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.
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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