stockrowWhat it does
U-Haul Holding Company provides do-it-yourself moving and storage services through its U-Haul subsidiary. Its customers rent trucks, trailers and towing equipment to move their belongings themselves. They can also rent storage units or portable U-Box containers, and buy boxes, tape and other moving supplies.
The company serves customers through company-operated moving stores, independent U-Haul dealers, its website and mobile app. A customer can pick up equipment at a location or use mobile-device rentals. U-Box containers can be delivered to a customer’s chosen location, filled and then stored or moved elsewhere.
U-Haul also sells and installs towing equipment, refills propane and connects customers with independent providers that can help with tasks such as packing and loading. Its storage business includes facilities operated by U-Haul and an online reservation network that includes independent storage businesses.
The company has insurance operations alongside its moving and storage business. Property and casualty subsidiaries handle claims and underwrite parts of protection packages offered to U-Haul customers. Oxford Life Insurance sells life insurance, Medicare supplement insurance and annuities, primarily to seniors.
U-Haul was founded in 1945 and is headquartered in Reno. It operates in the United States and Canada.
How it makes money
U-Haul earns revenue from equipment rentals, storage rentals, product sales and insurance. Its Moving and Storage segment represented approximately 94.1% of consolidated net revenue in fiscal 2026. The segment rents trucks and trailers for local and one-way moves, rents fixed and portable storage, sells moving supplies, towing accessories and propane, and manages self-storage properties owned by others.
Customers can combine services: for example, a mover may rent a truck, buy packing supplies and rent a storage unit. U-Haul also offers protection packages for rental equipment and belongings. Independent dealers act as rental agents and receive a commission based on gross revenue generated from their U-Haul rentals.
Storage produces rental revenue while customers occupy units. U-Haul introduced a one-year storage price-lock guarantee, and its average new-customer rental rates increased by about 3% year-over-year. For the fourth quarter, storage revenue increased by $16 million, while same-store occupancy fell to 86.1%; the company attributed part of that decline to its cleanup of delinquent rooms.
Property and Casualty Insurance underwrites components of moving and storage protection packages and handles claims for U-Haul. Life Insurance writes and reinsures life, Medicare supplement and annuity policies, primarily for seniors.
For fiscal 2026, U-Haul reported earnings of $83 million; for the fourth quarter, it reported a loss of $128 million. Moving and storage activity is seasonal: revenue has historically been stronger in the first and second fiscal quarters, when moving activity increases during spring and summer.
Customers and how it sells
U-Haul’s primary customers are do-it-yourself household movers. They include individuals and families moving between homes, college students, and people who need extra transport space or towing equipment for other activities. Its storage facilities also accommodate household and commercial goods. The life insurance business primarily serves seniors.
Moving and Storage operates throughout the United States and Canada. As of March 31, 2026, U-Haul operated 2,113 self-storage locations in those countries, with locations in 50 states and 10 Canadian provinces. Its equipment and products are distributed through over 2,400 company-operated retail moving stores and over 23,000 independent U-Haul dealers.
Customers can reserve through uhaul.com, the U-Haul app or a telephone reservations system. Truck Share 24/7 allows equipment rentals through a mobile device without visiting the counter. The website and app also connect customers with independent Moving Help providers and storage affiliates.
As of March 31, 2026, the company employed approximately 32,600 people in the United States and approximately 2,100 in Canada. Approximately 99% of these employees worked in Moving and Storage.
Suppliers and costs
U-Haul’s rental truck chassis are engineered by domestic truck manufacturers. U-Haul designs and manufactures the van boxes and joins them to the chassis primarily at its own manufacturing and assembly facilities. It also manufactures trailers at those facilities and performs preventive maintenance and repairs on its equipment.
The company pays independent dealers commissions based on gross revenue generated from U-Haul rentals. Other operating costs include personnel, fleet maintenance and repair, and self-insurance liabilities. U-Haul increased its self-insurance reserves by about $93 million during fiscal 2026.
Fleet purchases and depreciation are part of the cost structure. U-Haul increased cargo-van depreciation after resale prices did not reflect the higher purchase prices of its 2023 and 2024 model-year vans. Truck-fleet depreciation increased from $181 million in the fourth quarter of the previous year to $221 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026.
Capital expenditures for new rental equipment were $2.08 billion in fiscal 2026. The company also invested $960 million in real estate acquisitions and self-storage and U-Box warehouse development during the year.
- Revenue$6.0B
- Cost of revenue−$4.3B
- Other operating costs−$1.3B
- Operating income$432.6M
Competitive position
U-Haul competes in truck rental, self-storage and insurance. In moving equipment rental, its major national competitors for both local and one-way moves include Avis Budget Group and Penske Truck Leasing. In local rentals, it also competes with companies including Enterprise Truck Rental, Turo, Lugg and GoShare. U-Haul identifies location convenience, equipment availability, product breadth and total cost as principal competitive factors for do-it-yourself truck renters.
In self-storage, U-Haul names Public Storage, CubeSmart and Extra Space Storage as its largest competitors. It identifies location convenience, cleanliness, security and price as principal factors in that market. Its insurance businesses compete on price, product design and service to agents and policyholders.
Our reading: U-Haul’s store and dealer network is a meaningful competitive advantage because customers can find rental equipment across a wide geographic area. Its reservations system also helps centers and dealers match equipment with demand.
Our reading: Combining trucks, storage, supplies and protection packages gives U-Haul another potential advantage, although competitors in each category can compete on price and convenience. Its online marketplaces extend the offering through independent moving-help and storage providers.
U-Haul believes the U-Box market appeared more competitive than a year earlier. It also says some insurance competitors have greater financial resources and broader product portfolios than its insurance companies.
| Competitor | Where they compete | Threat (our reading) |
|---|---|---|
| Avis Budget Group, Inc. | Local and one-way moving equipment rental | High |
| Penske Truck Leasing | Local and one-way moving equipment rental | High |
| Enterprise Truck Rental | Local truck rental | Medium |
| Turo | Local rental market | Medium |
| Lugg | Local moving market | Medium |
| GoShare | Local moving market | Medium |
| Public Storage Inc. | Self-storage | High |
| CubeSmart | Self-storage | High |
Growth opportunities
U-Haul’s growth plans include expanding its independent dealer network, increasing equipment availability and adding storage capacity. In fiscal 2026, it added 55 new company-operated locations and reported a net increase of 1.4 thousand independent dealers. The company aims to distribute equipment productively across the expanded dealer network.
The company also plans to complete current storage projects, increase occupancy at existing locations and acquire new locations that meet its financial objectives. In fiscal 2026, it added 66 locations with storage, totaling 5.3 million net rentable square feet. It had approximately 5.5 million new square feet under development across 99 projects.
U-Haul plans to continue investing in U-Box containers and to grow the new toy-hauler trailer fleet. Its projections for fiscal 2027 did not include growth of the truck fleet. The company expects spending on storage acquisitions and new development to decrease in fiscal 2027.
U-Haul reported growth in both U-Box moves and boxes in storage, while shorter moves and freight conditions put pressure on revenue per transaction. It also sees opportunities to increase sales of storage to truck-rental customers and to convert self-storage customers to U-Box containers.
In insurance, the life business is seeking to expand in the senior market by growing its agency force, expanding product offerings and pursuing acquisitions.
- $5.7BFY2022
- $5.9BFY2023
- $5.6BFY2024
- $5.8BFY2025
- $6.0BFY2026
Structural risks
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Fleet investment and resale: Financial market conditions can adversely affect fleet rotation. U-Haul also increased cargo-van depreciation after resale prices failed to reflect higher purchase costs; fleet depreciation contributed to the fourth-quarter earnings decline.
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Debt and financing: U-Haul is leveraged. Debt service and lease payments can consume operating cash flow, limit flexibility and make additional financing harder to obtain. The company says future cash flow and liquidity resources are not assured to meet all debt obligations and capital needs.
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Competition and demand: Truck rental, storage and insurance are competitive. U-Haul says adverse economic conditions or heightened competition could reduce moving-equipment revenue, even if it executes its plans.
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Seasonality and utilization: Moving and Storage results and cash flows fluctuate significantly by quarter. The fourth fiscal quarter is generally the weakest, and U-Haul is working to increase occupancy in its storage portfolio.
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Regulation and liability: Operations are subject to environmental, safety, employment, marketing and data privacy rules in the United States and Canada. Environmental liability could adversely affect operations, and insurance claim payments may differ significantly from estimated liabilities.
Leadership
A small contingent of stockholders owns a majority of U-Haul’s Voting Common Stock. The company also has Non-Voting Common Stock.
| Name | Role | Since | Total pay, FY2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Edward J. Shoen | — | $1.0 million | |
| Jason A. Berg | — | $743,642.00 | |
| John C. Taylor | — | $615,778.00 | |
| Samuel J. Shoen | — | $725,839.00 | |
| Douglas M. Bell | — | $390,290.00 |
Bottom line
Our reading
U-Haul is primarily a moving and storage rental business, supported by a network of stores and independent dealers and supplemented by insurance operations (item1). Its range of services and geographic reach help it serve customers across a move, but the business also depends on costly equipment and storage capacity being used productively (item1; item7). Fleet depreciation, debt obligations and competition are important exposures as the company works to fill capacity added in recent years (item1a; call_prepared; call_qa).