Custom Truck One Source, Inc. (CTOS) Stock Price & How to Invest
Last updated October 2026
Short answer
CTOS is Custom Truck One Source, a specialty equipment rental and sales company serving electric utility transmission and distribution, telecom, rail and infrastructure markets. It is a cyclical, capital-intensive, high-leverage way to play grid-modernization spending rather than a steady compounder. As of October 16, 2026 the shares closed at $9.15, up about 58% year to date and about 43% over one year, for a market cap near $2.1 billion.
CTOS stock price
As of 2026-10-16, Custom Truck One Source, Inc. (CTOS) last closed at $9.08, up 42.3% over the past year. Over the past 52 weeks it has traded between $5.34 and $11.97.
Prices are daily closing prices from Yahoo Finance and may be delayed. For the live quote, check your broker or Custom Truck One Source, Inc.'s investor relations page. Walnut is informational, not investment advice.
What does Custom Truck One Source, Inc. (CTOS) do?
Custom Truck One Source rents and sells specialized work trucks and equipment (bucket trucks, digger derricks, cranes, aerial lifts, service trucks) to the crews that build and maintain electric transmission and distribution lines, telecom networks, rail, forestry and waste operations across the US and Canada. It runs three segments: Equipment Rental Solutions (ERS), Truck and Equipment Sales (TES), and Aftermarket Parts and Services (APS). The pitch is a one-stop platform that spans rental, new and used sales, parts, and service, tied directly to long-cycle infrastructure demand drivers like grid modernization and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
The investment picture is a leveraged bet on that infrastructure cycle. Trailing twelve-month revenue reached about $2.04 billion, with the June 2026 quarter at roughly $563 million, up about 10% from a year earlier, and EPS of $0.09 against a consensus of $0.01. Trailing net income is now positive at about $21 million, after net losses in 2024 and 2025, though the profit margin is still only about 1%. The company carries roughly $2.55 billion of total debt against about $10 million of cash, according to Yahoo Finance data. The bull case is deleveraging plus durable utility demand; the bear case is a capital-heavy, cyclical model where a slowdown in equipment demand or higher-for-longer interest rates squeezes both fleet economics and the balance sheet. The stock has rallied hard in 2026 (up about 58% year to date) but has given back about 11% over the past three months, with the 52-week range spanning $5.18 to $12.23.
What's driving Custom Truck One Source, Inc. (CTOS)?
1. Grid modernization and utility T&D demand
The core demand driver is aging US electric grid infrastructure, electrification and federal infrastructure funding. Utility transmission and distribution work requires exactly the specialty trucks CTOS rents and sells, which gives it a long runway if utility capex stays elevated. This end-market concentration is both the growth engine and the key dependency.
2. Rental fleet utilization and mix
Higher fleet utilization, which reached the low-to-mid 80s percent in earlier quarters, drives operating leverage because the fleet is a mostly fixed asset base. Growing the higher-margin rental segment and selling used equipment out of the fleet at good prices are the main levers on returns. Rental revenue grew double digits in 2025, and total revenue was up about 10% year over year in the June 2026 quarter.
3. Deleveraging and free cash flow
Management has committed to bringing net leverage below four times by the end of 2026 and toward roughly three times in 2027 by generating levered free cash flow and reining in net fleet capex. Trailing free cash flow was about $80 million on roughly $197 million of operating cash flow, small next to about $2.55 billion of total debt. Successful deleveraging would materially reduce interest expense and equity risk, and progress here is arguably the single most important swing factor for the stock.
4. Record sales volumes and a return to GAAP profit
The Truck and Equipment Sales segment delivered record annual revenue around $1.1 billion in 2025, showing that demand extends beyond rental into outright purchases by customers. In 2026 the company has beaten EPS estimates in each reported quarter, posting $0.02 against an expected loss of $0.05 in Q1 and $0.09 against $0.01 in Q2. Analysts expect about $0.13 of EPS for full-year 2026 and about $0.31 for 2027, on revenue of roughly $2.12 billion and $2.24 billion.
What are the risks to Custom Truck One Source, Inc. (CTOS)?
CTOS is highly cyclical and capital-intensive, so a downturn in construction, utility or infrastructure spending would hit both rental demand and used-equipment resale values. The balance sheet carries roughly $2.55 billion of total debt against about $10 million of cash, which makes the equity sensitive to interest rates and to any stumble in cash generation; a September 2026 analysis on rising Treasury yields and energy costs pointed at exactly that exposure. Profitability is thin: trailing net income of about $21 million is roughly a 1% margin, and the stock trades near 102 times trailing earnings, so small misses swing the multiple. Concentration in electric utility end markets means a pullback in that single customer group would be outsized. Execution on the deleveraging plan is not guaranteed, and a broader industrial slowdown could push targets out. The shares have also been volatile, dropping alongside other equipment names on several days in late September and early October 2026.
What is the Custom Truck One Source, Inc. (CTOS) forecast?
6 analysts publish price targets on CTOS, averaging $13.33 against a $9.08 price as of October 2026, or +46.8%. The published targets run from $12.00 to $15.00, a narrow spread, and the ratings split 5 buy, 1 hold, 0 sell. Over the last six months there have been 7 raises and 0 cuts among the published actions. A price target is what an analyst published on a date, not a prediction, and sell-side ratings skew positive across the whole market.
Read the full CTOS forecast and price target for the target table, the recent rating actions by firm, and how the consensus has shifted.
Is CTOS a buy or a sell?
We give no verdict on Custom Truck One Source, Inc.. Both cases are real, which is why the question is contested at all, so here is the strongest version of each.
The case for buying. Grid modernization and utility T&D demand. The core demand driver is aging US electric grid infrastructure, electrification and federal infrastructure funding. The most optimistic published target, $15.00, assumes this works close to its best case.
The case against. CTOS is highly cyclical and capital-intensive, so a downturn in construction, utility or infrastructure spending would hit both rental demand and used-equipment resale values. The most pessimistic target, $12.00, is roughly what CTOS is worth if this bites instead.
Read the full bull and bear case on CTOS, including what would have to change to break either one. Walnut is not an investment adviser.
Has Custom Truck One Source, Inc. (CTOS) split its stock?
No. Custom Truck One Source, Inc. (CTOS) has not split its stock in the last 10 years. That is a statement about the window we check rather than about the company’s entire history, so an older split is possible. It also matters less than it once did: fractional shares mean a high price per share no longer keeps smaller investors out, which removed most of the practical reason to split.
How is Custom Truck One Source, Inc. (CTOS) valued? (approximate, October 2026)
A simple financial snapshot. These are approximations and refresh quarterly; for current figures see Custom Truck One Source, Inc.'s investor relations page or your broker.
- Revenue (TTM): ~$2.04B
- Revenue growth (Q2 2026, YoY): ~+10%
- Margins (gross / operating / net): ~22% / ~9% / ~1%
- Net income (TTM): ~$21M (EPS ~$0.09)
- P/E (trailing / forward): ~102x / ~30x
- Total debt / cash: ~$2.55B / ~$10M
- Market cap: ~$2.1B
CTOS trades on EBITDA and leverage more than earnings, since GAAP profit has only just turned positive over the trailing year; at about 102 times trailing and 30 times forward EPS, the P/E mostly reflects how thin those earnings are. The enterprise value is dominated by debt (EV to EBITDA is about 20 times on Yahoo's measure), so the equity is effectively a levered claim on a growing but capital-heavy rental platform. Analysts' mean target is about $13.33 across six analysts, and whether the multiple re-rates depends heavily on hitting the sub-four-times leverage target.
Who competes with Custom Truck One Source, Inc. (CTOS)?
Broad equipment rental
United Rentals (URI), Herc Holdings (HRI) and WillScot (WSC) are much larger, more diversified rental companies. They compete for capital and sometimes overlap on fleet, but CTOS is far more specialized in utility and vocational trucks than these general rental peers.
Specialty truck OEMs and dealers
Altec Industries, Terex Utilities and truck makers like Kenworth, plus dealers such as Briggs Equipment, compete on the manufacturing and sales side. CTOS both buys from and competes against parts of this ecosystem by offering an integrated rent-buy-service model.
Emerging and regional rental platforms
EquipmentShare and various regional utility-equipment renters compete for the same infrastructure crews. These players pressure pricing and utilization in specific markets, though few match the national scale and vocational focus of CTOS.
What stocks are similar to Custom Truck One Source, Inc. (CTOS)?
Other names that sit close to CTOS: same theme, named as a direct competitor, or held beside it in the same funds. Each entry says which. Worth a look if you are thinking about diversification within a thesis rather than concentration on one ticker.
Named as a competitor on the CTOS page.
Named as a competitor on the CTOS page.
Named as a competitor on the CTOS page.
Named as a competitor on the CTOS page.
How to invest in Custom Truck One Source, Inc. (CTOS)
There are three common ways to get CTOS exposure. Buy shares (or fractional shares) directly at any major broker. Hold an ETF that includes it, which spreads the position across many companies. Or build it into a focused thematic portfolio, so CTOS sits alongside other stocks that express the same thesis.
Walnut takes the portfolio route. Describe a thesis where CTOS fits (for example “AI infrastructure” or “dividend-growth large-caps”) and the AI proposes 5 to 6 constituents with target weights. You review the plan and fund it through your own broker when you're ready.
New to this? Start with how to invest in stocks, see how to analyze a stock with AI, or compare the best AI stock analyzers.
The bottom line on Custom Truck One Source, Inc. (CTOS)
CTOS ties its fortunes to US grid and infrastructure investment, and the story hinges on whether rental utilization and free cash flow can pay down a heavy debt load. A strong second quarter of 2026 turned GAAP results positive over the trailing year, and the Q3 report on October 26 is the next test.
More on Custom Truck One Source, Inc. (CTOS)
Whether CTOS is worth buying today depends more on your time horizon and what you already hold than on any single call. We walk through valuation, what would have to go right, and the risks in is CTOS a buy or a sell?, and where the stock could go from here in the CTOS stock forecast.
For income investors, whether CTOS pays a dividend and how the payout looks is covered in does CTOS pay a dividend? And to weigh CTOS against a peer, read the full side-by-side comparisons: CTOS vs URI and CTOS vs HRI.
Wondering how CTOS fits the portfolio you already own? Walnut is an AI investing app that connects your brokerage read-only and answers questions like that about your actual holdings: overlap, concentration, and how each position tracks the S&P 500. Compare the best AI portfolio analyzers or see the best AI investing apps in 2026.
Investing in Custom Truck One Source, Inc. with AI
Connect the broker you already use and ask Walnut's AI how CTOS fits what you actually hold: whether you own it already through a fund, what it would do to your concentration, and how it has tracked the S&P 500. Read-only by default, and you approve anything before it reaches your broker.
FAQ
What does Custom Truck One Source do?
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It rents and sells specialized work trucks and equipment, such as bucket trucks, digger derricks, cranes and aerial lifts, mainly to electric utility, telecom, rail and infrastructure crews across the US and Canada, and also provides parts and service.
What are CTOS's business segments?
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Three: Equipment Rental Solutions (ERS), which owns and rents the fleet, Truck and Equipment Sales (TES), which sells new and used equipment, and Aftermarket Parts and Services (APS), which supplies parts and maintenance.
How big is Custom Truck One Source?
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It reported record revenue of roughly $1.94 billion in 2025, and trailing twelve-month revenue reached about $2.04 billion by mid-2026. Its market capitalization was about $2.1 billion as of October 16, 2026, with roughly 2,500 employees.
Is CTOS profitable?
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Barely, but now positive. After GAAP net losses in 2024 and 2025, trailing twelve-month net income was about $21 million as of the June 2026 quarter, roughly a 1% margin. Analysts expect EPS of about $0.13 for 2026 and $0.31 for 2027.
Why is debt a focus for CTOS?
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The rental model is capital-intensive, and CTOS carries roughly $2.55 billion of total debt against about $10 million of cash, per Yahoo Finance data. Management has committed to reducing net leverage below four times by the end of 2026 and toward three times in 2027.
What drives demand for CTOS equipment?
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Aging electric grid infrastructure, electrification, grid modernization and federal infrastructure funding drive demand for the utility transmission and distribution trucks that make up its core fleet and sales.
Who competes with Custom Truck One Source?
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Broad renters like United Rentals and Herc Holdings, specialty truck makers and dealers like Altec and Terex Utilities, and emerging platforms like EquipmentShare all compete in overlapping parts of the market.
What are the main risks with CTOS stock?
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It is cyclical and capital-intensive with high leverage, so an infrastructure or industrial slowdown, higher interest rates, weaker used-equipment values, or a miss on deleveraging targets could all pressure the equity. Walnut is not an investment adviser.
How did Custom Truck One Source do in its latest quarter?
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In the quarter ended June 30, 2026, revenue was about $563 million, up roughly 10% year over year, and net income was about $10.4 million. EPS of $0.09 beat the $0.01 consensus, its fourth straight quarterly beat. Third-quarter results are scheduled for October 26, 2026, with consensus near breakeven EPS on about $516 million of revenue.
How has CTOS stock performed in 2026?
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As of October 16, 2026, CTOS closed at $9.15, up about 58% year to date and about 43% over one year. It has cooled recently, down about 11% over three months, and trades between a 52-week low of $5.18 and high of $12.23.
Walnut is informational, not investment advice. Financial figures on this page are approximations; always verify current numbers with Custom Truck One Source, Inc.'s investor relations page or your broker before making investment decisions.