URI vs FSS vs SMID Stock Comparison

United Rentals, Federal Signal and Smith Midland Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
URI United Rentals, Inc.
$1,198.19 +18.1% 1M +37.6% 1Y
Market cap
$74.28B
P/E
26.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$17.50B
Div. yield
0.64%
Equipment Rental Industrials
6 wins
FSS Federal Signal Corp /De/
$115.22 +0.8% 1M -11.2% 1Y
Market cap
$7.03B
P/E
23.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.55B
Div. yield
0.51%
Heavy Equipment Industrials
3 wins
SMID Smith Midland Corp
$22.34 -4.9% 1M -40.6% 1Y
Market cap
$118.56M
P/E
15.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$89.50M
Div. yield
–
Building Products Industrials
3 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

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

QuestionURIFSSSMIDLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $74.28B $7.03B $118.56M URI
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 26.1x 23.7x 15.3x SMID
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 21.7x 23.4x — URI
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +9.4% +24.0% -1.6% FSS
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 16.3% 11.7% 8.6% URI
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 14.0% 16.0% 12.8% FSS
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.3x 0.7x -0.5x SMID
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.64% 0.51% 0.00% URI
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +37.6% -11.2% -40.6% URI
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +25.9%/yr +21.9%/yr +2.2%/yr URI
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 42.2% 34.9% 51.1% FSS
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 54/100 77/100 80/100 SMID

Percentile Scorecard

URIFSSSMID

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

AxisURIFSSSMID
Valuation 22 #36 of 46 58 #85 of 203 82 #11 of 55
Growth 87 #6 of 39 92 #16 of 188 82 #10 of 51
Profitability 92 #4 of 39 92 #16 of 183 65 #18 of 49
Financial Health 20 #38 of 47 77 #50 of 216 93 #5 of 55
Shareholder Returns 50 #16 of 31 65 #54 of 152 –
Overall 54 77 80
  • URI ranked among 49 companies in Distribution and Rental
  • FSS ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • SMID ranked among 59 companies in Construction Products

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodURIFSSSMIDSPY
1 month +18.1%+0.8%-4.9% +0.7%
3 months +12.1%-7.7%-21.5% +3.7%
6 months +24.8%-6.4%-33.9% +7.1%
Year to date +48.0%+6.1%-38.5% +12.8%
1 year +37.6%-11.2%-40.6% +11.9%
3 years +191.6%+98.4%+10.9% +85.2%
3 years, per year +42.9%+25.7%+3.5% +22.8%
5 years +216.1%+169.1%+11.7% +67.6%
5 years, per year +25.9%+21.9%+2.2% +10.9%
10 years +1,489.3%+849.1%+522.3% +262.0%
10 years, per year +31.9%+25.2%+20.1% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureURIFSSSMIDSPY
Volatility, 1Y 42.2%34.9%51.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 39.2%35.9%51.7% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.041.270.97 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.89-0.32-0.80 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -40.0%-33.3%-72.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high 0.0%-13.8%-43.9% -1.2%
52-week high $1,198.19$133.73$39.82 $779.14
52-week low $710.47$104.77$21.20 $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.

MultipleURIFSSSMID
P/E now vs peer median 26.1xmedian 26.2x 23.7xmedian 25.8x 15.3xmedian 20.3x
P/S now vs peer median 4.2xmedian 1.1x 2.8xmedian 1.9x 1.3xmedian 1.6x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 14.1xmedian 13.5x 14.5xmedian 14.6x 7.8xmedian 12.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median 83.3xmedian 23.0x 19.3xmedian 22.2x 28.4xmedian 16.9x
P/B now vs peer median 7.7xmedian 2.6x 4.5xmedian 2.2x 2.1xmedian 3.0x
PEG now vs peer median 2.74median 2.55 0.89median 1.45 0.11median 1.13

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 monthsURIFSSSMID
Revenue $17.50B $2.55B $89.50M
Gross profit $6.84B $741.70M $21.00M
Operating income $4.47B $412.80M $10.80M
Net income $2.86B $296.90M $7.73M
Free cash flow $892.00M $365.10M $4.17M
EPS (diluted) $45.89 $4.83 $1.46
Cash & equivalents $153.00M $73.70M $10.66M
Total debt $14.67B $420.30M $17.45M
Shares (diluted) 62.26M 61.50M 5.31M
Enterprise value $73.40B $6.76B $69.42M

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
MetricURIFSSSMID
P/E 26.1x 23.7x 15.3x
P/FCF 83.3x 19.3x 28.4x
P/Operating cash flow 12.0x 17.5x 8.2x
P/S 4.2x 2.8x 1.3x
P/B 7.7x 4.5x 2.1x
P/Tangible book 8.1x 5.9x 3.7x
EV/EBITDA 14.1x 14.5x 7.8x
EV/EBIT 19.9x 17.9x 10.4x
EV/Revenue 5.1x 2.9x 1.3x
EV/FCF 99.5x 20.2x 26.9x
EV/Operating cash flow 14.3x 18.3x 7.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.74 0.89 0.11

Growth

14 metrics
MetricURIFSSSMID
Revenue growth (1Y) 9.4% 24.0% -1.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 8.0% 15.2% 18.4%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 10.4% 24.8% -18.4%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 6.0% 20.2% 35.0%
Operating income growth (1Y) 11.5% 26.0% -30.8%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 5.7% 25.7% 134.1%
Net income growth (1Y) 12.9% 25.9% -49.1%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 6.2% 26.8% 136.0%
EPS growth (1Y) 16.6% 25.7% -35.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 9.5% 26.7% 135.4%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 24.2% 62.4% 92.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 10.9% 45.6% 97.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 98.2% 66.2% 459.8%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 83.7% 53.2% 38.5%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricURIFSSSMID
Gross margin 39.1% 29.1% 23.5%
EBITDA margin 36.1% 19.9% 16.1%
Operating margin 25.5% 16.2% 12.1%
Pretax margin 21.8% 15.2% 12.0%
Net margin 16.3% 11.7% 8.6%
FCF margin 5.1% 14.3% 4.7%
Operating cash flow margin 35.4% 15.8% 16.3%
Return on equity 30.2% 19.2% 13.7%
Return on assets 8.9% 12.1% 8.6%
Return on invested capital 14.0% 16.0% 12.8%
Return on capital employed 16.5% 19.2% 13.8%
Asset turnover 0.5x 1.0x 1.0x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.2x 1.4x 1.9x
Stock comp / revenue 0.9% 0.6% 0.1%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricURIFSSSMID
Debt / assets 44.7% 17.1% 4.8%
Debt / equity 1.5x 0.3x 0.1x
Net debt / EBITDA 2.3x 0.7x -0.5x
Debt / FCF 16.4x 1.2x 1.0x
Liabilities / assets 70.4% 35.7% 34.2%
Equity / assets 29.6% 64.3% 65.8%
Interest coverage – 17.9x 48.9x
Current ratio 0.8x 3.0x 4.1x
Quick ratio 0.6x 1.3x 3.1x
Cash ratio 0.0x 0.3x 0.9x
Altman Z-score 3.63 7.56 5.12

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricURIFSSSMID
Dividend yield 0.6% 0.5% –
Net buyback yield 2.5% 0.0% –
Shareholder yield 3.1% 0.5% 0.0%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 12.1% –
Payout ratio (FCF) – 9.9% –
Dividend growth (1Y) – 9.4% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 15.9% –

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.

ConsensusURIFSSSMID
Forward P/E 21.7xFY2026 23.4xFY2026 –
EPS, next fiscal year $55.27FY2026 $4.92FY2026 –
EPS growth, next FY +31.4%FY2026 +16.3%FY2026 –
EPS growth, the year after +6.3% +10.0% –
Revenue, next fiscal year $18.69BFY2026 $2.79BFY2026 –
Revenue growth, next FY +16.1%FY2026 +28.1%FY2026 –
Revenue growth, the year after +3.1% -5.3% –

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersURIFSSSMID
Held by institutions 95.9% 100.0% 57.0%
Institutions holding 1,588 475 56
Change in shares held, QoQ +4.7% +3.9% -1.1%
Institutions buying 804 250 23
Institutions selling 538 152 17
Buyers to sellers 1.49 1.64 1.35

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.

URIFSSSMID
URI 1.00 0.41 0.20
FSS 0.41 1.00 0.21
SMID 0.20 0.21 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, URI, FSS and SMID?

United Rentals (URI) is the largest by market capitalisation: United Rentals (URI) $74.28B, Federal Signal (FSS) $7.03B, Smith Midland (SMID) $118.56M.

Which stock is cheaper, URI, FSS and SMID?

Smith Midland (SMID) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (United Rentals (URI) 26.1x, Federal Signal (FSS) 23.7x, Smith Midland (SMID) 15.3x). On next year's consensus earnings, United Rentals (URI) is cheapest (United Rentals (URI) 21.7x, Federal Signal (FSS) 23.4x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Federal Signal (FSS) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: United Rentals (URI) +9.4%, Federal Signal (FSS) +24.0%, Smith Midland (SMID) -1.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

United Rentals (URI) has the highest net margin (United Rentals (URI) 16.3%, Federal Signal (FSS) 11.7%, Smith Midland (SMID) 8.6%). On return on invested capital, Federal Signal (FSS) leads (United Rentals (URI) 14.0%, Federal Signal (FSS) 16.0%, Smith Midland (SMID) 12.8%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year United Rentals (URI) returned the most: United Rentals (URI) +37.6%, Federal Signal (FSS) -11.2%, Smith Midland (SMID) -40.6%. Over five years, United Rentals (URI) compounded fastest (United Rentals (URI) +25.9%/yr, Federal Signal (FSS) +21.9%/yr, Smith Midland (SMID) +2.2%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

United Rentals (URI) has the highest dividend yield: United Rentals (URI) 0.64%, Federal Signal (FSS) 0.51%, Smith Midland (SMID) 0.00%. Smith Midland (SMID) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Federal Signal (FSS) has been the steadiest (United Rentals (URI) 42.2%, Federal Signal (FSS) 34.9%, Smith Midland (SMID) 51.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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.