U-Haul Q4 Earnings Call Highlights

U-Haul (NYSE:UHAL.B) reported a wider fiscal fourth-quarter loss as higher fleet depreciation weighed on earnings, even as its moving and storage segment posted higher adjusted EBITDA and revenue gains in key businesses, Chief Financial Officer Jason Berg told investors on the company’s fiscal year-end 2026 earnings call.

The company reported a fourth-quarter loss of $128 million, compared with a loss of $82 million in the same quarter a year earlier. For the full fiscal year 2026, U-Haul earned $83 million, down from $367 million in the prior year. The fourth-quarter loss was $0.65 per non-voting share, compared with a loss of $0.41 per non-voting share in the prior-year quarter.

Berg said about half of the quarterly decline in earnings per share came from higher depreciation on the truck fleet. Fleet depreciation rose to $229 million in the fourth quarter from $181 million a year earlier. For the full year, depreciation totaled $879 million, up from $693 million in fiscal 2025.

Fleet depreciation pressures earnings

Berg said U-Haul began materially increasing the depreciation rate on its cargo van fleet in the first quarter of fiscal 2026 after selling higher-cost 2023 and 2024 model-year vans into a resale market that “just didn’t recognize that increased price.” Depreciation also increased on box trucks after the company grew that fleet by more than 14,000 units from the end of March 2025 to March 2026.

However, Berg pointed to “a few positive signals,” including sequential declines in the rate of fleet depreciation growth in the past two quarters. He said the company does not plan to grow the box truck fleet in the upcoming year, which should lead to a natural decline in depreciation even if the fleet does not shrink.

On cargo vans, Berg said April and May resale results were steady, though measured against units that had carried a much higher depreciation rate over the past year. He also said lower prices on model-year 2025 and 2026 units should help, though “not likely enough to be the sole solution.”

During the question-and-answer portion, Berg said the company is back to roughly a 12-month replacement cycle for cargo vans and has built in flexibility to buy fewer vans if resale market conditions do not justify new-truck prices.

Rental revenue rises, dealer network expands

Equipment rental revenue increased $12 million in the fourth quarter from the prior-year period. For the full year, rental revenue rose $86 million, or just over 2%. Berg said revenue increased in both in-town and one-way markets for both the quarter and the full year, with in-town growth stronger.

U-Haul added 55 new company-operated locations and had a net increase of 1,400 independent dealers compared with the end of March 2025. Berg said the company’s effort to add several thousand dealers and distribute equipment more productively “has been taking shape.” April and May revenue trends were in line with the fourth quarter, he said.

In response to a question from Steven Ralston of Zacks, Berg said fourth-quarter self-moving rental growth improved because both in-town and one-way revenue increased, including a rise in one-way transactions. He said miles per transaction were still declining slightly, though the decreases had become smaller, and added that improvement may depend partly on consumer confidence.

Berg said U-Haul would like to return to 4.5% to 5% growth in the rental revenue line and that the expanded dealer network could help during the Memorial Day-to-Labor Day busy season.

Capital spending set to decline as buyback begins

Capital expenditures for new rental equipment totaled $2.081 billion in fiscal 2026, up $218 million from the prior year. Proceeds from sales of retired rental equipment increased $48 million to $700 million, resulting in net equipment purchases of $1.381 billion. Berg estimated that close to $780 million of total spending was growth-related.

For the next fiscal year, U-Haul’s projections include growth in the U-Box container fleet and its new Toy Hauler trailer, but no growth in the truck fleet. Berg estimated new equipment purchases, net of sales, would decline by about $560 million.

The company also said its board authorized a $350 million share repurchase plan covering both the UHAL and UHAL.B share classes. Berg said lower planned growth capital expenditures allow U-Haul to allocate capital to the program. In response to analyst questions, he said the board believes the stock is trading at a discount and that the company is “eager to deploy” the authorization.

Berg said U-Haul’s capital allocation shift reflects the capacity added in recent years, giving the company time to absorb prior investments without materially affecting leverage levels.

Storage revenue grows despite occupancy decline

Storage revenue rose $16 million, or 7%, in the fourth quarter. For the full year, storage revenue increased a little more than $74 million, or 8%. Average revenue per occupied foot improved by more than 6% for both same-store and non-stabilized portfolios. Average rental rates for new customers were up about 3% year over year.

Same-store occupancy fell 540 basis points to 86.1%. Berg said about 450 basis points of that decline was tied to U-Haul’s cleanup of delinquent rooms, an effort the company began in the second quarter of fiscal 2026. He said delinquency is no longer a systemwide issue, though the company is still working through year-over-year comparisons.

Berg said net tenant move-ins remain slower than in recent years, but there has been “some incremental improvement.” He also pointed to the company’s straightforward pricing strategy, including a one-year price lock guarantee previously announced by Joe Shoen, as beginning to resonate with customers.

U-Haul invested $966 million in real estate acquisitions, self-storage and U-Box warehouse development in fiscal 2026, down $541 million from fiscal 2025. The company added 66 locations with storage totaling 5.3 million net rentable square feet. Berg said U-Haul has about 5.5 million new square feet under development across 99 projects and another 6.2 million square feet of potential development on owned properties not yet started.

U-Box and Toy Hauler updates

Asked by Steven Ramsey of Thompson Research Group about U-Box revenue per transaction, Berg said activity was up, including both moves and boxes in storage. However, revenue per transaction was affected by shorter moves, lower freight trends for much of the year and a more competitive market.

Berg also said U-Haul sees room to increase cross-usage between moving and storage, calling the current level more of a baseline than a peak. For U-Box, he said the company is in the “early innings” of increasing storage penetration and sees an opportunity to convert self-storage customers into U-Box containers.

On the Toy Hauler trailer, Berg said initial expected users included customers who traditionally used auto transports but had larger vehicles that did not fit. He said usage scenarios have expanded, including an example in North Dakota where the trailers were being used for smaller tractors. Planned spending on the Toy Hauler in the coming year is expected to be lower than the initial rollout.

For the moving and storage segment, adjusted EBITDA increased $6 million in the fourth quarter to $223 million. For fiscal 2026, adjusted EBITDA rose $26 million to $1.646 billion. Berg said moving and storage operating expenses increased $17 million in the quarter, while adjusted EBITDA margin improved slightly, though all-in operating margins worsened because of fleet depreciation.

At the end of March, U-Haul’s cash and availability at moving and storage totaled $1.479 billion. Berg said the company expects to speak with investors again on Aug. 6 for its first-quarter earnings call.

About U-Haul (NYSE:UHAL.B)

U-Haul International, Inc (NYSE: UHAL.B) is a leading provider of do-it-yourself moving equipment and storage solutions in North America. As a subsidiary of AMERCO, U-Haul offers a comprehensive array of rental products, including cargo vans, pickup trucks, trailers and towing equipment, along with portable moving containers and self-storage units. The company’s services extend to packing and shipping supplies, hitch installation, and moving assistance programs tailored to both household and small-business customers.

Founded in 1945 by Leonard Shoen in Ridgefield, Washington, U-Haul grew from a single two-truck operation into an expansive network of over 21,000 locations across the United States and Canada.