UHaul Holding Company (UHAL) Q4 2024 Earnings Report

Revenue: USD 1,179,170,000, YoY -0.8%, QoQ -11.97%; Gross Profit: USD 49,172,000, YoY -95.2%, QoQ -95.75%; Operating Income: USD 43,960,000, YoY -60.2%, QoQ -77.75%; Net Income: USD -9,687,000, YoY -125.7%, QoQ -109.76%; EPS: USD -0.0494, YoY -130.9%, QoQ -110.74%; EBITDA: USD 276,192,000; EBITDA Margin: 23.4%; Operating Margin: 3.73%; Net Margin: -0.82%; Cash from Operating Activities: USD 212,713,000; Free Cash Flow: USD -379,236,000; Cash and Cash Equivalents: USD 1,534,544,000; Total Debt: USD 6,326,394,000; Net Debt: USD 4,791,850,000; Gross capex (FY2024): USD 1,619,000,000; 12-month self-storage occupancy: ~80% portfolio, ~92.3% same-store; Self-storage revenue growth: +9% in Q4, +12% for the year; Real estate pipeline: 7.8M active, 9.2M pending sq ft; Fleet: end-FY24 ~188,700 trucks; 12-month capex projection for 2025: ~USD 1.7B.

- Strategy & Pricing: Management emphasizes a steady, value-oriented pricing approach vs. demand-based pricing used by many competitors. Joe Shoen criticized dynamic pricing and highlighted U-Haul’s ongoing practice of posting prices in stores to avoid customer confusion and price inflation manipulation. Impact: pricing discipline may support margin stability in a volatile demand environment. (Quote excerpt in transcript)
- Fleet & Capital Allocation: Jason Berg discussed 2025 projected gross fleet capex around USD 1.7B, indicating continued emphasis on fleet renewal and maintenance to support utilization, with a potential fleet size flat-to-down as older units are retired. (Quote excerpt in transcript)
- Self-Storage Growth & Real Estate: Joe Shoen and Jason Berg underscored a robust self-storage development program with 2.4 million net rentable square feet added in Q4 and a 12-month total of 5.475 million sq ft; occupancy pressures shown at ~80% portfolio and 92.3% same-store. Pipeline remains robust (7.8M active, 9.2M pending). This signals meaningful medium-term earnings potential from real estate investments. (Transcript references)
- Operational Productivity: Management stressed IT-enabled self-dispatch and self-return capabilities to boost productivity and reduce payroll pressures; a key driver of margin stability given wage and benefit trends. (Transcript references)
- Industry & Market Conditions: Commentary highlighted ongoing industry pressure from elevated depreciation, lower gains on sale of retired equipment, and the broader macro environment (inflation, wage mandates). They also discussed the potential headwinds from electrification costs in OEMs and fleet suppliers, along with supply chain constraints affecting new vehicle availability. (Transcript references)

UHAL presents a durable, multi-faceted platform with a long-run growth trajectory anchored by its dominant self-storage footprint and the U-Haul ecosystem. The QQ4 2024 results underscore the need to absorb ongoing capex for fleet modernization and real estate development while maintaining price discipline and productivity gains. The near-term profitability remains under pressure due to lower gains on fleet disposals and higher depreciation, but management signals a path to margin stabilization through fleet refresh, utilization gains, and IT-enabled productivity. The 2025 guidance ~USD 1.7B in capex and continued self-storage expansion provides a credible growth runway, though it implies continued free cash flow pressure in the near term. Investors should monitor fleet utilization trends, the pace of depreciation vs. disposition gains, and occupancy trends in existing and new storage assets, as well as the effectiveness of pricing discipline in both truck rental and storage segments. Relative to peers, UHAL’s valuation remains anchored by its asset-heavy model (P/S ~11.3x, P/B ~1.86x, EV/EBITDA ~65.7x) with negative earnings visibility in the near term but solid scale in core infrastructure. If operating leverage improves through utilization and structural improvements in IT-enabled workflows, the stock could re-rate as earnings power returns and capital remains allocated toward high-ROIC opportunities in storage development and fleet modernization.