United Rentals (URI) Rose on Robust Nonresidential Construction End Markets

Soumya Eswaran Fri, July 17, 2026 at 10:18 AM EDT 3 min read **

• URI

Wedgewood Partners, an investment management company, released its first-quarter 2026 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. Wedgewood Composite delivered a net return of 9.4% in the second quarter compared to 15.2% for the Standard & Poor's 500 Index, 16.7% for the Russell 1000 Growth Index, and 13.9% for the Russell 1000 Value Index. The firm is optimistic about the long-term growth of hyperscalers and has increased its investments in this sector, citing their significant earnings potential and crucial role in AI adoption. Capital has also been redirected towards technology hardware stocks, especially semiconductors, which now make up a larger share of the S&P 500 Index. Semiconductor stocks have benefited from hyperscalers' spending, but the firm expresses caution about cyclical risk and volatility. However, the momentum-driven market negatively affected the Wedgewood fund's high-quality stocks, leading to a 25% return over the past 15 months, significantly underperforming the 90% gain of the S&P 500 Momentum ETF (SPMO). In addition, please check the Fund's top five holdings to know its best picks in 2026.

In its Q2 2026 investor letter, Wedgewood Partners highlighted United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI). United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) is a leading equipment rental company headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut. On July 16, 2026, United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) stock closed at $1,071.82 per share. One-month return of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) was -0.46%, and its shares gained 32.64% over the past 52 weeks. United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) has a market capitalization of $67.15 billion.

Wedgewood Partners stated the following regarding United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) in its Q2 2026 investor update:

"Top performance contributors for the second quarter include Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, Alphabet, United Rentals, Inc.** (NYSE:URI), Apple, and Visa.

United Rentals was a top performer across portfolios. Equipment rental sales growth accelerated to 9%, while adjusted margins stabilized, driving 10% growth in earnings per share. This acceleration was driven by strong nonresidential construction end markets, particularly data centers and power projects, and by continued growth in megaprojects."

Why Everus Construction Group Inc (ECG) Is Plunging in 2025? United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) is not on our list of 40 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds Heading Into 2026. According to our database, 64 hedge fund portfolios held United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) at the end of the first quarter, compared to 74 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the potential of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on thebest short-term AI stock.

Story Continues In another article, we covered United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) and shared the list of best industrial distribution stocks to invest in according to hedge funds. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q2 2026 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.