United Rentals Announces Record Third Quarter Results and Raises Full-Year 2026 Guidance

STAMFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE: URI) today announced record financial results for the third quarter of 2026, and raised its 2026 full-year guidance.

Third Quarter 2026 Highlights

• Total revenue of $4.893 billion, including rental revenue¹ of $4.316 billion.
• Net income of $920 million, at a margin² of 18.8%. GAAP diluted earnings per share (“EPS”) of $14.77, and adjusted EPS³ of $15.55.
• Adjusted EBITDA³ of $2.331 billion, at a margin² of 47.6%.
• Year-over-year, fleet productivity⁴ increased 6.5%.
• Year-to-date net cash provided by operating activities of $4.934 billion; free cash flow³ of $1.421 billion, including gross payments for purchases of rental equipment of $4.339 billion.
• Year-to-date gross rental capital expenditures of $4.746 billion.
• Returned $1.496 billion to shareholders year-to-date, comprised of $1.125 billion via share repurchases and $371 million via dividends paid.
• Net leverage ratio⁵ of 1.8x, with total liquidity⁵ of $2.615 billion, at September 30, 2026.

CEO Comment

Matthew Flannery, chief executive officer of United Rentals, said, “I’m very pleased with our third-quarter results, which are a testament to our strategy, our team’s dedication to our customers, and the unmatched breadth and scale of our premier offering. We continued to lean into growth across both our general rentals and specialty businesses with the momentum from the first half of the year carrying through the quarter.”

Flannery continued, “As we look ahead, we believe we are uniquely positioned to outperform the industry through our broad footprint, unmatched one-stop-shop offering, exceptional levels of service, leading technology and unwavering commitment to safety. Our raised guidance reflects this, and is supported by our customers’ confidence, their backlogs, and the momentum we see across large projects. I am very proud of the company we continue to build, underpinned by a well-proven strategy of supporting our customers while also driving profitable growth and strong through-cycle free cash flow generation. Combined with prudent capital allocation, this will continue to deliver compelling long-term value for our shareholders.”

2026 Outlook

The company has raised its 2026 outlook, as reflected below.

Summary of Third Quarter 2026 Financial Results

• Rental revenue increased 17.8% year-over-year, to a quarterly record of $4.316 billion, primarily due to a 7.9% increase in average original equipment at cost (“OEC”), strong demand as reflected in a 6.5% increase in fleet productivity, and a 4.9% contribution from ancillary and re-rent revenue.
• Used equipment sales in the quarter increased 4.5% year-over-year. Used equipment sales generated $348 million of proceeds at a GAAP gross margin of 44.8% and an adjusted gross margin⁸ of 46.3%, compared to a GAAP gross margin of 44.1% and an adjusted gross margin of 45.9% for the same period last year. The company realized a 51.4% OEC recovery rate on the fleet sold in the third quarter of 2026.
• Net income for the quarter increased 31.2% year-over-year to a third quarter record of $920 million, while net income margin increased 220 basis points to 18.8%, primarily due to increased rental gross margin. The increase in rental gross margin primarily reflected, for both the general rentals and specialty rentals segments, the impact of efficiencies in depreciation, labor and benefits, repairs and maintenance, and delivery expenses, partially offset by the impact of changes in revenue mix driven by growth in lower-margin ancillary and re-rent revenues.
• Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter increased 19.8% year-over-year to a quarterly record of $2.331 billion, while adjusted EBITDA margin increased 160 basis points to 47.6%, primarily reflecting increased rental gross margin (excluding depreciation and stock compensation expense), a reduction in selling, general and administrative ("SG&A") expenses as a percentage of revenue, and an increase in the proportion of revenue from equipment rentals. The increase in rental gross margin is discussed above (the discussion above includes depreciation, while, on the adjusted EBITDA basis, rental gross margin excludes depreciation).
• General rentals segment rental revenue increased 8.8% year-over-year to a quarterly record of $2.612 billion, while rental gross margin increased by 170 basis points year-over-year to 38.4%, primarily due to the drivers discussed above.
• Specialty rentals segment rental revenue increased 34.7% year-over-year to a quarterly record of $1.704 billion. Rental gross margin increased by 250 basis points year-over-year to 47.6%, primarily due to the drivers discussed above.

• Cash flow from operating activities increased 25.4% to $4.934 billion, and free cash flow, including restructuring related payments, increased 19.2% to $1.421 billion, year-over-year, for the first nine months of 2026.
• Capital management. The company’s net leverage ratio was 1.8x at September 30, 2026, as compared to 1.9x at December 31, 2025. During the nine months ended September 30, 2026, the company completed its prior $2.0 billion share repurchase⁹ program, and commenced its new $5.0 billion share repurchase program. During the nine months ended September 30, 2026, the company repurchased $1.125 billion of common stock under these programs, and paid dividends totaling $371 million. The company expects to complete $1.5 billion of share repurchases in 2026. Additionally, the company’s Board of Directors has declared a quarterly dividend of $1.97 per share, payable on November 25, 2026 to stockholders of record on November 11, 2026.
• Total liquidity was $2.615 billion as of September 30, 2026, including $153 million of cash and cash equivalents.
• Return on invested capital (ROIC)¹⁰ was 12.3% for the 12 months ended September 30, 2026.

Conference Call

United Rentals will hold a conference call tomorrow, Thursday, October 22, 2026, at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time. The conference call number is 800-791-4799 (international: 785-424-1631). The replay number for the call is 402-220-0687. The passcode for both the conference call and the replay is 31810. The conference call will also be available live by audio webcast at unitedrentals.com, where it will be archived until the next earnings call.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

Free cash flow, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), adjusted EBITDA, adjusted earnings per share (adjusted EPS) and used equipment sales adjusted gross margin are non-GAAP financial measures as defined under the rules of the SEC. Free cash flow represents net cash provided by operating activities less payments for purchases of, and plus proceeds from, equipment and intangible assets. The equipment and intangible asset items are included in cash flows from investing activities. EBITDA represents the sum of net income, provision for income taxes, interest expense, net, depreciation of rental equipment and non-rental depreciation and amortization. Adjusted EBITDA represents EBITDA plus the sum of the restructuring charges, stock compensation expense, net, and the impact of the fair value mark-up of acquired fleet. Adjusted EPS represents EPS plus the sum of the restructuring charges, the impact on depreciation related to acquired fleet and property and equipment, the impact of the fair value mark-up of acquired fleet, merger related intangible asset amortization, asset impairment charge and debt related losses. Used equipment sales adjusted gross margin excludes the impact of the fair value mark-up of fleet acquired in certain major acquisitions that was subsequently sold (this adjustment is explained further in the adjusted EPS and EBITDA/adjusted EBITDA tables below). The company believes that: (i) free cash flow provides useful additional information concerning cash flow available to meet future debt service obligations and working capital requirements; (ii) EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA provide useful information about operating performance and period-over-period growth, and help investors gain an understanding of the factors and trends affecting our ongoing cash earnings, from which capital investments are made and debt is serviced; (iii) adjusted EPS provides useful information concerning future profitability; and (iv) used equipment sales adjusted gross margin provides information that is useful for evaluating the profitability of used equipment sales without regard to potential distortions. However, none of these measures should be considered as alternatives to net income, cash flows from operating activities, earnings per share or GAAP gross margin from used equipment sales under GAAP as indicators of operating performance or liquidity. See the tables below for further discussion of these non-GAAP financial measures.

Information reconciling forward-looking adjusted EBITDA to GAAP financial measures is unavailable to the company without unreasonable effort. The company is not able to provide reconciliations of adjusted EBITDA to GAAP financial measures because certain items required for such reconciliations are outside of the company’s control and/or cannot be reasonably predicted, such as the provision for income taxes. Preparation of such reconciliations would require a forward-looking balance sheet, statement of income and statement of cash flow, prepared in accordance with GAAP, and such forward-looking financial statements are unavailable to the company without unreasonable effort (as specified in the exception provided by Item 10(e)(1)(i)(B) of Regulation S-K). The company provides a range for its adjusted EBITDA forecast that it believes will be achieved, however it cannot accurately predict all the components of the adjusted EBITDA calculation. The company provides an adjusted EBITDA forecast because it believes that adjusted EBITDA, when viewed with the company’s results under GAAP, provides useful information for the reasons noted above. However, adjusted EBITDA is not a measure of financial performance or liquidity under GAAP and, accordingly, should not be considered as an alternative to net income or cash flow from operating activities as an indicator of operating performance or liquidity.

About United Rentals

United Rentals, Inc. is the largest equipment rental company in the world. The company has an integrated network of 1,686 rental locations in North America, 44 in Europe, 47 in Australia and 18 in New Zealand. In North America, the company operates in 49 states and every Canadian province. The company’s approximately 28,600 employees serve construction and industrial customers, utilities, municipalities, homeowners and others. The company offers a fleet of equipment for rent with a total original cost of $24.77 billion. United Rentals is a member of the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, the Barron’s 400 Index and the Russell 3000 Index® and is headquartered in Stamford, Conn. Additional information about United Rentals is available at unitedrentals.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, known as the PSLRA. These statements can generally be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “believe,” “expect,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “seek,” “on-track,” “plan,” “project,” “forecast,” “intend” or “anticipate,” or the negative thereof or comparable terminology, or by discussions of vision, strategy or outlook. You are cautioned that our business and operations are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control, and, consequently, our actual results may differ materially from those projected. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected include, but are not limited to, the following: (1) the impact of global economic conditions (including inflation, interest rates, supply chain constraints, tariffs, trade wars and sanctions), geopolitical risks (including risks related to international conflicts) and public health crises and epidemics on us, our customers and our suppliers, in the United States and the rest of the world; (2) declines in construction or industrial activity, which can adversely impact our revenues and, because many of our costs are fixed, our profitability; (3) rates we charge and customer demand being less than anticipated; (4) changes in customer, fleet, geographic and segment mix; (5) excess fleet in the equipment rental industry; (6) inability to benefit from government spending, including spending associated with infrastructure projects, or a reduction or disruption in government spending, including as a result of a government shutdown; (7) trends in oil and natural gas, including significant fluctuations in the prices of oil or natural gas, which can adversely affect the demand for our services and products; (8) competition from existing and new competitors; (9) the cyclical nature of the industry in which we operate and the industries of our customers, such as those in the construction industry; (10) costs we incur being more than anticipated, including as a result of inflation or tariffs, and the inability to realize expected savings in the amounts or time frames planned; (11) our significant indebtedness requires a significant amount of cash for debt service, and can constrain our flexibility in responding to unanticipated or adverse business conditions; (12) inability to refinance our indebtedness on terms that are favorable to us, including as a result of volatility and uncertainty in capital or credit markets or increases in interest rates, or at all; (13) incurrence of additional debt, which could exacerbate the risks associated with our current level of indebtedness; (14) noncompliance with financial or other covenants in our debt agreements, which could result in our lenders terminating the agreements and requiring us to repay outstanding borrowings; (15) restrictive covenants and the amount of borrowings permitted under our debt instruments, which can limit our financial and operational flexibility; (16) inability to access the capital that our businesses or growth plans may require, including as a result of uncertainty in capital or credit markets; (17) the possibility that companies that we have acquired or may acquire could have undiscovered liabilities, or that companies or assets that we have acquired or may acquire could involve other unexpected costs, may strain our management capabilities, or may be difficult to integrate, and that we may not realize the expected benefits from an acquisition over the timeframe we expect, or at all; (18) incurrence of impairment charges; (19) fluctuations in the price of our common stock and inability to complete share repurchases or pay dividends in the time frames and/or on the terms anticipated; (20) our charter provisions as well as provisions of certain debt agreements and our significant indebtedness may have the effect of making more difficult or otherwise discouraging, delaying or deterring a takeover or other change of control of us; (21) inability to manage credit risk adequately or to collect on contracts with a large number of customers; (22) turnover in our management team and inability to attract and retain key personnel; (23) inability to obtain equipment and other supplies for our business from our key suppliers on acceptable terms or at all, as a result of insolvency, financial difficulties or other factors, including tariffs, affecting our suppliers; (24) increases in our maintenance and replacement costs, including as a result of tariffs, and/or decreases in the residual value of our equipment; (25) inability to sell our new or used fleet in the amounts, or at the prices, we expect; (26) risks related to security breaches, cybersecurity attacks, failure to protect personal information, compliance with privacy, data protection and cyber incident reporting laws and regulations, and other significant disruptions to our information technology systems; (27) risks related to our ability to respond adequately to changes in technology and customer demands; (28) risks related to the use of artificial intelligence, and challenges with properly managing such use; (29) risks related to severe weather events and other natural occurrences, and climate change regulation; (30) risks related to our aspirational sustainability and safety goals, including our greenhouse gas intensity reduction goal; (31) risks related to evolving requirements, expectations and perspectives from regulators and stakeholders on environmental, social and sustainability-related topics, and our ability to meet these requirements and expectations; (32) the fact that our holding company structure requires us to depend in part on distributions from subsidiaries and such distributions could be limited by contractual or legal restrictions; (33) shortfalls in our insurance coverage or inability to obtain coverage on reasonable terms or at all; (34) increases in our loss reserves to address business operations or other claims and any claims that exceed our established levels of reserves; (35) the outcome or other potential consequences of litigation, regulatory and investigatory matters; (36) incurrence of expenses (including indemnification obligations) and other costs in connection with litigation, regulatory and investigatory matters; (37) risks related to, and the costs of complying with, environmental and safety laws and regulations; (38) risks related to, and the costs of complying with, foreign laws and regulations, as well as other risks associated with non-U.S. operations, including currency exchange risk and tariffs; (39) labor shortages and/or disputes, work stoppages or other labor difficulties, which may impact our productivity and increase our costs, and changes in law that could affect our labor relations or operations generally; (40) the effect of changes in tax law; and (41) other factors described in our Annual Report on Form 10-K and in our other filings with the SEC.

For a more complete description of these and other possible risks and uncertainties, please refer to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025, as well as to our subsequent filings with the SEC. The forward-looking statements contained herein speak only as of the date hereof, and we make no commitment to update or publicly release any revisions to forward-looking statements in order to reflect new information or subsequent events, circumstances or changes in expectations, except as required by law.

Elizabeth Grenfell
Vice President, Investor Relations
O: (203) 618-7125
investors@ur.com