U-Haul Fiscal Q2 2027 Earnings: Lower Disposal Losses Lift Profit
U-Haul Holding Company reported fiscal Q2 2027 revenue of $1.773 billion, up 3.1% year-over-year, while net earnings rose 29.5% to $136.7 million. Diluted EPS for non-voting stock increased to $0.71. Profit growth was primarily driven by lower equipment and real-estate disposal losses rather than underlying EBITDA expansion, which grew less than 1%. Moving and Storage led revenue gains, supported by self-moving equipment rentals and self-storage expansion. However, risks include declining same-store storage occupancy, rising operating cost inflation, higher debt leverage, and increasing interest expenses, prompting management to slow the pace of capital reinvestment.
For fiscal Q2 2027 ended September 30, 2026, U-Haul Holding Company (NYSE: UHAL, UHAL.B) reported revenue of $1.773 billion, up 3.1% from $1.720 billion, while diluted EPS for non-voting common stock rose to $0.71 from $0.54. Net earnings increased 29.5% to $136.7 million, with lower equipment and real-estate disposal losses amplifying profit growth as moving rental and self-storage revenue advanced.
Core Financial Results
Revenue increased by $52.8 million, led by Moving and Storage. Operating earnings grew much faster than revenue because total costs and expenses increased only 0.4%, allowing operating margin to expand by approximately 2.3 percentage points.
The quarter’s key financial figures are summarized below.
| Metric | Fiscal Q2 2027 | Fiscal Q2 2026 | YoY Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $1.773 billion | $1.720 billion | +3.1% |
| Operating earnings | $265.0 million | $217.6 million | +21.8% |
| Operating margin | Approximately 15.0% | Approximately 12.7% | Approximately +2.3 pts |
| Net earnings available to common stockholders | $136.7 million | $105.6 million | +29.5% |
| Diluted EPS — UHAL common stock | $0.66 | $0.49 | +34.7% |
| Diluted EPS — UHAL.B non-voting stock | $0.71 | $0.54 | +31.5% |
| Moving and Storage adjusted EBITDA | $547.6 million | $542.6 million | +0.9% |
Adjusted EBITDA is reported for the Moving and Storage segment rather than the consolidated company.
Business and Segment Performance
Moving and Storage generated nearly all of the company’s revenue growth and recorded a substantially larger increase in operating earnings. The two insurance segments were mixed: Property and Casualty earnings edged lower, while Life Insurance earnings more than doubled despite lower revenue.
| Segment | Q2 Revenue | YoY Change | Q2 Operating Earnings | YoY Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Moving and Storage | $1.694 billion | +3.8% | $241.9 million | +22.5% |
| Property and Casualty Insurance | $37.0 million | +3.1% | $17.0 million | -1.0% |
| Life Insurance | $44.9 million | -17.0% | $6.2 million | +105.1% |
Moving and Storage operating earnings are shown before equity in the earnings of insurance subsidiaries.
Self-moving equipment rental revenue rose 3.4% to $1.148 billion. U-Haul said total revenue and revenue per transaction increased in both its In-Town and One-Way markets, while total In-Town transactions also increased. The company expanded its operated retail locations, independent dealer network, and box-truck rental fleet compared with the prior-year quarter.
Self-storage revenue increased 6.4% to $262.1 million, supported by higher revenue per occupied square foot and portfolio growth. Same-store revenue per occupied square foot rose 6.7% to $18.99, but same-store occupancy declined to 89.5% from 90.6%. U-Haul added 10 storage locations and 1.0 million net rentable square feet during the quarter, with another 11.4 million square feet in development or pending.
Other Moving and Storage revenue increased 4.3%, or $7.6 million, due to growth in the U-Box business. U-Haul continued to add warehouse space, containers, and delivery equipment to expand the service.
Lower Disposal Losses Amplified Profit Growth
The difference between revenue growth and profit growth was primarily tied to asset-disposal comparisons. Total depreciation was nearly unchanged at $301.7 million, but net equipment disposal losses fell to $4.3 million from $38.5 million. The real-estate disposal line also improved from a $4.5 million loss to a $0.3 million gain.
Together, depreciation net of equipment disposals and the real-estate disposal line improved by approximately $39.4 million. That represented about 83% of the $47.5 million year-over-year increase in consolidated operating earnings. By comparison, Moving and Storage adjusted EBITDA increased only $5.0 million, or 0.9%, to $547.6 million, while trailing-12-month adjusted EBITDA declined $39.5 million to $1.642 billion.
The result indicates that the quarter’s GAAP profit growth was materially stronger than the improvement in the largest segment’s adjusted EBITDA. Lower disposal losses were therefore a major contributor rather than an acceleration in underlying EBITDA growth alone.
Profitability, Liquidity, and the Balance Sheet
Several operating costs continued to rise. Freight and shipping costs increased $24.4 million, personnel expense rose $10.2 million, property taxes increased $4.7 million, and self-insured liability costs were $6.2 million higher. Interest expense also rose to $99.0 million from $90.3 million.
Consolidated cash and cash equivalents were $999.9 million at September 30, down from $1.120 billion at March 31. Within Moving and Storage, cash and credit availability declined to $1.335 billion from $1.479 billion over the same period.
Moving and Storage debt increased to $8.273 billion from $8.125 billion at the end of fiscal 2026. Net debt to adjusted EBITDA rose to 4.5 times from 4.3 times at March 31 and 4.1 times one year earlier, reflecting higher debt alongside lower trailing-12-month EBITDA. Most debt remained fixed-rate, although the floating-rate share increased to 10.3% from 6.7% at March 31.
Capital allocation during the quarter included $78.3 million of share repurchases: $10.1 million for 149,927 voting shares and $68.2 million for 1,095,478 non-voting shares. U-Haul also paid a $0.05-per-share cash dividend on its non-voting common stock.
Management Commentary
Chairman Joe Shoen characterized the quarter as a “modest win” and said U-Haul continues to reinvest, but at a slower pace. That approach is relevant as the company balances a sizable storage development pipeline with lower liquidity and a higher leverage ratio.
Risks Investors Should Watch
- Storage occupancy remains under pressure. Same-store occupancy declined by 1.1 percentage points even as revenue per occupied square foot increased. Continued occupancy declines could make storage growth more dependent on pricing and new capacity.
- Operating cost inflation could limit margin improvement. Higher freight, personnel, property tax, and self-insurance costs collectively created a meaningful expense headwind during the quarter.
- Leverage and interest costs are rising. Moving and Storage’s net debt-to-adjusted-EBITDA ratio increased to 4.5 times, while quarterly interest expense rose by $8.7 million.
- The disposal-loss comparison may not recur. Lower equipment and real-estate disposal losses accounted for much of the operating earnings increase, while Moving and Storage adjusted EBITDA grew less than 1% and declined on a trailing-12-month basis.
Summary
U-Haul’s fiscal Q2 2027 combined modest revenue growth in moving rentals and self-storage with a much larger increase in reported profit. Lower disposal losses were the principal source of operating leverage, while underlying Moving and Storage adjusted EBITDA changed little. The next areas to monitor are storage occupancy, elevated operating expenses, the return generated by ongoing capacity additions, and the company’s higher leverage as management slows the pace of reinvestment.
This article may include AI-generated content that is human-reviewed, which is for reference and general information purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
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