HERC HOLDINGS INC. vs United Rentals, Inc., two Equipment Rental stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Herc and United Rentals are the same business at different scale, both renting construction and industrial equipment. United is the giant and had the far better year: 27.95% on equity, a 15.32% net margin, and a 28.64 times earnings multiple. Herc came in near breakeven, a negative 0.26% return with no usable earnings multiple, though it trades cheaper on book, 2.66 times to United's 7.89. Herc converts much more cash, a 20.36% free-cash yield to United's 7.46%, but carries 4.19 turns of debt against United's light 0.18. Herc pays 1.85% in dividends to United's 0.64%. At $70.8B United is fourteen times Herc's $5.0B.
Comparison updated 2026-07-11.
| Metric | HRI | URI |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $149.31 | $1095.55 |
| Market cap | $5.0B | $69.0B |
| Sector | Equipment Rental | Equipment Rental |
| Stage | Growth | Mature |
| P/E | — | 27.9 |
| P/B | 2.62 | 7.70 |
| P/S | 1.07 | 4.22 |
| EV/EBITDA | — | 15.8 |
| Revenue growth | +28.2% | +5.1% |
| Gross margin | — | 36.9% |
| Operating margin | — | 21.8% |
| Net margin | -0.1% | 15.3% |
| Return on equity | -0.3% | 27.9% |
| Return on assets | -0.0% | 8.4% |
| Return on invested capital | — | 28.9% |
| FCF yield | 20.6% | 7.7% |
| Dividend yield | 1.9% | 0.7% |
| Debt / equity | 4.19 | 0.18 |
| Current ratio | 1.46 | 0.80 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 0.68 | 3.35 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 5 / 9 | 6 / 9 |
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The stronger value is highlighted per metric where one is strictly better on that single number; it is not an overall verdict on either company. For informational and research purposes only. Not investment advice. Not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security. boothcheck is not a registered investment adviser. Past performance does not guarantee future results.