United Rentals(URI) - 2024 Q4 - Annual Results

Financial Performance - Total revenue for Q4 2024 reached $4.095 billion, with rental revenue of $3.422 billion, marking a year-over-year increase of 9.7%[7] - Net income for Q4 2024 was $689 million, with a net income margin of 16.8%, reflecting a 1.5% increase year-over-year[13] - Adjusted EBITDA for Q4 2024 was $1.900 billion, with an adjusted EBITDA margin of 46.4%, a decrease of 210 basis points from the previous year[13] - Net income for the year ended December 31, 2024, was $2,575 million, compared to $2,424 million in 2023, reflecting a 6.2% increase[25] - Diluted earnings per share for Q4 2024 were $10.47, an increase from $10.01 in Q4 2023[25] - Diluted earnings per share for the year ended December 31, 2024, was $38.69, up from $35.28 in 2023, reflecting a 6.8% increase[36] - The net income margin for Q4 2024 was 16.8%, slightly down from 18.2% in Q4 2023[44] - The adjusted EBITDA margin for the year ended December 31, 2024, was 46.7%, compared to 47.8% in 2023[44] Revenue Breakdown - Equipment rentals contributed $3,422 million to revenues, up 9.7% from $3,119 million year-over-year[25] - Total equipment rentals revenue for the three months ended December 31, 2024, was $3,422 million, representing a 9.7% increase compared to $3,119 million in 2023[34] - Specialty equipment rentals revenue increased by 30.5% year-over-year for the three months ended December 31, 2024, reaching $1,083 million[34] Cash Flow and Liquidity - Net cash provided by operating activities for 2024 was $4.546 billion, with free cash flow of $2.058 billion[7] - Net cash provided by operating activities for the year ended December 31, 2024, was $4,546 million, down from $4,704 million in 2023, a decrease of 3.4%[49] - Net cash provided by operating activities for Q4 2024 was $1,048 million, down from $1,414 million in Q4 2023, a decline of 26%[49] - Free cash flow for Q4 2024 was $847 million, a decrease from $1,149 million in Q4 2023, indicating a decline of 26.3%[49] Shareholder Returns - The company returned $1.934 billion to shareholders in 2024, including $1.500 billion in share repurchases and $434 million in dividends[7] - A 10% increase in the quarterly dividend was approved, resulting in a dividend of $1.79 per share payable on February 26, 2025[17] - The company declared dividends of $1.63 per share in Q4 2024, up from $1.48 in Q4 2023[25] Future Outlook - The 2025 outlook projects total revenue between $15.6 billion and $16.1 billion, with adjusted EBITDA expected to be between $7.2 billion and $7.45 billion[9] - The company plans net rental capital expenditures of $2.2 billion to $2.5 billion for 2025, after gross purchases of $3.65 billion[9] - The company expects free cash flow for 2025 to be between $2,000 million and $2,200 million, excluding merger and restructuring related payments[51] - Future outlook includes continued investment in new technologies and market expansion efforts[21] Asset and Debt Management - The company’s total assets increased to $28,163 million in 2024, up from $25,589 million in 2023[27] - Long-term debt rose to $12,228 million in 2024, compared to $10,053 million in 2023, indicating increased leverage[27] - The net leverage ratio at year-end 2024 was 1.8x, with total liquidity of $2.845 billion[17] Operational Efficiency - Fleet productivity increased by 4.3% year-over-year, with a 2.0% increase when excluding the impact of the Yak acquisition[7] - The company’s total equipment rentals gross profit for the year ended December 31, 2024, was $5,198 million, an 8.0% increase from $4,814 million in 2023[34] - The gross margin for total equipment rentals decreased by 130 basis points to 40.0% for the three months ended December 31, 2024[34] - The year-over-year change in average owned equipment cost (OEC) for the three months ended December 31, 2024, was 4.1%[32] Restructuring and Acquisitions - The company incurred total restructuring charges of $383 million since 2008, with no open restructuring programs currently[44] - The company is focused on closing the H&E acquisition and expects to increase its leverage ratio as part of this strategy[21]