Earnings Recap — Q2 FY2026
CY Q3 2026 · Reported July 28, 2026 · Beat 4 of last 7 quarters
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Herc's raised guidance and increased fleet investment are directly tied to accelerating mega project demand, including data center construction, which is a core AI infrastructure driver. The company's expanded capacity and higher share target (15% to 20%) position it to capture more of the $800 billion in 2026 U.S. mega project starts, a meaningful portion of which is AI-related. This signals continued strength in the physical buildout of AI infrastructure.
Herc reported Q2 GAAP equipment rental revenue up ~23% year-over-year, driven by the H&E acquisition, with pro forma equipment rental revenue returning to growth at +2%. Adjusted EBITDA was $219 million with a 40.4% margin, pressured by fuel and transportation inflation of about 150–170 basis points. The company onboarded ~$450 million of fleet in Q2, disposed of $247 million at ~46% proceeds, and generated $202 million of free cash flow in the first half. Specialty revenues grew double digits, and ProControl active external users grew nearly 20% quarter-over-quarter.
Management raised full-year guidance, now expecting equipment rental revenue of $4.425 billion at the midpoint (pro forma growth of nearly 5% on flat average OEC) and adjusted EBITDA of approximately $2.09 billion. The increase reflects stronger demand, particularly in national accounts and mega projects, with net fleet CapEx raised to roughly $900 million. Management maintained its incremental revenue synergy target of $100–120 million and cost synergy target of $90 million for the year, while flagging fuel and freight inflation as a persistent headwind, modeling about a point of adjusted EBITDA margin pressure for the full year. They also raised their mega project share target from 15% to 20% and expect to deleverage to ~3x by end of 2027, supported by EBITDA growth from the increased investment.
“In the second quarter, we reached an important post-acquisition turning point as pro forma equipment rental revenue returned to growth, increasing 2% overall.”
on Revenue inflection
“We are adjusting our equipment rental revenue guidance accordingly. The second variable is fuel and logistics inflation, which inflected significantly higher beginning in April as a result of the conflict in the Middle East.”
on Guidance and fuel headwind
“This increased CapEx is absolutely not speculative. This is demand-driven and not sort of a Phase 2, if you will, of the branch optimization where we're just trying to put additional fleet into those new specialty locations that may be part of it, but the demand is the driver here.”
on CapEx increase rationale
We're hearing about price increases up to 1 point per month in some regions. Just talk about the pricing environment that you're seeing?
Mark Humphrey said dollar utilization improvement was largely self-help from fleet health, and the pricing environment is rational and constructive with healthy supply/demand dynamics, with continued focus on pushing price.
What do you see as your biggest margin opportunities going forward? And on mega projects, does this put you in a position of wanting to bid for more first position?
Aaron Birnbaum cited moving specialty mix back to 20–30% of business (currently mid-teens), logistics transformation, and sales force maturation. On mega projects, he said Herc is now more equipped to be primary or strong secondary due to scale and technology.
Is the CapEx increase a function of trying to ramp specialty or truly a demand signal? And where are you in reassessing pricing for the H&E business?
Mark Humphrey said the increased fleet is demand-driven from both mega projects and specialty, not speculative. On H&E pricing, he noted spot market pricing is improving through technology tools, while contract pricing will take about three years to reach pre-acquisition levels.