With United Rentals Stock Sliding, Have You Assessed The Risk?
United Rentals (URI) stock is down 12.9% in a day. The recent slide reflects renewed concerns around URI’s slowing Q4 growth and missed forecasts, but sharp drops like this often raise a tougher question: is the weakness temporary, or a sign of deeper cracks in the story?
Before judging its downturn reslience, let’s look at where United Rentals stands today.
- Size: United Rentals is a $50 Bil company with $16 Bil in revenue currently trading at $787.04.
- Fundamentals: Last 12 month revenue growth of 4.9% and operating margin of 24.7%.
- Liquidity: Has Debt to Equity ratio of 0.31 and Cash to Assets ratio of 0.02
- Valuation: United Rentals stock is currently trading at P/E multiple of 20.0 and P/EBIT multiple of 12.3
- Has returned (median) 117% within a year following sharp dips since 2010. See URI Dip Buy Analysis.
These metrics point to a Moderate operational performance, alongside High valuation – making the stock Unattractive. For details, see Buy or Sell URI Stock
That brings us to the key consideration for investors worried about this fall: how resilient is URI stock if markets turn south? This is where our downturn resilience framework comes in. Suppose URI stock falls another 20-30% to $551 – can investors comfortably hold on? Turns out, the stock has fared worse than the S&P 500 index during various economic downturns, based on (a) how much the stock fell and, (b) how quickly it recovered. Below, we dive deeper into each such downturn.
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2022 Inflation Shock
- URI stock fell 40.0% from a high of $392.79 on 8 November 2021 to $235.84 on 23 June 2022 vs. a peak-to-trough decline of 25.4% for the S&P 500.
- However, the stock fully recovered to its pre-Crisis peak by 24 January 2023
- Since then, the stock increased to a high of $1,020.00 on 15 October 2025 , and currently trades at $787.04
| URI | S&P 500 | |
|---|---|---|
| % Change from Pre-Recession Peak | -40.0% | -25.4% |
| Time to Full Recovery | 215 days | 464 days |
2020 Covid Pandemic
- URI stock fell 58.7% from a high of $168.65 on 2 January 2020 to $69.59 on 18 March 2020 vs. a peak-to-trough decline of 33.9% for the S&P 500.
- However, the stock fully recovered to its pre-Crisis peak by 5 August 2020
| URI | S&P 500 | |
|---|---|---|
| % Change from Pre-Recession Peak | -58.7% | -33.9% |
| Time to Full Recovery | 140 days | 148 days |
2018 Correction
- URI stock fell 49.4% from a high of $189.40 on 9 March 2018 to $95.90 on 24 December 2018 vs. a peak-to-trough decline of 19.8% for the S&P 500.
- However, the stock fully recovered to its pre-Crisis peak by 5 October 2020
| URI | S&P 500 | |
|---|---|---|
| % Change from Pre-Recession Peak | -49.4% | -19.8% |
| Time to Full Recovery | 651 days | 120 days |
2008 Global Financial Crisis
- URI stock fell 91.3% from a high of $34.70 on 21 May 2007 to $3.03 on 9 March 2009 vs. a peak-to-trough decline of 56.8% for the S&P 500.
- However, the stock fully recovered to its pre-Crisis peak by 18 January 2012
| URI | S&P 500 | |
|---|---|---|
| % Change from Pre-Recession Peak | -91.3% | -56.8% |
| Time to Full Recovery | 1,045 days | 1,480 days |
Feeling jittery about URI stock? Consider portfolio approach.
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