United Rentals surged after its first-quarter report on Apr. 22, with the stock jumping 22.9% in the next trading session as the equipment rental company topped Wall Street’s expectations on both earnings and sales. The Stamford, Connecticut-based company posted adjusted earnings of $9.71 a share, ahead of the $9.01 estimate, while revenue came in at $4 billion versus the $3.9 billion forecast.
The quarter gave investors a cleaner read on a company that rents, sells and services construction and industrial equipment. United Rentals also said it expects full-year revenue between $16.9 billion and $17.4 billion, a range that suggests management sees the business holding up after a choppy run of results. Analysts are looking for diluted earnings per share to rise 11.9% to $47.07 for the fiscal year ending in December.
The earnings beat mattered because it followed a stretch in which United Rentals had missed consensus estimates in three of the last four quarters. That made the Apr. 22 report more than a routine update. It gave the market something it had been waiting for: a quarter that beat on both the top and bottom lines and arrived with a strong share-price reaction attached.
Chief Executive Matthew Flannery said growth was healthy in general and specialty segments, with power, mining, infrastructure and data centers leading the way. He also pointed to $45 million in savings from branch consolidation and labor management, along with disciplined capital spending and higher fleet utilization. The company has also made about $400 million in small specialty acquisitions, a sign that it is still buying into areas it thinks can deepen its footprint.
There is still a catch. Even after the rally, the consensus view on the stock is positive but not as enthusiastic as it was a month ago. Among 20 analysts covering United Rentals, the current split is 12 Strong Buy ratings, two Moderate Buy ratings, five Hold ratings and one Strong Sell rating, down from 13 analysts recommending Strong Buy a month earlier. On May 13, Wells Fargo analyst Jerry Revich reiterated a Buy rating and set a $1,245 price target, which was described as the Street-high target.
The stock’s run has also outpaced the broader market. United Rentals has gained 37.5% over the past year and is up 19% in 2026, ahead of the S&P 500 Index, which has rallied nearly 29.6% over the past year and risen 9.8% year to date. The State Street Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF has also advanced, but by less, gaining about 23.8% over the past year and returning 12.4% year to date. The mean price target on United Rentals is $1,046.22, implying an 8.7% premium to current levels, which leaves the market still debating how much of the company’s rebound is already priced in.
