Fort Mill, S.C., March 12, 2026, 4:39 PM EDT
Sunbelt Rentals shares fell on Thursday after the equipment rental group posted lower third-quarter profit and thinner margins, despite tightening its full-year rental revenue outlook. The stock was down $1.42, or about 2%, at $69.80 by 4:04 p.m. UTC, Reuters market data showed. 1
The report is the first quarterly update since the former Ashtead Group shifted its primary listing to New York on March 2 and switched to U.S. GAAP, the accounting standard used by U.S.-listed companies. The move aligned the stock with a company that reports in dollars and derives almost all of its operating profit from North America, so investors are watching closely to see whether demand from large projects can offset soft local commercial construction and higher repair costs. 2
Revenue for the quarter ended Jan. 31 rose 2.7% to $2.637 billion, while net income fell to $290 million from $325 million a year earlier. Adjusted per-share earnings, which exclude some items, slipped to 78 cents; MT Newswires, citing FactSet, said revenue and adjusted EPS were just below estimates of $2.65 billion and 81 cents. 3
Adjusted EBITDA, a profit measure that excludes interest, tax and depreciation, fell to $1.082 billion from $1.117 billion, and the margin narrowed to 41.0% from 43.5%. Sunbelt blamed higher repair and fleet repositioning costs, a larger mix of add-on service revenue and lower hurricane-related activity, while Chief Executive Brendan Horgan said the business was still seeing “mixed end markets” with support from large projects, strategic customer gains and non-construction demand. 4
Management also lifted the midpoint of its growth view while narrowing the range. Sunbelt cut its fiscal 2026 rental revenue growth guidance band to 2% to 3% from 0% to 4%, raised gross capital spending to $2.2 billion-$2.3 billion from $1.8 billion-$2.2 billion, and said it expects about $2 billion of free cash flow, the cash left after capital spending; it also confirmed a new $1.5 billion share buyback that began on March 2 after finishing the previous plan in February. 5
The harder question is whether that tighter revenue range can outweigh weaker profitability. Goldman Sachs analyst Suhasini Varanasi wrote this week that Sunbelt would need “an acceleration in top line and EPS trends” before turning more positive on the stock, adding that weaker local commercial construction had opened a performance gap with closest peer United Rentals. 6
The main risk is that revenue improves more slowly than spending. Sunbelt said local non-residential construction remained only moderate and repair and repositioning costs were still elevated; if those pressures linger, the higher fleet spending plan could keep margins under strain even if large-project demand holds up. The company has also flagged broader risks from competition, interest rates, tariffs, supply-chain disruption and geopolitical shocks. 4
Sunbelt moved its primary listing from London to New York earlier this month but kept a secondary London line, where the shares were down 0.9% on Thursday. Reuters has previously described the company, long known as Ashtead, as the second-largest U.S. equipment rental firm, behind United Rentals. 7
