One-glance verdict
Overvalued
$86.97 our estimate vs market $989.12
Wall Street consensus: $1,269.33 (1,359.4% higher than our fair-value estimate)
1037% above our estimate, beyond the bull case
Fundamentals snapshot
United Rentals, Inc.
URI · NYQ · Industrials · Rental & Leasing Services
Current price
$989.12
52-week range
$701.59 - $1,179.18
Market cap
$61.57B
Balance sheet
Stretched
5.55x Adequate
Net debt $15.27B. Interest coverage shows how many times profit covers the interest bill.
What stands out
3 Rewards
3 Risks
3 rewards · 3 risks
- Reward Revenue grew 1.7% last year.
- Reward Returns 28.9% on equity, ahead of 75% of its peers.
- Risk Stock trades 41.3% above its 5-year average P/E.
- Risk Net debt grew 25.5% over 3 years.
What this company does
United Rentals, Inc.
United Rentals is the world's largest equipment rental company, making money primarily by renting out everything from forklifts and backhoes to large-scale power generators. Customers like construction firms and industrial companies rent this equipment for specific projects because it's cheaper than buying and maintaining it themselves. This business model allows United Rentals to benefit from big infrastructure projects and economic growth, which drives demand for their machinery.
How the company got here
United Rentals was founded in 1997 with a clear strategy: grow by buying up smaller equipment rental companies. This approach was very successful, and just a year later, after acquiring a major competitor, it became the largest equipment rental company in North America. The company went public on the New York Stock Exchange only three months after it was formed. Over the years, it has continued to grow by acquiring other companies and expanding its network of rental locations.
What it actually does
Think of almost any piece of equipment you might see on a construction site, from a small power tool to a giant earthmover, and United Rentals likely rents it out. Companies, contractors, and even homeowners rent from them when it makes more sense than buying expensive machinery they might only need for a specific project. Beyond just renting, the company also sells its used equipment, provides parts and repair services, and offers safety training.
General Rentals
This is the company's main and largest business, renting out the common types of equipment needed for most construction and industrial jobs. This includes things like aerial work platforms (like boom and scissor lifts), forklifts for moving materials, and earthmoving equipment like backhoes. Their customers are very diverse, ranging from large construction firms and factories to local governments and homeowners doing a weekend project. This segment forms the bulk of the company's business.
Specialty
This part of the business rents out more specialized equipment for complex jobs. For example, they provide trench safety systems for working underground, temporary power generators and climate control for movie sets or disaster recovery, and fluid solutions for containing or transferring liquids on a job site. This is a smaller but fast-growing and important part of the company, as this specialized equipment often requires more expertise to use.
What management is betting on now
The company is focused on growing its higher-value Specialty business, seeing it as a key opportunity. They are also investing heavily in technology, like their fleet management software, to help customers better track and manage the equipment they rent, which improves safety and productivity. Additionally, United Rentals is working to reduce its environmental impact by aiming to lower its greenhouse gas emissions (gases that trap heat in the atmosphere) and offering more low-emission equipment options to customers.
Price history
How the share price has moved
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Earnings history
Last 8 quarters — what happened
Click any quarter to read the call summary and what the numbers say.
FY2024 Q2
$-263.00M
FY2024 Q3
$-168.00M
FY2024 Q4
$471.00M
Revenue
$3.98B
Net income
$531.00M
Diluted EPS
8.43
Operating cash flow
$1.51B
Free cash flow
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Sources
Revenue
$4.21B
Net income
$653.00M
Diluted EPS
10.27
Operating cash flow
$1.26B
Free cash flow
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Sources
Revenue
$4.23B
Net income
$701.00M
Diluted EPS
10.91
Operating cash flow
$1.18B
Free cash flow
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Sources
Revenue
$3.94B
Net income
$622.00M
Diluted EPS
9.59
Operating cash flow
$1.33B
Free cash flow
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Sources
Revenue
$3.72B
Net income
$518.00M
Diluted EPS
7.91
Operating cash flow
$1.43B
Free cash flow
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Sources
Revenue
$4.09B
Net income
$689.00M
Diluted EPS
10.47
Operating cash flow
$1.05B
Free cash flow
$471.00M
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Sources
Revenue
$3.99B
Net income
$708.00M
Diluted EPS
10.70
Operating cash flow
$1.20B
Free cash flow
$-168.00M
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Sources
Revenue
$3.77B
Net income
$636.00M
Diluted EPS
9.54
Operating cash flow
$1.26B
Free cash flow
$-263.00M
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Sources
Is it cheap or expensive?
Fair value $86.97 vs current price $989.12
Wall Street consensus is the average analyst price target: $1,269.33 (1,359.4% higher than our fair-value estimate).
Our most-likely fair value is $86.97 a share — about 91.2% below today's price of $989.12, so the stock currently looks expensive (overvalued).
Is it drowning in debt?
Stretched
Net debt $15.3B. Interest coverage 5.6x.
Net debt
$15.27B
Interest coverage
5.55x
United Rentals, Inc.'s profit covers its interest bill about 5.6 times over. which is stronger than every peer shown here.
Stretched
Worse cushion
Baseline
Better cushion
URI
BASELINE
United Rentals, Inc.
Total debt $15.38B Interest coverage 5.55x This is the baseline the peer rows are being compared against.
Total debt $9.56B Interest coverage 1.50x -73% vs URI Carries about 3.7x less debt cushion than URI.
Total debt $8.45B Interest coverage 2.74x -51% vs URI Carries about 2.0x less debt cushion than URI.
Total debt $12.48B Interest coverage 1.36x -75% vs URI Carries about 4.1x less debt cushion than URI.
What you should know
The case for and against URI
3 Rewards
3 Risks
Rewards
-
Revenue grew 1.7% last year.
-
Returns 28.9% on equity, ahead of 75% of its peers.
-
Free cash flow was positive in 10/10 years.
Risks
-
Stock trades 41.3% above its 5-year average P/E.
-
Net debt grew 25.5% over 3 years.
-
Operating margin compressed from 27.8% to 26.0% over 3 years.
The numbers
All the key metrics, grouped by purpose
Tap any ? icon to learn what it means.
Valuation
How expensive the stock looks
P/E (TTM)
23.81x
Forward P/E
17.26x
P/B
6.68x
P/S
3.66x
EV/EBITDA
16.38x
PEG ratio
1.28x
Profitability
How much profit each dollar creates
Gross margin
38.5%
Operating margin
26.0%
Net margin
15.7%
ROE
28.9%
ROA
8.8%
Health
Liquidity and balance-sheet strength
Debt / equity
1.67x
Current ratio
0.76x
Quick ratio
0.62x
Total debt
$15.38B
Total cash
$112.00M
Growth
How the business has been compounding
Revenue TTM
$16.36B
Revenue 5Y CAGR
13.5%
EPS TTM
41.54
EPS 5Y CAGR
9.2%
Cash flow
How much cash the business throws off
Operating CF TTM
$5.28B
Free CF TTM
$416.00M
FCF margin
2.5%
Dividend
Shareholder payout
Yield
0.8%
Payout ratio
18.1%
Last ex-div date
2026-08-12