The latest earnings from major equipment rental platforms continue to point to a healthy demand environment, particularly across mega projects, specialty rental and large national and regional accounts. United Rentals, Herc Rentals and EquipmentShare each reported strong second-quarter growth and raised their 2026 outlooks, while Sunbelt Rentals reported record fiscal first-quarter 2027 results and raised its full-year fiscal 2027 guidance.
Sector Takeaways
- Mega projects remain a major growth driver, with data centers, advanced manufacturing, energy, healthcare and infrastructure supporting multi-year demand
- Specialty rental continues to grow faster than traditional general rental across several of the major platforms
- Large national and regional customers are becoming increasingly important as projects grow in size and complexity
- Strong demand is supporting continued fleet investment, with United Rentals, Herc Rentals and EquipmentShare raising 2026 guidance and Sunbelt Rentals raising its fiscal 2027 outlook
United Rentals (NYSE: URI)
United Rentals delivered record second-quarter results, with total revenue increasing 12% year over year to $4.41 billion and rental revenue increasing 12.7% to $3.85 billion. Adjusted EBITDA reached a record $2.06 billion, while adjusted EPS increased 22% to $12.76. Fleet productivity increased 3.4%, while average fleet OEC grew 7.1% year over year.
Specialty remained an important growth engine, with Specialty Rentals revenue increasing 24.8% to $1.43 billion, compared with 6.6% growth in General Rentals. Management cited strong activity across large projects and end markets including infrastructure, non-residential construction, power, data centers, hospitals, airports and LNG terminals.
With demand running ahead of expectations, United Rentals raised its full-year revenue guidance to $17.5 billion to $17.8 billion and adjusted EBITDA guidance to $7.975 billion to $8.125 billion. Gross rental purchases are now expected to reach $4.85 billion to $5.25 billion.
Sunbelt Rentals (NYSE: SUNB)
Sunbelt Rentals operates on an April fiscal year, so its latest results reflect the first quarter of fiscal 2027 through July 31, 2026.. The company reported record first-quarter total revenue of $3.12 billion, up 11.2% year over year, while rental revenue increased 12.5% to a record $2.93 billion. Adjusted EBITDA increased 8.7% to $1.32 billion, and adjusted EPS increased 20.4% to $1.18.
North American Specialty rental revenue increased 25.3% to $1.07 billion, outpacing General Tool rental revenue growth of 7.4% to $1.65 billion.. Management cited broad-based demand across mega projects, energy, live events, industrial and non-construction maintenance, repair, and operations, alongside continued stability in local non-residential construction. Growth was particularly strong among large and strategic customers, while the FIFA World Cup contributed approximately 250 basis points to total rental revenue growth during the quarter.
Following the strong quarter, Sunbelt raised its fiscal 2027 outlook. The company now expects rental revenue growth of 7% to 10%, up from its previous 5% to 8% range, and adjusted EBITDA of $4.92 billion to $5.12 billion. Gross rental CapEx guidance increased to $2.75 billion to $3.15 billion as Sunbelt invests behind demand that has exceeded its original expectations, particularly across mega projects, specialty, and energy.
Herc Rentals (NYSE: HRI)
Herc Rentals reported second-quarter equipment rental revenue of $1.07 billion, up 23%, with total revenue increasing 20% to $1.20 billion. Adjusted EBITDA increased 19% to $487 million, and first-half free cash flow nearly doubled to $202 million. Growth reflected the expanded fleet following the H&E acquisition, alongside strong mega-project activity and continued strength in national accounts.
With the H&E integration completed during the first quarter, Herc shifted its focus toward improving fleet utilization and capturing revenue and cost synergies across its expanded platform. Management said national accounts continued to lead growth, fueled by robust mega-project activity and a higher mix of specialty equipment rentals. Fuel inflation remained a margin headwind during the quarter, although dollar utilization improved to 39.3% from 38.3% a year earlier.
Herc raised full-year equipment rental revenue guidance to $4.375 billion to $4.475 billion and adjusted EBITDA guidance to $2.05 billion to $2.125 billion. Gross CapEx guidance increased to $1.25 billion to $1.4 billion as the company invests behind its growing project pipeline.
EquipmentShare (NASDAQ: EQPT)
EquipmentShare continued its rapid expansion in Q2, with total revenue increasing 26% to $1.45 billion and Equipment Rental and Services Operations revenue increasing 39% to $908 million. Adjusted Core EBITDA increased 34% to $531 million. The company opened 23 operational locations during the quarter, bringing its network to 430 locations, while OEC under management increased 34% year over year to $9.85 billion.
Management characterized the construction backdrop as one of the strongest it has seen in more than 25 years, supported by large multiyear investments in data centers, advanced manufacturing, healthcare, energy and transportation infrastructure. Approximately 91% of trailing-12-month Rental Segment revenue came from national and regional customers supporting large, complex projects, while the company’s mega-project pipeline increasingly includes projects valued at $5 billion to $30 billion.
EquipmentShare raised its 2026 outlook across the board and now expects total revenue of $5.25 billion to $5.68 billion, Rental Segment revenue of $3.47 billion to $3.75 billion, and Adjusted Core EBITDA of $1.95 billion to $2.06 billion.
Looking Ahead
Across the major rental platforms, mega projects and specialty rental remain two of the clearest sources of growth. Data centers, power and energy infrastructure, advanced manufacturing, healthcare and other complex projects are creating significant equipment requirements while favoring rental providers with the fleet depth, geographic coverage and specialty capabilities needed to support large customers across multiple project stages.
At the same time, continued fleet investment and higher guidance from several platforms suggest that management teams remain confident in the demand outlook. While conditions in local non-residential construction are more measured in some markets, the combination of large-project activity, specialty expansion and increasing penetration among national and regional customers continues to provide a constructive backdrop for the equipment rental industry heading into the second half of 2026.
