United Rentals Announces Record First Quarter Results and Raises 2024 Guidance to Reflect the Acquisition of Yak

United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE: URI) today announced financial results for the first quarter of 2024 and raised its full-year 2024 guidance to include the expected financial contribution from the company’s acquisition of Yak¹ on March 15, 2024.

First Quarter 2024 Highlights

• Total revenue of $3.485 billion, including rental revenue² of $2.929 billion.
• Net income of $542 million, at a margin³ of 15.6%. GAAP diluted earnings per share of $8.04, and adjusted EPS⁴ of $9.15.
• Adjusted EBITDA⁴ of $1.587 billion, at a margin³ of 45.5%.
• Year-over-year, fleet productivity⁵ increased 4.0%.
• Net cash provided by operating activities of $1.029 billion; free cash flow⁴ of $869 million, including gross payments for purchases of rental equipment of $511 million.
• Gross rental capital expenditures of $595 million.
• Returned $485 million to shareholders, comprised of $375 million via share repurchases and $110 million via dividends paid.
• Net leverage ratio⁶ of 1.7x, with total liquidity⁶ of $3.561 billion, at March 31, 2024.

CEO Comment

Matthew Flannery, chief executive officer of United Rentals, said, “We're pleased with our start to 2024, which delivered first quarter records across revenue, adjusted EBITDA, and EPS. Our results are a testament to the team’s commitment to putting our customers at the center of everything we do and efficiently leveraging our competitive advantages. Our acquisition of Yak last month provides another excellent example of our strategy to grow our specialty rental business, differentiate our one-stop-shop capabilities and capitalize on both secular growth and cross-selling opportunities.”

Flannery continued, “2024 is playing out as we expected, with our updated full-year guidance reflecting the addition of Yak. As we enter our busy season, we are excited by both the immediate opportunities we see, particularly on large projects, and the longer-term outlook. We’ve built a resilient company with a well-proven strategy that is positioned to continue driving profitable growth, strong free cash flow generation and compelling shareholder value.”

2024 Outlook

The company has raised its 2024 outlook to reflect the expected contribution from the acquisition of Yak, which was completed on March 15, 2024. For fiscal 2024, Yak is expected to provide total revenue of approximately $300 million, adjusted EBITDA of approximately $140 million, net cash provided by operating activities of approximately $150 million and free cash flow of approximately $50 million, while adding approximately $100 million of gross rental purchases.

Summary of First Quarter 2024 Financial Results

• Rental revenue increased 6.9% year-over-year to a first quarter record of $2.929 billion, reflecting broad-based strength of demand across the company's end-markets. Fleet productivity increased 4.0% year-over-year, while average original equipment at cost (“OEC”) increased 3.6%.
• Used equipment sales in the quarter decreased 1.3% year-over-year. Used equipment sales generated $383 million of proceeds at a GAAP gross margin of 48.8% and an adjusted gross margin⁹ of 53.3%, compared to $388 million at a GAAP gross margin of 49.0% and an adjusted gross margin of 59.5% for the same period last year. The year-over-year decline in the adjusted gross margin primarily reflected the continued normalization of the used equipment market, including pricing.
• Net income for the quarter increased 20.2% year-over-year to a first quarter record of $542 million, while net income margin increased 190 basis points to 15.6%. The increase in net income margin was primarily driven by higher gross margin from rental revenue, which included the impact of a decrease in depreciation expense as a percentage of revenue, and reductions in selling, general and administrative ("SG&A") and non-rental depreciation and amortization expenses as a percentage of revenue.
• Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter increased 5.6% year-over-year to a first quarter record of $1.587 billion, while adjusted EBITDA margin decreased 30 basis points to 45.5%. The decrease in adjusted EBITDA margin primarily reflected a decrease in adjusted gross margin from used equipment sales as discussed above.
• General rentals segment rental revenue increased 2.6% year-over-year to a first quarter record of $2.070 billion, while rental gross margin was flat year-over-year at 32.9%.
• Specialty rentals segment rental revenue increased 19.0% year-over-year to a first quarter record of $859 million. Rental gross margin increased by 200 basis points year-over-year to 49.1%, supported by strong cost performance and fixed cost absorption on higher revenue.

• Cash flow from operating activities increased 9.6% year-over-year to $1.029 billion for the first three months of 2024, and free cash flow, including merger and restructuring related payments, increased 81.8%, from $478 million to $869 million.
• Capital management. The company's net leverage ratio was 1.7x at March 31, 2024, as compared to 1.6x at December 31, 2023. Year-to-date through March 31, 2024, the company repurchased $375 million¹⁰ of common stock and paid dividends totaling $110 million. It remains the company's intention to repurchase a total of $1.5 billion¹⁰ of common stock during 2024. Additionally, the company's Board of Directors has declared a quarterly dividend of $1.63 per share, payable on May 22, 2024 to stockholders of record on May 8, 2024.
• Total liquidity was $3.561 billion as of March 31, 2024, including $429 million of cash and cash equivalents.
• Return on invested capital (ROIC)¹¹ of 13.6% for the 12 months ended March 31, 2024 increased 50 basis points year-over-year, and was flat sequentially. The year-over-year improvement primarily reflected increased after-tax operating income.

Conference Call

United Rentals will hold a conference call tomorrow, Thursday, April 25, 2024, at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time. The conference call number is 800-451-7724 (international: 785-424-1226). The replay number for the call is 402-220-6054. The passcode for both the conference call and replay is 24462. 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 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 loss on repurchase/redemption/amendment of debt securities. 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 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 1,520 rental locations in North America, 38 in Europe, 23 in Australia and 19 in New Zealand. In North America, the company operates in 49 states and every Canadian province. The company’s approximately 26,650 employees serve construction and industrial customers, utilities, municipalities, homeowners and others. The company offers approximately 4,800 classes of equipment for rent with a total original cost of $20.59 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. These statements are based on current plans, estimates and projections, and, therefore, you should not place undue reliance on them. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed, and 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, increased interest rates, supply chain constraints and potential trade wars, sanctions and other conditions 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 time utilization we achieve 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 in government spending; (7) trends in oil and natural gas, including significant increases in the prices of oil or natural gas, could 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, and the inability to realize expected savings in the amounts or time frames planned; (11) our significant indebtedness, which requires us to use a substantial amount of our cash flow 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 stock 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, as well as loss, absenteeism or the inability of employees to work or perform key functions in light of public health crises or epidemics; (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 supply chain disruptions, insolvency, financial difficulties or other factors; (24) increases in our maintenance and replacement costs 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 in our information technology systems; (27) risks related to climate change and climate change regulation; (28) risks related to our environmental and social goals, including our greenhouse gas intensity reduction goal; (29) 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; (30) shortfalls in our insurance coverage; (31) increases in our loss reserves to address business operations or other claims and any claims that exceed our established levels of reserves; (32) incurrence of expenses (including indemnification obligations) and other costs in connection with litigation, regulatory and investigatory matters; (33) the costs of complying with environmental, safety and foreign laws and regulations, as well as other risks associated with non-U.S. operations, including currency exchange risk, and tariffs; (34) the outcome or other potential consequences of regulatory and investigatory matters and litigation; (35) 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; and (36) the effect of changes in tax law.

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, 2023, 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.

UNITED RENTALS, INC.

RENTAL REVENUE

Fleet productivity is a comprehensive metric that provides greater insight into the decisions made by our managers in support of growth and returns. Specifically, we seek to optimize the interplay of rental rates, time utilization and mix in driving rental revenue. Fleet productivity aggregates, in one metric, the impact of changes in rates, utilization and mix on owned equipment rental revenue.

We believe that this metric is useful in assessing the effectiveness of our decisions on rates, time utilization and mix, particularly as they support the creation of shareholder value. The table below shows the components of the year-over-year change in rental revenue using the fleet productivity methodology:

Please refer to our First Quarter 2024 Investor Presentation for additional detail on fleet productivity.

UNITED RENTALS, INC.

ADJUSTED EARNINGS PER SHARE GAAP RECONCILIATION

We define “earnings per share – adjusted” as the sum of earnings per share – GAAP, as-reported plus the impact of the following special items: merger related intangible asset amortization, impact on depreciation related to acquired fleet and property and equipment, impact of the fair value mark-up of acquired fleet, restructuring charge, asset impairment charge and loss on repurchase/redemption/amendment of debt securities. See below for further detail on the special items. Management believes that earnings per share - adjusted provides useful information concerning future profitability. However, earnings per share - adjusted is not a measure of financial performance under GAAP. Accordingly, earnings per share - adjusted should not be considered an alternative to GAAP earnings per share. The table below provides a reconciliation between earnings per share – GAAP, as-reported, and earnings per share – adjusted.

UNITED RENTALS, INC.

EBITDA AND ADJUSTED EBITDA GAAP RECONCILIATIONS

($ in millions, except footnotes)

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. See below for further detail on each adjusting item. These items are excluded from adjusted EBITDA internally when evaluating our operating performance and for strategic planning and forecasting purposes, and allow investors to make a more meaningful comparison between our core business operating results over different periods of time, as well as with those of other similar companies. The net income and adjusted EBITDA margins represent net income or adjusted EBITDA divided by total revenue. Management believes that EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA, when viewed with the company’s results under GAAP and the accompanying reconciliation, provide useful information about operating performance and period-over-period growth, and provide additional information that is useful for evaluating the operating performance of our core business without regard to potential distortions. Additionally, management believes that EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA 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.

The table below provides a reconciliation between net income and EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA.

UNITED RENTALS, INC.

EBITDA AND ADJUSTED EBITDA GAAP RECONCILIATIONS (continued)

(In millions, except footnotes)

The table below provides a reconciliation between net cash provided by operating activities and EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA.

UNITED RENTALS, INC.

FREE CASH FLOW GAAP RECONCILIATION

(In millions, except footnotes)

We define “free cash flow” as 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. Management believes that free cash flow provides useful additional information concerning cash flow available to meet future debt service obligations and working capital requirements. However, free cash flow is not a measure of financial performance or liquidity under GAAP. Accordingly, free cash flow should not be considered an alternative to net income or cash flow from operating activities as an indicator of operating performance or liquidity. The table below provides a reconciliation between net cash provided by operating activities and free cash flow.

The table below provides a reconciliation between 2024 forecasted net cash provided by operating activities and free cash flow.

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