Infrastructure Spending Expected to Benefit United Rentals
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United Rentals executives foresee a rosy outlook for the business and sector as a result of increased infrastructure spending in the coming months and years after posting increased year-over-year profits in the first three months of 2023, they said April 27.
The Stamford, Conn.-based company posted net income of $451 million in the first quarter of 2023, or $6.47 per diluted share, compared with a $367 million profit, $5.05, in the same period a year earlier, it said after the market closed April 26.
For the first three months of 2023, the largest equipment rental company in the U.S. reported total revenue of $3.285 billion, compared with $2.52 billion in the year-ago period, it said. That figure beat the consensus estimate of $3.14 billion, according to Zacks Equity Research.
United Rentals reported a record $2.74 billion in equipment rental revenue in the most recent quarter, compared with revenue of $2.18 billion in the year-ago period, it said. Sales of rental equipment revenue totaled $388 million in the first quarter, compared with $211 million in the same period 12 months earlier, it added.
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Executives said during an earnings call April 27 the outlook for the coming year was extremely positive. There were a variety of factors that led to the positive outlook, CEO Matthew Flannery said, including customer backlogs and current activity. And in the long term, there are multiyear tailwinds that offer resiliency for United in any economic environment, he added.
U.S. government infrastructure spending will be the biggest factor, he said. Customer projects are set to be funded by the Inflation Reduction Act on a substantial scale, including in clean energy and advanced manufacturing, he added. An average of $100 billion a year will be spent, he said. In addition, supply chain problems will get better in 2024, he said.
United Rentals Inc. ranks No. 12 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest private carriers in North America and No. 1 on the top equipment rental carriers list.
