Herc Raises 2026 Outlook as $150 Million in Fleet Spending Moves Forward

Herc Holdings Inc. raised its 2026 equipment rental revenue and net fleet spending outlook Tuesday, Oct. 27, bringing forward about $150 million of investment to meet fourth-quarter mega-project demand.

The rental revenue range is $4.475 billion to $4.550 billion, for a $4.5125 billion midpoint, or about $4.513 billion. Net rental equipment capital expenditures are forecast at $1.0 billion to $1.1 billion, versus the previous $850 million to $950 million range. The midpoint is now $1.05 billion, compared with $900 million before. Both midpoint values are calculated from range endpoints, not separate single-number targets. Net fleet spending reflects equipment purchases after subtracting proceeds from fleet disposals.

On Tuesday’s earnings call, Senior Vice President and CFO Mark Humphrey said about $150 million of incremental net fleet investment was shifted from the 2027 budget into 2026. The funds are primarily for specialty equipment supporting newly won or expanded mega-project assignments in the fourth quarter. Herc has not disclosed a 2027 fleet spending range, so the pull-forward does not set a formal spending target for next year.

Herc also raised its full-year adjusted EBITDA outlook to $2.10 billion to $2.15 billion, from $2.05 billion to $2.125 billion. Its free cash flow forecast remained $250 million to $350 million. Gross capital expenditures are expected to total $1.45 billion to $1.60 billion.

For the three months ended Sept. 30, equipment rental revenue climbed 11.8% year over year to $1.254 billion. Total revenue rose 4.6% to $1.364 billion, and adjusted EBITDA increased 9.4% to $603 million. Average fleet at original equipment cost grew 1.7% from a year earlier.

Dollar utilization was 43.5%, up from 39.9% in the prior-year quarter, a 360-basis-point increase. Herc ended Sept. 30 with $8.0 billion of net debt, net leverage of 3.90x and about $2.1 billion in liquidity.

Herc Rentals offers a broad range of equipment through 615 locations in North America. Its equipment categories include aerial, earthmoving, material handling, specialty and other equipment. Herc linked quarterly growth in part to mega-project volume, pricing improvement, fleet mix and H&E-related revenue synergies. Chief Executive Officer Larry Silber said, “Growth in our large-project pipeline continues to exceed our expectations.”