Herc (HRI) Bank of America’s 33th Annual Industrials, Transportation and Airlines Key Leaders Conference summary

Company overview and strategy

• Operates as a leading full-line equipment rental provider in North America, with a 60+ year history and a workforce of about 10,000 across 46 U.S. states and five Canadian provinces.

• Addresses a $90 billion equipment rental market, focusing on the top 100 metropolitan areas and leveraging scale through disciplined capital allocation, M&A, and technology investments.

• Pursues a multifaceted diversification strategy, ensuring no single industry exceeds 10% of business, and has completed over 50 acquisitions in six years.

• Recent acquisition of H&E, the largest in industry history, expanded presence to 11 of the top 20 markets and increased business size by 30%.

• Emphasizes superior customer service, technology leadership, and disciplined capital spending to drive sustainable growth.

H&E acquisition integration and specialty expansion

• Technology stack integration post-acquisition was completed within 90 days, exceeding expectations.

• Cultural integration successful, with high employee satisfaction and recognition as a Great Place to Work.

• Leveraged large branch facilities to embed specialty rental operations, using existing overhead and workforce.

• Specialty expansion focuses on pump, power, and HVAC, with subject matter experts supporting sales teams.

• Integration has accelerated growth, improved margins, and positioned the company for long-term synergy capture.

Market trends, mega-projects, and growth opportunities

• Mega-projects, including data centers, LNG, hospitals, and chip plants, are key growth drivers, with $800 billion in projects targeted through 2026.

• Aims to capture 10-15% of mega-project opportunities, leveraging expanded scale and geographic reach.

• Specialty power solutions, including battery and diesel, are critical for supporting large projects and energy infrastructure.

• Local markets remain stable and muted, with mega-projects and cross-selling from acquisitions providing primary growth tailwinds.

• Industry remains fragmented, but consolidation is ongoing, especially in specialty rental segments.