U-Haul's Q4 2025 Earnings Call: Contradictions Surrounding Depreciation, Fleet Outlook, and Business Performance

Depreciation and financial reporting, fleet age and condition, outlook for self-moving rental business, impact of depreciation on financials, fleet age and utilization are the key contradictions discussed in U-Haul's latest 2025Q4 earnings call.



Business Performance and Outlook:
- U-Haul reported a fourth quarter loss of $82.3 million, compared to a loss of $863,000 in the same quarter last year.
- Earnings per non-voting share were a loss of $0.41, compared to less than $0.01 per share loss in the previous year.
- The decline in earnings was primarily due to increased fleet depreciation and reduced gains on the sales of retired pickups and cargo vans, as well as decreased interest income.

Equipment Rental Revenue:
- U-Haul's equipment rental revenue increased by $29 million, representing a 4% increase over the previous year.
- The growth in revenue was attributed to improvements in both one-way and in-town transactions, as well as increased revenue per transaction.

Self-Storage Segment Growth:
- Self-storage revenues were up $18 million or 8% for the quarter, with a 12-month increase of $67 million.
- Average revenue per occupied foot increased by approximately 1.6%, and the average move-in rates rose by over 4.5%.
- Growth was driven by effective execution of storage programs and increased demand for both self-moving and self-storage services.

Capital Expenditures and Fleet Management:
- Capital expenditures for new rental equipment for fiscal 2025 were $1,863 million, an increase of $244 million from the previous year.
- The company plans for initial net fleet CapEx in fiscal year 2026 to be $1,295 million, compared to approximately $1,211 million in fiscal 2025.
- The increases in capital expenditures are due to higher costs of acquiring equipment and the need to maintain the fleet size in the face of rising demand.