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S&P 500 member United RentalsURI soared on stronger-than-forecast Q2 results after Wednesday's close as GoogleGOOGL got a late-day haircut. The divergent reactions to earnings weren't entirely unrelated.
AI data center construction has helped supercharge earnings for URI, which provides a one-stop shop for large construction projects. Google's plan to keep boosting capital spending suggests the demand environment for heavy machinery will keep shining, even as it may slow the pay-off for AI hyperscalers.
URI stock looks set to clear an early entry buy point at Thursday's open. Google raised its capex outlook for the full year to a range of $195 billion to $205 billion, up $15 billion at both ends. The company confirmed that it still expects CapEx to "increase significantly" in 2027.
Tech Futures Fall; Google's Pain Is AI's Gain
URI Earnings
Results: URI posted second-quarter earnings of $12.76 per share, crushing the FactSet consensus forecast by $1.22 a share. Earnings growth accelerated to 21.9% from 9.6% in Q1 and negative growth throughout 2025. Revenue growth accelerated to 11.8% from 7.2%, as sales of $4.41 billion exceeded $4.21 billion estimates.
United Rentals said that rental revenue grew 12.7% to $3.849 billion, while used equipment sales rose 4.1% to $330 million.
Outlook: CEO Matthew Flannery attributed an increase in the full-year outlook to "the tailwinds we see across large projects, customer backlogs, and the momentum witnessed year-to-date." He added that "customers remain optimistic, particularly around large projects, and we continue to demonstrate strong cost discipline."
URI raised its revenue outlook to $17.5 billion-$17.8 billion from the prior range of $16.9 billion-$17.4 billion. URI raised its expectation for net capital expenditures to acquire rental equipment to range of $4.85 billion to $5.25 billion, up $450 million at both ends of the range.
S&P 500, URI, GOOGL
URI jumped 9% to 1,128.70 late Wednesday following a 2.1% gain in the regular session. URI finished regular trading just below its 50-day moving average. If the after-hours move holds on Thursday morning, URI looks set to reclaim its 50-day line and break above the trendline sloping down from its June 25 all-time high of 1,143.69. The trendline break would offer an early entry buy signal.
Google shares traded down 3.1% following a 1.5% regular-session loss. Google looks set to test a three-month low.
Through Wednesday's close, URI is up 39.2% so far this year, which is No. 64 among the S&P 500. The broad S&P 500 dipped 0.1% on Wednesday, finishing 1.5% below its June 2 record closing high but up 9.55% on the year.
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