Quick Overview

  • United Rentals delivered Q1 EPS of $9.71, surpassing the analyst forecast of $8.95
  • First-quarter revenue reached $3.99 billion, representing 8.7% year-over-year growth and exceeding the $3.87B consensus
  • Annual revenue outlook increased to $16.9B–$17.4B from the previous $16.8B–$17.3B projection
  • Performance benefited from nonresidential construction, infrastructure, power, and mining sectors
  • Bernstein maintained its Outperform rating, with URI generating a 37% return over twelve months

United Rentals exceeded Wall Street expectations across both earnings and revenue in the first quarter, sparking immediate investor enthusiasm.

URI climbed approximately 20% on Thursday, reaching around $960 and claiming the position of top S&P 500 performer for the trading session. April gains alone stand at 32%, while year-to-date performance shows a 19% increase.


URI Stock Card
United Rentals, Inc., URI

First-quarter adjusted EPS registered at $9.71, exceeding analyst consensus of $8.95 by $0.76. This compares favorably to $8.86 per share during the corresponding period last year. Revenue totaled $3.99 billion, advancing 8.7% from $3.72 billion a year earlier and surpassing the $3.87 billion projection.

Rental revenue — representing the company’s primary business driver — reached $3.42 billion, climbing from $3.15 billion in Q1 2025 and establishing a first-quarter milestone. Average original equipment cost expanded 5.7%, while total fleet productivity gained 2.3%.

CEO Matthew Flannery highlighted broad-based expansion across segments. Nonresidential construction and infrastructure drove construction category performance, while power, mining, and minerals emerged as industrial segment leaders.

Development projects spanning healthcare, data centers, manufacturing, and infrastructure all boosted quarterly results.

Annual Outlook Improved

United Rentals elevated its full-year revenue projection to a range of $16.9 billion to $17.4 billion, compared with the former $16.8B to $17.3B guidance. The midpoint of $17.15 billion slightly exceeds Wall Street’s consensus estimate of $17.07 billion.

Adjusted EBITDA expectations were refined to $7.625B–$7.875B from the earlier $7.575B–$7.825B range. Free cash flow projections remained steady at $2.15B–$2.45B.

Flannery informed analysts the year is “playing out better than we expected just a few months ago,” noting that field feedback continues showing optimism, particularly for large-scale projects.

World Cup Impact Anticipated

Flannery highlighted a specific opportunity: the 2026 FIFA World Cup. United Rentals anticipates serving as “a key partner” for the tournament beginning in Q2.

Construction activity has commenced across U.S., Mexican, and Canadian host locations, encompassing stadium conversions to FIFA-compliant fields alongside comprehensive infrastructure enhancements.

Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter totaled $1.76 billion, 5% above consensus projections. General Rentals gross margins reached 33.8%, approximately 180 basis points above street forecasts. Specialty gross margins of 41.4% came in roughly 200 basis points below expectations, though Specialty rental revenues still exceeded estimates by 5%.

Bernstein SocGen Group confirmed its Outperform rating on URI after reviewing the results, keeping a price target of $903. The stock’s current level near $960 positions it substantially above that target following Thursday’s advance.

URI’s market capitalization stands at approximately $50.5 billion, with the stock delivering around 37% returns over the trailing twelve-month period.