United Rentals Financial Performance and Market Exposure
Historical Free Cash Flow GAAP Reconciliation ($M)
We define "free cash flow" as net cash provided by operating activities less purchases of, and plus proceeds from, equipment, and plus excess tax benefits from share-based payment arrangements. The
equipment purchases and proceeds are included in cash flows from investing activities. Management believes that free cash flow provides useful additional information concerning cash flow available to meet
future debt service obligations and working capital requirements. However, free cash flow is not a measure of financial performance or liquidity under GAAP. Accordingly, free cash flow should not be considered
an alternative to net income or cash flow from operating activities as an indicator of operating performance or liquidity. The table below provides a reconciliation between net cash provided by operating activities
and free cash flow.
Net cash provided by operating activities
Purchases of rental equipment
2008
$ 764 $
2009
2010 2011
438 $ 452 $ 612 $
2012
2013
721 $ 1,551 $
(624)
(260)
(346) (774)
(1,272)
(1,580)
2014
1,801 $
(1,701)
2015
2016
2017
1,987 $ 1,941 $ 2,209 $ 2,853
2018
(1,534) (1,246) (1,769) (2,106)
Purchases of non-rental equipment
(80)
(51)
(28)
(36)
(97)
(104)
(120)
(102)
(93)
(120) (185)
Proceeds from sales of rental equipment
264
229
144
208
399
490
544
538
496
550
664
Proceeds from sales of non-rental equipment
11
13
7
13
31
26
33
8
14
16
23
Insurance proceeds from damaged equipment (1)
12
21
22
Excess tax benefits from share-based payment
arrangements (2)
Free cash flow
$
335 $
(2)
367 $
(2)
227 $
(5)
5
58
23 $
(223) $
383 $
557 $
919 $
1,182 $ 907 $
1,271
Merger and restructuring related payments included in
free cash flow (3)
150
38
17
5
13
76
63
Free cash flow excluding merger and restructuring
related payments (3)
$
(73) $
421 $
574 $
924 $
1,195 $
983 $
1,334
(1) In 2018, we adopted accounting guidance that addressed the cash flow presentation for proceeds from the settlement of insurance claims. Adoption of this guidance decreased net cash provided by operating activities, relative to
previously reported amounts, but did not change free cash flow, for 2017, 2016 and 2015 in the table above. The information required to determine the amount of insurance proceeds for periods prior to 2015 is unavailable without
unreasonable effort. The adoption of this accounting guidance did not impact free cash flow, as the reduction to net cash provided by operating activities was offset by the increase in insurance proceeds from
damaged equipment.
(2) The excess tax benefits from share-based payment arrangements result from stock-based compensation windfall deductions in excess of the amounts reported for financial reporting purposes. We adopted accounting guidance in
2017 that changed the cash flow presentation of excess tax benefits from share-based payment arrangements. In the table above, the excess tax benefits from share-based payment arrangements for periods after 2016 are presented
as a component of net cash provided by operating activities, while, for 2016 and prior, they are presented as a separate line item. Because we historically included the excess tax benefits from share based payment arrangements in the
free cash flow calculation, the adoption of this guidance did not change the calculation of free cash flow.
(3) Merger and restructuring related payments were first reported for 2012. The information required to determine the amount of merger and restructuring related payments for periods prior to 2012 is unavailable without unreasonable
effort.
United Rentals®
United Rentals, Inc., 100 First Stamford Place, Stamford, CT 06902. © 2018 United Rentals, Inc. All rights reserved.
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