CTOS (2025 - Q2)

Release Date: Aug 01, 2025

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Stock Data provided by Financial Modeling Prep

Current Financial Performance

CTOS Q2 2025 Financial Highlights

$511 million
Revenue
+21%
$93 million
Adjusted EBITDA
+17%
$157 million
Adjusted Gross Profit
$64 million
Net Rental CapEx

Key Financial Metrics

Segment Margins & Utilization

59%
ERS Adjusted Gross Margin
Low to mid-70%
ERS Rental Revenue Margin
Mid-20%
ERS Rental Asset Sales Margin
15.5%
TES Gross Margin
26%
APS Adjusted Gross Margin
~78%
Rental Fleet Utilization

Total OEC on Rent

$1.56 billion

Highest quarter end level ever

Net Leverage

4.66x

Improved from Q1 2025

ABL Borrowings

$670 million

Increased $15M from Q1 2025

Period Comparison Analysis

Revenue

$511 million
Current
Previous:$423 million
20.8% YoY

Adjusted EBITDA

$93 million
Current
Previous:$80 million
16.3% YoY

ERS Segment Revenue

$170 million
Current
Previous:$138 million
23.2% YoY

TES Equipment Sales

$303 million
Current
Previous:$248 million
22.2% YoY

Rental Fleet Utilization

~78%
Current
Previous:~72%

Net Leverage

4.66x
Current
Previous:4.1x
13.7% YoY

Net Leverage

4.66x
Current
Previous:4.8x
2.9% QoQ

Earnings Performance & Analysis

ERS Rental Revenue Growth

17% YoY

ERS Rental Asset Sales Growth

40% YoY

TES Sales Growth

22% YoY, 30% QoQ

TES Gross Margin Change

Up 0.45 pts QoQ, Down YoY

Financial Guidance & Outlook

2025 Revenue Guidance

Actual:$511 million Q2, $1.97B-$2.06B FY
Estimate:$1.97B-$2.06B FY
BEAT

2025 Adjusted EBITDA Guidance

Actual:$93 million Q2, $370M-$390M FY
Estimate:$370M-$390M FY
BEAT

Net Rental CapEx Guidance

~$200 million FY 2025

Levered Free Cash Flow Target

>$50 million FY 2025

Net Leverage Target

Below 3x by FY 2026

Surprises

Revenue Growth Beat

+21%

21%

Custom Truck had a very strong second quarter, delivering 21% revenue growth and 17% adjusted EBITDA growth versus Q2 of 2024.

Adjusted EBITDA Growth Beat

+17%

17%

Custom Truck had a very strong second quarter, delivering 21% revenue growth and 17% adjusted EBITDA growth versus Q2 of 2024.

ERS Segment Revenue Growth

+23%

23%

ERS segment revenue up more than 23% versus Q2 of last year driven by rental revenue and rental asset sales growth.

TES Segment Sales Growth

+22%

22%

TES segment sales were $303 million in Q2, up more than 22% year-over-year and more than 30% sequentially.

TES Segment Sales Milestone

2 consecutive months over $100 million

TES achieved 2 consecutive months of sales over $100 million each for the first time in history in Q2.

TES Gross Margin Sequential Improvement

+0.45%

+45 basis points

TES gross margin in Q2 was 15.5%, down year-over-year but up more than 45 basis points from last quarter.

Impact Quotes

Custom Truck had a very strong second quarter, delivering 21% revenue growth and 17% adjusted EBITDA growth versus Q2 of 2024, characterized by continued solid fundamentals across our primary end markets and excellent execution by our entire team.

For the second quarter, we generated $511 million of revenue, $157 million of adjusted gross profit and $93 million of adjusted EBITDA, up 21%, 17% and 17%, respectively, versus Q2 of 2024.

We continue to navigate the volatile macroeconomic environment through regular engagement with our customers and suppliers. Our steady business activity and strong intra-quarter order flow continue to reinforce our optimism about achieving our expected growth targets in 2025.

The strong rental demand in the utility end market and across our other primary end markets resulted in average OEC on rent for Q2 of over $1.2 billion, a 16% year-over-year increase.

Our OEC in the rental fleet ended the quarter at over $1.56 billion, up more than $100 million versus the end of Q2 2024 and up $12 million in the quarter, reflecting our strategic investment in the rental fleet given the strong demand environment we continue to experience.

We are reaffirming our full year 2025 guidance. Our strong year-to-date results, our robust order flow and resilient end market demand continue to drive our expected growth across our consolidated business this year.

Long-term sustained end market demand buoyed by secular megatrends and our ability to execute on behalf of our customers sets us apart from our competition.

We intend to use our levered free cash flow this year to reduce our net leverage and continue to target a level of below 3x. This remains a primary and important goal for us and one that we expect to achieve by the end of fiscal 2026.

Notable Topics Discussed

  • End of Q2 rental fleet OEC reached over $1.56 billion, the highest ever, up more than $100 million from Q2 2024.
  • Strategic investment in rental fleet continues, with plans to maintain mid-single-digit percentage growth in OEC for the remainder of 2025.
  • Net rental CapEx in Q2 was $64 million, with fleet age slightly improved to 3 years, indicating ongoing fleet modernization and capacity expansion.
  • TES achieved two consecutive months of over $100 million in sales, a first in company history.
  • Q2 sales of $303 million, up more than 22% YoY and over 30% sequentially, marking the second highest quarterly sales ever.
  • Backlog decreased by $85 million but remains within targeted historical range, with strong order flow and customer demand supporting confidence in double-digit revenue growth for the second half of 2025.
  • Recent federal spending and tax bill included bonus depreciation provisions beneficial for small- and medium-sized customers.
  • Uncertainty remains around EPA and CARB emission standards; California's waiver revocation and court challenges could delay upcoming emission regulation changes.
  • Management expects no prebuy impact from emission standards changes in 2025, reaffirming guidance despite regulatory uncertainties.
  • Proactive inventory purchases in early 2025 minimized tariff impact, with management expecting only a small effect this year.
  • Tariffs are anticipated to have limited direct cost impact, with some effects expected in Q3 and Q4, managed through supply chain adjustments.
  • Despite a decline in backlog, intra-quarter order flow remains strong, especially among local and regional customers, with signed orders up over 45% YoY in Q2.
  • Order flow strength supports management’s confidence in continued growth and demand for vocational vehicles.
  • Average fleet utilization increased to just under 78%, up from 72% a year ago, demonstrating improved asset efficiency.
  • Rental asset sales increased by 40% YoY, indicating a focus on optimizing asset mix and capitalizing on high demand.
  • Borrowings under the ABL increased slightly to $670 million to fund CapEx and working capital.
  • Management aims to reduce net leverage below 3x by the end of fiscal 2026, with a target of generating over $50 million in levered free cash flow in 2025.
  • Continued engagement with customers and suppliers helps navigate macroeconomic volatility.
  • Business fundamentals remain strong, with positive outlook supported by secular megatrends in the industry.
  • Decades-long relationships with strategic suppliers and a diversified customer base are key to sustained success.
  • Management emphasizes confidence in team and strategic partnerships to drive future growth.
  • Company reaffirms revenue guidance of $1.97 billion to $2.06 billion and adjusted EBITDA of $370 million to $390 million.
  • Strong year-to-date results and order flow support optimistic outlook for the remainder of 2025.

Key Insights:

  • Adjusted EBITDA guidance remains between $370 million and $390 million for 2025.
  • Despite macroeconomic volatility, the business outlook remains positive with confidence in sustained end market demand and execution capabilities.
  • Net leverage reduction remains a primary goal, targeting below 3x by the end of fiscal 2026.
  • Net rental CapEx is expected to be approximately $200 million for the full year.
  • TES backlog decreased by $85 million in Q2 but remains within targeted historical average range, with strong intra-quarter order flow and expected double-digit revenue growth for TES in 2025.
  • The company expects meaningful levered free cash flow exceeding $50 million in 2025.
  • The company reaffirmed its full year 2025 guidance with total revenue expected between $1.97 billion and $2.06 billion.
  • Average OEC on rent for Q2 was over $1.2 billion, a 16% year-over-year increase, with utilization near 78%.
  • ERS segment benefited from sustained and increased utility contractor activity driven by secular growth in electricity demand and grid maintenance spending.
  • Legislative and regulatory clarity improved with federal spending and tax bill benefits and changes to emission standards being monitored closely.
  • TES achieved two consecutive months of sales over $100 million for the first time, with strong sales growth and order wins especially among local and regional customers.
  • The company continues to leverage multi-decade supplier relationships and a diversified customer base to support growth and resilience.
  • The company proactively managed inventory and supply chain to mitigate tariff impacts, including pulling forward chassis purchases.
  • The company strategically invested in its rental fleet, ending Q2 with OEC just over $1.56 billion, the highest quarter-end level ever.
  • Both executives reaffirmed the company’s guidance and positive outlook despite external challenges.
  • CEO Ryan McMonagle expressed high confidence in the team and the company’s ability to execute amid a volatile macroeconomic environment.
  • CFO Chris Eperjesy detailed strong financial results and operational metrics, reinforcing confidence in achieving growth targets.
  • Chris stressed the focus on managing leverage and capital allocation to support growth and deleveraging goals.
  • He emphasized the importance of strong supplier and customer relationships as keys to success.
  • Management acknowledged ongoing uncertainty around tariffs and emission standards but remain optimistic about mitigating impacts.
  • Ryan highlighted the secular megatrends driving long-term demand in the utility and vocational vehicle markets.
  • Management emphasized strong intra-quarter order wins, particularly among local and regional customers, with signed orders up 45% year-over-year in Q2.
  • No further questions were asked after the initial two, and management closed with thanks and openness to follow-up inquiries.
  • On tariffs, management indicated minimal cost impact in 2025 due to proactive inventory management and supply chain actions.
  • Tariff-related costs are expected to be more noticeable in Q3 and Q4 but remain manageable heading into 2026.
  • The decline in TES backlog was addressed as a function of strong sales and order flow, with backlog remaining within historical norms.
  • They expressed confidence in the back half of 2025 and the implied growth rate at the midpoint of guidance.
  • Changes to EPA and CARB emission standards are pending, with recent congressional actions revoking California’s waiver for separate emission standards.
  • Federal spending and tax legislation included accelerated depreciation provisions beneficial to small and medium customers.
  • Net rental CapEx plans remain flexible to adjust to customer demand for rental and used equipment purchases.
  • Tariffs remain an area of focus but are expected to have limited direct cost impact in 2025.
  • The company filed its Q2 2025 10-Q with the SEC and posted reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures on its website.
  • The company is monitoring regulatory developments closely and assumes no prebuy activity related to emission standard changes in its outlook.
  • The company’s ABL borrowing increased slightly to fund CapEx and working capital, with substantial availability remaining.
  • Inventory reduction is expected by year-end, contributing to lower floor plan balances and reduced borrowings.
  • Levered free cash flow is targeted to exceed $50 million in 2025, supporting leverage reduction goals.
  • Management continues to monitor macroeconomic and regulatory uncertainties while maintaining a positive outlook.
  • On rent yield was 38.6% for Q2, up slightly sequentially, indicating pricing strength.
  • TES backlog at approximately 4 months of LTM sales is within targeted historical average range.
  • The company expects TES gross margins to improve in the second half of 2025.
  • The company’s fleet age improved slightly to 3 years, reflecting ongoing investment in rental equipment.
  • The company’s multi-decade supplier relationships and diversified customer base provide competitive advantages.
Complete Transcript:
CTOS:2025 - Q2
Operator:
Hello, and welcome to the Custom Truck One Source Inc. Second Quarter 2025 Earnings Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] Now I would like to turn the call over to Brian Perman. Brian, the floor is yours. Brian Pe
Brian Perman:
Thank you. Before we begin, we would like to remind you that management's commentary and responses to questions on today's call may include forward-looking statements, which, by their nature, are uncertain and outside of the company's control. Although these forward-looking statements are based on management's current expectations and beliefs, actual results may differ materially. For a discussion of some of the factors that could cause results to differ, please refer to the Risk Factors section of the company's filings with the SEC. Additionally, please note that you can find reconciliations of the historical non-GAAP financial measures discussed during the call in the press release we issued yesterday afternoon. That press release and our second quarter investor presentation are posted on the Investor Relations section of our website. We filed our second quarter 2025 10-Q with the SEC yesterday afternoon. Today's discussion of our results of operations for Custom Truck One Source Inc., or Custom Truck, is presented on a historical basis as of or for the 3 months ended June 30, 2025, and prior periods. Joining me today are Ryan McMonagle, CEO; and Chris Eperjesy, CFO. I will now turn the call over to Ryan.
Ryan McMonagle:
Thank you, Brian, and welcome, everyone, to today's call. Custom Truck had a very strong second quarter, delivering 21% revenue growth and 17% adjusted EBITDA growth versus Q2 of 2024, characterized by continued solid fundamentals across our primary end markets and excellent execution by our entire team. Demand in our core T&D markets remained robust, leading to strong results in both our ERS and TES segments and overall sequential and year-over-year revenue growth for the quarter. We continue to navigate the volatile macroeconomic environment through regular engagement with our customers and suppliers. Our steady business activity and strong intra-quarter order flow continue to reinforce our optimism about achieving our expected growth targets in 2025. As a result, we are reaffirming our previous fiscal 2025 revenue and adjusted EBITDA guidance. While Chris will discuss our segment's performance in greater detail, I'd like to highlight some key trends. In ERS, our utility contractor customers continue to see sustained and increased levels of activity which they expect to persist for the foreseeable future, driven largely by unprecedented secular growth in electricity demand and the continuing need for substantial grid maintenance spending by the utilities. The strong rental demand in the utility end market and across our other primary end markets resulted in average OEC on rent for Q2 of over $1.2 billion, a 16% year-over-year increase. Average utilization in the quarter was just under 78%, up almost 600 basis points versus Q2 of last year and up sequentially as well. We continue to see mid-70% to mid-80% utilization rates across most of our fleet, demonstrating the long-term resilience of our end markets. These trends resulted in significant year-over-year increases in both rental revenue and rental asset sales, driving total ERS segment revenue up more than 23% versus Q2 of last year. We continue to leverage the substantial rental demand in ERS to selectively invest in our rental fleet. At the end of Q2, our total OEC was just over $1.56 billion, our highest quarter end level ever. We plan to continue to invest during the remainder of the year to ensure we have adequate equipment to meet current and projected rental demand. TES saw outstanding sales performance in the quarter, achieving several milestones. We experienced 2 consecutive months of TES sales over $100 million each for the first time in our history in the second quarter and saw our second highest quarter of sales ever. This resulted in significant year-over-year sales growth of more than 22% and sequential growth of more than 30%. While our backlog was down in the quarter, our intra-quarter order flow remains quite strong, particularly among local and regional customers. Signed orders in the quarter from this portion of our customer base were up more than 45% year-over-year, driving overall signed order growth of just under 35% on a year-over-year basis. As we expected, segment gross margin began to normalize in the second quarter and was up versus Q1. Overall, our current pace of orders and the continued strong demand for vocational vehicles across our end markets combined to provide us with the confidence in our outlook for TES for the rest of the year. There have been several legislative and regulatory matters that have affected the overall economic environment for which we gained greater clarity in the recent months. First, the passage of the recent federal spending and tax bill provided a clear understanding of the administration's economic policy and included an accelerated or bonus depreciation provision that we feel will be beneficial to Custom Truck's business, particularly for our small- and medium-sized customers. Next, while tariffs remain an area of focus for us, as a result of the combination of our proactivity around certain inventory purchases in the first half of the year and the current expectation for the tariffs effect on our vendors, we feel that tariffs will have a limited direct cost impact on our business this year. We continue to hear about uncertainty related to new equipment purchase decisions from some of our smaller customers. We obviously continue to monitor changes to the administration's product and regional tariff policies and will adjust our responses accordingly. Finally, with respect to the previously announced changes to emission standards from both the EPA and CARB, final decisions have yet to be made. However, last month, Congress revoked California's waivers that allowed CARB to separately legislate emission standards, effectively ending upcoming changes to truck and auto emission standards as well as plans to phase out gas-powered vehicles. The orders are being challenged in court by the State of California. In addition, we continue to wait for clarity from the EPA on the 2027 low NOx emission standards and warranty requirements. As we've stated in recent quarters, our current outlook for TES assumes no prebuy resulting from changes in either EPA or CARB emission standards. We are reaffirming our full year 2025 guidance. Our strong year-to-date results, our robust order flow and resilient end market demand continue to drive our expected growth across our consolidated business this year. Despite some volatility in the macro environment, our business outlook remains positive. Long-term sustained end market demand buoyed by secular megatrends and our ability to execute on behalf of our customers sets us apart from our competition. Our multi-decade relationships with strategic suppliers and our long-tenured and diversified customer base will continue to be keys to our success. I continue to have the highest degree of confidence in the Custom Truck team and want to thank everyone for their hard work and dedication that helped achieve these results this quarter. We look forward to updating everyone on our progress on next quarter's call. With that, I'll turn it over to Chris to discuss our second quarter results in detail.
Christopher J. Eperjesy:
Thanks, Brian. For the second quarter, we generated $511 million of revenue, $157 million of adjusted gross profit and $93 million of adjusted EBITDA, up 21%, 17% and 17%, respectively, versus Q2 of 2024. On a year-over-year basis, all of our rental segment KPIs improved in the quarter. Average utilization of the rental fleet for Q2 was just under 78% compared to under 72% in Q2 of the prior year. Average OEC on rent in the quarter was over $1.2 billion compared to slightly more than $1 billion in Q2 of 2024. Both metrics so far in Q3 remain strong and are consistent with the averages we experienced in Q2, currently standing at almost $1.22 billion and 77%, respectively. As of today, OEC on rent is up more than $160 million or more than 15% versus a year ago. The ERS segment had $170 million of revenue in Q2, up more than 23% from $138 million in Q2 of 2024. Both rental revenue and rental asset sales were up meaningfully on a year-over-year basis, showing 17% and 40% growth, respectively. Adjusted gross profit for ERS was $100 million for Q2, up 20% from Q2 of last year. Adjusted gross margin for ERS was 59% in the quarter, slightly lower versus the same period last year, primarily driven by a higher mix of rental asset sales. For Q2, we maintained margins in the expected ranges of the low to mid-70% range for rental revenue and the mid-20% range for rental asset sales. On rent yield was 38.6% for the quarter, up slightly on a sequential basis. Net rental CapEx in Q2 was $64 million, and our fleet age improved slightly to 3 years. Our OEC in the rental fleet ended the quarter at over $1.56 billion, up more than $100 million versus the end of Q2 2024 and up $12 million in the quarter, reflecting our strategic investment in the rental fleet given the strong demand environment we continue to experience across our primary end markets. We expect to continue to invest in the fleet through the remainder of this year, resulting in mid-single-digit percentage OEC growth versus the end of 2024. As we always do, we will adjust our CapEx plans to reflect our customers' demand to both rent equipment and purchase used equipment out of our fleet. In the TES segment, we sold $303 million of equipment in Q2, up more than 22% year-over-year and more than 30% sequentially. The second quarter represented the second highest quarterly sales for TES in our history and saw 2 consecutive months of sales over $100 million for the first time in our history. Gross margin in the segment in Q2 was 15.5%, down from Q2 2024, but up more than 45 basis points from last quarter. We expect TES gross margins to continue to improve in the second half of this year. TES new sales backlog decreased by $85 million in the quarter, driven by strong sales activity in the quarter. At approximately 4 months of LTM TES sales, our TES backlog is within our targeted historical average range. Net orders were $218 million in Q2, up more than 15% to Q2 of 2024. So far in Q3, we continue to see strong sales and order flow and our backlog has grown as well. That, combined with ongoing feedback from our customers regarding their equipment needs for the second half of 2025, provides us with confidence that we will see the expected double-digit revenue growth in TES this year. Our strong and long-standing relationships with our chassis, body and attachment vendors continue to be an important driver of TES production. Our current level of inventory positions us well to meet our production, fleet growth and sales goals for the year as well as help mitigate any impact from tariffs. Our APS business posted revenue of $38 million in the quarter, up 3% compared to Q2 of last year and 6% sequentially. Adjusted gross margin in the segment was 26% for Q2, up both year-over-year and sequentially. Borrowings under our ABL at the end of Q2 were $670 million, an increase of $15 million versus the end of Q1, largely to fund rental equipment CapEx and certain other working capital needs. As of the end of Q2, we had $275 million available and over $230 million of suppressed availability under the ABL. With LTM adjusted EBITDA of $349 million, we finished Q2 with net leverage of 4.66x, an improvement from the end of Q1. Despite the tactical pull forward of some of our inventory purchases into the first half of the year, we continue to expect to reduce our inventory by the end of the year which should contribute to lower balances on our floor plan lines as well as reduced borrowings on the ABL. We intend to use our levered free cash flow this year to reduce our net leverage and continue to target a level of below 3x. This remains a primary and important goal for us and one that we expect to achieve by the end of fiscal 2026. We are reiterating our previous 2025 guidance with total revenue in the range of $1.97 billion to $2.06 billion, adjusted EBITDA in the range of $370 million to $390 million and net rental CapEx of approximately $200 million. Our segment guidance also remains unchanged. We continue to expect to generate meaningful levered free cash flow in 2025, setting a target of more than $50 million and to deliver a meaningful reduction in our net leverage by the end of the fiscal year. In closing, I want to echo Ryan's comments regarding our continued strong business outlook. Despite some macroeconomic uncertainty in the first half of the year, our year-to-date results and the continued strong fundamentals of our end markets allows us to be optimistic about the long-term demand drivers in our industry and our ability to return to double-digit adjusted EBITDA growth this year. With that, I will turn it over to the operator to open the line for questions.
Operator:
[Operator Instructions] And your first question comes from the line of Nicole DeBlase with Deutsche Bank.
Naim Gavriel Kaplan:
This is Naim Kaplan on for Nicole DeBlase. So first question, can we get an update on the tariff impact to 2025 as well as the quarterly cadence of the impact?
Ryan McMonagle:
Yes. Happy to talk about tariffs. It really is kind of going to be a very small impact in our business this year. So I think the team has done a great job of pulling forward some of our chassis purchases to receive those chassis kind of pre-tariff -- pre any tariff increase. And then we've done a great job of just managing the rest of our supply base. So minimal cost impact in the business this year. What cost impact we will see -- you'll see some of that hit in the third and fourth quarter this year, which will then be something that we're managing through as we head into 2026. But again, minimal cost impact, we saw TES gross margin increase from Q1 to Q2, which is what we talked about and are happy kind of that, that business is performing that way.
Naim Gavriel Kaplan:
Okay. Got it. And just one follow-up, if I may. So the backlog has declined quarter-over-quarter and year-over-year. Is that a concern? And does the quarter-to-quarter decline reflect the business returning to a more seasonal pattern? And if you have an expectation also for the backlog at the year-end, like should we expect growth in the back at the end of the year?
Ryan McMonagle:
Yes, it's a great question, and it did decline. You're correct that it did decline, but you have to remember too, revenue was up 21% in the quarter as well. And I think that's in my prepared comments, that's where I talked about what we're watching closely is order volume. So I think I said that our regional team, our local team orders won, right? So those are signed orders was up 45% Q2-on-Q2. And for the entire company, it was up almost 30% Q2-on-Q2. So we're still seeing really good orders won. It is part of why it's important for us to keep inventory at a level that we can deliver intra-quarter on those orders, too. But no, we're feeling really good. Any time you put up 21% growth, I think that's a positive trend, and we are feeling good about the back half of the year. And even at the midpoint of our guidance, you see that there's still an implied good growth rate in the back half of the year.
Operator:
[Operator Instructions] There is no further question at this time. I will now hand it over to Ryan McMonagle for closing remarks. Ryan?
Ryan McMonagle:
Great. Thanks, everyone, for your time today and your interest in Custom Truck. We look forward to speaking with you on our next quarterly earnings call. And in the meantime, don't hesitate to reach out with any questions. Thanks again, and have a great day.
Operator:
That concludes today's conference call. You may now disconnect.

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