United Rentals' Q2 2025: Unraveling Contradictions in Fleet Productivity, Tax Impacts, and M&A Strategy

Fleet productivity and tariff impact on CapEx, tax bill and cash flow impact, ancillary growth and margin impact, Gen Rent growth and ancillary impact, M&A strategy and priorities are the key contradictions discussed in United Rentals' latest 2025Q2 earnings call.



Revenue and Profitability Growth:
- United Rentals reported total rental revenue growth of 4.5% year-over-year, reaching $3.9 billion, with a second quarter record of $3.4 billion for rental revenue.
- This growth was supported by increased fleet productivity, disciplined execution, and demand within industrial and construction end markets.

Specialty Business Performance:
- Specialty rental revenue grew 14% year-over-year, with 21 cold starts opened in the quarter.
- The strong performance in specialty was driven by growth in specialty rental revenue and increased demand for specific services like mattresses.

Used Equipment Market:
- United Rentals sold $600 million of used equipment in the quarter, in line with expectations.
- The demand for used equipment remains healthy, supported by the company's ability to manage used equipment sales profitably.

Free Cash Flow and Capital Return:
- The company generated $1.2 billion in free cash flow year-to-date and expects to achieve between $2.4 billion to $2.6 billion for the full year.
- The increase in expectations was driven by the recent changes in federal tax policy, which reduced cash taxes through full expensing of CapEx.