# United Rentals looks cheap despite strong growth

> Mike Khouw says the equipment rental company trades below its market value while growing faster than the S&P 500, making it a candidate for an options strategy.
- Title: United Rentals looks cheap despite strong growth · CNBC
- Summary: Mike Khouw says the equipment rental company trades below its market value while growing faster than the S&P 500, making it a candidate for an options…
- Keywords: united rentals, equipment rental, options strategy, cash-covered puts, valuation, earnings estimates, infrastructure demand, CNBC
- Source: CNBC — https://cnbc.com/2026/11/09/this-beaten-down-data-center-stock-could-be-worth-a-look-says-mike-khouw.html
- Author: Michael Khouw
- Published: 2026-11-09T19:23:57+00:00
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: united rentals, equipment rental, options strategy, cash-covered puts, valuation, earnings estimates, infrastructure demand, business, finance
## A personal discovery
Mike Khouw rented a compact track loader and bulldozer from United Rentals during maintenance work at his parents' New Hampshire property in late October two thousand twenty-six.
## What United Rentals does
United Rentals quickly deploys heavy equipment to remote sites. The company trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker URI.
## The valuation disconnect
United Rentals trades at a below-market forward P-E multiple of roughly seventeen point three times forward estimates of sixty one dollars ten cents per share, and an EV-EBITDA multiple of eight point eight times nine…
## Growth outpaces the market
United Rentals compounds revenues, earnings, and EBITDA at a noticeably faster clip than the cap-weighted S&P five hundred, yet trades at a discount to the broader market.

> Effectively, one can buy superior, market-beating growth at a discounted market multiple.
## Recent earnings confirm momentum
United Rentals delivered a beat and raise in third-quarter earnings, pointing to robust underlying demand across its end markets. Sell-side analysts are revising forward estimates upward.
## Macro backdrop supports growth
A broader nonresidential construction recovery has driven improving and resilient rental rates. Infrastructure demand remains robust, though potential data center construction slowdown could become a future headwind.
## The valuation risk
United Rentals trades roughly twenty to twenty-five percent above its five-year average multiple. Mean reversion back to historical levels of cheapness remains a downside risk.
## The options strategy
With implied volatility at forty-two to forty-five percent, selling cash-covered puts offers a strategic entry.If the stock rises, puts expire worthless and you pocket premium.If it falls, you buy shares at a lower cost.
## The wheel strategy option
If assigned shares from the put sale, you could write upside covered calls against them. This approach of entering a stock then writing covered calls if assigned is sometimes called the wheel strategy.
## Key takeaway

United Rentals trades at a below-market multiple despite compounding revenues and earnings faster than the S&P 500, prompting Mike Khouw to suggest a cash-covered put strategy.