United Rentals North America 10-K2023 FY Annual report

United Rentals is the largest equipment rental company in the world, operates throughout the United States and Canada, and has a limited presence in Europe, Australia and New Zealand. The table below presents key information about our business as of and for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022. Our business is discussed in more detail below. The data below should be read in conjunction with, and is qualified by reference to, our Management’s Discussion and Analysis and our consolidated financial statements and notes thereto contained elsewhere in this report.

The Company focuses on the following in managing its human capital:

For the past several years, as we continued to manage the impact of global economic conditions and COVID-19, we executed a strategy focused on improving the profitability of our core equipment rental business through revenue growth, margin expansion and operational efficiencies. In particular, we have focused on customer segmentation, customer service differentiation, rate management, fleet management and operational efficiency. Our general strategy focuses on profitability and return on invested capital, and, in particular, calls for:

United Rentals serves the following three principal end-markets for equipment rental in North America: industrial and other non-construction; commercial (or private non-residential) construction; and residential construction, which includes remodeling. We also have a limited presence in Europe, Australia and New Zealand. See Item 2—Properties for further geographical detail on our rental network. In 2023, based on our classification of the vertical market segments in which our equipment was used:

We believe that we benefit from the following competitive advantages:

Our information technology systems are accessible to management, branch and call center personnel. Leveraging information technology to achieve greater efficiencies and improve customer service is a critical element of our strategy. Each branch is equipped with one or more workstations that are electronically linked to our other locations and to our data center. Rental transactions can be entered at these workstations, or through various mobile applications, to be processed on a real-time basis.

We have two reportable segments– general rentals and specialty. Segment financial information is presented in note 5 to our consolidated financial statements.

The general rentals segment includes the rental of construction, aerial and industrial equipment, general tools and light equipment, and related services and activities. The general rentals segment’s customers include construction and industrial companies, manufacturers, utilities, municipalities and homeowners. The general rentals segment reflects the aggregation of four geographic divisions—Central, Northeast, Southeast and West—and operates throughout the United States and Canada.

The specialty segment rents products (and provides setup and other services on such rented equipment) including (i) trench safety equipment, such as trench shields, aluminum hydraulic shoring systems, slide rails, crossing plates, construction lasers and line testing equipment for underground work, (ii) power and HVAC equipment, such as portable diesel generators, electrical distribution equipment, and temperature control equipment, (iii) fluid solutions equipment primarily used for fluid containment, transfer and treatment, and (iv) mobile storage equipment and modular office space. The specialty segment’s customers include construction companies involved in infrastructure projects, municipalities and industrial companies. This segment primarily operates in the United States and Canada, and has a limited presence in Europe, Australia and New Zealand.

Our principal products and services are described below.

Our customer base is highly diversified and ranges from Fortune 500 companies to small businesses and homeowners. Our customer base varies by branch and is determined by several factors, including the equipment mix and marketing focus of the particular branch as well as the business composition of the local economy, including construction opportunities with different customers. Our customers include:

We market our products and services through multiple channels as described below.

We primarily operate in the United States and Canada, and have a limited presence in Europe, Australia and New Zealand. The North American equipment rental industry is highly fragmented and competitive. As the largest equipment rental company in the industry, we estimate that we have an approximate 15 percent market share in North America based on 2023 total equipment rental industry revenues as measured by the ARA. Estimated market share is calculated by dividing our total 2023 North American rental revenue by ARA’s forecasted 2023 industry revenue. Our competitors primarily include small, independent businesses with one or two rental locations; regional competitors that operate in one or more states; public companies or divisions of public companies that operate nationally or internationally; and equipment vendors and dealers who both sell and rent equipment directly to customers. We believe we are well positioned to take advantage of this environment because, as a larger company, we have more resources and certain competitive advantages over our smaller competitors. These advantages include greater purchasing power, the ability to provide customers with a broader range of equipment and services, and greater flexibility to transfer equipment among locations in response to, and in anticipation of, customer demand. The fragmented nature of the industry and our relatively small market share, however, may adversely impact our ability to mitigate rental rate pressure. See "Industry Overview and Economic Outlook" above for a discussion of our end-markets.

Our operations are subject to numerous laws governing environmental protection and occupational health and safety matters. These laws regulate issues such as wastewater, storm water, solid and hazardous wastes and materials, and air quality. Our operations generally do not raise significant environmental risks, but we use and store hazardous materials as part of maintaining our rental equipment fleet and the overall operations of our business, dispose of solid and hazardous waste and wastewater from equipment washing, and store and dispense petroleum products from storage tanks at certain locations. Under environmental and safety laws, we may be liable for, among other things, (i) the costs of investigating and remediating contamination at our sites as well as sites to which we send hazardous wastes for disposal or treatment, regardless of fault, and (ii) fines and penalties for non-compliance. We incur ongoing expenses associated with the performance of appropriate investigation and remediation activities at certain locations.

Approximately 7,400 of our employees are salaried and approximately 18,900 are hourly. Collective bargaining agreements relating to approximately 153 separate locations cover approximately 1,800 of our employees. We monitor employee satisfaction through ongoing surveys and consider our relationship with our employees to be good.

The equipment rental industry is highly fragmented and competitive. Our competitors include small, independent businesses with one or two rental locations, regional competitors that operate in one or more states, national and global companies or divisions of national and global companies, and equipment vendors and dealers who both sell and rent equipment directly to customers. We may in the future encounter increased competition from our existing competitors or from new competitors. Competitive pressures have in the past adversely affected, and could again in the future adversely affect, our revenues and operating results by, among other things, decreasing our rental volumes, depressing the prices that we can charge or increasing our costs to retain employees.

At December 31, 2023, our total indebtedness was $11.5 billion. Our significant indebtedness could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition in a number of ways by, among other things:

Despite our indebtedness level, we may be able to incur substantially more indebtedness in the future and such indebtedness may be secured indebtedness. The indentures and other agreements governing our current indebtedness permit us to recapitalize our debt or take a number of other actions, any of which could diminish our ability to make payments on our indebtedness when due and further exacerbate the risks associated with our current level of indebtedness. If new debt is added to our or any of our existing and future subsidiaries' current debt, the related risks that we now face could intensify and we may not be able to meet all of our debt obligations.

We rely on our ABL facility and accounts receivable securitization facility to provide liquidity for our business, including to fund capital expenditures, acquisitions, operating expenses and other liquidity needs. The only financial covenant that currently exists under the ABL facility is the fixed charge coverage ratio. Subject to certain limited exceptions specified in the ABL facility, the fixed charge coverage ratio covenant under the ABL facility will only apply in the future if specified availability under the ABL facility falls below 10 percent of the maximum revolver amount under the ABL facility. When certain conditions are met, cash and cash equivalents and borrowing base collateral in excess of the ABL facility size may be included when calculating specified availability under the ABL facility. As of December 31, 2023, specified availability under the ABL facility exceeded the required threshold and, as a result, this financial covenant was inapplicable. Under our accounts receivable securitization facility, we are required, among other things, to maintain certain financial tests relating to: (i) the default ratio, (ii) the delinquency ratio, (iii) the dilution ratio and (iv) days sales outstanding. The accounts receivable securitization facility also requires us to comply with the fixed charge coverage ratio under the ABL facility, to the extent the ratio is applicable under the ABL facility. If we are unable to satisfy the financial covenant under the ABL facility or the financial tests under the accounts receivable securitization facility or comply with any of the other relevant covenants under the applicable agreement, the lenders could elect to terminate the ABL facility and/or the accounts receivable securitization facility and require us to repay outstanding borrowings. In such event, unless we are able to refinance the indebtedness coming due and replace the ABL facility and/or the accounts receivable securitization facility, we would likely not have sufficient liquidity for

In addition to the financial covenant and other financial tests, various other covenants in the ABL facility, term loan facility, accounts receivable securitization facility and the other agreements governing our debt impose significant operating and financial restrictions on us and our restricted subsidiaries. Such covenants include, among other things, limitations on: (i) liens; (ii) indebtedness; (iii) mergers, consolidations and acquisitions; (iv) sales, transfers and other dispositions of assets; (v) loans and other investments; (vi) dividends and other distributions, stock repurchases and redemptions and other restricted payments; (vii) dividends, other payments and other matters affecting subsidiaries; (viii) transactions with affiliates; and (ix) issuances of preferred stock of certain subsidiaries. Future debt agreements we enter into may include similar provisions.

In addition to cash we generate from our business, our principal existing sources of cash are borrowings available under the ABL facility and the accounts receivable securitization facility. If our access to such financing was unavailable or reduced, or if such financing were to become significantly more expensive for any reason, we may not be able to fund daily operations, which would cause material harm to our business or could affect our ability to operate our business as a going concern. In addition, if certain of our lenders experience difficulties that render them unable to fund future draws on the facilities, we may not be able to access all or a portion of these funds, which could have similar adverse consequences.

If the cash that we generate from our business, together with cash that we may borrow under the ABL facility and accounts receivable securitization facility, is not sufficient to fund our capital requirements, we will require additional debt and/or equity financing. However, we may not succeed in obtaining the requisite additional financing or such financing may include terms that are not satisfactory to us. We may not be able to obtain additional debt financing as a result of prevailing interest rates or other factors, including the presence of covenants or other restrictions under the ABL facility and/or other agreements governing our debt. In the event we seek to obtain equity financing, our stockholders may experience dilution as a result of the issuance of additional equity securities. This dilution may be significant depending upon the amount of equity securities that we issue and the prices at which we issue such securities. If we are unable to obtain sufficient additional capital in the future, we may be unable to fund the capital outlays required for the success of our business, including those relating to purchasing equipment, growth plans and refinancing existing indebtedness.

We have historically achieved a significant portion of our growth through acquisitions and we will continue to consider potential acquisitions on a selective basis. From time to time we have also approached, or have been approached by, other public companies or large privately-held companies to explore consolidation opportunities. There can be no assurance that we will be able to identify suitable acquisition opportunities in the future or that we will be able to consummate any such transactions on terms and conditions acceptable to us.

Acquisitions entail certain risks, including:

Our failure to address these risks or other problems encountered in connection with any past or future acquisition could cause us to fail to realize the anticipated benefits of the acquisitions over the timeframe we expect, or at all, cause us to incur unanticipated liabilities or harm our existing operations or our business generally. In addition, if we are unable to successfully integrate our acquisitions with our existing business, we may not obtain the advantages that the acquisitions were intended to create, which may materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition, cash flows, our ability to introduce new services and products and the market price of our stock.

We would expect to pay for any future acquisitions using cash, capital stock, net proceeds from the issuance of notes, borrowings under our credit facilities and/or assumption of indebtedness. To the extent that our existing sources of cash are not sufficient, we would expect to need additional debt or equity financing, which involves its own risks, such as the dilutive effect on shares held by our stockholders if we financed acquisitions by issuing convertible debt or equity securities, or the risks associated with debt incurrence.

At December 31, 2023, we had $5.9 billion of goodwill on our consolidated balance sheet. Goodwill represents the excess of cost over the fair value of net assets acquired in business combinations. We assess potential impairment of our goodwill at least annually. Impairment may result from significant changes in the manner of use of the acquired assets, negative industry or economic trends and/or significant underperformance relative to historic or projected operating results. For a discussion of our goodwill impairment testing, see “Critical Accounting Policies-Evaluation of Goodwill Impairment” in Part II, Item 7-Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.

Our revenues and operating results may fluctuate from quarter to quarter or over the longer term due to a number of factors, which could adversely affect the trading value of our securities. These factors, in addition to general economic conditions and the factors discussed above under “Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements”, include, but are not limited to:

Our common stock price has fluctuated significantly and may continue to do so in the future for a number of reasons, including:

We have in place certain charter provisions that may have the effect of deterring hostile takeovers or delaying or preventing changes in control or management of the Company that are not approved by our Board, including transactions in which our stockholders might otherwise receive a premium for their shares over then-current market prices. We are also subject to Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law which, under certain circumstances, restricts the ability of a publicly held Delaware corporation to engage in a business combination, such as a merger or sale of assets, with any stockholder that, together with affiliates, owns 15 percent or more of the corporation’s outstanding voting stock, which similarly could prohibit or delay the accomplishment of a change of control transaction. In addition, under each of the ABL facility and the term loan facility, a change of control (as defined in the applicable credit agreement) constitutes an event of default, entitling our lenders to terminate the ABL facility or the term loan facility, as applicable, and require us to repay outstanding borrowings. A change of control (as defined in the applicable agreement) is also a termination event under our accounts receivable securitization facility and under certain circumstances would require us to offer to repurchase our outstanding senior notes. As a result, the provisions of the agreements governing our debt also may affect the likelihood of a takeover or other change of control.

The Board of Directors will regularly evaluate our capital allocation strategy and dividend policy, and any future determination to continue to pay dividends, and the amount of such dividends, will be at the discretion of the Board of Directors and will depend upon, among other factors, our results of operations, financial condition, capital requirements and contractual restrictions, including the requirements of the agreements governing our indebtedness. No assurance can be given that cash dividends will continue to be declared and paid, and, if declared and paid, the amount of such dividends.

One of the reasons some of our customers find it more attractive to rent equipment than own that equipment is the need to deploy their capital elsewhere. However, some of our customers may have liquidity issues and ultimately may not be able to fulfill the terms of their rental agreements with us. If we are unable to manage credit risk issues adequately, or if a large number of customers have financial difficulties at the same time, our credit losses could increase above historical levels and our operating results would be adversely affected. Further, a worsening of economic conditions would be expected to result in increased delinquencies and credit losses, which could exacerbate adverse impacts on our business and operating results.

Our success is dependent, in part, on the experience and skills of our management team, and competition in our industry and the business world for top management talent is generally significant. Although we believe we generally have competitive pay packages, we can provide no assurance that our efforts to attract and retain our senior management staff will be successful. Moreover, in the past, we have experienced volatility in our stock price, and we may experience such volatility again in the future, which may make it more difficult and expensive to recruit and retain employees, particularly senior management, through grants of stock or stock options. This, in turn, could place greater pressure on the Company to increase the cash component of its compensation packages, which may adversely affect our operating results. If we are unable to fill and keep filled all of our senior management positions, or if we lose the services of any key member of our senior management team and are unable to find a suitable replacement in a timely fashion, we may be challenged to effectively manage our business and execute our strategy.

In addition, we must continue to identify, hire, train and retain key personnel who maintain relationships with our customers and who provide technical skills required for our Company's growth. There is a shortage of qualified personnel in these fields, and we compete with other companies for the limited pool of talent. The failure to recruit and retain necessary key personnel could cause disruption, harm our business and hamper our ability to grow our Company.

We have been pursuing a general strategy of optimizing our field operations in order to address potential labor shortages, improve servicing capabilities, improve sales force effectiveness, and focus our sales force’s efforts on increasing revenues from our national account and other large customers. We also continue to pursue strategies to improve productivity. The extent to which these efforts and strategies will achieve our desired efficiencies and goals in 2024 and beyond is uncertain, as their success depends on a number of factors, some of which are beyond our control. Even if we carry out these strategies in the manner we currently expect, we may not achieve the efficiencies or savings we anticipate, or on the timetable we anticipate, and there may be unforeseen productivity, revenue or other consequences resulting from our strategies that may adversely affect us. Therefore, there can be no guarantee that our strategies will prove effective in achieving the desired level of profitability, margins or returns to stockholders.

Our centralization of equipment and non-equipment purchases has resulted in us depending on, and being exposed to, the credit risk of a group of key suppliers. While we make every effort to evaluate our counterparties prior to entering into long-term and other significant procurement contracts, we cannot predict the impact on our suppliers of the economic environment and other developments in their respective businesses. Insolvency, financial difficulties or other factors may result in our suppliers not being able to fulfill the terms of their agreements with us. Further, such factors may render suppliers unwilling to extend contracts that provide favorable terms to us, or may force them to seek to renegotiate existing contracts with us. The termination of our relationship with any of our key suppliers could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations in the unlikely event that we were unable to obtain adequate equipment or supplies from other sources in a timely manner, at a reasonable cost or at all.

Supply chain disruptions could impact our ability to obtain equipment and other supplies for our business from our key suppliers on acceptable terms or at all. To date, our supply chain disruptions have been limited, but we may experience more severe supply chain disruptions in the future or supplier inability to manufacture or deliver equipment or parts. Any suspension or delay in our suppliers’ ability to provide us adequate equipment or supplies, or in our ability to procure equipment or supplies from other sources in a timely manner or at all, could impair our ability to meet customer demand and therefore could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

If our rental equipment ages, the costs of maintaining such equipment, if not replaced within a certain period of time, will likely increase. The costs of maintenance may materially increase in the future and could lead to material adverse effects on our results of operations.

We rely on our information technology systems to be able to monitor and control our operations, adjust to changing market conditions, implement strategic initiatives and support our online ordering system. Any disruptions in these systems or the failure of these systems to operate as expected have in the past adversely affected, and could in the future adversely affect, our ability to access and use certain applications and could, depending on the nature and magnitude of the problem, adversely affect our operating results by limiting our ability to effectively monitor and control our operations, adjust to changing market conditions, implement strategic initiatives and service online orders. Although such disruptions and failures have not been material to date, we cannot guarantee that they will not be material in the future. In addition, the security measures we employ to protect our systems have in the past not detected or prevented, and may in the future not detect or prevent, all attempts to hack our systems, denial-of-service attacks, viruses, malicious software (malware), employee error or malfeasance, phishing attacks, security breaches, disruptions during the process of upgrading or replacing computer software or hardware or integrating systems of acquired businesses or assets or other attacks and similar disruptions that may jeopardize the security of information stored in or transmitted by the sites, networks and systems that we otherwise maintain, which include cloud-based networks and data center storage.

We have, from time to time, experienced threats to and breaches of our data and systems, including malware and computer virus attacks. We are continuously developing and enhancing our controls, processes and practices designed to protect our systems, computers, software, data and networks from attack, damage, or unauthorized access. This continued development and enhancement requires us to expend significant resources. However, we may not anticipate or combat all types of future attacks until after they have been launched. If any of these breaches of security occur or are anticipated in the future, we could be required to expend additional capital and other resources, including costs to deploy additional personnel and protection technologies, train employees and engage third-party experts and consultants. Our response to attacks, and our investments in our technology and our controls, processes and practices, may not be sufficient to shield us from significant losses or liability. Further, given the increasing sophistication of bad actors and complexity of the techniques used to obtain unauthorized access or disable systems, a breach or attack could potentially persist for an extended period of time before being detected. As a result, we may not be able to anticipate the attack or respond adequately or timely, and the extent of a particular incident, and the steps that we may need to take to investigate the incident, may not be immediately clear. It could take a significant amount of time before an investigation can be completed and full, reliable information about the incident becomes known. During an investigation, it is possible we may not necessarily know the extent of the harm or how to remediate it, which could further adversely impact us, and new regulations could result in us being required to disclose information about a material cybersecurity incident before it has been mitigated or resolved, or even fully investigated. We also face cybersecurity risks due to our reliance on internet technology and hybrid work arrangements, which could strain our technology resources or create additional opportunities for cybercriminals to exploit vulnerabilities.

In addition, because our systems sometimes contain information about individuals and businesses, our failure to appropriately maintain the security of the data we hold, whether as a result of our own error or the malfeasance or errors of others, have led, and could in the future lead, to disruptions in our online ordering system or other data systems, and could lead to unauthorized release of confidential or otherwise protected information or corruption of data. Our failure to appropriately maintain the security of the data we hold could also violate applicable privacy, data security and other laws and subject us to lawsuits, fines and other means of regulatory enforcement. Regulators have been imposing new data privacy and security requirements, including new and greater monetary fines for privacy violations. For example, the European Union’s (“EU”) General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2016/679) (the “GDPR”) has stringent data protection requirements and provides for significant penalties. Non-compliance with the GDPR could lead to lower revenues, increased costs (including fines, which could be significant) and other material adverse effects on our results of operations. In addition, countries such as

Any compromise or breach of our systems could result in adverse publicity, harm our reputation, lead to claims against us and affect our relationships with our customers and employees, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business. Certain of our software applications are also utilized by third parties who provide outsourced administrative functions, which may increase the risk of a cybersecurity incident. Although we maintain insurance coverage for various cybersecurity risks, there can be no guarantee that all costs or losses incurred will be fully insured.

Climate change and its association with greenhouse gas emissions is receiving increased attention from the scientific and political communities. The U.S. federal government, certain U.S. states and certain other countries and regions have adopted or are considering legislation or regulation imposing overall caps or taxes on greenhouse gas emissions from certain sectors or facility categories. Such new laws or regulations, or stricter enforcement of existing laws and regulations, could increase the costs of operating our businesses, reduce the demand for our products and services and impact the prices we charge our customers, any or all of which could adversely affect our results of operations. Failure to comply with any legislation or regulation could potentially result in substantial fines, criminal sanctions or operational changes. Moreover, even without such legislation or regulation, the perspectives of our customers, stockholders, employees and other stakeholders regarding climate change are continuing to evolve, and increased awareness of, or any adverse publicity regarding, the effects of greenhouse gases could harm our reputation or reduce customer demand for our products and services.

Additionally, as severe weather events become increasingly common, our or our customers’ operations may be disrupted, which could result in increased operational costs or reduced demand for our products and services, and climate change may also reduce the availability or increase the cost of insurance for weather-related events. In addition, climate change may impact the global economy, including as a result of disruptions to supply chains. While we have invested in the administration of programs and physical loss prevention improvements to mitigate the risk of natural disasters causing disruption to our ability to serve our customers and communities in times of need, extended periods of disruptions could have an adverse effect on our results of operations. We anticipate that climate change-related risks will increase over time.

Although we have announced environmental and social goals, including our greenhouse gas intensity reduction goal, our efforts to provide more low- and zero-emissions equipment to our customers and our efforts to provide customers with tools to monitor and manage their environmental impacts, there can be no assurance that our shareholders and other stakeholders will agree with our goals and strategies or be satisfied with our efforts to attain such goals. Moreover, any perception, whether or not valid, that we have failed to act responsibly with respect to such matters, failed to achieve our goals or failed to effectively respond to new or additional legal or regulatory requirements regarding climate change, could adversely affect our business and reputation. Execution of our environmental and social goals is subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, many of which are outside of our control, including, but not limited to, our ability to achieve our goals within the expected timeframes and the currently projected cost ranges; the availability and cost of renewable energy; the availability and cost of low- and zero-emissions equipment and vehicles for our rental fleet; the availability and cost of low- and zero-emissions vehicles for our sales, service and delivery non-rental fleet; compliance with global and regional regulations, taxes, charges, mandates or requirements relating to greenhouse gas emissions, carbon costs or climate-related goals; adapting products to customer preferences and customer acceptance of low- and zero-emissions equipment; the accuracy of the assumptions used to estimate customers’ emissions in our emissions tracking tool in Total Control®; and the actions of competitors and competitive pressures. As a result, there is no assurance that we will be able to successfully achieve our environmental and social goals, which could damage our reputation and customer and other stakeholder relationships and have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Our specialty reportable segment has accounted for an increasing portion of our business and revenues in recent years. Specialty segment revenues constituted 25.4 percent of our revenues for the year ended December 31, 2023, as compared to 7.3 percent of our revenues for the year ended December 31, 2013. In connection with the expansion of the specialty segment, we have expanded the scope of services we provide to clients; for example, we advise clients on the compatibility of our equipment with various applications, collaborate and consult with clients on certain aspects of civil construction projects, design and erect scaffolding, and design electrical pump systems. To the extent we engage in those and other similar activities, we have faced, and will continue to face, increased legal, reputational and operational risks. These new or expanded business activities also expose us to new or different types of risks, including risks related to spills, unauthorized use of equipment, system failure, ineffectiveness of the solutions and products we provide, and hazardous material issues and interference. We have been, and may in the future be, subject to various claims in connection with these activities and services, and the associated risks may be difficult to assess or quantify and their existence and magnitude may remain unknown for substantial periods of time, particularly as we engage in new business activities where we do not have historical experience. Although we have insurance to protect ourselves against claims in connection with these activities, we cannot guarantee that any insurance coverage will be sufficient or that we will continue to be able to obtain such coverage at reasonable rates or at all. See also “We are exposed to a variety of claims relating to our business, and our insurance may not fully cover them.”

The market value of any given piece of rental equipment could be less than its depreciated value at the time it is sold. The market value of used rental equipment depends on several factors, including:

We derive substantially all of our operating income from, and hold substantially all of our assets through, our subsidiaries. The effect of this structure is that we depend in part on the earnings of our subsidiaries, and the payment or other distribution to us of these earnings, to meet our obligations under our outstanding debt. Provisions of law, such as those

In the ordinary course of our business operations, we are exposed to a variety of potential claims. These claims include those relating to personal injuries or property damage arising from: (i) the use and/or operation of our rented or sold equipment, (ii) motor vehicle accidents involving our vehicles and our employees and (iii) employment-related claims. Currently, we carry a broad range of insurance for the protection of our assets and operations. However, such insurance may not fully cover these claims for a number of reasons, including:

Our operations are subject to numerous laws and regulations governing environmental protection and occupational health and safety matters. These laws regulate issues such as wastewater, storm water, solid and hazardous waste, storage of hazardous materials, and air quality. Under these laws, we may be liable for, among other things: (i) the costs of investigating and remediating any contamination at our sites as well as sites to which we send hazardous waste for disposal or treatment, regardless of fault; and (ii) fines and penalties for non-compliance. While our operations generally do not raise significant environmental risks, we use hazardous materials to clean and maintain equipment, dispose of solid and hazardous waste and wastewater from equipment washing, and store and dispense petroleum products from above-ground storage tanks located at certain of our locations.

Our 1,357 branch locations in the United States are located in 49 states, and Puerto Rico, which exposes us to a host of different state and local regulations, in addition to federal law and regulatory and contractual requirements we face as a government contractor. These laws and requirements address multiple aspects of our operations, such as employee safety, consumer rights, privacy, employee benefits and more. In addition, there are often different and potentially conflicting requirements in different jurisdictions. Changes in these requirements, or any material failure by our branches to comply with

We currently have approximately 1,800 employees who are represented by unions and covered by collective bargaining agreements and approximately 24,500 employees who are not represented by unions. Various unions occasionally seek to organize certain of our nonunion employees. Union organizing efforts or collective bargaining negotiations could potentially lead to work stoppages and/or slowdowns or strikes by certain of our employees, which could adversely affect our ability to serve our customers. Further, settlement of actual or threatened labor disputes or an increase in the number of our employees covered by collective bargaining agreements can have unknown effects on our labor costs, productivity and flexibility.

Under the collective bargaining agreements that we have signed, we are obligated to contribute to several multiemployer pension plans on behalf of some of our unionized employees. A multiemployer pension plan is a plan that covers the union-represented workers of various unrelated companies. Under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, a contributing employer to an underfunded multiemployer plan is liable, generally upon withdrawal from a plan, for its proportionate share of the plan's unfunded vested liability. We currently have no intention of withdrawing from any multiemployer plan. However, there can be no assurance that we will not withdraw from one or more multiemployer plans in the future and be required to pay material amounts of withdrawal liability if one or more of those plans are underfunded at the time of withdrawal.

None.

We have a cross-departmental approach to addressing cybersecurity risk, including input from employees and our Board of Directors (the "Board"). The Board, Audit Committee, senior management and the Enterprise Risk Management Council (a taskforce comprised of senior representatives from primary corporate functions as well as senior representatives from field operations) devote significant resources to cybersecurity and risk management processes to adapt to the changing cybersecurity landscape and respond to emerging threats in a timely and effective manner. Our cybersecurity risk management program leverages the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) framework, which organizes cybersecurity risks into five categories: identify, protect, detect, respond and recover. We regularly assess the threat landscape and take a holistic view of cybersecurity risks, with a layered cybersecurity strategy based on prevention, detection and mitigation. Our information technology (IT) security team reviews enterprise risk management-level cybersecurity risks annually, and key cybersecurity risks are incorporated into the Enterprise Risk Management Council’s framework. In addition, we have a set of Company-wide policies and procedures concerning cybersecurity matters, which include an IT security manual as well as other policies that directly or indirectly relate to cybersecurity, such as policies related to encryption standards, antivirus protection, remote access, multifactor authentication, confidential information and the use of the internet, social media, email and wireless devices. These policies go through an internal review process and are approved by appropriate members of management.

The Company’s Chief Information Officer is responsible for developing and implementing our information security program and reporting on cybersecurity matters to the Board. Our Chief Information Officer has over a decade of experience leading cyber security oversight, and others on our IT security team have cybersecurity experience or certifications, such as the Certified Information Systems Security Professional certification. We view cybersecurity as a shared responsibility, and we periodically perform simulations and tabletop exercises at a management level and incorporate external resources and advisors as needed. All employees are required to complete cybersecurity trainings at least once every three years and have access to more frequent cybersecurity trainings through online trainings. We also require employees in certain roles to complete additional role-based, specialized cybersecurity trainings.

We have continued to expand investments in IT security, including additional end-user training, using layered defenses, identifying and protecting critical assets, strengthening monitoring and alerting, and engaging experts. We regularly test defenses by performing simulations and drills at both a technical level (including through penetration tests) and by reviewing our operational policies and procedures with third-party experts. At the management level, our IT security team regularly monitors alerts and meets to discuss threat levels, trends and remediation. The team also prepares a monthly cyber scorecard, regularly collects data on cybersecurity threats and risk areas and conducts an annual risk assessment. Further, we conduct periodic external penetration tests, red team testing and maturity testing to assess our processes and procedures and the threat landscape. These tests and assessments are useful tools for maintaining a robust cybersecurity program to protect our investors, customers, employees, vendors, and intellectual property. In addition to assessing our own cybersecurity preparedness, we also consider and evaluate cybersecurity risks associated with use of third-party service providers. Our Internal Audit team conducts an annual review of third-party hosted applications with a specific focus on any sensitive data shared with third parties. The internal business owners of the hosted applications are required to document user access reviews at least annually and provide from the vendor a System and Organization Controls (SOC) 1 or SOC 2 report. If a third-party vendor is not able to provide a SOC 1 or SOC 2 report, we take additional steps to assess their cybersecurity preparedness and assess our relationship on that basis. Our assessment of risks associated with use of third-party providers is part of our overall cybersecurity risk management framework.

The Audit Committee and the full Board actively participate in discussions with management and amongst themselves regarding cybersecurity risks. The Audit Committee performs an annual review of the Company’s cybersecurity program, which includes discussion of management’s actions to identify and detect threats, as well as planned actions in the event of a response or recovery situation. The Audit Committee’s annual review also includes review of recent enhancements to the Company’s defenses and management’s progress on its cybersecurity strategic roadmap. In addition, the Board receives quarterly cybersecurity reports, which include a review of key performance indicators, test results and related remediation, and recent threats and how the Company is managing those threats. Further, at least annually, the Board receives updates on the Company’s Crisis Management Plan, which covers, among other things, potential cybersecurity incidents, data privacy and its compliance programs. To aid the Board with its cybersecurity and data privacy oversight responsibilities, the Board periodically hosts experts for presentations on these topics. For example, in 2022, the Board hosted an expert to discuss developments in the cybersecurity threat landscape and speakers who discussed digital, technology and innovation trends across industries.

We face a number of cybersecurity risks in connection with our business. Although such risks have not materially affected us, including our business strategy, results of operations or financial condition, to date, we have, from time to time, experienced threats to and breaches of our data and systems, including malware and computer virus attacks. For more

As of January 1, 2024, we operated 1,584 rental locations. 1,357 of these locations are in the United States, 147 are in Canada, 38 are in Europe and 42 are in our Asia-Pacific network (which is comprised of our locations in Australia and New Zealand). The number of locations in each state, territory, province or country is shown in the table below, as is the number of locations that are in our general rentals (GR) and specialty (S) segments.

A description of legal proceedings can be found in note 15 to our consolidated financial statements, included in this report at Item 8—Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, and is incorporated by reference into this Item 3.

Not applicable.

Holdings’ common stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “URI.” As of January 1, 2024, there were 65 holders of record of our common stock. The number of beneficial owners is substantially greater than the number of record holders because a large portion of our common stock is held of record in broker “street names.”

The following table provides information about acquisitions of Holdings’ common stock by Holdings during the fourth quarter of 2023:

For information regarding equity compensation plans, see Item 12 of this annual report on Form 10-K.

Not applicable.

Global Economic Conditions

Executive Overview

We are the largest equipment rental company in the world, with an integrated network of 1,584 rental locations. We primarily operate in the United States and Canada, and have a limited presence in Europe, Australia and New Zealand (see Item 2—Properties for further detail). Although the equipment rental industry is highly fragmented and diverse, we believe that we are well positioned to take advantage of this environment because, as a larger company, we have more extensive resources and certain competitive advantages. These include a fleet of rental equipment with a total original equipment cost (“OEC”) of $20.7 billion, and a North American branch network that operates in 49 U.S. states and every Canadian province, and serves 99 of the 100 largest metropolitan areas in the U.S. Our size also gives us greater purchasing power, the ability to provide customers with a broader range of equipment and services, the ability to provide customers with equipment that is more consistently well-maintained and therefore more productive and reliable, and the ability to enhance the earning potential of our assets by transferring equipment among branches to satisfy customer needs.

For the past several years, as we continued to manage the impact of COVID-19, we executed a strategy focused on improving the profitability of our core equipment rental business through revenue growth, margin expansion and operational efficiencies. In particular, we have focused on customer segmentation, customer service differentiation, rate management, fleet management and operational efficiency. Our general strategy focuses on profitability and return on invested capital, and, in particular, calls for:

We prepare our consolidated financial statements in accordance with GAAP. A summary of our significant accounting policies is contained in note 2 to our consolidated financial statements. In applying many accounting principles, we make assumptions, estimates and/or judgments. These assumptions, estimates and/or judgments are often subjective and may change based on changing circumstances or changes in our analysis. Material changes in these assumptions, estimates and/or judgments have the potential to materially alter our results of operations. We have identified below our accounting policies that we believe could potentially produce materially different results if we were to change underlying assumptions, estimates and/or judgments. Although actual results may differ from those estimates, we believe the estimates are reasonable and appropriate.

As discussed in note 5 to our consolidated financial statements, our reportable segments are general rentals and specialty. The general rentals segment includes the rental of construction, aerial, industrial and homeowner equipment and related services and activities. The general rentals segment’s customers include construction and industrial companies, manufacturers, utilities, municipalities, homeowners and government entities. This segment operates throughout the United States and Canada. The specialty segment rents products (and provides setup and other services on such rented equipment) including i) trench safety equipment, such as trench shields, aluminum hydraulic shoring systems, slide rails, crossing plates, construction lasers and line testing equipment for underground work, ii) power and HVAC equipment, such as portable diesel generators, electrical distribution equipment, and temperature control equipment, iii) fluid solutions equipment primarily used for fluid containment, transfer and treatment, and iv) mobile storage equipment and modular office space. The specialty segment’s customers include construction companies involved in infrastructure projects, municipalities and industrial companies. This segment primarily operates in the United States and Canada, and has a limited presence in Europe, Australia and New Zealand.

As discussed in note 5 to our consolidated financial statements, our general rentals reporting segment reflects the aggregation of four geographic divisions—Central, Northeast, Southeast and West. Historically, there have occasionally been variances in the levels of equipment rentals gross margins achieved by these divisions, though such variances have generally been small (close to or less than 10 percent, measured versus the equipment rentals gross margins of the aggregated general rentals' divisions). For the five year period ended December 31, 2023, there was no general rentals' division with an equipment rentals gross margin that differed materially from the equipment rentals gross margin of the aggregated general rentals' divisions. The rental industry is cyclical, and there historically have occasionally been divisions with equipment rentals gross margins that varied by greater than 10 percent from the equipment rentals gross margins of the aggregated general rentals' divisions, though the specific divisions with margin variances of over 10 percent have fluctuated, and such variances have generally not exceeded 10 percent by a significant amount. We monitor the margin variances and confirm margin similarity between divisions on a quarterly basis.

We believe that the divisions that are aggregated into our segments have similar economic characteristics, as each division is capital intensive, offers similar products to similar customers, uses similar methods to distribute its products, and is subject to similar competitive risks. The aggregation of our divisions also reflects the management structure that we use for making operating decisions and assessing performance. Although we believe aggregating these divisions into our reporting segments for segment reporting purposes is appropriate, to the extent that there are significant margin variances that do not

These reporting segments align our external segment reporting with how management evaluates business performance and allocates resources. We evaluate segment performance primarily based on segment equipment rentals gross profit. Our revenues, operating results, and financial condition fluctuate from quarter to quarter reflecting the seasonal rental patterns of our customers, with rental activity tending to be lower in the winter.

Our exposure to market risk primarily consists of (i) interest rate risk associated with our variable and fixed rate debt and (ii) foreign currency exchange rate risk associated with our foreign operations.

To the Stockholders and the Board of Directors of United Rentals, Inc.

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of United Rentals, Inc. (the Company) as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, the related consolidated statements of income, comprehensive income, stockholders' equity and cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2023, and the related notes and financial statement schedule listed in the Index at Item 15(a) (collectively referred to as the “consolidated financial statements”). In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company at December 31, 2023 and 2022, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2023, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.

We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB), the Company's internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2023, based on criteria established in Internal Control-Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (2013 framework), and our report dated January 24, 2023 expressed an unqualified opinion thereon.

These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the PCAOB and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

The critical audit matter communicated below is a matter arising from the current period audit of the financial statements that was communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that: (1) relates to accounts or disclosures that are material to the financial statements and (2) involved our especially challenging, subjective or complex judgments. The communication of the critical audit matter does not alter in any way our opinion on the consolidated financial statements, taken as a whole, and we are not, by communicating the critical audit matter below, providing a separate opinion on the critical audit matter or on the account or disclosure to which it relates.

/s/ Ernst & Young LLP

We have served as the Company’s auditor since 1997.