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United Rentals (URI): analysis traps
Where its figures could mislead a reader, and what to check before taking them at face value · Data: Q3 2026, to Sep 30, 2026, filed Oct 21, 2026; rules v1.1
United Rentals (URI): 0 rules of 10 triggered on the filings to Sep 30, 2026. 1 to review; 2 with insufficient data; 2 not applicable. Each is a question to verify, with the normal explanation that would produce the same figures.
Check these first
A precise DCF value = the true value To review · confidence high
The DCF's point value is 550.73 a share (price 1,055.57); 68% of it is the terminal value, a number about years no one has seen. Moving revenue growth (each year) by ±5 pts alone takes it from 413.32 to 713.99; across every method the research ran the range is 82 to 2,541. The value is a range; the decimals are not information.
Innocent reading: A stable, mature business with a narrow range of outcomes, where the point value is a fair summary.
Every rule
A01 FCF growth = the business improved Insufficient data
fewer than two fiscal years with operating cash flow and capital expenditure on file
A07 Stock compensation added back = no economic cost Not triggered confidence high
Stock compensation is 0.8% of revenue: small enough that adding it back changes little.
The figures and how they are read
| Fiscal year | FY2025 |
| Stock compensation | $134M |
| Revenue | $16.1B |
| SBC / revenue | +0.8% |
| Buybacks | $2.0B |
| Buybacks / SBC | 14.7 |
| Diluted shares, year before | 66.6M shares |
| Diluted shares | 64.6M shares |
| Diluted shares: change | -2.9% |
SBC / revenue from the cash flow statement's add-back; the diluted weighted share count year over year; buybacks from the financing section
Source: FY2025 (stock compensation, buybacks and the diluted share count, fiscal year)
B02 Receivables growing = future cash is certain Not triggered confidence medium
Receivables grew 20% against revenue 16% in Q3 2026: collections are keeping pace with sales.
The figures and how they are read
| Quarter | Q3 2026 |
| Revenue, year over year | +15.7% |
| Receivables, year over year | +20.1% |
| Quarter before | Q1 2026 |
| Revenue y/y, quarter before | +7.1% |
| Receivables y/y, quarter before | +11.4% |
| Days sales outstanding | — |
| DSO, median of eight quarters | 53.8 |
| Receivables | $3.1B |
| Revenue | $4.9B |
receivables and revenue against the same quarter a year earlier; DSO = receivables / quarterly revenue × days, against the median of the eight quarters before
Source: Q3 2026 (receivables and revenue) · Q3 2025 (the same quarter a year earlier)
B08 Adjusted profit = economic profit Insufficient data
no reconciliation table read from the releases yet and fewer than three quarters with both an adjusted and a GAAP EPS
C02 Low net debt = no refinancing risk Not triggered confidence medium
$1.6B comes due within a year, 4.2× covered by cash and investments of $459M plus $6.2B of free cash flow.
The figures and how they are read
| Cash and investments | $459M |
| Debt | $14.3B |
| Net debt | $13.8B |
| Due within a year | $1.6B |
| Read from | the debt maturity table |
| Free cash flow, twelve months | $6.2B |
| Cash plus free cash flow | $6.6B |
| Coverage of what is due | 4.2 |
| Due in the second year | $851M |
| Balance sheet date | 2025-12-31 |
due within a year from the maturity table (else the current portion of debt), against cash and investments plus free cash flow over the last twelve months (zero if negative); no credit lines assumed
Source: FY2025 (debt maturities, cash and investments)
D03 EPS growth = profit growth Not triggered confidence high
EPS rose 35% and net income rose 31% in Q3 2026; the share count fell 3.1%: EPS growth follows profit growth.
The figures and how they are read
| Quarter | Q3 2026 |
| Quarter before | Q3 2025 |
| EPS, year before | $10.91 |
| EPS | $14.78 |
| Net income, year before | $701M |
| Net income | $920M |
| Diluted shares, year before | 64.3M shares |
| Diluted shares | 62.3M shares |
| EPS growth | +35.5% |
| Net income growth | +31.2% |
| Diluted shares: change | -3.1% |
| eps from profit | $3.41 |
| eps from share count | $0.46 |
EPS and net income against the same quarter a year earlier; the EPS bridge attributes the change to profit first, then to the share count (the order is fixed and disclosed)
Source: Q3 2026 (net income, diluted shares, EPS) · Q3 2025 (the same quarter a year earlier)
E02 Low P/E at a cyclical peak = undervalued Not triggered confidence medium
Net income of $2.5B is not at a cyclical high against the last eight years (median $2.1B, best $2.6B): the P/E of 27.2× is on a normal year.
The figures and how they are read
| market value | $67.8B |
| net income ttm | $2.5B |
| pe ttm | 27.20 |
| net income median fy | $2.1B |
| pe mid cycle | 32.20 |
| net income peak fy | $2.6B |
| years | FY2018 / 1096.0; FY2019 / 1174.0; FY2020 / 890.0; FY2021 / 1386.0; FY2022 / 2105.0; FY2023 / 2424.0; FY2024 / 2575.0; FY2025 / 2494.0 |
| down years in window | 2 |
P/E on the trailing twelve months' net income against the P/E on the median net income of the last eight fiscal years (a mid-cycle stand-in); 'at a peak' = this year's profit at or above 90% of the best year and at least 1.3× the median
Source: Q3 2026 (net income, trailing twelve months)
E07 A precise DCF value = the true value To review confidence high
The DCF's point value is 550.73 a share (price 1,055.57); 68% of it is the terminal value, a number about years no one has seen. Moving revenue growth (each year) by ±5 pts alone takes it from 413.32 to 713.99; across every method the research ran the range is 82 to 2,541. The value is a range; the decimals are not information.
The figures and how they are read
| dcf value | 550.73 |
| price | 1,055.57 |
| terminal value share | +67.5% |
| swing by input | Revenue growth (each year) / ±5 pts / 413.32 / 713.99; WACC / ±1 pt / 456.27 / 678.22; Operating margin / ±3 pts / 460.64 / 640.81; Tax rate / ±5 pts / 501.14 / 600.32 |
| range all methods | 81.94; 2540.56 |
the DCF's point value against the share of it that is the terminal value and the value at each input moved by one step (growth ±5 pts, WACC ±1 pt, margin ±3 pts …); the range across every method the research ran
Source: 2026-11-08 (valuation research)
What would explain it innocently
- A stable, mature business with a narrow range of outcomes, where the point value is a fair summary
- The inputs that matter most are themselves well known (a regulated return, a long contract)
What to look for in the filing
- Which input you believe differs from the research's and why
- What the price implies for growth (the reverse DCF on the fair-value page)
What would show the trap does not apply
- The DCF's value is robust to the terminal growth and discount rate (the range's low end is still above the price)
- The company's cash flows over the next three years track the DCF's early years
Look again: next filing.
J06 A bank's low P/E and high profit = safe Not applicable
not a bank
J08 A REIT's low net income = the dividend is unsafe Not applicable
not a REIT
What the statuses mean
Triggered: the filings show the pattern; read the normal explanations and the missing evidence before concluding anything. To review: one quarter or a weak signal; a reader's judgement, not a pattern. Not triggered: the pattern is absent on these figures. Insufficient data: the filings read so far do not hold what the rule needs; this is not a clean bill. Not applicable: the rule is not meant for this kind of company (a bank's working capital, a loss-making quarter's EPS growth). Out of date: the latest filing is more than fifteen months old.
Severity is what the pattern could mean for cash, value or solvency; confidence is how reliable the inputs and the reading are. The two are kept apart.
Record a view
A reader's judgement, grounds, what would change it and the next review; kept in the browser (needs JavaScript).
Every rule and the companies it triggers on → United Rentals: cash flow → Earnings quality score →
Each rule reads the company's own filings by a fixed formula and says what would explain the same figures innocently. A triggered rule is a question to verify, not a finding of manipulation, and not a view on the stock. Missing data is shown as missing, never as clear. Not investment advice.