Share count
421Mpeak FY2024
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SUNB, Sunbelt Rentals Holdings Inc.
Trading Companies & Distributors diversified
Sunbelt Rentals is the second largest equipment rental business in North America and the largest equipment rental company in the United Kingdom, in each case, by rental revenue.
We conduct our equipment rental operations under the name "Sunbelt Rentals."
Our rental equipment fleet comprises an extensive range of construction, industrial and general equipment designed to meet broad, general-purpose job site needs, such as mobile elevating work platforms, skid steers, forklifts, excavators, lighting equipment and small general tools.
The business
What it sells, where the money comes from, the kind of company it is.
Revenue · FY2026
$11.2B
+3.4% YoY
Vital signs · TTM, with 3-yr average
Revenue $11.2B 3-yr avg $10.9B
Revenue $584M +2.5% vs yr-ago qtr
Operating margin 84.2% yr-ago 93.3%
Net income $290M yr-ago $325M
Net margin 49.7% yr-ago 57.0%
The business in brief
read the 10-K →What this business is and what moves its needle, from its own SEC filings.
- What it is
- Revenue is General Tool (58%), Specialty (33%) and UK (8%).
- What moves the needle
- Gross margin has run about 40% and operating margin about 23% through the cycle, a solid spread between what it charges and what the product costs to make. That margin has held in a narrow 20%–23% band over the years, so steadiness itself is the evidence — the lever is unit growth and cost discipline, not a moving line. On its own account, the filing leans hardest on customer concentration, set against the numbers in what the filing emphasizes, below.
- Is it a good business?
- Return on capital has sat near the cost of capital (median 12%). This is price-taker territory, where the balance sheet and the cycle matter more than any multiple; the rest is in the 10-K.
Every line is arithmetic on the company's filings, shown in full in the sections below.
Where the money comes from
read the 10-K →Revenue spreads across 3 segments, the largest General Tool at 58%.
Revenue by reportable segment, FY2026
- General Tool58%$6.5B
- Specialty33%$3.7B
- UK8%$932M
By geographyUnited States85%United Kingdom8%Canada7%
From the segment footnote of the company's own 10-K. Shares are of total revenue; the profit bar shows each segment's share of segment operating profit, before unallocated corporate costs.
The record
Ten years of arithmetic, read across the cycle.
The record, 2024–2026
realized figures from each filing · older years to the left| 2024’24 | 2025’25 | 2026’26 | TTMTTMApr 2026 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Income statement | ||||
| $10.9B | $10.8B | $11.2B | $11.2B | RevenueRevenue |
| 41% | 40% | 38% | 38% | Gross marginGross mgn |
| 14% | 13% | 15% | 15% | SG&A / revenueSG&A/rev |
| $2.5B | $2.5B | $2.2B | $2.2B | Operating incomeOp. inc. |
| 23.1% | 23.2% | 19.6% | 19.6% | Operating marginOp. mgn |
| $1.6B | $1.6B | $1.3B | $1.3B | Net incomeNet inc. |
| 25% | 25% | 26% | 26% | Effective tax rateTax rate |
| Cash flow & returns | ||||
| $3.7B | $3.8B | $3.8B | $3.8B | Operating cash flowOp. cash |
| $2.0B | $2.3B | $2.3B | $2.3B | DepreciationDeprec. |
| ($47M) | $49M | $70M | $70M | Working capital & otherWC & other |
| $846M | $134M | $206M | $206M | AcquisitionsAcquis. |
| $436M | $544M | $464M | $464M | Dividends paidDiv. paid |
| $78M | $342M | $1.4B | — | BuybacksBuybacks |
| 27% | 12% | 11% | 11% | ROICROIC |
| 22% | 20% | 18% | 18% | Return on equityROE |
| 16% | 13% | 12% | 12% | Retained to equityRetained/eq |
| Balance sheet | ||||
| $21M | $21M | $29M | $29M | Cash & investmentsCash+inv |
| — | $1.5B | $1.7B | $1.7B | ReceivablesReceiv. |
| — | $147M | $180M | $180M | InventoryInvent. |
| — | $302M | $472M | $472M | Accounts payablePayables |
| — | $1.3B | $1.4B | $1.4B | Operating working capitalOper. WC |
| — | $2.0B | $2.2B | $2.2B | Current assetsCur. assets |
| — | $1.6B | $2.5B | $2.5B | Current liabilitiesCur. liab. |
| — | 1.3× | 0.9× | 0.9× | Current ratioCurr. ratio |
| $3.3B | $3.3B | $3.5B | $3.5B | GoodwillGoodwill |
| — | $22.0B | $22.3B | $22.3B | Total assetsAssets |
| — | $7.5B | $7.6B | $7.6B | Total debtDebt |
| — | $7.5B | $7.6B | $7.6B | Net debt / (cash)Net debt |
| $7.1B | $7.8B | $7.4B | $7.4B | Shareholders’ equityEquity |
| 0.8% | −0.1% | 0.7% | 0.7% | Stock comp / revenueSBC/rev |
| Per share | ||||
| 439M | 437M | 421M | 421M | Shares out (diluted)Shares |
| $24.72 | $24.70 | $26.49 | $26.49 | Revenue / shareRev/sh |
| $3.58 | $3.55 | $3.15 | $3.15 | EPS (diluted)EPS |
| $0.99 | $1.24 | $1.10 | $1.10 | Dividends / shareDiv/sh |
| $16.07 | $17.85 | $17.60 | $17.60 | Book value / shareBVPS |
The record, charted
FY2024–2026Each measure over its full record; the current point and the worst year marked.
ROIC
11%low FY2026
Gross margin
38%low FY2026
Where the cash went
ReinvestBuybacksDividendsAcquisitionsRetainedEach year's operating cash, by what management did with it: the mix, and how it drifts.
FY2024FY2026
Quality & stewardship
Returns, the balance sheet, capital allocation, and pay.
Owner’s Scorecard
FY2026 10-K · source on SEC EDGAR →
Will it survive?
- Interest expense not tagged in the data
What this means
No usable interest-expense line was tagged in the filing data, but the balance sheet carries real net debt — so the interest burden here is unknown, not absent. Read the debt on the net-debt check below.
- How heavy is the debt, net of cash? $7.6B · 3.5× operating profitMeaningful net debtCash $29M − debt $7.6B
What this means
Netting $29M of cash and short-term investments against $7.6B of debt leaves $7.6B owed, about 3.5× a year's operating profit. Net debt is the leverage figure that matters: the cash is already set against the debt. Strategic or illiquid investments aren't counted here.
- TightDSO 55 + DIO 10 − DPO 25 days
What this means
Days cash is tied up between paying suppliers and collecting from customers. Lower is better; a long cycle means growth itself eats cash.
Is it a good business?
- Solid through the cycle3-yr median, range 11%–27%; 11% latest = NOPAT $1.6B ÷ invested capital $15.0BIndustry peers: median 6%
What this means
The rate the business earns on the money tied up in it, Buffett's north star, because over time a stock tracks the ROIC beneath it. Above ~15% sustained hints at a moat; a return below the cost of capital (~8%) erodes value as a business grows rather than building it — the test Buffett weighs most. The headline is the median of the last 3 years (it ran 11% most recently), so one peak or trough year doesn't set the verdict. Asset-light businesses (R&D expensed, little capital) read artificially high, pair this with Owner Earnings.
- Not enough dataIndustry peers: median 8%
What this means
The filing data didn't include the inputs for this check.
- Cash-backedCash from ops $3.8B ÷ net income $1.3B
In the filing’s words The filing leans on adjusted, non-GAAP earnings, but the GAAP profit is itself cash-backed — the adjustments are not papering over a cash shortfall here.
What this means
How much of reported profit showed up as operating cash. Above 1× is reassuring; well below suggests earnings lean on accruals. One year is noisy, growth and working-capital swings distort it, and this is operating cash, not free cash. Watch the multi-year trend.
How is the cash used?
- Not enough data
What this means
The filing data didn't include the inputs for this check.
- Investing or harvesting? —Not enough data
What this means
The filing data didn't include the inputs for this check.
Graham’s defensive tests · 1 of 3 met
Graham’s numerical criteria for the defensive investor (The Intelligent Investor, ch. 14), run on the filings. A floor of safety, not a buy signal; many fine modern businesses fail his strictest liquidity rules by design.
- Adequate size PassRevenue ≥ $2B · $11.2B
What this means
Big enough to weather a storm. Graham's 1972 floor was ~$100M of sales (≈ $700M today); we use a $2B revenue line as a conservative modern stand-in.
- Strong liquidity MissCurrent ratio ≥ 2× · 0.90×
What this means
Current assets at least twice current liabilities, near-term bills covered without touching the business. Strict by design: many cash-rich modern firms run leaner and miss it, holding their cushion in longer-dated securities.
- Conservative debt MissDebt ≤ working capital · $7.6B vs ($244M) WC
What this means
Graham's rule that borrowings not exceed net current assets. Capital-heavy and buyback-heavy firms routinely fail it, read it next to interest coverage, not alone.
- Moderate price —P/E ≤ 15 and P/E × P/B ≤ 22.5 · decided by the price
What this means
Graham's valuation gate, the wall he kept between a sound business and a sound investment. Three-year average earnings are $3.62/share (latest year $3.23), the averaged base the calculator's gate runs on, and book value is $18.08/share. Enter a price in “What the price implies” just below for the P/E, P/B, and whether it clears. But this is the rule Buffett outgrew: there's no hard P/E law, and a wonderful business can deserve a far richer multiple if the thesis holds, treat it as the bargain-hunter's floor, not a verdict on the price.
Does AI threaten the moat?
Moderate contestabilityAI is likely to reshape costs and some products here without clearly contesting or sparing the core moat; how the company itself frames it is the tell.
In its own filing Named as a competitive risk
Its FY2026 10-K names artificial intelligence as a competitive threat.
“Our ability to continually improve our current processes and customer-facing tools in response to changes in technology, including artificial intelligence ("AI"), or changes in customer expectations, is essential in maintaining our competitive position and maintaining current levels of customer satisfaction.…”
The question is whether a moat the record shows as durable outlasts a technology that lowers the cost of part of what the firm sells. The durability is read in the record above, the filing's own framing of AI beside it; the industry label decides nothing on its own.
Read from the filing's own risk factors, paired with the industry's structure under its SIC code; the durability is read above, the price below.
All figures as filed; the source filing is linked above.
Current Position
as of fiscal year-end, Apr 30, 2026Can the business pay what it owes this year, off the freshest balance sheet: the quality of the assets, the debt actually coming due, and what a low ratio means here.
Current assets$2.2B
- Cash & short-term investments$29M
- Receivables$1.7B
- Inventory$180M
- Other current assets$354M
Current liabilities$2.5B
- Debt due within a year$550M
- Accounts payable$472M
- Other current liabilities$1.5B
Current ratio0.90×all current assets ÷ what's due · Graham looked for 2×
Quick ratio0.83×stricter: inventory excluded
Cash ratio0.01×strictest: cash alone against what's due
Working capital($244M)the cushion left after near-term bills
Debt due this year vs. cash$550M due · $29M cash
cash alone won't cover the maturities; it leans on refinancing or operating cash · both figures from the Apr 30, 2026 balance sheet
Revenue, latest quarter vs. a year ago+2.5%the freshest read on whether the business is still growing
Current ratio, recent quarters1.3× → 0.9×
Deeper floors
Tangible book value$3.6Bequity stripped of goodwill & intangibles
Net current asset value($12.6B)Graham's net-net: current assets less all liabilities
Debt incl. operating leases$10.4B$2.9B of it operating leases; with finance leases, “total fixed claims” below reaches $10.6B (annual-report basis)
Deferred revenue$99Mcustomer cash collected before delivery; operating float
From the company's latest filing.
Debt maturity
the debt note, SEC EDGAR →Not how much it owes, but when it falls due, and against what. The ladder the company files, beside cash on hand and a year's owner earnings.
Bars scaled to the largest single year; “later” is everything due after 2031, shown apart since it dwarfs the years.
Due in the next 12 months$550Mthe first rung: what must be repaid or rolled over within the year
Within two years$1.1Bthe near wall, the part most exposed to today’s credit conditions
Biggest single year$2.0Bin 2030the lumpiest maturity, where a refinancing, if needed, is largest
Total scheduled principal$7.6Bevery year plus what lies beyond, as the footnote totals it
Against what the business has and earns
Cash & short-term investments, Apr 30, 2026$29M
Together, against $550M due next year0.05×
Cash on hand as of Apr 30, 2026 comes to $29M against the $550M due in the twelve months after the Apr 30, 2026 schedule: about 5% of it, so the near maturities lean on refinancing or the rest of the year’s cash.
Maturity schedule extracted from the company’s Apr 30, 2026 annual report and reconciled to the total the table states.
Lease obligations
the lease note, SEC EDGAR →Debt by another name. What the business owes on the property, aircraft, stores and equipment it rents rather than owns is a fixed claim due on a schedule; added back to the debt, it is the true leverage. That ladder, operating and finance leases together, and what it adds to the debt on the page above.
Operating leasesFinance leases
Lease payments by year, scaled to the largest; “later” is everything beyond year five, shown apart. These are the contractual cash payments, before the interest the filing imputes back out to the balance-sheet liability.
Due in the next 12 months$318Ma fixed cash payment, owed whether or not the business has a good year
Total lease payments$4.6Bevery year plus the tail, undiscounted: the full cash the leases will take
On the balance sheet$3.0Bthe present value of those payments, the recognised lease liability
True leverage: debt plus leases
On-balance-sheet debt$7.6B
Lease obligations (present value)$3.0B
Total fixed claims on the business$10.6B
Counting the leases the way Buffett does, the fixed claims on this business come to $10.6B, of which the leases are 29%. The lease wall above and the debt schedule together are the calendar of what must be paid, and when.
Lease ladder read from the ASC 842 tags in the company’s Apr 30, 2026 annual report and reconciled: the yearly buckets sum to the undiscounted total, which less the imputed interest equals the balance-sheet liability; a ladder that doesn’t tie out is withheld.
Management, ownership & pay
From the proxy: how much of the business the people running it own, and how they are paid.
- Stock-based compensation$80M
The slice of the business handed to employees in shares this year, 1% of revenue, equal to 4% of operating profit. Buffett's oldest accounting fight: this is compensation, compensation is an expense, real whether or not the headline earnings admit it. One trap: the cash-flow statement adds SBC back, so the operating cash, and the owner earnings drawn from it, are flattered by exactly this amount; counted as the cost it is, what an owner keeps is lower.
What an owner would ask, FY2026
read the 10-K →- Which reported numbers are a judgment call?Management names Income taxes, Credit & receivables, Acquisitions, Contingencies as critical estimates
each rests partly on management's judgment; the filing's note sets out the assumptionsverify →
The questions the record and the charts do not answer on their own; each carries the figure and the place to look.
Peers, Trading Companies & Distributors
The same industry, side by side on owner economics. Each figure is a through-cycle median, so a peak or trough year can’t distort it; the group median at the foot is the line to read each against.
| Company | Revenue | Gross margin | Op. margin | ROIC | Owner earn. margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DASHDoorDash Inc. | $13.7B | — | -12.2% | -14% | 8% |
| SUNBSunbelt Rentals Holdings Inc. | $11.2B | 40% | 23.1% | 12% | — |
| FISFidelity National Info | $10.7B | 36% | 14.3% | 4% | 23% |
| CNXCConcentrix Corporation | $9.8B | 36% | 6.5% | 6% | 7% |
| IPGInterpublic | $9.2B | 14% | 11.1% | 24% | 7% |
| UPBDUpbound Group Inc. | $4.7B | 55% | 4.4% | 7% | 7% |
| ALAir Lease | $3.0B | — | 55.1% | 5% | 54% |
| PRGPROG Holdings Inc. | $2.4B | — | 8.3% | 15% | 10% |
| Group median | — | 36% | 9.7% | 7% | — |
The price
What a price has to assume.
What the price implies
reverse-DCFSunbelt Rentals Holdings Inc. is profitable, but its owner-earnings base could not be formed from this filing’s tagged data (operating cash flow or capital spending is missing), so the owner-earnings reverse-DCF has no base to grow. We read the price from both ends instead: type a price to see the profitability it demands, then set the mature margin you would believe and weigh the two against each other. Nothing leaves your browser unless you enter it in your notebook.
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The assumptions
Enter a price to run it.
Owner earnings it must reach—
Margin the price demands—
Owner-earnings margin today—
A dated snapshot of the price you typed, the assumptions you set, and what the page showed for them. A snapshot is never edited after it is saved. Your notebook is yours alone — the commitment states what is stored and what we will never do.
Two reads of one future. From your price: the owner earnings the company must reach, valued at a mature multiple and discounted back at your rate, expressed as the margin it implies on revenue grown at your rate. From your belief: the mature margin you would credit, set on the dial above. When the margin the price demands runs above the one you would believe, you are paying for a future taken on faith. For a deep cyclical at a trough, normalized through-cycle earnings are the better lens; this mode is for the genuinely unprofitable, and for the profitable business whose capital spending currently outruns its cash.
Cite: Owner Scorecard, "Sunbelt Rentals Holdings Inc. (SUNB), the owner's record," https://ownerscorecard.com/c/SUNB, data as of 2026-07-09.
Manual order: ← SUN its page in the Manual SUNC →
Industry order: ← SITE the Trading Companies & Distributors chapter TEL →