United Rentals, Inc. (URI), the largest equipment rental company in the world, reported a quarterly record in rental revenue and raised its 2026 full-year outlook after year-over-year fleet productivity accelerated for a second consecutive quarter.

Rental revenue rose 17.8% to $4.316 billion in the third quarter, after 12.7% growth to $3.849 billion in the second quarter. Total revenue reached a quarterly record of $4.893 billion. Fleet productivity, which the company defines as the combined effect of rental rates, time utilization and mix on owned equipment rental revenue, increased 6.5% year-over-year, after 3.4% in the second quarter and 2.3% in the first quarter.

The company said the rental-revenue increase reflected a 7.9% rise in average original equipment at cost, the 6.5% fleet-productivity contribution, a 4.9% contribution from ancillary and re-rent revenue, and a 1.5% assumed inflation offset. Chief executive Matthew Flannery said the company continued to lean into growth across general rentals and specialty businesses, with first-half momentum carrying through the quarter.

Specialty rentals was the faster-growing of the two reportable segments. Specialty rental revenue increased 34.7% year-over-year to a quarterly record of $1.704 billion, and specialty rental gross margin rose 250 basis points to 47.6%. General rentals rental revenue increased 8.8% to a quarterly record of $2.612 billion, with rental gross margin up 170 basis points to 38.4%. The company said the rental gross-margin gains in both segments primarily reflected efficiencies in depreciation, labor and benefits, repairs and maintenance, and delivery expenses, partially offset by a mix shift toward lower-margin ancillary and re-rent revenue.

Net income increased 31.2% year-over-year to a third-quarter record of $920 million, and net income margin rose 220 basis points to 18.8%. GAAP diluted earnings were $14.77 a share; adjusted EPS was $15.55. Adjusted EBITDA increased 19.8% to a quarterly record of $2.331 billion, with the margin up 160 basis points to 47.6%. The company said the adjusted EBITDA increase primarily reflected higher rental gross margin excluding depreciation and stock compensation, a lower SG&A expense ratio, and a larger share of revenue from equipment rentals.

Used equipment sales generated $348 million of proceeds, up 4.5% year-over-year, at a GAAP gross margin of 44.8% and an adjusted gross margin of 46.3%. The company realized a 51.4% OEC recovery rate on the fleet sold in the quarter.

United Rentals raised 2026 full-year total-revenue guidance to $18.0 billion to $18.2 billion from $17.5 billion to $17.8 billion, and raised adjusted EBITDA guidance to $8.3 billion to $8.4 billion from $7.975 billion to $8.125 billion. It also lifted net rental capital expenditures after gross purchases to $3.75 billion to $4.05 billion, after gross purchases of $5.2 billion to $5.5 billion, and raised operating-cash-flow guidance to $6.25 billion to $6.85 billion. Free cash flow excluding restructuring-related payments remains $2.15 billion to $2.45 billion. Flannery said the raised guidance is supported by customer confidence, backlogs, and momentum across large projects.

For the nine months ended September 30, 2026, cash flow from operating activities increased 25.4% to $4.934 billion, and free cash flow including restructuring-related payments increased 19.2% to $1.421 billion. Year-to-date gross rental capital expenditures were $4.746 billion.

The company completed its prior $2.0 billion share-repurchase program and commenced a new $5.0 billion program during the nine months. It repurchased $1.125 billion of common stock and paid $371 million of dividends, and expects to complete $1.5 billion of share repurchases in 2026. Net leverage was 1.8x at September 30, 2026, versus 1.9x at year-end 2025. Total liquidity was $2.615 billion, including $153 million of cash. The board declared a quarterly dividend of $1.97 a share, payable November 25, 2026.