Avis Budget Group expects business travel to pick up toward the end of the third quarter and the beginning of the fourth, according to CEO Joseph Ferraro, speaking on a second quarter earnings call. He said the company has seen certain groups traveling commercially, including logistics companies, defense contracting, entertainment and health care — “and maybe a little bit of technology.” He said further recovery “will be more predicated on when they get back to the offices wholeheartedly and when they’re allowed to travel.” However, Ferraro also said the second quarter saw the best revenue, best adjusted EBIDTA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) and best margin in Avis’s history. He said management has been consistent in saying that it would come out of the pandemic “a transformed company” and that its focus on cost discipline and operational efficiencies “would position us to take maximum advantage of a rebound in travel.” The most recent results, he said, “prove that this was not just empty rhetoric.” Despite being in the early innings of a travel recovery, he said, “we are already demonstrating the operating leverage that our post-pandemic business is capable of.”