Top-3 Rental Companies in U.S. Reveal Rising Revenue, Strong Forecasts

The latest earnings report from the top-three construction equipment rental companies in the United States – United Rentals, Ashtead Group and Herc Rentals – show all three surpassing last year’s results.

The American Rental Association confirmed the continuation of growth in its latest forecast, calling for an 8.9% increase in construction and general tool rental revenue in 2024, totaling $78.7 billion. 

Herc Rentals

For its third quarter, Herc Rentals reported record equipment rental revenue of $866 million, up 13% year-over-year. Sales of rental equipment, however, was down 34.7% in the quarter to $81 million.

Direct operating expenses were $334 million vs. $288 million last year, attributed primarily to personnel and facilities costs following the growth of the business. In 2024, Herc Rentals completed eight acquisitions with a total of 26 locations and opened 16 new greenfield locations as of September 30.

Total revenues for the first nine months of the year increased 7% year-over-year to $2.6 billion, driven by rising rental revenue, positive pricing of 3.5% and increased volume of 8.4%.

“In the third quarter, we significantly outpaced overall industry growth on both a total rental revenue basis and from an organic revenue perspective,” said Larry Silber, president and chief executive officer. “By capitalizing on our broad end-market coverage, diversified product and services offering and expanding share in resilient urban markets, we continue to deliver strong volume and a solid price/mix performance."

As of September 30, Herc Rentals' total fleet was $7.1 billion at original equipment cost (OEC), and the average fleet age was 46 months compared to 45 months in the same period last year.

Herc is now forecasting equipment rental revenue growth for the year to be up 9.5% to 11%.

United Rentals

United Rentals reported just under $4 billion in third-quarter revenue, a 6% year-over-year increase. Equipment rental revenue in the quarter was up 7.4% to $3.5 million, while revenue from sale of rental equipment was down 12.3% to $321 million.

Fleet productivity – a measure of the combined impact of changes in rental rates, time utilization and mix on owned equipment rental revenue – in the company’s third quarter increased 3.5% year-over-year including its acquisition of matting provider Yak. It increased 1.9% excluding the Yak acquisition. United Rentals reported average OEC was up 3.8% year-over-year.

Sales of rental equipment in the quarter were down 12.3% year-over-year, bringing in $321 million vs. $366 million in the same period last year. United Rentals attributed declines in its rental equipment sales gross margins to the continued normalization of the used equipment market, including pricing.

United Rentals’ third-quarter net income was up 0.7% year-over-year to a third-quarter record of $708 million, while net income margin decreased 100 basis points to 17.7%.

Matthew Flannery, chief executive officer of United Rentals, said, “We were pleased with our record third-quarter results, which were in line with our expectations and reflected continued growth across both our construction and industrial end-markets.”

United Rentals is now forecasting its total revenue for the year to land between $15.1 billion and $15.4 billion.

Ashtead Group/Sunbelt Rentals

Sunbelt Rentals’ parent company Ashtead Group, based in London, reported its first quarter ended July 31 brought in $2.8 billion in total revenue, up 2% year-over-year. Rental revenue was up 7% year-over-year to $2.5 billion.

“In North America, the increasing proportion of mega projects and the strength of our Specialty businesses has more than offset the lower activity levels in local commercial construction markets,” said Ashtead’s chief executive, Brendan Horgan.  “As expected, lower used-equipment sales and a higher increase in depreciation and interest costs, resulted in adjusted profit before taxation of $573 million.”

Ashtead’s U.S. rental-only revenue in the first quarter totaled $1.7 billion, 7% higher than the prior year, driven by both volume and rate improvement. Organic growth in the quarter (same-store and greenfield locations) was 5%. The company added 33 new North American locations in its first quarter.

The company’s General Tool business saw 3% growth, and its Specialty businesses grew 17%.

U.S. total revenue was up 1% to $2.3 billion, which Ashtead Group said reflects a lower level of used-equipment sales than last year “when we took advantage of improving fleet deliveries and strong secondhand markets to catch up on deferred disposals.”

Ashtead Group is now forecasting its U.S. rental revenue for its fiscal year to increase 4% to 7%.