The quarter cleared expectations by a meaningful margin. Adjusted EPS was $12.76 versus published consensus of approximately $11.67, a roughly 9% beat. The comparison is somewhat flattered by the $0.58-per-share after-tax gain from selling part of the scaffolding business; excluding that item, adjusted EPS was approximately $12.18, still above consensus.
| Metric | Q2 2026 | Q2 2025 | Change / comparison |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total revenue | $4.410B | $3.943B | +11.8% (Income Statement) |
| Equipment rental revenue | $3.849B | $3.415B | +12.7% (Financial Highlights) |
| Adjusted EPS | $12.76 | $10.47 | +21.9%; includes $0.58 gain benefit (Adjusted EPS reconciliation) |
| Adjusted EBITDA | $2.056B | $1.810B | +13.6%; includes $49M gain benefit (EBITDA reconciliation) |
| Adjusted EBITDA margin | 46.6% | 45.9% | +70 bps reported; -40 bps excluding business-sale gain (Financial Highlights) |
| Six-month operating cash flow | $3.305B | $2.753B | +20.1% (Cash Flow statement) |
| Six-month free cash flow | $1.149B | $1.198B | -4.1%; prior year included $52M H&E termination benefit (Free Cash Flow reconciliation) |
The guidance raise is the more durable positive signal. Revenue guidance increased to $17.5B-$17.8B from $16.9B-$17.4B, while adjusted EBITDA rose to $7.975B-$8.125B from $7.625B-$7.875B. The midpoint increases are approximately 3% for revenue and 4% for EBITDA, with operating-cash-flow guidance rising nearly 8%. Free-cash-flow guidance was unchanged at $2.15B-$2.45B despite higher planned rental capital spending, implying the added growth is expected to absorb the investment rather than expand cash generation. (2026 Outlook)
Growth quality was good overall, but not uniformly improving. Equipment-rental revenue rose 12.7%, helped by 7.1% fleet growth, 3.4% fleet productivity and 3.7% from ancillary and re-rent revenue. General Rentals improved its gross margin by 70 basis points, while the faster-growing Specialty segment saw revenue rise 24.8% but margin fall 140 basis points to 44.4% because of a less profitable revenue mix. (Rental Revenue; Segment Performance)
Net read: a clear beat-and-raise, with a margin caveat rather than a reversal. The one-time scaffolding gain makes the headline EPS and EBITDA growth look better, and reported free cash flow declined year over year. But the underlying EPS still exceeded consensus, core rental margins improved in General Rentals, leverage edged down to 1.8x, and management raised most full-year targets. The market therefore received more earnings and revenue than expected, while the unchanged free-cash-flow outlook and Specialty margin pressure limit how broad the upgrade is. (Capital Management; Segment Performance)
Read the original 8-K on SEC EDGAR ↗