“I will be judged on my physicality, whether in attack or defence, with the size that I am,” he said.
“It’s how well I can get over the gain line or stop it on the other side of the ball, but I’d like to think I can do a bit more than that.
“We are so expansive at Gloucester and you end up getting a lot of opportunities. That’s really exciting because you know there will be chances, you just have to be one of the players that works hard enough to get on the end of it.”
Investors were excited by the potential from the recently announced Hertz and Amazon deal.
Hertz Global (HTZ -2.01%) and Amazon (AMZN -1.55%) recently announced a deal in which the former will sell used cars on the latter’s website. Investors clearly believe the deal will help Hertz’s business. They sent the share price up 12.5%, from $5.20 to $5.85, from Aug. 19 through Aug. 27.
What has investors so excited? And, more importantly, is the deal a long-term value-creating opportunity for Hertz? It’s time to look closer at the deal and Hertz’s fundamentals.
Image source: Getty Images.
Deal details
Hertz will list its used vehicles for sale on the Amazon Autos website. However, it’s only a test right now, and it’s being rolled out in the metro areas of Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, and Seattle. Car buyers can go on the site and browse used vehicles to purchase. Once they find something and complete the purchase, the new car owner can pick up the vehicle at various Hertz locations.
The benefits to Amazon Auto, which launched less than a year ago, are clear. The site previously offered car buyers with limited options. Under this arrangement, Amazon will greatly expand the number of listings across many more brands.
How does Hertz benefit?
If car buyers are willing to shop online for used cars, they’ll get an easier and more convenient process with a broad selection of automobiles. That could expand Hertz’s car sales.
Currently, Hertz sells its rental fleet cars through company-operated U.S. retail locations. This also produces other revenue, such as from selling warranties and providing financing. It’s unclear how many used vehicles Hertz sells, however. The company has mentioned that it sells thousands, but that makes it challenging to pinpoint the impact on Hertz’s cash flow.
Still, if the arrangement with Amazon proves mutually beneficial, Hertz will be able to scale the used car business and diversify its revenue stream. It’s also a step toward executing CEO Gil West’s plan to expand its retail business and raise awareness of the Hertz used car brand
Should you buy Hertz’s stock?
Hertz operates two segments: Americas RAC and international RAC. Each division rents vehicles and sells services like insurance and satellite radio. Right now, Hertz’s core rental business has been struggling, with shrinking sales and declining profitability. The company’s total second-quarter revenue dropped 7% to $2.2 billion, and it lost $104 million after adjusting for certain items.
It seems challenging to expand into other areas while its core rental business has struggled. Still, if Hertz can pull it off, shareholders could see a lot of upside based on the company’s valuation. You can use the price-to-sales (P/S) multiple rather than the more traditional price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio, since the company doesn’t report a profit. Hertz’s share price zoomed up 74% in the past year, and the P/S ratio doubled in the last year, but remains low at 0.2. Small capitalization stocks, as measured by the Russell 2000 index, trade at about a P/S ratio of over 1.
However, while the deal with Amazon may prove advantageous, it’s only in the test phase. Hence, long-term investors may wish to hold off, at least until results from the test markets have come in. You’ll know whether it’s going well if Amazon and Hertz decide to expand the program.
Imogen Farmer was taken shopping in London as a reward for her A-level grades last year
Hundreds of thousands of GCSE students are nervously waiting for their results this week – and for some, a shiny, often expensive reward might be at stake.
Ahead of results day on Thursday, BBC News has spoken to students and parents about whether the promise of jewellery, gifts or cash for grades can actually motivate teens to do better in their exams.
Imogen Farmer, from Essex, was taken with her twin sister to London by their parents after they got their A-level results last year and given some money to spend as a reward.
“I bought Vivienne Westwood jewellery and then they took us to quite a fancy restaurant that we’d always wanted to go to,” Imogen says.
“But I think I knew in the back of my head if I did well or even if I didn’t do well, I’m sure our parents would have taken us out anyway for working hard.”
Imogen doesn’t think the reward would have made a difference to the amount she studied as she was always “quite ambitious” – and her parents didn’t mention it until after her exams were over.
Jess Cooper, from Birmingham, jokes that her reward was “not getting kicked out of the house”.
“Good grades were a reflection of how hard you tried at school,” she says.
“My parents are very proud of me and tell me all the time. I’m very working class, we have the grit and we try our hardest.”
Both Imogen and Jess both say some students in their classes were offered money for each top grade they achieved – while others were even promised “first cars” if they got the results they needed.
Jess Cooper
Student Jess Cooper believes for those that don’t like school, rewards could make them more motivated
Some parents believe the offer of a reward or financial incentive can help with motivation.
Leon Smith, from Surrey, has given his children a £50 reward for passing their exams, saying it helps them get into the right mindset beforehand.
“It means that, when they revise, they have the motivation and they will spend an extra hour looking at their books rather than playing video games”, the father-of-six explains.
He says his son Isiah, who has just finished Year 6 and took his Sats earlier this year, was particularly motivated to do well after watching his older sister Reah receive the £50 prize the year before.
“It gives them some form of incentive and the ability to work towards something,” Leon says.
He now plans to offer rewards for his children at GCSE and A-levels too.
Leon Smith
Leon Smith plans to offer a financial reward to his children at GCSE and A-levels to help their motivation
Mum-of-two Elaine Dean, from Manchester, says the promise she made of cash-for-grades ended up costing her “more than anticipated”.
The former primary school teacher decided to give her son Zach between £5 and £15 based on each grade for his GCSE exams two years ago, but she says she was really rewarding his effort.
“You don’t want to build up too much pressure on them, praise and parental involvement throughout their school years is far more important,” she says.
Zach received his A-level exam results on Thursday.
“I think his reward is going to be a city break with his brother but he hasn’t decided yet.”
Do rewards for good grades work?
Experts say the effectiveness of rewards very much depends on the student and their relationship with learning.
Rewarding effort rather than grades can be a far more long-term and sustainable strategy for parents, according to psychologist Natasha Tiwari.
“Cash or big-ticket treats can work in the short term,” she says, but they also risk making students think of achievements as “transactional”.
She believes a special day out, or being allowed to redecorate their bedroom or host some family or friends can be a far more powerful reward than “cash in an envelope”.
Different rewards – or none at all – can create tension within friendship groups too, she says.
“There is a distinction to be made between a reward for good grades and a treat to acknowledge their effort,” says Manny Botwe, president of the Association of School and College Leaders.
Secondary school head Manny says he is sceptical of the long-term benefits of trying to reward performance.
“I worry about the youngsters who don’t get good results, it’s ‘deal or no deal’,” he says.
“My advice for parents would be not to make their children feel their value is directly related to the grades they get. From very early on, I like to emphasis the intrinsic value of education.
UK Foreign Secretary Lammy, Home Secretary Cooper call on China to stop targeting opposition voices living in Britain.
The United Kingdom has condemned Hong Kong authorities for offering payment in exchange for assisting in the arrest of pro-democracy activists living in Britain, even as the British government begins the process of reinstating an extradition deal with the autonomous Chinese city.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper issued a joint statement on Friday shortly after Hong Kong announced cash rewards for information leading to the arrest of 19 pro-democracy activists based abroad, including in Britain, who are accused of violating the strict national security law imposed by Beijing in 2020.
In their statement, Lammy and Cooper called on China to stop targeting opposition voices in Britain.
“The Hong Kong Police Force’s issuing of further arrest warrants and bounties on individuals living in the UK is another example of transnational repression,” their statement read.
The bounties range from 200,000 to one million Hong Kong dollars (about $25,000-$125,000), depending on the individual the Hong Kong authorities seek to arrest.
This is the fourth time Hong Kong authorities have made reward offers, which have drawn strong criticism from Western countries, to which China, in turn, has denounced as “interference”.
In their statement, the two British ministers said that “this Government will continue to stand with the people of Hong Kong, including those who have made the [United Kingdom] their home. We take the protection of their rights, freedoms, and safety very seriously”.
But a recent proposal by the British government to reform extradition rules has prompted serious concerns, with some fearing it could pave the way for a resumption of extraditions to Hong Kong, which have been suspended since the 2020 national security law was enacted.
On Friday, Al Jazeera reported that the UK Home Office applied to Parliament to make changes to the country’s legislation regarding extradition on July 17, followed by a letter to Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp the next day.
“It is in our national interest to have effective extradition relationships to prevent criminals from evading justice and the UK becoming a haven for criminals,” the July 18 letter from Security Minister Dan Jarvis said.
The Home Office also plans to restore an extradition framework with Chile and Zimbabwe, according to the letter, which was shared on X by Conservative MP Alicia Kearns.
Cases for Hong Kong and Zimbabwe would both be considered on a “case-by-case basis”, Jarvis said.
About 150,000 Hong Kong nationals migrated to the UK under a special visa scheme introduced in 2021.
An antigovernment protester shelters behind an umbrella as he attends a rally outside the Legislative Council building in Hong Kong in September 2019 [File: Jorge Silva/Reuters]
In 2024, legislators in Hong Kong approved a new national security law – referred to as Article 23 – that gave the government new powers to crack down on all forms of dissent on the grounds of alleged treason, espionage, sedition and external interference in Hong Kong’s internal affairs. Since then, Hong Kong has been offering bounties for the arrest of activists who have fled the city while facing charges related to the pro-democracy protests.
Hong Kong, a former British colony, is a particular sticking point for the UK due to its historical relationship and the sharp decline in political freedoms in Hong Kong since China imposed controversial national security legislation in 2020.
The former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997 with the guarantee of a high degree of autonomy, including freedom of speech, under a “one country, two systems” formula.
