HRI vs SMID vs URI Stock Comparison

Herc Holdings, Smith Midland and United Rentals Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
HRI Herc Holdings Inc
$166.24 +24.3% 1M +19.9% 1Y
Market cap
$5.79B
P/E
47.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$4.92B
Div. yield
0.02%
Equipment Rental Industrials
2 wins
SMID Smith Midland Corp
$21.49 -10.9% 1M -44.4% 1Y
Market cap
$116.88M
P/E
15.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$89.50M
Div. yield
–
Building Products Industrials
3 wins
URI United Rentals, Inc.
$1,174.94 +12.5% 1M +34.2% 1Y
Market cap
$74.40B
P/E
26.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$17.50B
Div. yield
–
Equipment Rental Industrials
6 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

United Rentals leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (United Rentals 6, Smith Midland 3, Herc Holdings 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionHRISMIDURILeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $5.79B $116.88M $74.40B URI
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 47.1x 15.1x 26.0x SMID
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 24.0x — 21.3x URI
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +19.4% -1.6% +9.4% HRI
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 2.5% 8.6% 16.3% URI
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 21.2% 12.8% 14.0% HRI
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 3.0x -0.5x 2.3x SMID
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.02% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +19.9% -44.4% +34.2% URI
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -1.8%/yr +1.4%/yr +25.4%/yr URI
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 60.8% 51.0% 42.2% URI
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 53/100 82/100 55/100 SMID

Percentile Scorecard

HRISMIDURI

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisHRISMIDURI
Valuation 58 #20 of 46 83 #10 of 55 20 #37 of 46
Growth 92 #4 of 39 82 #10 of 51 90 #5 of 39
Profitability 63 #15 of 39 70 #15 of 48 92 #4 of 39
Financial Health 11 #42 of 47 93 #5 of 54 20 #38 of 47
Shareholder Returns 39 #20 of 32 – 52 #16 of 32
Overall 53 82 55
  • HRI ranked among 49 companies in Distribution and Rental
  • SMID ranked among 59 companies in Construction Products
  • URI ranked among 49 companies in Distribution and Rental

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodHRISMIDURISPY
1 month +24.3%-10.9%+12.5% +0.9%
3 months +16.4%-26.5%+11.3% +5.9%
6 months +26.3%-35.2%+23.4% +8.5%
Year to date +12.0%-40.9%+45.2% +13.3%
1 year +19.9%-44.4%+34.2% +12.4%
3 years +57.6%+10.9%+194.5% +88.1%
3 years, per year +16.4%+3.5%+43.4% +23.5%
5 years -8.7%+7.5%+209.9% +68.2%
5 years, per year -1.8%+1.4%+25.4% +11.0%
10 years +473.8%+498.6%+1,458.5% +263.4%
10 years, per year +19.1%+19.6%+31.6% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureHRISMIDURISPY
Volatility, 1Y 60.8%51.0%42.2% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 53.0%51.6%39.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.950.981.04 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.33-0.870.81 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -62.0%-72.4%-40.0% -25.4%
From 52-week high -8.2%-46.0%0.0% -0.9%
52-week high $181.12$39.82$1,174.94 $779.14
52-week low $91.04$21.20$710.47 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleHRISMIDURI
P/E now vs peer median 45.1xmedian 25.6x 14.8xmedian 20.0x 25.6xmedian 25.6x
P/S now vs peer median 1.1xmedian 1.1x 1.3xmedian 1.5x 4.2xmedian 1.1x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 5.1xmedian 13.3x 7.5xmedian 11.3x 13.8xmedian 13.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median -28.8xmedian 22.0x 27.4xmedian 15.3x 81.7xmedian 22.0x
P/B now vs peer median 2.8xmedian 2.6x 2.0xmedian 2.8x 7.5xmedian 2.6x
PEG now vs peer median -1.35median 2.36 0.11median 0.99 2.68median 2.36

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsHRISMIDURI
Revenue $4.92B $89.50M $17.50B
Gross profit $3.01B $21.00M $6.84B
Operating income $2.36B $10.80M $4.47B
Net income $123.00M $7.73M $2.86B
Free cash flow -$193.00M $4.17M $892.00M
EPS (diluted) $3.67 $1.46 $45.89
Cash & equivalents $66.00M $10.66M $153.00M
Total debt $8.04B $17.45M $14.67B
Shares (diluted) 33.50M 5.31M 62.26M
Enterprise value $5.59B $67.74M $73.52B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricHRISMIDURI
P/E 45.1x 14.8x 25.6x
P/FCF -28.8x 27.4x 81.7x
P/Operating cash flow 4.4x 7.8x 11.8x
P/S 1.1x 1.3x 4.2x
P/B 2.8x 2.0x 7.5x
P/Tangible book 13.1x 3.6x 7.9x
EV/EBITDA 5.1x 7.5x 13.8x
EV/EBIT 5.7x 10.0x 19.6x
EV/Revenue 2.8x 1.2x 5.0x
EV/FCF -70.1x 25.8x 97.9x
EV/Operating cash flow 10.7x 7.4x 14.1x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -1.35 0.11 2.68

Growth

14 metrics
MetricHRISMIDURI
Revenue growth (1Y) 19.4% -1.6% 9.4%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 14.9% 18.4% 8.0%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 14.9% -18.4% 10.4%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 12.6% 35.0% 6.0%
Operating income growth (1Y) 23.8% -30.8% 11.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 12.3% 134.1% 5.7%
Net income growth (1Y) 278.3% -49.1% 12.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -29.7% 136.0% 6.2%
EPS growth (1Y) 277.2% -35.9% 16.6%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -33.4% 135.4% 9.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 15.0% 92.5% 24.2%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 5.1% 97.2% 10.9%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -3.8% 459.8% 98.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 26.1% 38.5% 83.7%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricHRISMIDURI
Gross margin 61.2% 23.5% 39.1%
EBITDA margin 54.2% 16.1% 36.1%
Operating margin 47.9% 12.1% 25.5%
Pretax margin 2.8% 12.0% 21.8%
Net margin 2.5% 8.6% 16.3%
FCF margin -3.9% 4.7% 5.1%
Operating cash flow margin 25.8% 16.3% 35.4%
Return on equity 6.4% 13.7% 30.2%
Return on assets 0.9% 8.6% 8.9%
Return on invested capital 21.2% 12.8% 14.0%
Return on capital employed 18.3% 13.8% 16.5%
Asset turnover 0.4x 1.0x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 10.3x 1.9x 2.2x
Stock comp / revenue 0.6% 0.1% 0.9%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricHRISMIDURI
Debt / assets 57.2% 4.8% 44.7%
Debt / equity 4.1x 0.1x 1.5x
Net debt / EBITDA 3.0x -0.5x 2.3x
Debt / FCF -41.6x 1.0x 16.4x
Liabilities / assets 85.9% 34.2% 70.4%
Equity / assets 14.1% 65.8% 29.6%
Interest coverage – 48.9x –
Current ratio 1.1x 4.1x 0.8x
Quick ratio 1.0x 3.1x 0.6x
Cash ratio 0.1x 0.9x 0.0x
Altman Z-score 1.24 5.03 3.59

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricHRISMIDURI
Dividend yield 1.7% – 0.7%
Net buyback yield -0.1% – 2.5%
Shareholder yield 1.5% 0.0% 3.2%
Payout ratio (earnings) 76.4% – –
Payout ratio (FCF) -48.7% – –
Dividend growth (1Y) 13.3% – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 8.8% – –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusHRISMIDURI
Forward P/E 24.0xFY2026 – 21.3xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $6.93FY2026 – $55.27FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -8.9%FY2026 – +31.4%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +61.8% – +6.3%
Revenue, next fiscal year $4.76BFY2026 – $18.69BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +8.6%FY2026 – +16.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +15.0% – +3.1%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersHRISMIDURI
Held by institutions 100.0% 57.0% 95.9%
Institutions holding 334 56 1,587
Change in shares held, QoQ +7.0% -1.1% +4.7%
Institutions buying 205 23 804
Institutions selling 86 17 537
Buyers to sellers 2.38 1.35 1.50

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

HRISMIDURI
HRI 1.00 0.29 0.68
SMID 0.29 1.00 0.20
URI 0.68 0.20 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, HRI, SMID and URI?

United Rentals (URI) is the largest by market capitalisation: Herc Holdings (HRI) $5.79B, Smith Midland (SMID) $116.88M, United Rentals (URI) $74.40B.

Which stock is cheaper, HRI, SMID and URI?

Smith Midland (SMID) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Herc Holdings (HRI) 47.1x, Smith Midland (SMID) 15.1x, United Rentals (URI) 26.0x). On next year's consensus earnings, United Rentals (URI) is cheapest (Herc Holdings (HRI) 24.0x, United Rentals (URI) 21.3x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Herc Holdings (HRI) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Herc Holdings (HRI) +19.4%, Smith Midland (SMID) -1.6%, United Rentals (URI) +9.4%.

Which company is more profitable?

United Rentals (URI) has the highest net margin (Herc Holdings (HRI) 2.5%, Smith Midland (SMID) 8.6%, United Rentals (URI) 16.3%). On return on invested capital, Herc Holdings (HRI) leads (Herc Holdings (HRI) 21.2%, Smith Midland (SMID) 12.8%, United Rentals (URI) 14.0%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year United Rentals (URI) returned the most: Herc Holdings (HRI) +19.9%, Smith Midland (SMID) -44.4%, United Rentals (URI) +34.2%. Over five years, United Rentals (URI) compounded fastest (Herc Holdings (HRI) -1.8%/yr, Smith Midland (SMID) +1.4%/yr, United Rentals (URI) +25.4%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Herc Holdings (HRI) 0.02%, Smith Midland (SMID) 0.00%, United Rentals (URI) 0.00%. Smith Midland (SMID) and United Rentals (URI) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, United Rentals (URI) has been the steadiest (Herc Holdings (HRI) 60.8%, Smith Midland (SMID) 51.0%, United Rentals (URI) 42.2%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, HRI, SMID and URI?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, United Rentals (URI) leads on 6. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.