As the Q4 earnings season wraps, let’s dig into this quarter’s best and worst performers in the specialty equipment distributors industry, including H&E Equipment Services (NASDAQ: HEES) and its peers.

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 9 specialty equipment distributors stocks we track reported a mixed Q4. As a group, revenues along with next quarter’s revenue guidance were in line with analysts’ consensus estimates.

Amidst this news, share prices of the companies have had a rough stretch. On average, they are down 17.3% since the latest earnings results.

Best Q4: H&E Equipment Services (NASDAQ: HEES)

Founded after recognizing a growth trend along the Mississippi River and opportunities developing in the earthmoving and construction equipment business, H&E (NASDAQ: HEES) offers machinery for companies to purchase or rent.

H&E Equipment Services reported revenues of $384.1 million, flat year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 3.1%. Overall, it was a very strong quarter for the company with an impressive beat of analysts’ EPS estimates and a solid beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.

Unsurprisingly, the stock is down 7.6% since reporting and currently trades at $90.70.

Is now the time to buy H&E Equipment Services? Access our full analysis of the earnings results 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 $4.10 billion, up 9.8% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 3.9%. The business had a strong quarter with an impressive beat of analysts’ organic revenue and adjusted operating income estimates.

United Rentals achieved the biggest analyst estimates beat among its peers. The stock is down 20.7% since reporting. It currently trades at $600.99.

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

Weakest Q4: Richardson Electronics (NASDAQ: RELL)

Founded in 1947, Richardson Electronics (NASDAQ: RELL) is a distributor of power grid and microwave tubes as well as consumables related to those products.

Richardson Electronics reported revenues of $53.8 million, up 2.7% year on year, falling short of analysts’ expectations by 1.7%. Still, its results were good as it locked in an impressive beat of analysts’ EPS estimates and a solid beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.

As expected, the stock is down 19.1% since the results and currently trades at $7.91.

Read our full analysis of Richardson Electronics’s results here.

Custom Truck One Source (NYSE: CTOS)

Inspired by a family gas station, Custom Truck One Source (NYSE: CTOS) is a distributor of trucks and heavy equipment.

Custom Truck One Source reported revenues of $520.7 million, flat year on year. This print came in 3.7% below analysts' expectations. Zooming out, it was actually a strong quarter as it put up an impressive beat of analysts’ EPS estimates and a solid beat of analysts’ adjusted operating income estimates.

Custom Truck One Source delivered the highest full-year guidance raise among its peers. The stock is down 8.8% since reporting and currently trades at $3.65.

Read our full, actionable report on Custom Truck One Source here, it’s free.

Herc (NYSE: HRI)

Formerly a subsidiary of Hertz Corporation and with a logo that still bears some similarities to its former parent, Herc Holdings (NYSE: HRI) provides equipment rental and related services to a wide range of industries.

Herc reported revenues of $951 million, up 14.4% year on year. This number beat analysts’ expectations by 2.5%. Aside from that, it was a mixed quarter as it also recorded an impressive beat of analysts’ adjusted operating income estimates but full-year EBITDA guidance missing analysts’ expectations significantly.

Herc pulled off the fastest revenue growth among its peers. The stock is down 42.6% since reporting and currently trades at $119.30.

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

Market Update

Thanks to the Fed’s series of rate hikes in 2022 and 2023, inflation has cooled significantly from its post-pandemic highs, drawing closer to the 2% goal. This disinflation has occurred without severely impacting economic growth, suggesting the success of a soft landing. The stock market thrived in 2024, spurred by recent rate cuts (0.5% in September and 0.25% in November), and a notable surge followed Donald Trump’s presidential election win in November, propelling indices to historic highs. Nonetheless, the outlook for 2025 remains clouded by potential trade policy changes and corporate tax discussions, which could impact business confidence and growth. The path forward holds both optimism and caution as new policies take shape.

Want to invest in winners with rock-solid fundamentals? Check out our Top 5 Growth Stocks and add them to your watchlist. These companies are poised for growth regardless of the political or macroeconomic climate.

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