U-Haul is a weird company. It rents moving equipment and self-storage space but also sells annuities. It boasts a ubiquitous brand synonymous with do-it-yourself moving that until recently was buried beneath the non-descript banner of its parent company, Amerco. It runs the 4th largest self-storage operation in the US by square footage but is rarely mentioned in the same conversation as its self-storage peers. It supports a $9.5bn market cap but has no mainstream sell-side coverage. It has been family run since inception but was rescued from value destructive activities through corporate patricide.
Founded in 1945 by Leonard Shoen, U-Haul capitalized on the post-War boom and the mobility enabled by the construction of the interstate highway system, renting trailers then trucks to do-it-yourself movers. Today that equipment is offered through 2.2k company-owned locations and 21.3k third-party dealerships. The latter account for about half of U-Haul’s rental revenue and are comprised of self-storage operators, antique stores, gas stations, hardware stores, auto repair shops, and other small businesses who reserve some real estate for U-Haul’s trucks and trailers, serve U-Haul customers on the side, and in turn take a 21% commission across all U-Haul rentals at their location. You can find a U-Haul dealer within 5 miles of 90% of the US population, 1 mile within 35%. The two closest competitors, Penske and Budget, with 2.5k and 2.8k locations, respectively, don’t come anywhere close to rivaling U-Haul’s extensive footprint.
