proposals on the agenda to be voted on today, including the election of six directors as nominated by the board, a proposal to ratify the appointment of Deloitte & Touche LLP as the company's registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year 2026, a proposal to approve, on an advisory basis, the compensation of our named executive officers, and a shareholder proposal to approve, on an advisory basis, governance by majority voting and meeting adjournment. Proposal four is a shareholder proposal submitted by John Chevedden, who will be presenting the proposal subject to a three-minute time limit. Operator, will you please open the line for Mr. Chevedden so he can present the proposal?
Hello, this is John Chevedden. Proposal Four, Govern by Majority Vote. Shares request the Board of Directors take each step necessary so that each voting requirement in our charter and bylaws that calls for a greater than simple majority vote be replaced by a requirement for a majority of the votes cast for and against proposals or a simple majority. This proposal topic received impressive 98% support at annual shareholder meetings of Domino's Pizza, FMC Corporation, ConocoPhillips, Masco Corporation, and Power Integrations. The Avis Budget Board of Directors should support this proposal. The Board of Directors' opposition to this proposal is totally aloof.
After several Avis Budget proposals on this very same topic received 94% of the for and against votes at the 2025 Avis Budget annual meeting, the board of directors now claims it's not worth the minimum effort to simply encourage more Avis Budget shareholders to vote so that this overwhelming 94% Avis Budget shareholder support can translate into 80% support from all Avis Budget shares outstanding, and then to proposal adoption. The ultimate responsibility for such an aloof attitude regarding the overwhelming 94% Avis Budget shareholder support for this proposal topic falls on Ms. Lynn Krominga, Chair of the Avis Budget Governance Committee. This aloof attitude is one more reason that Ms. Krominga should not have been given special dispensation to continue to serve on the board, given her age.
The chair of an Avis Budget board committee has no respect for a 94% Avis Budget shareholder vote should be retired promptly. Avis Budget simply needs to adjourn this annual meeting and take a few more votes, and then the 94% shareholder support for this proposal topic will quickly translate into proposal adoption. Please vote yes, govern by majority vote, proposal four.
Okay. The board recommends a vote for all director nominees and Proposals Two and Three, while the board recommends a vote against Proposal Four. We will now pause so that votes can be recorded by any shareholders who have logged in with a valid control number. 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. Okay. The polls for voting at our 2026 annual meeting are now closed. I'll ask the secretary to please provide the results of voting.
Thank you. I can now report that all six director nominees have been elected for a one-year term expiring in 2027, and until his or her successor is duly elected and qualified, or until his or her earlier resignation or removal. Proposal Two, the appointment of Deloitte & Touche LLP as the company's independent registered public accounting firm for fiscal year 2026 has been approved. Proposal Three, the compensation of our named executive officers has been approved by an advisory vote. Proposal Four, the shareholder proposal regarding governance by majority voting and meeting adjournment was not approved. The final voting results will be reported on a Form 8-K to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission within four business days of this meeting. With the conclusion of the official business, the meeting is now adjourned. Mr. Choi will now conduct a question- and- answer session.
During these remarks, the company may make statements about its future results and expectations, which constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the 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. The company may also share certain supplemental financial measures not prepared in accordance with GAAP. Each of these non-GAAP measures is defined and reconciled in our filings made with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and are available on our website.
Okay, great. Seems like we have two questions that have been submitted. I'll take the first one, and our CFO, Daniel, will take the second. The first question is, what percent of car fleet is pure electric now? This is something that we haven't disclosed in the past for competitive reasons. We won't do so now, but as we've said in previous earnings calls, it's a very small portion of our fleet. Daniel?
The second question is in regards to our debt. The question is about whether we still have about $25 billion of debt and how it might be reduced soon, right? The number is approximately correct. We report that in more detail in our Q1 earnings. It's composed of about $19 billion of fleet and $6 billion of corporate debt. The $19 billion on fleet, they're backed by assets, right? We have the vehicles, more assets than we have in debt, and this number oscillates as the fleet grows and declines. As far as the leverage, right, our intention is obviously to reduce the leverage, reach 3x- 4x over time, through a combination of paying down debt, right, we will dedicate a good chunk of our cash flow to do this, and growing EBITDA.
Great. It appears there are no further questions. On behalf of our board of directors and our leadership team, I'd like to thank all of you for taking the time to participate in our 2026 annual meeting of shareholders. This concludes our meeting.
The 2026 annual meeting of Avis Budget Group, Inc. has been concluded. You may now disconnect.