United Rentals vs WESCO International
Add, change or remove companies; up to four.
KIRA’s take AI analyst
I put United Rentals and WESCO International side by side, using each one’s latest annual report. Here is what stands out:
- WESCO International is the larger business, with $23.5B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $16.1B for United Rentals.
- WESCO International grew revenue faster (7.8%, against 4.9%).
- United Rentals kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (24.7% operating margin, against 5.2%).
- United Rentals earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (13.4%, against 9.4%).
- Investors pay more for each dollar of United Rentals’s earnings: a P/E of 28.6x against 22.8x for WESCO International.
Who comes out ahead
Of the 10 measures where higher (or lower) is clearly better, how many each company leads.
United Rentals
URI
7/10
Gross marginOperating marginNet marginReturn on capitalReturn on equityNet debt / EBITDAShare count change
WESCO International
WCC
2/10
Revenue growth5-year growth
Side by side
Best in the row
| Latest fiscal year | URI FY25 | WCC FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $70.7B | $16.3B |
| Revenue | $16.1B | $23.5B |
| Free cash flow | — | $25.2M |
| Net income | $2.5B | $640M |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 4.9% | 7.8% |
| 5-year growth | 13.6% | 13.8% |
| Share count change | −3.0% | −2.2% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 38.2% | 21.2% |
| Operating margin | 24.7% | 5.2% |
| Net margin | 15.5% | 2.7% |
| FCF margin | — | 0.1% |
| Return on capital | 13.4% | 9.4% |
| Return on equity | 28.4% | 12.8% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | $13.8B | $5.2B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 3.1x | 3.7x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $2.4B | $163M |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 28.6x | 22.8x |
| Piotroski F-score | 5 | 5 |
Ten years
Revenue
Operating margin
Free cash flow
Return on capital
Each company's latest fiscal year; fiscal years end in different months. The best value in each row is highlighted where higher (or lower) is clearly better. Not investment advice.