The end of an earnings season can be a great time to discover new stocks and assess how companies are handling the current business environment. Let’s take a look at how Hudson Technologies (NASDAQ: HDSN) and the rest of the specialty equipment distributors stocks fared in Q2.

Historically, specialty equipment distributors have boasted deep selection and expertise in sometimes narrow areas like single-use packaging or unique lighting equipment. Additionally, the industry has evolved to include more automated industrial equipment and machinery over the last decade, driving efficiencies and enabling valuable data collection. Specialty equipment distributors whose offerings keep up with these trends can take share in a still-fragmented market, but like the broader industrials sector, this space is at the whim of economic cycles that impact the capital spending and manufacturing propelling industry volumes.

The 8 specialty equipment distributors stocks we track reported a strong Q2. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 2% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was 2.6% below.

Thankfully, share prices of the companies have been resilient as they are up 8.2% on average since the latest earnings results.

Best Q2: Hudson Technologies (NASDAQ: HDSN)

Founded in 1991, Hudson Technologies (NASDAQ: HDSN) specializes in refrigerant services and solutions, providing refrigerant sales, reclamation, and recycling.

Hudson Technologies reported revenues of $72.85 million, down 3.2% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 1.7%. Overall, it was a stunning quarter for the company with a beat of analysts’ EPS estimates and an impressive beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.

Hudson Technologies delivered the slowest revenue growth of the whole group. Interestingly, the stock is up 23.4% since reporting and currently trades at $10.25.

Is now the time to buy Hudson Technologies? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.

Alta (NYSE: ALTG)

Founded in 1984, Alta Equipment Group (NYSE: ALTG) is a provider of industrial and construction equipment and services across the Midwest and Northeast United States.

Alta reported revenues of $481.2 million, down 1.4% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 0.6%. The business had an exceptional quarter with a beat of analysts’ EPS and adjusted operating income estimates.

The market seems happy with the results as the stock is up 15.7% since reporting. It currently trades at $8.26.

Is now the time to buy Alta? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.

Weakest Q2: Karat Packaging (NASDAQ: KRT)

Founded as Lollicup, Karat Packaging (NASDAQ: KRT) distributes and manufactures environmentally-friendly disposable foodservice packaging solutions.

Karat Packaging reported revenues of $124 million, up 10.1% year on year, in line with analysts’ expectations. It was a slower quarter as it posted a significant miss of analysts’ EPS estimates and revenue guidance for next quarter missing analysts’ expectations.

As expected, the stock is down 5.1% since the results and currently trades at $25.28.

Read our full analysis of Karat Packaging’s results here.

SiteOne (NYSE: SITE)

Known for distributing John Deere tractors and LESCO turf care products, SiteOne Landscape Supply (NYSE: SITE) provides landscaping products and services to professionals, including irrigation, lighting, and nursery supplies.

SiteOne reported revenues of $1.46 billion, up 3.4% year on year. This result met analysts’ expectations. Aside from that, it was a satisfactory quarter as it also logged full-year EBITDA guidance exceeding analysts’ expectations but a slight miss of analysts’ organic revenue estimates.

The stock is up 18.2% since reporting and currently trades at $151.99.

Read our full, actionable report on SiteOne here, it’s free.

United Rentals (NYSE: URI)

Owning the largest rental fleet in the world, United Rentals (NYSE: URI) provides equipment rental and related services to construction, industrial, and infrastructure industries.

United Rentals reported revenues of $3.94 billion, up 4.5% year on year. This number surpassed analysts’ expectations by 0.8%. Overall, it was a strong quarter as it also put up a solid beat of analysts’ adjusted operating income estimates and full-year EBITDA guidance slightly topping analysts’ expectations.

The stock is up 21.5% since reporting and currently trades at $971.42.

Read our full, actionable report on United Rentals here, it’s free.

Market Update

Thanks to the Fed’s rate hikes in 2022 and 2023, inflation has been on a steady path downward, easing back toward that 2% sweet spot. Fortunately (miraculously to some), all this tightening didn’t send the economy tumbling into a recession, so here we are, cautiously celebrating a soft landing. The cherry on top? Recent rate cuts (half a point in September 2024, a quarter in November) have propped up markets, especially after Trump’s November win lit a fire under major indices and sent them to all-time highs. However, there’s still plenty to ponder — tariffs, corporate tax cuts, and what 2025 might hold for the economy.

Want to invest in winners with rock-solid fundamentals? Check out our Strong Momentum Stocks and add them to your watchlist. These companies are poised for growth regardless of the political or macroeconomic climate.

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