United Rentals, Inc.

United Rentals reported Q2 total revenue of $4.4 billion, up 12% year over year; rental revenue rose almost 13% to $3.8 billion; adjusted EBITDA was just over $2 billion with a 46.6% margin; and adjusted EPS was $12.76, up 22% year over year. Fleet productivity was 3.4% and OER growth was 9%. Specialty rental revenue grew 25% year over year, and the company sold $624 million of OEC at a 52.9% recovery rate and a 47.3% adjusted margin. Year-to-date gross rental CapEx was over $2.9 billion, free cash flow was roughly $1.15 billion, leverage was 1.8x, and liquidity was almost $3 billion. For 2026, revenue is now expected at $17.5 billion to $17.8 billion, adjusted EBITDA at $7.975 billion to $8.125 billion, gross CapEx at $4.85 billion to $5.25 billion, net CapEx at $3.4 billion to $3.8 billion, and free cash flow at $2.15 billion to $2.45 billion. The company still intends to repurchase $1.5 billion of shares in 2026 and return roughly $2 billion to shareholders including the dividend.

Matt Flannery said the quarter showed the company is executing its long-held strategy, with growth accelerating as customers remain optimistic around large projects. He emphasized differentiation from a one-stop shop model, technology, service, safety and productivity, and said demand is strong enough that the company is bringing in more fleet rather than simply chasing near-term revenue. His tone was confident and constructive, with a clear message that the company sees momentum continuing into the second half and beyond.

Ted Grace highlighted all-time second-quarter records for total revenue, rental revenue, EBITDA and EPS, and said the core business remains on track to deliver flat margins year over year excluding the H&E impact. He pointed to rental revenue up $434 million, OER up $246 million, ancillary and re-rent up nearly 28%, and EBITDA up $197 million to just over $2 billion excluding the $49 million gain from the scaffolding sale. He also noted year-to-date gross rental CapEx of over $2.9 billion, free cash flow of roughly $1.15 billion, ROIC of 11.8%, net leverage of 1.8x, and about $3 billion of liquidity, plus a raised 2026 outlook and $45 million to $50 million of realized restructuring savings targeted for the year.

Analysts focused on whether higher CapEx and record time utilization imply stronger pricing power and better visibility into 2027. Management said demand is broad and deep, large projects are driving the increase, and they are not adding fleet just to chase late-2026 revenue; they also said they are not ready to give 2027 guidance. Questions also centered on margin swings, especially ancillary, delivery and repositioning costs; management said core cost performance is ahead of plan, but ancillary remains hard to forecast and fuel was a 20 to 30 bps headwind in the quarter. Other topics included local market stabilization, specialty growth, and the potential for more M&A, with management saying the pipeline is robust and consolidation should continue.