Herc Holdings (HRI) Earnings: Q3 2026 Results

The quarter ended September 30, 2026 and Herc Holdings published the results on October 27, 2026. Revenue and diluted EPS are shown against Q3 2025, the same quarter a year earlier, which takes seasonal swings out of the comparison. Herc Holdings reports EPS two ways: GAAP, under the accounting rules every US filer follows, and adjusted, which leaves out items the company considers outside its operating results. The release reconciles the two, and when they diverge, the reconciliation says why.

• Herc Holdings completed its acquisition of H&E Equipment Services on June 2, 2025, so both quarters shown include H&E, but the nine-month comparisons do not.
• Herc Holdings reports one segment; the rows above are the revenue lines of its statement of operations.

Source: Herc Holdings Q3 2026 results, October 27, 2026. Also in the Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2026. Figures as reported; checked against the release on November 10, 2026.

How Herc Holdings splits revenue in its own release, under its own labels, for Q3 2026 against Q3 2025. Indented lines are parts of the line above them.

• Herc Holdings's Equipment rental revenue was $1.3 billion in Q3 2026, up 12% from $1.1 billion in Q3 2025, 92% of total revenue.
• Herc Holdings's Sales of rental equipment revenue was $85.0 million in Q3 2026, down 44% from $151 million in Q3 2025, 6% of total revenue.
• Herc Holdings's Sales of new equipment, parts and supplies revenue was $13.0 million in Q3 2026, down 28% from $18.0 million in Q3 2025, under 1% of total revenue.
• Herc Holdings's Service and other revenue revenue was $12.0 million in Q3 2026, down 8% from $13.0 million in Q3 2025, under 1% of total revenue.

Segment lines are the figures writers cite most often, because they show where the growth in a quarter came from. Companies redraw their segments from time to time and restate the prior year to match, so a year-ago figure here can differ from the one printed a year ago. When that has happened, the note above says so.

From the earnings release

The first line is from the release; the assumptions are from the earnings presentation filed with it. The guidance ranges themselves are in a table, summarized in the expectations section below.

In its Q3 2026 release, Herc Holdings said:

“The Company is raising its full year 2026 equipment rental revenue, adjusted EBITDA, gross and net rental capital expenditures guidance ranges.”

“Revenue synergies estimated at an incremental $100-$120M”

“Cost synergies estimated at an incremental $90M for fully realized target of $125M by YE26”

“Free cash flow unchanged range of $250-$350M, adjusted for strategic fleet investment to support long-term growth”

Source: Herc Holdings Q3 2026 release, Oct 27, 2026.

This is the company's own guidance as of Oct 27, 2026, quoted as given. Walnut does not make forecasts of its own. Analyst estimates for the coming quarters are on the HRI forecast page.

Revenue and diluted EPS for the last 5 quarters. Each date links to that quarter's release.

GAAP total revenues and diluted EPS, each as first reported in that quarter's release.

We do not hold a confirmed date for Herc Holdings's next report. Companies post the date on their investor relations site a few weeks ahead, usually with the time of the conference call.

Each quarter keeps its own page with the figures as reported, so a link to one stays pointed at the same numbers after the next report.

• Q3 2026 (this page), reported Oct 27, 2026

Equipment rental is most of Herc Holdings' revenue: $1,254 million of the $1,364 million total in Q3 2026, a record. The rest came from selling used rental equipment ($85 million), new equipment, parts and supplies ($13 million), and service and other revenue ($12 million). (Herc Holdings Q3 2026 release, Oct 27, 2026)

Herc Holdings said equipment rental revenue rose $132 million, or 12%, mainly from growth in average fleet on rent, particularly on mega projects, related delivery and refuel revenues, and revenue synergies from the H&E acquisition. Average fleet at original equipment cost grew only 1.7%, so dollar utilization rose to 43.5% from 39.9%. (Herc Holdings Form 10-Q, Q3 2026, Oct 27, 2026; Herc Holdings Q3 2026 release, Oct 27, 2026)

Total revenues grew less, 5%, because sales of rental equipment fell $66 million, or 44%. A year earlier Herc Holdings had sold more fleet to rebalance its mix after buying H&E. The margin on those sales rose to 20% from 11%. (Herc Holdings Form 10-Q, Q3 2026, Oct 27, 2026; Herc Holdings Q3 2026 release, Oct 27, 2026)

By customer, contractors made up 42% of Q3 2026 revenue, industrial customers 24%, infrastructure and government 17%, commercial facilities 11% and other 6%. National accounts were 45% and local accounts 55%; Herc Holdings' long-term aim is 60% local and 40% national. It cited data centers, infrastructure, manufacturing and energy projects in its large-project pipeline. (Herc Holdings Q3 2026 earnings presentation, Oct 27, 2026; Herc Holdings Q3 2026 release, Oct 27, 2026)

Herc Holdings operates 615 locations across North America with a fleet of about $10.0 billion at original equipment cost. Its business is seasonal: demand is lower in winter, particularly in the northern United States and Canada, and higher in the third and fourth quarters. (Herc Holdings Q3 2026 release, Oct 27, 2026; Herc Holdings Form 10-Q, Q3 2026, Oct 27, 2026)

Herc Holdings' GAAP diluted EPS was $3.10 in Q3 2026, against $0.90 a year earlier, and adjusted EPS $3.91, against $2.22. The adjusted figure adds back $31 million of merger related intangible asset amortization and $10 million from the fair value mark-up of acquired fleet that was sold, less a $10 million depreciation benefit on acquired fleet and $8 million of tax. Transaction expenses fell to $1 million from $38 million. (Herc Holdings Q3 2026 release, Oct 27, 2026)

Interest expense fell to $126 million from $134 million on lower average borrowings and lower floating rates, and the income tax provision was $16 million against $8 million. Diluted shares were 33.5 million, against 33.3 million, and Herc Holdings paid a quarterly dividend of $0.70. (Herc Holdings Q3 2026 release, Oct 27, 2026)

Diluted EPS divides net income by the weighted average number of shares outstanding in the quarter, plus the shares that options and other equity awards could add. Buybacks shrink that count and lift EPS for the same profit; share issuance and stock awards enlarge it.

Herc Holdings gives full-year guidance in its release and raised it for the second time in 2026. It now expects equipment rental revenue of $4.475 billion to $4.550 billion (previously $4.375 billion to $4.475 billion), adjusted EBITDA of $2.10 billion to $2.15 billion (previously $2.05 billion to $2.125 billion) and net rental equipment capital expenditures of $1.0 billion to $1.1 billion (previously $850 million to $950 million). (Herc Holdings Q3 2026 release, Oct 27, 2026)

The earnings presentation lists the assumptions: incremental revenue synergies of $100-$120 million, incremental cost synergies of $90 million toward a $125 million target by the end of 2026, an effective tax rate of about 20%, and free cash flow of $250-$350 million. (Herc Holdings Q3 2026 earnings presentation, Oct 27, 2026)

A consensus figure is the average of the models published by the analysts who cover Herc Holdings, collected by a data provider and revised up to the day of the report. A quarter that lands above it says how expectations were set as much as how the business did, and the share price on the day also reflects the guidance and the lines no consensus covers.

The consensus figures on this page are Yahoo Finance's, as pulled on the date shown. Each comes with the number of analysts behind it; the smaller that number, the more one revised estimate can move the average.

The figures below are the ones Herc Holdings's own release and filings put weight on for Q3 2026, with the latest reported value for each.

What the quarter means for a holding is a separate question from what it reported. The case for and against owning HRI is on is HRI a buy or a sell?, what analysts expect next is on the HRI forecast, and what the company does is on the Herc Holdings (HRI) stock page.

Every number on this page can be traced to a document Herc Holdings published. Checking one takes a couple of minutes, and it is worth doing before you quote a figure anywhere.

• The results release is the document linked in the source line above. Companies publish it on their investor relations site at the moment results go out, and it carries the headline tables: revenue, operating income, net income and EPS for the quarter and the year-ago quarter.
• The same release is filed with the SEC as Exhibit 99.1 to a Form 8-K under Item 2.02, usually on the day of the report. The SEC copy does not change after the fact, which makes it the safer thing to link when you cite a number.
• The quarterly report (Form 10-Q) follows within a few weeks and carries the full financial statements, the segment note and management's discussion of what changed. The fourth quarter is covered by the annual report (Form 10-K) instead.
• Restated comparisons are flagged in the notes on this page. When a company redraws its segments or changes how it adjusts EPS, it restates the year-ago column, so the year-ago figure in a new release can differ from the one printed a year ago. This page always uses the comparison in the newer release, because that is the like-for-like one.

A walk-through of every line in a release, with what each one tells you, is in how to read an earnings report.