Herc Holdings Inc. (HRI) Stock Price & How to Invest
Last updated July 2026
Short answer
Herc Holdings (HRI) is a US equipment-rental company, the number-three player behind United Rentals and Sunbelt (Ashtead), and it is best understood as a cyclical, capital-intensive infrastructure and construction play that just doubled down with the $4.8B H&E acquisition. How you view it hinges on whether the integration synergies and deleveraging land while non-residential construction and mega-projects stay strong.
HRI stock price
As of 2026-07-17, Herc Holdings Inc. (HRI) last closed at $149.47, up 9.4% over the past year. Over the past 52 weeks it has traded between $91.04 and $181.12.
Prices are daily closing prices from Yahoo Finance and may be delayed. For the live quote, check your broker or Herc Holdings Inc.'s investor relations page. Walnut is informational, not investment advice.
What does Herc Holdings Inc. (HRI) do?
Herc Holdings rents out aerial lifts, earthmoving and material-handling equipment, trucks, compressors, generators and related gear to construction, industrial, infrastructure and event customers across North America, and it also sells used fleet and contractor supplies plus repair, safety-training and equipment-management services. It is the third-largest equipment-rental company in the US behind United Rentals and Ashtead's Sunbelt Rentals, and it competes as a broad-line renter with growing specialty and national-account exposure. The model is capital-intensive: Herc buys fleet, rents it on high day-rates, and lives on utilization, rate, and how efficiently it recycles aging equipment into the used market.
The defining event is the June 2025 acquisition of H&E Equipment Services for roughly $4.8B, which enlarged the fleet, expanded the branch network, and pushed Q1 2026 revenue up more than 30 percent, but also lifted net leverage to around 3.8x to 4.0x and roughly doubled interest expense. The investment picture is therefore about execution: management targets about $300M of annual synergies and deleveraging back below 3.0x within roughly two years, against a backdrop where demand from mega-projects (data centers, chip fabs, reshoring, infrastructure) is a tailwind but local non-residential construction and interest rates are swing factors. It is a cyclical, high-operating-leverage name where results amplify both upside and downside in the construction cycle.
What's driving Herc Holdings Inc. (HRI)?
1. H&E integration and synergies
The H&E deal roughly doubled the relevance of integration to the story. Management reports run-rate cost synergies already ahead of schedule out of roughly $300M targeted by year three, with revenue synergies still to come. Successful capture would lift EBITDA margins and cash EPS, which management framed as high-single-digit accretive in 2026 ramping toward 20 percent-plus.
2. Mega-project and infrastructure demand
Herc has leaned into large construction projects such as data centers, semiconductor fabs, reshoring plants and public infrastructure, which favor national renters with deep specialty fleets. Q1 2026 growth was driven by a larger fleet plus higher volume on mega-projects in key markets. This concentration is a growth driver as long as the project pipeline stays funded.
3. Rate, utilization and fleet efficiency
Rental returns depend on holding day-rates while keeping equipment utilized and recycling aging fleet into the used-equipment market at good residuals. Adjusted EBITDA margin held near 39 percent in Q1 2026 despite integration. Disciplined capex (guided net rental capex of roughly $500M to $800M for 2026) and pricing are the levers management is pulling to protect returns.
4. Deleveraging and cash generation
Free cash flow nearly doubled year over year to about $94M in Q1 2026, and reducing net leverage from roughly 4x back toward Herc's sub-3x target is central to the equity case. Faster deleveraging would cut interest cost and free capacity for the dividend and continued fleet investment.
What are the risks to Herc Holdings Inc. (HRI)?
HRI is cyclical and capital-intensive, so a downturn in non-residential construction or industrial activity can compress utilization, rates and residual values quickly, and high operating leverage amplifies the hit. Net leverage near 3.8x to 4.0x after the H&E deal, plus roughly doubled interest expense, leaves less cushion and makes deleveraging execution critical; higher-for-longer rates raise both interest cost and the cost of fleet capex. Integration risk is real: the promised $300M of synergies and margin gains may arrive slower than planned. The company posted a GAAP net loss in Q1 2026 (driven partly by acquisition and interest costs) even as adjusted results beat. It is also the smaller number-three competitor against far larger United Rentals and Sunbelt, and mega-project concentration means a pause in that pipeline would matter.
How is Herc Holdings Inc. (HRI) valued? (approximate, July 2026)
A simple financial snapshot. These are approximations and refresh quarterly; for current figures see Herc Holdings Inc.'s investor relations page or your broker.
- Revenue (TTM): ~$4.2B
- Q1 2026 total revenue: ~$1.14B (+32% YoY)
- FY2026 adj. EBITDA guidance: ~$2.0B to $2.1B
- Market cap: ~$5B
- Dividend yield: ~2%
- Net leverage: ~3.8x to 4.0x
Herc affirmed 2026 guidance for equipment-rental revenue of roughly $4.275B to $4.4B and adjusted EBITDA of about $2.0B to $2.1B after a Q1 that beat on adjusted EPS while posting a GAAP net loss on acquisition and interest costs. The stock trades near a mid-single-digit-billion market cap, well below United Rentals, reflecting its number-three position and elevated post-deal leverage. Valuation multiples are best read on EBITDA and free cash flow rather than reported EPS given the acquisition noise.
Who competes with Herc Holdings Inc. (HRI)?
Large listed equipment renters
United Rentals (URI), the number-one player at roughly a $65B-plus market cap and about 16 percent share, and Ashtead Group's Sunbelt Rentals compete directly with Herc across general and specialty rental. Both are far larger and better capitalized, giving them scale advantages in fleet buying and national accounts.
Regional and specialty renters
A long tail of regional and independent rental companies, plus specialty players in areas like power, HVAC, pump, and trench, compete on local relationships and niche fleets. Consolidation (Herc's own H&E buy) is steadily shrinking this fragmented middle.
OEMs, dealers and buy-versus-rent
Equipment manufacturers and their dealer networks (and customers choosing to own rather than rent) are an indirect competitive force. When financing is cheap, more contractors buy; when uncertainty is high or projects are short, renting from Herc and peers gains share.
How to invest in Herc Holdings Inc. (HRI)
There are three common ways to get HRI 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 basket, so HRI sits alongside other stocks that express the same thesis.
Walnut takes the basket route. Describe a thesis where HRI 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.
The bottom line on Herc Holdings Inc. (HRI)
HRI is a leveraged, integration-in-progress bet on the North American equipment-rental cycle, with high operating leverage cutting both ways.
More on Herc Holdings Inc. (HRI)
Whether HRI 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 HRI a buy?, and where the stock could go from here in the HRI stock forecast.
For income investors, whether HRI pays a dividend and how the payout looks is covered in does HRI pay a dividend?
Build a basket around HRI with Walnut
Use Herc Holdings Inc. as one constituent in a thematic basket Walnut's AI helps you assemble. Describe a thesis you believe in, the AI proposes the holdings and weights, and you approve before any broker order.
FAQ
What does Herc Holdings do?
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Herc rents construction and industrial equipment such as aerial lifts, earthmoving and material-handling machines, trucks, air compressors, generators and lighting across North America. It also sells used equipment and contractor supplies and provides repair, maintenance, safety-training and equipment-management services.
Is HRI a large company?
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It is a mid-cap with a market cap around $5B as of July 2026 and trailing revenue near $4.2B. It is the third-largest equipment-rental company in the US, but much smaller than United Rentals and Ashtead's Sunbelt Rentals.
What was the H&E Equipment Services acquisition?
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In June 2025 Herc completed the roughly $4.8B acquisition of H&E Equipment Services, paying cash plus stock and extinguishing about $1.4B of H&E debt. The deal enlarged Herc's fleet and branch network and is the central driver of its 2026 revenue growth.
Why did HRI report a net loss in Q1 2026?
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The GAAP net loss of about $24M reflected acquisition-related costs and sharply higher interest expense from the debt used to fund H&E, even though adjusted net income and adjusted EBITDA both rose. Management reports adjusted figures to strip out that deal noise.
How much debt does Herc carry?
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Net leverage sat around 3.8x to 4.0x after the H&E deal, up from prior levels, with interest expense roughly doubling. Management targets deleveraging back below 3.0x within about two years as synergies and free cash flow build.
Does HRI pay a dividend?
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Yes. Herc pays a quarterly dividend, yielding roughly 2 percent as of July 2026, and has raised it in recent years. Investors watch whether elevated post-acquisition leverage and capex needs constrain future increases.
Who are Herc's main competitors?
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The main listed competitors are United Rentals (URI) and Ashtead Group's Sunbelt Rentals, both far larger. Herc also competes with regional and specialty renters and, indirectly, with equipment manufacturers, dealers, and customers who choose to own rather than rent.
What makes HRI cyclical?
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Rental demand tracks construction and industrial activity, so utilization, day-rates and used-equipment values fall in downturns and rise in upcycles. Because the model carries high fixed fleet costs and, now, higher debt, earnings swing more than revenue in both directions.
Walnut is informational, not investment advice. Financial figures on this page are approximations; always verify current numbers with Herc Holdings Inc.'s investor relations page or your broker before making investment decisions.