H&E Equipment Services, Inc. - Annual Report: 2018 (Form 10-K)

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D. C. 20549

FORM 10-K

(Mark One)

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018

or

For the transition period from                      to                     

Commission file number 000-51759

H&E EQUIPMENT SERVICES, INC.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.    Yes  ☒    No  ☐

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act.    Yes  ☐    No  ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Sections 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.    Yes  ☒    No  ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files).    Yes  ☒    No  ☐

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K (§229.405) is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of the registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K.  ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act (Check one):

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.   ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act).    Yes  ☐    No  ☒

The aggregate market value of the common stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant was approximately $1,190,402,497 (computed by reference to the closing sale price of the registrant’s common stock on the Nasdaq Global Market on June 29, 2018, the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter).

As of February 14, 2019, there were 35,754,246  shares of common stock, par value $0.01 per share, of the registrant outstanding.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Portions of the document listed below have been incorporated by reference into the indicated parts of this Form 10-K, as specified in the responses to the item numbers involved.

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FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about our beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include statements preceded by, followed by or that include the words “may”, “could”, “would”, “should”, “believe”, “expect”, “anticipate”, “plan”, “estimate”, “target”, “project”, “intend”, “foresee” and similar expressions. These statements include, among others, statements regarding our expected business outlook, anticipated financial and operating results, our business strategy and means to implement the strategy, our objectives, the amount and timing of capital expenditures, the likelihood of our success in expanding our business, financing plans, budgets, working capital needs and sources of liquidity. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that may or may not occur in the future. We believe that these risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those described in the “Risk Factors” section of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. These factors should not be construed as exhaustive and should be read with the other cautionary statements in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Forward-looking statements are only predictions and are not guarantees of performance. These statements are based on our management’s beliefs and assumptions, which in turn are based on currently available information. Important assumptions relating to the forward-looking statements include, among others, assumptions regarding demand for our products, the expansion of product offerings geographically or through new marketing applications, the timing and cost of planned capital expenditures, competitive conditions and general economic conditions. These assumptions could prove inaccurate. Forward-looking statements also involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement. In addition, even if our actual results are consistent with the forward-looking statements contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, those results may not be indicative of results or developments in subsequent periods. Many of these factors are beyond our ability to control or predict. Such factors include, but are not limited to, the following:

Except as required by applicable law, including the securities laws of the United States and the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), we are under no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements after we file this Annual Report on Form 10-K, whether as a result of any new information, future events or otherwise. Investors, potential investors and other readers are urged to consider the above mentioned factors carefully in evaluating the forward-looking statements and are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee future results or performance.

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PART I

Our Company

We are one of the largest integrated equipment services companies in the United States focused on heavy construction and industrial equipment. We rent, sell and provide parts and services support for four core categories of specialized equipment: (1) hi-lift or aerial work platform equipment; (2) cranes; (3) earthmoving equipment; and (4) industrial lift trucks. We engage in five principal business activities in these equipment categories:

By providing rental, sales, parts, repair and maintenance functions under one roof, we offer our customers a one-stop solution for their equipment needs. This full-service approach provides us with (1) multiple points of customer contact; (2) cross-selling opportunities among our rental, new and used equipment sales, parts sales and services operations; (3) an effective method to manage our rental fleet through efficient maintenance and profitable distribution of used equipment; and (4) a mix of business activities that enables us to operate effectively throughout economic cycles. We believe that the operating experience and extensive infrastructure we have developed throughout our history as an integrated equipment services company provide us with a competitive advantage over rental-focused companies and equipment distributors. In addition, our focus on four core categories of heavy construction and industrial equipment enables us to offer specialized knowledge and support to our customers.

We have operated, through our predecessor companies, as an integrated equipment services company for approximately 58 years and have built an extensive infrastructure that as of February 14, 2019 includes 96 full-service facilities located throughout the West Coast, Intermountain, Southwest, Gulf Coast, Southeast and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. Our management, from the corporate level down to the branch store level, has extensive industry experience. We focus our rental and sales activities on, and organize our personnel principally by, our four core equipment categories. We believe this allows us to provide specialized equipment knowledge, improve the effectiveness of our rental and sales forces and strengthen our customer relationships. In addition, we operate our day-to-day business on a branch basis, which we believe allows us to more closely service our customers, fosters management accountability at local levels and strengthens our local and regional relationships.

Products and Services

Equipment Rentals. We rent our heavy construction and industrial equipment to our customers on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. We have a well-maintained rental fleet that, at December 31, 2018, consisted of approximately 40,542 pieces of equipment having an original acquisition cost (which we define as the cost originally paid to manufacturers or the original amount financed under operating leases) of approximately $1.76 billion and an average age of approximately 34.5 months. Our rental business creates cross-selling opportunities for us in sales and service support activities.

New Equipment Sales. We sell new heavy construction and industrial equipment in all four core equipment categories, and are a leading U.S. distributor for nationally recognized suppliers including JLG Industries, Gehl, Genie Industries (Terex), Komatsu, and Doosan/Bobcat. In addition, we are the world’s largest distributor of Grove and Manitowoc crane equipment. Our new equipment sales operation is a source of new customers for our parts sales and service support activities, as well as for used equipment sales.

Used Equipment Sales. We sell used equipment primarily from our rental fleet, as well as inventoried equipment that we acquire through trade-ins from our customers and selective purchases of high-quality used equipment. For the year ended December 31, 2018, approximately 89.6% of our used equipment sales revenues were derived from sales of rental fleet equipment. Used equipment sales, like new equipment sales, generate parts and services business for us.

Parts Sales. We sell new and used parts to customers and also provide parts to our own rental fleet. We maintain an extensive in-house parts inventory in order to provide timely parts and service support to our customers as well as to our own rental fleet. In addition, our parts operations enable us to maintain a high-quality rental fleet and provide additional product support to our end users.

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Service Support. We provide maintenance and repair services for our customers’ owned equipment and to our own rental fleet. In addition to repair and maintenance on an as-needed or scheduled basis, we provide ongoing preventative maintenance services and warranty repairs for our customers. We devote significant resources to training our technical service employees and over time, we have built a full-scale services infrastructure that we believe would be difficult for companies without the requisite resources and lead time to effectively replicate.

In addition to our principal business activities mentioned above, we provide ancillary equipment support activities including transportation, hauling, parts shipping and loss damage waivers.

Industry Background

Although there has been some consolidation within the industry in recent years, including the acquisitions of Rental Services Corporation, NES Rentals and Neff Corporation by United Rentals, Inc. (“URI”), the U.S. construction equipment distribution industry remains highly fragmented and consists mainly of a small number of multi-location regional or national operators and a large number of relatively small, independent businesses serving discrete local markets. The industry is driven by a broad range of economic factors including total U.S. non-residential construction trends, construction machinery demand, demand for rental equipment and additional, region-specific factors. Construction equipment is largely distributed to end users through two channels: equipment rental companies and equipment dealers. Examples of equipment rental companies include URI, Sunbelt Rentals, and Hertz Equipment Rental. Examples of equipment dealers include Finning and Toromont. Unlike many of these companies, which principally focus on one channel of distribution, we operate substantially in both channels. As an integrated equipment services company, we rent, sell and provide parts and services support. Although many of the historically pure equipment rental companies also provide parts and service support to customers, their service offerings are typically limited and may prove difficult to expand due to the infrastructure, training and resources necessary to develop the breadth of offerings and depth of specialized equipment knowledge that our services and sales staff provides.

Our Competitive Strengths

Integrated Platform of Products and Services. We believe that our operating experience and the extensive infrastructure we have developed through years of operating as an integrated equipment services company provides us with a competitive advantage over rental-focused companies and equipment distributors. Key strengths of our integrated equipment services platform include:

Complementary, High Margin Parts and Services Operations. Our parts and services businesses allow us to maintain our rental fleet in excellent condition and to offer our customers high-quality rental equipment. Our after-market parts and services businesses together provide us with a high-margin revenue source that has proven to be relatively stable throughout a range of economic cycles.

High-Quality, Multipurpose Fleet. Our focus on four core types of heavy construction and industrial equipment allows us to better provide the specialized knowledge and support that our customers demand when renting and purchasing equipment. These four types of equipment are attractive because they have a long useful life, high residual value and generally strong industry demand.

Well-Developed Infrastructure. We have built an infrastructure that as of February 14, 2019 included a network of 96 full-service facilities in 22 states. Our workforce included, as of December 31, 2018, a highly-skilled group of approximately 511 service technicians and an aggregate of 284 sales people in our specialized rental and equipment sales forces. We believe that our well-developed infrastructure helps us to better serve large multi-regional customers than our historically rental-focused competitors and provides an advantage when competing for lucrative fleet and project management business as well as the ability to quickly capitalize on new opportunities.

Leading Distributor for Suppliers. We are a leading U.S. distributor for nationally-recognized equipment suppliers, including JLG Industries, Gehl, Genie Industries (Terex), Komatsu and Doosan/Bobcat. In addition, we are the world’s largest distributor of Grove and Manitowoc crane equipment. These relationships improve our ability to negotiate equipment acquisition pricing and allow us to purchase parts at wholesale costs.

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Customized Information Technology Systems. Our information systems allow us to actively manage our business and our rental fleet. We have a customer relationship management system that provides our sales force with real-time access to customer and sales information. In addition, our enterprise resource planning system enhances our ability to provide more timely and meaningful information to manage our business.

Strong Customer Relationships. We have a diverse base of approximately 41,600 customers as of December 31, 2018 who we believe value our high level of service, knowledge and expertise. Our customer base includes a wide range of industrial and commercial companies, construction contractors, manufacturers, public utilities, municipalities, maintenance contractors and numerous and diverse other large industrial accounts. Our branches enable us to closely service local and regional customers, while our well-developed full-service infrastructure enables us to effectively service multi-regional and national accounts. We believe that our expansive presence and commitment to superior service at all levels of the organization is a key differentiator to many of our competitors. As a result, we spend a significant amount of time and resources to train all key personnel to be responsive and deliver high quality customer service and well-maintained equipment so that we can maintain and grow our customer relationships.

Experienced Management Team. Our senior management team is led by Bradley M. Barber, our Chief Executive Officer, who has over 23 years of industry experience. Our senior and regional managers have approximately 24 years on average of industry experience. Our branch managers have extensive knowledge and industry experience as well.

Our Business Strategy

Our business strategy includes, among other things, leveraging our integrated business model, managing the life cycle of our rental equipment, further developing our parts and services operations and selectively entering new markets and pursuing acquisitions. However, the timing and extent to which we implement these various aspects of our strategy depend on a variety of factors, many of which are outside our control, such as general economic conditions and construction activity in the U.S.

Leverage Our Integrated Business Model. We intend to continue to actively leverage our integrated business model to offer a one-stop solution to our customers’ varied needs with respect to the four categories of heavy construction and industrial equipment on which we focus. We will continue to cross-sell our services to expand and deepen our customer relationships. We believe that our integrated equipment services model provides us with a strong platform for growth and enables us to effectively operate through economic cycles.

Managing the Life Cycle of Our Rental Equipment. We actively manage the size, quality, age and composition of our rental fleet, employing a “cradle through grave” approach. During the life of our rental equipment, we (1) aggressively negotiate on purchase price; (2) use our customized information technology systems to closely monitor and analyze, among other things, time utilization (equipment usage based on customer demand), rental rate trends and pricing optimization and equipment demand; (3) continuously adjust our fleet mix and pricing; (4) maintain fleet quality through regional quality control managers and our on-site parts and services support; and (5) dispose of rental equipment through our retail sales force. This allows us to purchase our rental equipment at competitive prices, optimally utilize our fleet, cost-effectively maintain our equipment quality and maximize the value of our equipment at the end of its useful life.

Make Selective Acquisitions. We intend to continue to evaluate and pursue, on an opportunistic basis, acquisitions which meet our selection criteria, including favorable financing terms, with the objective of increasing our revenues, improving our profitability, entering additional attractive markets and strengthening our competitive position. We are focused on identifying and acquiring rental companies to complement our existing business, broaden our geographic footprint, and increase our density in existing markets. Effective January 1, 2018, we completed the acquisition of Contractors Equipment Center (“CEC”), an equipment rental company serving the greater Denver, Colorado area with three branch locations, for approximately $132.4 million in cash. Effective April 1, 2018, we completed the acquisition of Rental, Inc., an equipment rental company with five branch locations in Alabama and Florida, for approximately $68.6 million in cash. Effective February 1, 2019, we completed the acquisition of We-Rent-Inc., a central Texas based non-residential construction-focused equipment rental company with six branch locations for approximately $100.0 million in cash.

Grow Our Parts and Services Operations. Our strong parts and services operations are keystones of our integrated equipment services platform and together provide us with a relatively stable high-margin revenue source. Our parts and services operations help us develop strong, ongoing customer relationships, attract new customers and maintain a high quality rental fleet. We intend to further grow this product support side of our business and further penetrate our customer base.

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Enter Carefully Selected New Markets. We intend to continue our strategy of selectively expanding our network to solidify our presence in attractive and contiguous regions where we operate. We look to add new locations in those markets that offer attractive growth opportunities, high or increasing levels of demand for construction and heavy equipment, and contiguity to our existing markets.  

History

Through our predecessor companies, we have been in the equipment services business for approximately 58 years. H&E Equipment Services L.L.C. was formed in June 2002 through the combination of Head & Engquist Equipment, LLC (“Head & Engquist”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Gulf Wide Industries, L.L.C. (“Gulf Wide”), and ICM Equipment Company L.L.C. (“ICM”). Head & Engquist, founded in 1961, and ICM, founded in 1971, were two leading regional, integrated equipment service companies operating in contiguous geographic markets. In the June 2002 transaction, Head & Engquist and ICM were merged with and into Gulf Wide, which was renamed H&E Equipment Services L.L.C. (“H&E LLC”). Prior to the combination, Head & Engquist operated 25 facilities in the Gulf Coast region, and ICM operated 16 facilities in the Intermountain region of the United States.

Prior to our initial public offering in February 2006, our business was conducted through H&E LLC. In connection with our initial public offering, we converted H&E LLC into H&E Equipment Services, Inc. In order to have an operating Delaware corporation as the issuer for our initial public offering, H&E Equipment Services, Inc. was formed as a Delaware corporation and wholly-owned subsidiary of H&E Holdings, and immediately prior to the closing of our initial public offering, on February 3, 2006, H&E LLC and H&E Holdings merged with and into us (H&E Equipment Services, Inc.), with us surviving the reincorporation merger as the operating company. Effective February 3, 2006, H&E LLC and H&E Holdings no longer existed under operation of law pursuant to the reincorporation merger.

We completed, effective as of February 28, 2006, the acquisition of all the outstanding capital stock of Eagle High Reach Equipment, Inc. (now known as H&E California Holding, Inc.) and all of the outstanding equity interests of its subsidiary, Eagle High Reach Equipment, LLC (now known as H&E Equipment Services (California), LLC) (collectively, “Eagle” or the “Eagle Acquisition”). Prior to the acquisition, Eagle was a privately-held construction and industrial equipment rental company serving the southern California construction and industrial markets out of four branch locations.

We completed, effective as of September 1, 2007, the acquisition of all of the outstanding capital stock of J.W. Burress, Incorporated (now known as H&E Equipment Services (Mid-Atlantic), Inc.) (“Burress” or the “Burress Acquisition”). Prior to the acquisition, Burress was a privately-held company operating primarily as a distributor in the construction and industrial equipment markets out of 12 locations in four states in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States.

We completed, effective January 1, 2018, the acquisition of Contractors Equipment Center (“CEC”). Prior to the acquisition, CEC was a privately-held company focused on non-residential construction equipment rentals serving the greater Denver, Colorado area out of three branch locations.

We completed, effective April 1, 2018, the acquisition of Rental, Inc., an equipment rental company with five branch locations in Alabama and Florida.

We completed, effective February 1, 2019, the acquisition of We-Rent-Inc., a central Texas based non-residential construction-focused equipment rental company with six branch locations.  

Customers

We serve approximately 41,600 customers in the United States, primarily in the West Coast, Intermountain, Southwest, Gulf Coast, Southeast and Mid-Atlantic regions. Our customers include a wide range of industrial and commercial companies, construction contractors, manufacturers, public utilities, municipalities, maintenance contractors and numerous and diverse other large industrial accounts. They vary from small, single machine owners to large contractors and industrial and commercial companies who typically operate under equipment and maintenance budgets. Our branches enable us to closely service local and regional customers, while our well-developed full-service infrastructure enables us to effectively service multi-regional and national accounts. Our integrated strategy enables us to satisfy customer requirements and increase revenues from customers through cross-selling opportunities presented by the various products and services that we offer. As a result, our five reporting segments generally derive their revenue from the same customer base. In 2018, no single customer accounted for more than 1.2% of our total revenues, and no single customer accounted for more than 10% of our revenue on a segmented basis. Our top ten customers combined accounted for approximately 6.5% of our total revenues in 2018.

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Sales and Marketing

We have two distinct, focused sales forces; one specializing in equipment rentals and one focused specifically on new and used equipment sales. We believe maintaining separate sales forces for equipment rental and equipment sales is important to our customer service, allowing us to effectively meet the demands of different types of customers.

Both our rental sales force and equipment sales force are divided into smaller, product focused teams which enhances the development of in-depth product application and technical expertise. To further develop knowledge and experience, we provide our sales forces with extensive training, including frequent factory and in-house training by manufacturer representatives regarding the operational features, operator safety training and maintenance of new equipment. This training is essential, as our sales personnel regularly call on customers’ job sites, often assisting customers in assessing their immediate and ongoing equipment needs. In addition, we have a commission-based compensation program for our sales forces.

We maintain a company-wide customer relationship management system. We believe that this comprehensive customer and sales management tool enhances our territory management program by increasing the productivity and efficiency of our sales representatives and branch managers as they are provided real-time access to sales and customer information.

We have developed strategies to identify target customers for our equipment services in all markets. These strategies allow our sales force to identify frequent rental users, function as advisors and problem solvers for our customers and accelerate the sales process in new operations.

While our specialized, well-trained sales force strengthens our customer relationships and fosters customer loyalty, we also promote our business through marketing and advertising, including industry publications, direct mail campaigns, television, the Yellow Pages and our Company website at www.he-equipment.com.

Suppliers

We purchase a significant amount of equipment from the same manufacturers with whom we have distribution agreements. We purchased approximately 54% of our new equipment and rental fleet from five manufacturers (Grove/Manitowoc, Genie Industries (Terex), JCB, Komatsu, and Skyjack) during the year ended December 31, 2018. These relationships improve our ability to negotiate equipment acquisition pricing. We are also a leading U.S. distributor for nationally-recognized equipment suppliers including JLG Industries, Gehl, Genie Industries (Terex), Komatsu, Doosan/Bobcat and Grove/Manitowoc. As an authorized distributor for a wide range of suppliers, we are also able to provide our customers parts and services that in many cases are covered under the manufacturer’s warranty. While we believe that we have alternative sources of supply for the equipment we purchase in each of our principal product categories, termination of one or more of our relationships with any of our major suppliers of equipment could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations if we were unable to obtain adequate or timely rental and sales equipment.

Information Technology Systems

We have specialized information systems that track (1) rental inventory utilization statistics; (2) maintenance and repair costs; (3) returns on investment for specific equipment types; and (4) detailed operational and financial information for each piece of equipment. These systems enable us to closely monitor our performance and actively manage our business, and include features that were custom designed to support our integrated services platform. The point-of-sale aspect of our systems enables us to link all of our facilities, permitting universal access to real-time data concerning equipment located at the individual facility locations and the rental status and maintenance history for each piece of equipment. In addition, our systems include, among other features, on-line contract generation, automated billing, applicable sales tax computation and automated rental purchase option calculation. We customized our customer relationship management system to enable us to more effectively manage our sales territories and sales representatives’ activity. This customer relationship management system provides sales and customer information, available rental fleet and inventory information, a quote system and other organizational tools to assist our sales forces. We maintain an extensive customer database which allows us to monitor the status and maintenance history of our customers’ owned-equipment and enables us to more effectively provide parts and services to meet their needs. All of our critical systems run on servers and other equipment that is current technology and available from major suppliers and serviceable through existing maintenance agreements.

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Seasonality

Although our business is not significantly impacted by seasonality, the demand for our rental equipment tends to be lower in the winter months. The level of equipment rental activities is directly related to commercial and industrial construction and maintenance activities. Therefore, equipment rental performance will be correlated to the levels of current construction activities. The severity of weather conditions can have a temporary impact on the level of construction activities.

Equipment sales cycles are also subject to some seasonality with the peak selling period occurring during the spring season and extending through the summer. Parts and services activities are less affected by changes in demand caused by seasonality.

Competition

The equipment industry is generally comprised of either pure rental equipment companies or manufacturer dealer/distributorship companies. We are an integrated equipment services company and rent, sell and provide parts and services support. Although there has been some consolidation within the equipment industry in recent years, including the recent acquisitions of Rental Services Corporation, NES Rentals and Neff Corporation by United Rentals, Inc., the equipment industry remains highly fragmented and consists mainly of a small number of multi-location regional or national operators and a large number of relatively small, independent businesses serving discrete local markets. Many of the markets in which we operate are served by numerous competitors, ranging from national and multi-regional equipment rental companies (for example, United Rentals, Sunbelt Rentals and Hertz Equipment Rental) or equipment dealers (for example, Finning and Toromont) to small, independent businesses with a limited number of locations.

We believe that participants in the equipment rental industry generally compete on the basis of availability, quality, reliability, delivery and price. In general, large operators enjoy substantial competitive advantages over small, independent rental businesses due to a distinct price advantage. Many rental equipment companies’ parts and services offerings are limited and may prove difficult to expand due to the training, infrastructure and management resources necessary to develop the breadth of service offerings and depth of knowledge our service technicians are able to provide. Some of our competitors have significantly greater financial, marketing and other resources than we do.

Traditionally, equipment manufacturers distributed their equipment and parts through a network of independent dealers with distribution agreements. As a result of consolidation and competition, both manufacturers and distributors sought to streamline their operations, improve their costs and gain market share. Our established, integrated infrastructure enables us to compete directly with our competitors on either a local, regional or national basis. We believe customers place greater emphasis on value-added services, teaming with equipment rental and sales companies who can meet all of their equipment, parts and services needs.

Environmental and Safety Regulations

Our facilities and operations are subject to comprehensive and frequently changing federal, state and local environmental and occupational health and safety laws. These laws regulate (1) the handling, storage, use and disposal of hazardous materials and wastes and, if any, the associated cleanup of properties affected by pollutants; (2) air quality (emissions); and (3) wastewater. We do not currently anticipate any material adverse effect on our business or financial condition or competitive position as a result of our efforts to comply with such requirements. Although we have made and will continue to make capital and other expenditures to comply with environmental requirements, we do not expect to incur material capital expenditures for environmental controls or compliance.

In the future, federal, state or local governments could enact new or more stringent laws or issue new or more stringent regulations concerning environmental and worker health and safety matters, or effect a change in their enforcement of existing laws or regulations, that could affect our operations. Also, in the future, contamination may be found to exist at our facilities or off-site locations where we have sent wastes. There can be no assurance that we, or various environmental regulatory agencies, will not discover previously unknown environmental non-compliance or contamination. We could be held liable for such newly-discovered non-compliance or contamination. It is possible that changes in environmental and worker health and safety laws or liabilities from newly-discovered non-compliance or contamination could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Employees

As of December 31, 2018, we had approximately 2,369 employees. Of these employees, 936 are salaried personnel and 1,433 are hourly personnel. Our employees perform the following functions: sales operations, parts operations, rental operations, technical services and office and administrative support. A collective bargaining agreement relating to two branch locations covers approximately 69 of our employees. We believe our relations with our employees are good, and we have never experienced a work stoppage.

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Generally, the total number of employees does not significantly fluctuate throughout the year. However, acquisition activity or the opening of new branches may increase the number of our employees or fluctuations in the level of our business activity could require some staffing level adjustments in response to actual or anticipated customer demand.

Available Information

We file electronically with the SEC annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The SEC maintains an Internet site (www.sec.gov) that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC. Copies of these reports, proxy and information statements and other information may be obtained by electronic request at the following e-mail address: publicinfo@sec.gov. Copies of our annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, ownership reports for insiders and any exhibits to and amendments to these reports filed with or furnished to the SEC are available free of charge through our internet website (www.he-equipment.com) as soon as reasonably practicable after filing with the SEC. We use the Investor Relations section of our website as a means of disclosing material non-public information and for complying with our disclosure obligations under Regulation FD. Accordingly, investors should monitor the Investor Relations section of our website, in addition to following press releases, SEC filings and public conference calls and webcasts.

Additionally, we make available free of charge on our internet website:

Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should consider carefully the following risk factors and the other information in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, including our consolidated financial statements and related notes, before making any investment decisions regarding our securities. If any of the following risks actually occur, our business, financial condition and operating results could be adversely affected. As a result, the trading price of our securities could decline and you may lose part or all of your investment.

Our business could be adversely affected by declines in construction and industrial activities, or a downturn in the economy in general, which could lead to decreased demand for equipment, depressed equipment rental rates and lower sales prices, resulting in a decline in our revenues, gross margins and operating results.

Our equipment is principally used in connection with construction and industrial activities. Consequently, a downturn in construction or industrial activities, or the economy in general, may lead to a decrease in the demand for equipment or depress rental rates and the sales prices for our equipment. Our business may also be negatively impacted, either temporarily or long-term, by:

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Weakness or deterioration in the non-residential construction and industrial sectors caused by these or other factors could have a material adverse effect on our financial position, results of operations and cash flows in the future and may also have a material adverse effect on residual values realized on the disposition of our rental fleet. For example, during fiscal years 2009 and 2010, the economic downturn and related economic uncertainty, combined with weakness in the construction industry and a decrease in industrial activity, resulted in a significant decrease in the demand for our new and used equipment and depressed equipment rental rates, which resulted in decreased revenues and lower gross margins realized on our equipment rentals and on the sale of our new and used inventory during those periods. More recently, the decline in oil prices and the related downturn in oil industry activities during fiscal years 2014, 2015 and 2016 resulted in a significant decrease in our new equipment sales, primarily the sale of new cranes, due to lower demand.

The inability to forecast trends accurately may have an adverse impact on our business and financial condition.

An economic downturn or economic uncertainty makes it difficult for us to forecast trends, which may have an adverse impact on our business and financial condition. For example, the economic downturn of 2009 and 2010 — which included, among other things, significant reductions in available capital and liquidity from banks and other providers of credit, substantial reductions and/or fluctuations in equity and currency values worldwide and concerns that the worldwide economy may enter into a prolonged recessionary period — limited our ability, as well as the ability of our customers and our suppliers, to accurately forecast future product demand trends. More recently, declines in oil and natural gas prices, and uncertainty regarding future price levels, have negatively impacted the exploration, production and construction activity of our customers in those markets. Uncertainty regarding future equipment product demand could cause us to maintain excess equipment inventory and increase our equipment inventory carrying costs. Alternatively, this forecasting difficulty could cause a shortage of equipment for sale or rental that could result in an inability to satisfy demand for our products and a loss of market shares.

Unfavorable conditions or disruptions in the capital and credit markets may adversely impact business conditions and the availability of credit.

Disruptions in the global capital and credit markets as a result of an economic downturn, economic uncertainty, changing or increased regulation, reduced alternatives or failures of significant financial institutions could adversely affect our customers’ ability to access capital and could adversely affect our access to liquidity needed for business in the future. Additionally, unfavorable market conditions may depress demand for our products and services or make it difficult for our customers to obtain financing and credit on reasonable terms. Unfavorable market conditions also may cause more of our customers to be unable to meet their payment obligations to us, increasing delinquencies and credit losses. If we are unable to manage credit risk adequately, or if a large number of customers should have financial difficulties at the same time, our credit losses could increase above historical levels and our operating results would be adversely affected. Delinquencies and credit losses generally can be expected to increase during economic slowdowns or recessions. Moreover, our suppliers may be adversely impacted by unfavorable capital and credit markets, causing disruption or delay of product availability. These events could negatively impact our business, financial position, results of operations and cash flows.

Our substantial indebtedness could adversely affect our financial condition.

We have a significant amount of indebtedness outstanding. As of December 31, 2018, we had total outstanding indebtedness of approximately $1.12 billion, consisting of the $950.0 million aggregate amounts outstanding under our senior unsecured notes, $170.7 million outstanding under our senior secured credit facility (the “Credit Facility”) and $0.7 million of capital lease obligations. As of February 14, 2019, we had borrowing availability under the Credit Facility of $483.3 million, net of a $7.7 million outstanding letter of credit.

Our substantial indebtedness could have important consequences. For example, it could:

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We expect to use cash flow from operations and borrowings under our Credit Facility to meet our current and future financial obligations, including funding our operations, debt service and capital expenditures. Our ability to make these payments depends on our future performance, which will be affected by financial, business, economic and other factors, many of which we cannot control. Our business may not generate sufficient cash flow from operations in the future, which could result in our being unable to repay indebtedness, or to fund other liquidity needs. If we do not have enough capital, we may be forced to reduce or delay our business activities and capital expenditures, sell assets, obtain additional debt or equity capital or restructure or refinance all or a portion of our debt, including the senior unsecured notes and our Credit Facility, on or before maturity. We cannot make any assurances that we will be able to accomplish any of these alternatives on terms acceptable to us, or at all. In addition, the terms of existing or future indebtedness, including the agreements governing the senior unsecured notes and the Credit Facility may limit our ability to pursue any of these alternatives.

We may not be able to generate sufficient cash to service all of our indebtedness and may be forced to take other actions to satisfy our obligations under our indebtedness, which may not be successful.

Our ability to make scheduled payments or to refinance our debt obligations depends on our financial and operating performance, which is subject to prevailing economic and competitive conditions and to certain financial, business and other factors beyond our control. We cannot make assurances that we will maintain a level of cash flows from operating activities sufficient to permit us to pay the principal, premium, if any, and interest on our indebtedness. In the absence of such operating results and resources, we could face substantial liquidity problems and might be required to dispose of material assets or operations to meet our debt service and other obligations. The Credit Facility and the indenture governing the senior unsecured notes restrict our ability to dispose of assets and use the proceeds from the disposition. We may not be able to consummate those dispositions or to obtain the proceeds which we could realize from such dispositions. Any proceeds we do receive from a disposition may not be adequate to meet any debt service obligations then due.

If our cash flows and capital resources are insufficient to fund our debt service obligations, we may be forced to reduce or delay capital expenditures, sell assets or operations, seek additional capital or restructure or refinance our indebtedness. We cannot assure you that we would be able to take any of these actions, that these actions would be successful and permit us to meet our scheduled debt service obligations or that these actions would be permitted under the terms of our existing or future debt agreements, including the Credit Facility or the indenture governing the senior unsecured notes.

If we cannot make scheduled payments on our debt, we will be in default and, as a result:

Despite current indebtedness levels, we may still be able to incur more indebtedness, which could further exacerbate the risks described above.

Under the terms of the agreements governing the Credit Facility and the senior unsecured notes, we and our subsidiaries may be able to incur substantial indebtedness in the future.

Additionally, our Credit Facility provides revolving commitments of up to $750.0 million in the aggregate. As of February 14, 2019, we had $483.3 million of availability under the Credit Facility, net of a $7.7 million outstanding letter of credit. If new debt is added to our current debt levels, the risks that we now face relating to our substantial indebtedness could intensify.

The agreements governing the Credit Facility and our senior unsecured notes restrict our business and our ability to engage in certain corporate and financial transactions.

The agreements governing the Credit Facility and the senior unsecured notes contain certain covenants that, among other things, restrict or limit our and our restricted subsidiaries’ ability to:

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Our ability to borrow under the Credit Facility depends upon compliance with the restrictions contained in the Credit Facility. Events beyond our control could affect our ability to meet these covenants. In addition, the Credit Facility requires us to meet certain financial conditions tests and availability thereunder is subject to borrowing base availability.

Events beyond our control can affect our ability to meet these financial conditions tests and to comply with other provisions governing the Credit Facility and the senior unsecured notes. Our failure to comply with obligations under the agreements governing the Credit Facility and the senior unsecured notes may result in an event of default under the agreements governing the Credit Facility and the senior unsecured notes, respectively. A default, if not cured or waived, may permit acceleration of this indebtedness and our other indebtedness. We may not be able to remedy these defaults. If our indebtedness is accelerated, we may not have sufficient funds available to pay the accelerated indebtedness and may not have the ability to refinance the accelerated indebtedness on terms favorable to us or at all.

Variable rate indebtedness subjects us to interest rate risk, which could cause our debt service obligations to increase significantly.

Borrowings under the Credit Facility are at variable rates of interest and expose us to interest rate risk. As such, our results of operations are sensitive to movements in interest rates. There are many economic factors outside our control that have in the past and may, in the future, impact rates of interest including publicly announced indices that underlie the interest obligations related to a certain portion of our debt. Currently, a portion of our outstanding borrowings under our Credit Facility are borrowed at LIBOR plus an applicable margin and it is unclear how increased regulatory oversight and changes in the method for determining LIBOR may affect our results of operations or financial conditions. For example, on July 27, 2017, the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority announced that it intends to stop persuading or compelling banks to submit LIBOR rates after 2021. At this time, it is not possible to predict the effect of any such changes, any establishment of alternative reference rates  or any other reforms to LIBOR that may be enacted in the United Kingdom or elsewhere, including the potential impact to our Credit Facility. Also, factors that impact interest rates include governmental monetary policies, inflation, recession, changes in unemployment, the money supply, international disorder and instability in domestic and foreign financial markets. If interest rates increase, our debt service obligations on the variable rate indebtedness would increase even though the amount borrowed remained the same, and our results of operations would be adversely impacted. Such increases in interest rates could have a material adverse effect on our financial conditions and results of operations.

Our business could be hurt if we are unable to obtain additional capital as required, resulting in a decrease in our revenues and profitability. In addition, our inability to refinance our indebtedness on favorable terms, or at all, could materially and adversely affect our liquidity and our ongoing results of operations.

The cash that we generate from our business, together with cash that we may borrow under our Credit Facility, if available, may not be sufficient to fund our capital requirements. We may require additional financing to obtain capital for, among other purposes, purchasing equipment, completing acquisitions, establishing new locations and refinancing existing indebtedness. Any additional indebtedness that we incur will make us more vulnerable to economic downturns and limit our ability to withstand competitive pressures. Moreover, we may not be able to obtain additional capital on acceptable terms, if at all. If we are unable to obtain sufficient additional financing in the future, our business could be adversely affected by reducing our ability to increase revenues and profitability.

In addition, our ability to refinance indebtedness will depend in part on our operating and financial performance, which, in turn, is subject to prevailing economic conditions and to financial, business, legislative, regulatory and other factors beyond our control. In addition, prevailing interest rates or other factors at the time of refinancing could increase our interest expense. A refinancing of our indebtedness could also require us to comply with more onerous covenants and further restrict our business operations. Our inability to refinance our indebtedness or to do so upon attractive terms could materially and adversely affect our business, prospects, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows, and make us vulnerable to adverse industry and general economic conditions.

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Our revenue and operating results may fluctuate, which could result in a decline in our profitability and make it more difficult for us to grow our business.

Our revenue and operating results have historically varied from quarter to quarter. Periods of decline could result in an overall decline in profitability and make it more difficult for us to make payments on our indebtedness and grow our business. We expect our quarterly results to continue to fluctuate in the future due to a number of factors, including:

In addition, we incur various costs when integrating newly acquired businesses or opening new start-up locations, and the profitability of a new location is generally expected to be lower in the initial months of operation.

We may not be able to facilitate our growth strategy by identifying or completing transactions with attractive acquisition candidates, which could limit our revenues and profitability. Future acquisitions may result in significant transaction expenses and we may involve significant costs. We may experience integration and consolidation risks associated with future acquisitions.

An element of our growth strategy is to selectively pursue on an opportunistic basis acquisitions of additional businesses, in particular rental companies that complement our existing business and footprint, such as our recent acquisition of Contractors Equipment Center, LLC (“CEC”) and Rental, LLC (dba “Rental Inc.”) in January 2018 and April 2018, respectively, and We-Rent-It in February 2019. The success of this element of our growth strategy depends, in part, on selecting strategic acquisition candidates at attractive prices and effectively integrating their businesses into our own, including with respect to financial reporting and regulatory matters. We cannot assure you that we will be able to identify attractive acquisition candidates or complete the acquisition of any identified candidates at favorable prices and upon advantageous terms and conditions, including financing alternatives. We expect to face competition for acquisition candidates, which may limit the number of acquisition opportunities and lead to higher acquisition costs. We may not have the financial resources necessary to consummate any acquisitions or the ability to obtain the necessary funds on satisfactory terms. Any future acquisitions may result in significant transaction expenses and risks associated with entering new markets. We may also be subject to claims by third parties related to the operations of these businesses prior to our acquisition and by sellers under the terms of our acquisition agreements The Company also regularly reviews other potential strategic transactions, including dispositions.

We may not have sufficient management, financial and other resources to integrate and consolidate any future acquisitions. Any significant diversion of management’s attention or any major difficulties encountered in the integration of the businesses we acquire, including CEC, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations, which could decrease our profitability and make it more difficult for us to grow our business.  Among other things, these integration risks could include:

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Furthermore, general economic conditions or unfavorable global capital and credit markets could affect the timing and extent to which we successfully acquire or integrate new businesses, which could limit our revenues and profitability.

Fluctuations in the stock market, as well as general economic and market conditions, may impact the market price of our common stock.

The market price of our common stock has been and may continue to be subject to significant fluctuations in response to general economic changes and other factors including, but not limited to:

Broad market and industry factors may materially reduce the market price of our common stock, regardless of or in a manner that is disproportionate to any related impact on our operating performance. As an example, in the latter half of 2014 the price of oil fell significantly and the price further declined and remained depressed throughout 2015 and 2016, compared to pre-2014 price levels. We believe that this prolonged decline in oil prices and its impact on oil related economic activities was a significant factor in the price decline of our stock during the same period, even though other industrial and construction activities that are also primary drivers of our business generally remained at or above historic levels. Although oil prices have subsequently stabilized and improved slightly, we believe the uncertainty regarding future oil prices has an impact on the price of our stock. In addition, the stock market historically has experienced price and volume fluctuations that often have been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of companies. These fluctuations, as well as general economic and market conditions, including those listed above and others, may harm the market price of our common stock.

We are subject to competition, which may have a material adverse effect on our business by reducing our ability to increase or maintain revenues or profitability.

The equipment rental and retail distribution industries are highly competitive and the equipment rental industry is highly fragmented. Many of the markets in which we operate are served by numerous competitors, ranging from national and multi-regional equipment rental companies to small, independent businesses with a limited number of locations. We generally compete on the basis of availability, quality, reliability, delivery and price. Some of our competitors have significantly greater financial, marketing and other resources than we do, and may be able to reduce rental rates or sales prices. We may encounter increased competition from existing competitors or new market entrants in the future, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

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We may not be able to facilitate our growth strategy by identifying and opening attractive start-up locations, which could limit our revenues and profitability.

An element of our growth strategy is to selectively identify and implement start-up locations in order to add new customers. The success of this element of our growth strategy depends, in part, on identifying strategic start-up locations.

We also cannot assure you that we will be able to identify attractive start-up locations. Opening start-up locations may involve significant costs and limit our ability to expand our operations. Start-up locations may involve risks associated with entering new markets and we may face significant competition.

We may not have sufficient management, financial and other resources to successfully operate new locations. Any significant diversion of management’s attention or any major difficulties encountered in the locations that we open in the future could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations, which could decrease our profitability and make it more difficult for us to grow our business. Furthermore, general economic conditions or unfavorable global capital and credit markets could affect the timing and extent to which we open new start-up locations, which could limit our revenues and profitability.

The continued payment of our quarterly dividend is subject to, among other things, the availability of funds and the discretion of our board of directors.

The payment of future dividends and the amount thereof is uncertain, at the sole discretion of our board of directors and considered by the board of directors each quarter. The payment of dividends is dependent upon, among other things, operating cash flow generated by our business, financial requirements for our operations, the execution of our growth strategy, the restrictions and covenants pursuant to our Credit Facility and senior unsecured notes, and the satisfaction of solvency tests imposed by the Delaware General Corporation Law and other applicable law for the declaration and payment of dividends.

We purchase a significant amount of our equipment from a limited number of manufacturers. Termination of one or more of our relationships with any of those manufacturers could have a material adverse effect on our business, as we may be unable to obtain adequate or timely rental and sales equipment.

We purchase most of our rental and sales equipment from leading, nationally-known original equipment manufacturers (“OEMs”). For the year ended December 31, 2018, we purchased approximately 54% of our rental and sales equipment from five manufacturers (Grove/Manitowoc, Genie Industries (Terex), JCB, Komatsu, and Skyjack). Although we believe that we have alternative sources of supply for the rental and sales equipment we purchase in each of our core product categories, termination of one or more of our relationships with any of these major suppliers could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations if we were unable to obtain adequate or timely rental and sales equipment.

Our suppliers of new equipment may appoint additional distributors, sell directly or unilaterally terminate our distribution agreements, which could have a material adverse effect on our business due to a reduction of, or inability to increase, our revenues.

We are a distributor of new equipment and parts supplied by leading, nationally-known OEMs. Under our distribution agreements with these OEMs, manufacturers retain the right to appoint additional dealers and sell directly to national accounts and government agencies. We have both written and oral distribution agreements with our new equipment suppliers. Under our oral agreements with the OEMs, we operate under our established course of dealing with the supplier and are subject to the applicable state law regarding such relationship. In most instances, the OEMs may appoint additional distributors, elect to sell to customers directly or unilaterally terminate their distribution agreements with us at any time without cause. Any such actions could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations due to a reduction of, or an inability to increase, our revenues.

The cost of new equipment that we sell or purchase for use in our rental fleet may increase and therefore we may spend more for such equipment. In some cases, we may not be able to procure new equipment on a timely basis due to supplier constraints.

The cost of new equipment from manufacturers that we sell or purchase for use in our rental fleet may increase as a result of increased raw material costs, including increases in the cost of steel, which is a primary material used in most of the equipment we use, or due to increased regulatory requirements, such as those related to emissions. These increases could materially impact our financial condition or results of operations in future periods if we are not able to pass such cost increases through to our customers.

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Our rental fleet is subject to residual value risk upon disposition.

The market value of any given piece of rental equipment could be less than its depreciated value at the time it is sold. The market value of used rental equipment depends on several factors, including:

We include in operating income the difference between the sales price and the depreciated value of an item of equipment sold. Although for the year ended December 31, 2018, we sold used equipment from our rental fleet at an average selling price of approximately 152.1% of net book value, we cannot assure you that used equipment selling prices will not decline. Any significant decline in the selling prices for used equipment could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

We incur maintenance and repair costs associated with our rental fleet equipment that could have a material adverse effect on our business in the event these costs are greater than anticipated.

As our fleet of rental equipment ages, the cost of maintaining such equipment, if not replaced within a certain period of time, generally increases. Determining the optimal age for our rental fleet equipment is subjective and requires considerable estimates by management. We have made estimates regarding the relationship between the age of our rental fleet equipment, and the maintenance and repair costs, and the market value of used equipment. Our future operating results could be adversely affected because our maintenance and repair costs may be higher than estimated and market values of used equipment may fluctuate.

Security breaches and other disruptions in our information technology systems, including our customer relationship management system, could limit our capacity to effectively monitor and control our operations, compromise our or our customers’ and suppliers’ confidential information or otherwise adversely affect our operating results or business reputation.

Our information technology systems, some of which are managed by third parties, facilitate our ability to monitor and control our operations and adjust to changing market conditions, including processing, transmitting, storing, managing and supporting a variety of business processes, activities and information. Further, as we pursue our strategy to grow through acquisitions and to pursue new initiatives that improve our operations, we are also expanding and improving our information technologies, resulting in a larger technological presence and corresponding exposure to cybersecurity risk. Any disruption in any of these systems, including our customer management system, or the failure of any of these systems to operate as expected could, depending on the magnitude of the problem, adversely affect our operating results by limiting our capacity to effectively monitor and control our operations and adjust to changing market conditions.

Additionally, we collect and store sensitive data, including proprietary business information and the proprietary business information of our customers and suppliers, in data centers and on information technology networks, including cloud-based networks. The secure operation of these information technology networks and the processing and maintenance of this information is critical to our business operations and strategy. Despite security measures and business continuity plans, our information technology networks and infrastructure may be vulnerable to damage, disruptions or shutdowns due to attacks by cyber criminals or breaches due to employee error or malfeasance or other disruptions during the process of upgrading or replacing computer software or hardware, power outages, computer viruses, telecommunication or utility failures, terrorist acts or natural disasters or other catastrophic events. Further, the growing use and rapid evolution of technology, including mobile devices, has heightened the risk of unintentional data breaches or leaks. The occurrence of any of these events could compromise our networks, and the information stored there could be accessed, publicly disclosed, lost or stolen. In addition, as security threats continue to evolve we may need to invest additional resources to protect the security of our systems or to comply with privacy, data security, cybersecurity and data protection laws applicable to our business.

Any failure to effectively prevent, detect and/or recover from any such access, disclosure or other loss of information, or to comply with any such current or future law related thereto, could result in legal claims or proceedings, liability or regulatory penalties under laws protecting the privacy of personal information, disrupt operations, and damage our reputation, which could adversely affect our business.

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Fluctuations in fuel costs or reduced supplies of fuel could harm our business.

We could be adversely affected by limitations on fuel supplies or significant increases in fuel prices that result in higher costs to us for transporting equipment from one branch to another branch or one region to another region. A significant or protracted disruption of fuel supplies could have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

Hurricanes, other adverse weather events, national or regional catastrophes or natural disasters could negatively affect our local economies or disrupt our operations, which could have an adverse effect on our business or results of operations.

Our market areas in the Gulf Coast and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States are susceptible to hurricanes. Such weather events can disrupt our operations, result in damage to our properties and negatively affect the local economies in which we operate. Future hurricanes could result in damage to certain of our facilities and the equipment located at such facilities, or equipment on rent with customers in those areas. In addition, climate change could lead to an increase in intensity or occurrence of hurricanes or other adverse weather events, including severe winter storms. Future occurrences of these events, as well as regional or national catastrophes or natural disasters, and their effects may adversely impact our business or results of operations.

We are dependent on key personnel. A loss of key personnel could have a material adverse effect on our business, which could result in a decline in our revenues and profitability.

Our senior and regional managers have an average of approximately 24 years of industry experience. Our branch managers have extensive knowledge and industry experience as well. Our success is dependent, in part, on the experience and skills of our management team. Competition for top management talent within our industry is generally significant. If we are unable to fill and keep filled all of our senior management positions, or if we lose the services of any key member of our senior management team and are unable to find a suitable replacement in a timely manner, we may be challenged to effectively manage our business and execute our strategy.

If we fail to maintain an effective system of internal controls, we may not be able to accurately report financial results or prevent fraud.

Effective internal controls are necessary to provide reliable financial reports and to assist in the effective prevention of fraud. Any inability to provide reliable financial reports or prevent fraud could harm our business. We must annually evaluate our internal procedures to satisfy the requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, which requires management and auditors to assess the effectiveness of our internal controls. If we fail to remedy or maintain the adequacy of our internal controls, as such standards are modified, supplemented or amended from time to time, we could be subject to regulatory scrutiny, civil or criminal penalties or stockholder litigation.

In addition, failure to maintain effective internal controls could result in financial statements that do not accurately reflect our financial condition or results of operations. There can be no assurance that we will be able to maintain a system of internal controls that fully complies with the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 or that our management and independent registered public accounting firm will continue to conclude that our internal controls are effective.

We are exposed to various risks related to legal proceedings or claims that could adversely affect our operating results. The nature of our business exposes us to various liability claims, which may exceed the level of our insurance coverage resulting in us not being fully protected.

We are a party to lawsuits in the normal course of our business. Litigation in general can be expensive, lengthy and disruptive to normal business operations. Moreover, the results of complex legal proceedings are difficult to predict. Responding to lawsuits brought against us, or legal actions that we may initiate, can often be expensive and time-consuming. Unfavorable outcomes from these claims and/or lawsuits could adversely affect our business, results of operations, or financial condition, and we could incur substantial monetary liability and/or be required to change our business practices.

Our business exposes us to claims for personal injury, death or property damage resulting from the use of the equipment we rent or sell and from injuries caused in motor vehicle accidents in which our delivery and service personnel are involved and other employee related matters. Additionally, we could be subject to potential litigation associated with compliance with various laws and governmental regulations at the federal, state or local levels, such as those relating to the protection of persons with disabilities, employment, health, safety, security and other regulations under which we operate.

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We carry comprehensive insurance, subject to deductibles, at levels we believe are sufficient to cover existing and future claims made during the respective policy periods. However, we may be exposed to multiple claims, and, as a result, we could incur significant out-of-pocket costs before reaching the deductible amount which could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations. In addition, the cost of such insurance policies may increase significantly upon renewal of those policies as a result of general rate increases for the type of insurance we carry as well as our historical experience and experience in our industry. Although we have not experienced any material losses that were not covered by insurance, our existing or future claims may exceed the coverage level of our insurance, and such insurance may not continue to be available on economically reasonable terms, or at all. If we are required to pay significantly higher premiums for insurance, are not able to maintain insurance coverage at affordable rates or if we must pay amounts in excess of claims covered by our insurance, we could experience higher costs that could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.

Our future operating results and financial position could be negatively affected by impairment charges to our goodwill or other long-lived assets.

When we acquire a business, we record goodwill as the excess of the consideration transferred plus the fair value of any non-controlling interest in the acquiree at the acquisition date over the fair values of the identifiable net assets acquired. At December 31, 2018, we had goodwill of approximately $105.8 million. In accordance with Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 350, Intangibles–Goodwill & Other (“ASC 350”), we test goodwill for impairment on October 1 of each year, and on an interim date if factors or indicators become apparent that would require an interim test.

If economic conditions deteriorate and result in significant declines in operating results and/or significant declines in our stock price, or if there are significant downward revisions in the present value of our estimated future cash flows, additional impairments to one or more reporting units could occur in future periods, and such impairments could be material. A downward revision in the present value of estimated future cash flows could be caused by a number of factors, including, among others, adverse changes in the business climate, negative industry or economic trends, decline in performance in our industry sector, or a decline in market multiples for competitors. Our estimates regarding future cash flows are inherently uncertain and changes in our underlying assumptions and the impact of market conditions on those assumptions could materially affect the determination of fair value and/or goodwill impairment. Future events and changing market conditions may impact our assumptions as to revenues, costs or other factors that may result in changes in our estimates of future cash flows. We can provide no assurance that a material impairment charge will not occur in a future period. Such a charge could negatively affect our results of operations and financial position. We will continue to monitor on an ongoing basis the recoverability of the carrying value of our goodwill and other long-lived assets (see “Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates” in Part II, Item 7).

Labor disputes could disrupt our ability to serve our customers and/or lead to higher labor costs.

As of December 31, 2018, we have approximately 69 employees in Utah, a significant territory in our geographic footprint, who are covered by a collective bargaining agreement and approximately 2,300 employees who are not represented by unions or covered by collective bargaining agreements. Various unions periodically seek to organize certain of our nonunion employees. Union organizing efforts or collective bargaining negotiations could potentially lead to work stoppages and/or slowdowns or strikes by certain of our employees, which could adversely affect our ability to serve our customers. Further, settlement of actual or threatened labor disputes or an increase in the number of our employees covered by collective bargaining agreements can have unknown effects on our labor costs, productivity and flexibility.

We have operations throughout the United States, which exposes us to multiple federal, state and local regulations. Changes in applicable law, regulations or requirements, or our material failure to comply with any of them, can increase our costs and have other negative impacts on our business.

Our 96 branch locations, as of February 14, 2019, in the United States are located in 22 different states, which exposes us to a host of different federal, state and local regulations. These laws and requirements address multiple aspects of our operations, such as worker safety, consumer rights, privacy, employee benefits and more, and can often have different requirements in different jurisdictions. Changes in these requirements, or any material failure by our branches to comply with them, could increase our costs, affect our reputation, limit our business, drain management’s time and attention or otherwise, generally impact our operations in adverse ways.

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We could be adversely affected by environmental and safety requirements, which could force us to increase significant capital and other operational costs and may subject us to unanticipated liabilities.

Our operations, like those of other companies engaged in similar businesses, require the handling, use, storage and disposal of certain regulated materials. As a result, we are subject to the requirements of federal, state and local environmental and occupational health and safety laws and regulations. We may not be in complete compliance with all such requirements at all times. We are subject to potentially significant civil or criminal fines or penalties if we fail to comply with any of these requirements. We have made and will continue to make capital and other expenditures in order to comply with these laws and regulations. However, the requirements of these laws and regulations are complex, change frequently, and could become more stringent in the future. It is possible that these requirements will change or that liabilities will arise in the future in a manner that could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Environmental laws also impose obligations and liability for the cleanup of properties affected by hazardous substance spills or releases. These liabilities can be imposed on the parties generating or disposing of such substances or the operator of the affected property, often without regard to whether the owner or operator knew of, or was responsible for, the presence of hazardous substances. Accordingly, we may become liable, either contractually or by operation of law, for remediation costs even if a contaminated property is not currently owned or operated by us, or if the contamination was caused by third parties during or prior to our ownership or operation of the property. Given the nature of our operations (which involve the use of petroleum products, solvents and other hazardous substances for fueling and maintaining our equipment and vehicles), there can be no assurance that prior site assessments or investigations have identified all potential instances of soil or groundwater contamination. Future events, such as changes in existing laws or policies or their enforcement, or the discovery of currently unknown contamination, may give rise to additional remediation liabilities, which may be material.

Our business may be materially affected by changes to fiscal and tax policies. Negative or unexpected tax consequences could adversely affect our results of operations.

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (the “Act”) signed into law on December 22, 2017 resulted in significant changes to the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. Such changes include a reduction in the corporate tax rate (from 35% to 21%) and limitations on certain corporate deductions and credits, among other changes. We have completed our accounting for all the tax effects of the Act.

However, adverse changes in the underlying profitability and financial outlook of our operations or future changes in tax law could lead to changes in the value of tax assets or liabilities that we currently or in the future may hold, which could materially affect our results of operations.

None.

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As of February 14, 2019, we had a network of 96 full-service facilities in 22 states in the West Coast, Intermountain, Southwest, Gulf Coast, Southeast and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. In our facilities, we rent, display and sell equipment, including tools and supplies, and provide maintenance and basic repair work. Of the 96 total facilities, we own 12 of our locations and lease 84 locations. Our leases typically provide for varying terms and renewal options. The following table provides data on our locations and the number of multiple branch locations in each city is indicated by parentheses: 

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Each facility location has a branch manager who is responsible for day-to-day operations. In addition, branch operating facilities are typically staffed with approximately 10 to over 100 people, who may include technicians, salespeople, rental operations staff and parts specialists. While facility offices are typically open five days a week, we provide 24 hour, seven day per week service.

Our corporate headquarters employs approximately 349 people. Our corporate headquarters facility is on 3.1 acres of company-owned land where we occupy a total of approximately 42,550 square feet.

From time to time, we are involved in various claims and legal actions arising in the ordinary course of our business. In the opinion of management, after consultation with legal counsel, the ultimate disposition of these various matters will not have a material adverse effect on the Company’s consolidated financial position, results of operations or liquidity.

Not applicable.

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PART II

Market Information

Our common stock, par value $0.01 per share, trades on the Nasdaq Global Market (“Nasdaq”) under the symbol “HEES.”

Holders

As of December 31, 2018, there were 73 stockholders of record of our common stock. This does not include beneficial owners of our common stock whose stock is held in nominee or “street name”.

Dividends

During the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017, the Company paid quarterly cash dividends totaling $1.10 per share in each year, or approximately $39.3 million and $39.2 million, respectively. The Company intends to continue to pay regular quarterly cash dividends; however, the declaration of any subsequent dividends is discretionary and will be subject to a final determination by the Board of Directors each quarter after its review of, among other things, business and market conditions.

Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans

For certain information concerning securities authorized for issuance under our equity compensation plan, see Item 12 — Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters.

Performance Graph

The Performance Graph below compares the cumulative total stockholder return on H&E Equipment Services, Inc.’s common stock beginning on December 31, 2013 and for each subsequent quarter period end through and including December 31, 2018, with the cumulative returns of the Russell 2000 Index and an industry peer group selected by us. The peer group we selected is comprised of the following companies: United Rentals, Inc., Toromont Industries, Ltd., Finning International, Inc., and The Ashtead Group, PLC. In our Annual Reports on Form 10-K for the years ended December 31, 2014 and 2015, we included within our peer group, Hertz Global Holdings, which previously owned Herc Holdings Inc., the then parent company of Herc Rentals Inc., Hertz’s equipment rental business. On July 1, 2016, Herc Holdings Inc. was separated from Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. and became an independent, publicly-traded corporation. Accordingly, we have excluded Herc Holdings Inc. and Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. from our industry peer group in the five-year Performance Graph below.

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The Performance Graph comparison assumes $100 was invested in our common stock and in each of the other indices described above on December 31, 2013. Dividend reinvestment has been assumed and returns have been weighted to reflect relative stock market capitalization. The stock performance shown on the graph below is not necessarily indicative of future price performance.

This stock performance information is “furnished” and shall not be deemed to be “soliciting material” or subject to Rule 14A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), shall not be deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Exchange Act or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that section, and shall not be deemed incorporated by reference in any filing under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Exchange Act, whether made before or after the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K and irrespective of any general incorporation by reference language in any such filing, except to the extent that we specifically incorporate this information by reference.

Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

On October 12, 2018, 2,982 shares of non-vested stock that were issued in 2015 vested at $30.81 per share. The holder of those vested shares returned 876 shares of common stock to the Company during the quarter ended December 31, 2018 as payment for their withholding taxes. This resulted in an addition of 876 shares to treasury stock.

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The following table sets forth our selected historical consolidated financial data as of the dates and for the periods indicated. The selected historical consolidated statement of income data and other financial data for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016 and balance sheet data as of December 31, 2018 and 2017 have been derived from our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. The selected historical consolidated statement of income data and other financial data for the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014 and balance sheet data as of December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014 have been derived from our audited consolidated financial information not included herein. Our historical results are not necessarily indicative of future performance or results of operations. You should read the consolidated historical financial data together with our consolidated financial statements and related notes included in Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K and with Item 7—Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.

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The following discussion summarizes the financial position of H&E Equipment Services, Inc. and its subsidiaries as of December 31, 2018, and its results of operations for the year ended December 31, 2018, and should be read in conjunction with the Selected Financial Data and our consolidated financial statements and the accompanying notes thereto included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. The following discussion contains, in addition to historical information, forward-looking statements that include risks and uncertainties (see discussion of “Forward-Looking Statements” included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K). Our actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors, including those factors set forth under Item 1A—Risk Factors of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Background

As one of the largest integrated equipment services companies in the United States focused on heavy construction and industrial equipment, we rent, sell and provide parts and services support for four core categories of specialized equipment: (1) hi-lift or aerial work platform equipment; (2) cranes; (3) earthmoving equipment; and (4) industrial lift trucks. By providing equipment rental, sales, on-site parts, repair and maintenance functions under one roof, we are a one-stop provider for our customers’ varied equipment needs. This full service approach provides us with multiple points of customer contact, enables us to maintain a high quality rental fleet, as well as an effective distribution channel for fleet disposal and provides cross-selling opportunities among our new and used equipment sales, rental, parts sales and services operations.

As of February 14, 2019, we operated 96 full-service facilities throughout the Intermountain, Southwest, Gulf Coast, West Coast, Southeast and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. Our work force includes distinct, focused sales forces for our new and used equipment sales and rental operations, highly skilled service technicians, product specialists and regional managers. We focus our sales and rental activities on, and organize our personnel principally by, our four core equipment categories. We believe this allows us to provide specialized equipment knowledge, improve the effectiveness of our rental and sales force and strengthen our customer relationships. In addition, we have branch managers for each location who are responsible for managing their assets and financial results. We believe this fosters accountability in our business and strengthens our local and regional relationships.

Through our predecessor companies, we have been in the equipment services business for approximately 58 years. H&E Equipment Services L.L.C. (“H&E LLC”) was formed in June 2002 through the business combination of Head & Engquist Equipment, LLC (“Head & Engquist”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Gulf Wide Industries, L.L.C. (“Gulf Wide”), and ICM Equipment Company L.L.C. (“ICM”). Head & Engquist, founded in 1961, and ICM, founded in 1971, were two leading regional, integrated equipment service companies operating in contiguous geographic markets. In the June 2002 transaction, Head & Engquist and ICM were merged with and into Gulf Wide, which was renamed H&E LLC. Prior to the combination, Head & Engquist operated 25 facilities in the Gulf Coast region, and ICM operated 16 facilities in the Intermountain region of the United States.

Prior to our initial public offering in February 2006, our business was conducted through H&E LLC. In connection with our initial public offering, we converted H&E LLC into H&E Equipment Services, Inc. In order to have an operating Delaware corporation as the issuer for our initial public offering, H&E Equipment Services, Inc. was formed as a Delaware corporation and wholly-owned subsidiary of H&E Holdings L.L.C. (“H&E Holdings”), and immediately prior to the closing of our initial public offering, on February 3, 2006, H&E LLC and H&E Holdings merged with and into H&E Equipment Services, Inc., which survived the reincorporation merger as the operating company. Effective February 3, 2006, H&E LLC and H&E Holdings no longer existed under operation of law pursuant to the reincorporation merger.

Effective January 1, 2018, we completed the acquisition of Contractors Equipment Center, a privately-held company focused on non-residential construction equipment rentals serving the greater Denver, Colorado area out of three branch locations. Effective April 1, 2018, we completed the acquisition of Rental, Inc., a privately-held equipment rental and distribution company with five branch locations in Alabama and Florida. Effective February 1, 2019, we completed the acquisition of We-Rent-It, a privately-held equipment rental company with six branch locations in Central Texas.

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Business Segments

We have five reportable segments because we derive our revenues from five principal business activities: (1) equipment rentals; (2) new equipment sales; (3) used equipment sales; (4) parts sales; and (5) repair and maintenance services. These segments are based upon how we allocate resources and assess performance. In addition, we also have non-segmented revenues and costs that relate to equipment support activities.

Our non-segmented revenues and costs for the periods presented in the Annual Report on Form 10-K relate to equipment support activities that we provide, such as transportation, hauling, parts freight and damage waivers, and are not generally allocated to reportable segments.

You can read more about our business segments in note 18 of the consolidated financial statements in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Revenue Sources

We generate all of our total revenues from our five business segments and our non-segmented equipment support activities. Equipment rentals and new equipment sales account for more than half of our total revenues. For the year ended December 31, 2018, approximately 47.8% of our total revenues were attributable to equipment rentals, 21.3% of our total revenues were attributable to new equipment sales, 10.1% were attributable to used equipment sales, 9.7% were attributable to parts sales, 5.1% were attributable to our services revenues and 6.0% were attributable to non-segmented other revenues.

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The pie charts below illustrate a breakdown of our revenues and gross profit for the year ended December 31, 2018 by business segment (see note 18 to our consolidated financial statements for further information regarding our business segments):

The equipment that we sell, rent and service is principally used in the construction industry, as well as by companies for commercial and industrial uses such as plant maintenance and turnarounds, as well as in the petrochemical and energy sectors. As a result, our total revenues are affected by several factors including, but not limited to, the demand for and availability of rental equipment, rental rates and other competitive factors, the demand for new and used equipment, the level of construction and industrial activities, spending levels by our customers, adverse weather conditions and general economic conditions. For a discussion of the impact of seasonality on our revenues, see “Seasonality” below.

Equipment Rentals. Our rental operation primarily rents our four core types of construction and industrial equipment. We have a well-maintained rental fleet and our own dedicated sales force, focused by equipment type. We actively manage the size, quality, age and composition of our rental fleet based on our analysis of key measures such as time utilization (which we analyze as equipment usage based on: (1) a percentage of original equipment cost, and (2) the number of rental equipment units available for rent), rental rate trends and targets, rental equipment dollar utilization and maintenance and repair costs, which we closely monitor. We maintain fleet quality through regional quality control managers and our parts and services operations.

New Equipment Sales. We seek to optimize revenues from new equipment sales by selling equipment through a professional in-house retail sales force focused by product type. While sales of new equipment are impacted by the availability of equipment from the manufacturer, we believe our status as a leading distributor for some of our key suppliers improves our ability to obtain equipment. New equipment sales are an important component of our integrated model due to customer interaction and service contact and new equipment sales also lead to future parts and services revenues.

Used Equipment Sales. We generate the majority of our used equipment sales revenues by selling equipment from our rental fleet. The remainder of our used equipment sales revenues comes from the sale of inventoried equipment that we acquire through trade-ins from our equipment customers and selective purchases of high-quality used equipment. Our policy is not to offer specified price trade-in arrangements on equipment for sale. Sales of our rental fleet equipment allow us to manage the size, quality, composition and age of our rental fleet, and provide us with a profitable distribution channel for the disposal of rental equipment.

Parts Sales. We generate revenues from the sale of new and used parts for equipment that we rent or sell, as well as for other makes of equipment. Our product support sales representatives are instrumental in generating our parts revenues. They are product specialists and receive performance incentives for achieving certain sales levels. Most of our parts sales come from our extensive in-house parts inventory. Our parts sales provide us with a relatively stable revenue stream that is generally less sensitive to the economic cycles that tend to affect our rental and equipment sales operations.

Services. We derive our services revenues from maintenance and repair services to customers for their owned equipment. In addition to repair and maintenance on an as-needed or scheduled basis, we also provide ongoing preventative maintenance services to industrial customers. Our after-market service provides a high-margin, relatively stable source of revenue through changing economic cycles.

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Our non-segmented other revenues for the periods presented in this Annual Report on Form 10-K relate to equipment support activities that we provide, such as transportation, hauling, parts freight and damage waivers, and are not generally allocated to reportable segments.

Principal Costs and Expenses

Our largest expenses are the costs to purchase the new equipment we sell, the costs associated with the used equipment we sell, rental expenses, rental depreciation and costs associated with parts sales and services, all of which are included in cost of revenues. For the year ended December 31, 2018, our total cost of revenues was approximately $800.4 million. Our operating expenses consist principally of selling, general and administrative expenses. For the year ended December 31, 2018, our selling, general and administrative expenses were $278.3 million. In addition, we have interest expense related to our debt instruments. Operating expenses and all other income and expense items below the gross profit line of our consolidated statements of income are not generally allocated to our reportable segments.

We are also subject to federal and state income taxes. Future income tax examinations by state and federal agencies could result in additional income tax expense based on probable outcomes of such matters.

Cost of Revenues:

Rental Depreciation. Depreciation of rental equipment represents the depreciation costs attributable to rental equipment. Estimated useful lives vary based upon type of equipment. Generally, we depreciate cranes and aerial work platforms over a ten year estimated useful life, earthmoving over a five year estimated useful life with a 25% salvage value, and industrial lift trucks over a seven year estimated useful life. Attachments and other smaller type equipment are depreciated over a three year estimated useful life. We periodically evaluate the appropriateness of remaining depreciable lives assigned to rental equipment.

Rental Expense. Rental expense represents the costs associated with rental equipment, including, among other things, the cost of servicing and maintaining our rental equipment, property taxes on our fleet and other miscellaneous costs of rental equipment.

New Equipment Sales. Cost of new equipment sold primarily consists of the equipment cost of the new equipment that is sold, net of any amount of credit given to the customer towards the equipment for trade-ins.

Used Equipment Sales. Cost of used equipment sold consists of the net book value of rental equipment for used equipment sold from our rental fleet, the equipment costs for used equipment we purchase for sale or the trade-in value of used equipment that we obtain from customers in equipment sales transactions.

Parts Sales. Cost of parts sales represents costs attributable to the sale of parts directly to customers.

Services Support. Cost of services revenues represents costs attributable to service provided for the maintenance and repair of customer-owned equipment and equipment then on-rent by customers.

Our non-segmented other expenses for the periods presented in this Annual Report on Form 10-K include costs associated with providing transportation, hauling, parts freight, and damage waiver including, among other items, drivers’ wages, fuel costs, shipping costs, and our costs related to damage waiver policies.

Selling, General and Administrative Expenses:

Our selling, general and administrative (“SG&A”) expenses include sales and marketing expenses, payroll and related benefit costs, including stock compensation expense, insurance expenses, legal and professional fees, rent and other occupancy costs, property and other taxes, administrative overhead, depreciation associated with property and equipment (other than rental equipment) and amortization expense associated with intangible assets. These expenses are not generally allocated to our reportable segments.

Interest Expense:

Interest expense for the periods presented represents the interest on our outstanding debt instruments, including aggregate amounts outstanding under our revolving senior secured credit facility (the “Credit Facility”), senior unsecured notes due 2025 and our capital lease obligations, as well as our extinguished senior unsecured notes due 2022 (the “Old Notes”) for the periods during which such Old Notes were outstanding. Interest expense also includes interest on our outstanding manufacturer flooring plans payable which are used to finance inventory and rental equipment purchases. Non-cash interest expense related to the amortization cost of deferred financing costs and the accretion/amortization of note discount/premium are also included in interest expense.

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Principal Cash Flows

We generate cash primarily from our operating activities and, historically, we have used cash flows from operating activities, manufacturer floor plan financings and available borrowings under the Credit Facility as the primary sources of funds to purchase inventory and to fund working capital and capital expenditures, growth and expansion opportunities (see also “Liquidity and Capital Resources” below). Our management of our working capital is closely tied to operating cash flows, as working capital can be significantly impacted by, among other things, our accounts receivable activities, the level of new and used equipment inventories, which may increase or decrease in response to current and expected demand, and the size and timing of our trade accounts payable payment cycles.

Rental Fleet

A substantial portion of our overall value is in our rental fleet equipment. The net book value of our rental equipment at December 31, 2018 was $1.14 billion, or approximately 66.1% of our total assets. Our rental fleet as of December 31, 2018 consisted of 40,542 units having an original acquisition cost (which we define as the cost originally paid to manufacturers or the original amount financed under any operating leases) of approximately $1.76 billion. As of December 31, 2018, our rental fleet composition was as follows (dollars in millions):

Determining the optimal age and mix for our rental fleet equipment is subjective and requires considerable estimates and judgments by management. We constantly evaluate the mix, age and quality of the equipment in our rental fleet in response to current economic and market conditions, competition and customer demand. The mix and age of our rental fleet, as well as our cash flows, are impacted by sales of equipment from the rental fleet, which are influenced by used equipment pricing at the retail and secondary auction market levels, and the capital expenditures to acquire new rental fleet equipment. In making equipment acquisition decisions, we evaluate current economic and market conditions, competition, manufacturers’ availability, pricing and return on investment over the estimated useful life of the specific equipment, among other things. As a result of our in-house service capabilities and extensive maintenance program, we believe our rental fleet is well-maintained.

The original acquisition cost of our gross rental fleet increased by approximately $361.0 million, or 25.7%, for the year ended December 31, 2018, largely reflective of the CEC and Rental Inc. acquired fleets, combined with increase in 2018 rental capital expenditures to meet customer demand. The average age of our rental fleet equipment decreased by approximately 0.1 months for the year ended December 31, 2018.

Our average rental rates for the year ended December 31, 2018 were approximately 2.1% higher than the year ended December 31, 2017 (see further discussion on rental rates in “Results of Operations” below).

The rental equipment mix among our four core product lines for the year ended December 31, 2018 was largely consistent with that of the prior year comparable period as a percentage of total units available for rent and as a percentage of original acquisition cost.

Principal External Factors that Affect our Businesses

We are subject to a number of external factors that may adversely affect our businesses. These factors, and other factors, are discussed below and under the heading “Forward-Looking Statements,” and in Item 1A—Risk Factors in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

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We believe that our integrated business tempers the effects of downturns in a particular segment. For a discussion of seasonality, see “Seasonality” on page 47 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

We prepare our consolidated financial statements in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. The application of many accounting principles requires us to make assumptions, estimates and/or judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses in our consolidated financial statements. We base our estimates and judgments on historical experience and other assumptions that we believe are reasonable under the circumstances. These assumptions, estimates and/or judgments, however, are often subjective and they and our actual results may change based on changing circumstances or changes in our analyses. If actual amounts are ultimately different from our estimates, the revisions are included in our results of operations for the period in which the actual amounts first become known. We believe the following critical accounting policies could potentially produce materially different results if we were to change underlying assumptions, estimates and/or judgments. See also note 2 to our consolidated financial statements for a summary of our significant accounting policies.

Revenue Recognition. Upon our adoption of Topic 606 on January 1, 2018, we recognize revenue in accordance with two applicable accounting standards: 1) Topic 606 and 2) Topic 840 (which addresses lease accounting). Topic 606 superseded Topic 605 and other legacy industry-specific revenue recognition guidance.

Under Topic 606, revenue from contracts with customers is measured based on the consideration specified in the contract with the customer and excludes any sales incentives and amounts collected on behalf of third parties. A performance obligation is a promise in a contract to transfer a distinct good or service to a customer. We recognize revenue when we satisfy a performance obligation by transferring control over a product or service to a customer. The amount of revenue recognized reflects the consideration we expect to be entitled to in exchange for such products or services.

The accounting for the types of revenues accounted for pursuant to Topic 606 is discussed below. Substantially all of our revenues under Topic 606 are recognized at a point-in-time rather than over time.

Rental revenues: An insignificant portion of our total equipment rental revenues are recognized pursuant to Topic 606 rather than pursuant to Topic 840. These revenues represent services performed by us in connection with the rental of equipment and are comprised of customer training fees on rented equipment and erection and dismantling services on rental equipment. Revenues for these services are recognized upon completion of such services. See discussion below regarding rental revenues recognized pursuant to Topic 840.

New equipment sales: Revenues from the sales of new equipment are recognized at the time of delivery to, or pick-up by, the customer, which is when the customer obtains control of the promised good.

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Used equipment sales: Revenues from the sales of used equipment are recognized at the time of delivery to, or pick-up by, the customer, which is when the customer obtains control of the promised good.

Parts sales: Revenues from the sales of equipment parts are recognized at the time of pick-up by the customer for parts counter sales transactions. For parts that are shipped to a customer, we elected to use a practical expedient of Topic 606 and treat such shipping activities as fulfillment costs, thereby recognizing revenues at the time of shipment.

Services revenues: We derive our services primarily from maintenance and repair services to customers for their owned equipment. We recognize services revenues at the time such services are completed, which is when the customer obtains control of the promised service.

Other revenues: Other revenues relate primarily to hauling fees for transporting rental equipment and equipment sold to and from the customer and ancillary charges associated with equipment maintenance and repair services. Such revenues are recognized at the time the services are performed.

Pursuant to Topic 840, we accounted, for the periods presented in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, for equipment rental agreements as operating leases and recognized revenue from equipment rentals in the period earned, regardless of the timing of billing to customers. A rental contract includes rates for daily, weekly or monthly use, and rental revenues are earned on a daily basis as rental contracts remain outstanding. Because rental contracts can extend across multiple reporting periods, we record unbilled rental revenues and deferred rental revenues at the end of reporting periods so rental revenues earned is appropriately stated for the periods presented.  We recognize revenue for certain ancillary fees we charge customers: to protect the customer against liability for damage to our equipment while on rent; for fuel; and for environmental costs. Revenues from these ancillary fees are recognized in the period earned. Under Topic 840, we present these ancillary fees we charge to customers in other revenues. Effective January 1, 2019, Topic 842 became effective, replacing Topic 840. See also the “Recent Accounting Pronouncements” discussion in note 2 to these consolidated financial statements for further information related to our adoption of Topic 606 on January 1, 2018 and Topic 842, which became effective on January 1, 2019.

Allowance for Doubtful Accounts. We maintain an allowance for doubtful accounts that reflects our estimate of the amount of our receivables that we will be unable to collect. We develop our estimate of this allowance based on our historical experience with specific customers, our understanding of our current economic circumstances and our own judgment as to the likelihood of ultimate payment. Our largest exposure to doubtful accounts is in our rental operations. We perform credit evaluations of customers and establish credit limits based on reviews of our customers’ current credit information and payment histories. We believe our credit risk is somewhat mitigated by our geographically diverse customer base and our credit evaluation procedures. During the year, we write-off customer account balances when we have exhausted reasonable collection efforts and determined that the likelihood of collection is remote. Such write-offs are charged against our allowance for doubtful accounts. Bad debt expense as a percentage of total revenues for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016 were approximately 0.2%, 0.4% and 0.3%, respectively. The actual rate of future credit losses, however, may not be similar to past experience. Our estimate of doubtful accounts could change based on changing circumstances, including changes in the economy or in the particular circumstances of individual customers. Accordingly, we may be required to increase or decrease our allowance for doubtful accounts. See also “Recent Accounting Pronouncements” in note 2 to our consolidated financial statements regarding pending a pending accounting pronouncement related to estimating credit losses.

Useful Lives of Rental Equipment and Property and Equipment. We depreciate rental equipment and property and equipment over their estimated useful lives (generally three to ten years), after giving effect to an estimated salvage value ranging from 0% to 25% of cost. The useful life of rental equipment is determined based on our estimate of the period the asset will generate revenues, and the salvage value is determined based on our estimate of the minimum value we could realize from the asset after such period. We periodically review the assumptions utilized in computing rates of depreciation. We may be required to change these estimates based on changes in our industry or other changing circumstances. If these estimates change in the future, we may be required to recognize increased or decreased depreciation expense for these assets.

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The amount of depreciation expense we record is highly dependent upon the estimated useful lives and the salvage values assigned to each category of rental equipment. Generally, we assign estimated useful lives to our rental fleet ranging from a three-year life, five-year life with a 25% salvage value, seven-year life and a ten-year life. Depreciation expense on our rental fleet for the year ended December 31, 2018 was approximately $208.5 million. For the year ended December 31, 2018, the estimated impact of a change in estimated useful lives for each category of equipment by two years was as follows:

For purposes of the sensitivity analysis above, we elected not to decrease the useful lives of other equipment, which are primarily three-year estimated useful life assets; rather, we have held the depreciation expense constant at the actual amount of depreciation expense. We believe that decreasing the life of the other equipment by two years is an unreasonable estimate and would potentially lead to the decision to expense, rather than capitalize, a significant portion of the subject asset class. In general terms, a one-year increase in the estimated life across all classes of our rental equipment will give rise to an approximate decrease in our annual depreciation expense of approximately $27.3 million. Additionally, a one-year decrease in the estimated life across all classes of our rental equipment (with the exception of other equipment as discussed above) will give rise to an approximate increase in our annual depreciation expense of approximately $22.2 million.

Another significant assumption used in our calculation of depreciation expense is the estimated salvage value assigned to our earthmoving equipment. Based on our recent experience, we have used a 25% factor of the equipment’s original cost to estimate its salvage value. This factor is highly subjective and subject to change in the future based upon actual results at the time we dispose of the equipment. A change of 5%, either increase or decrease, in the estimated salvage value would result in a change in our annual depreciation expense of approximately $3.2 million.

Purchase Price Allocation. We have made significant acquisitions in the past and we intend to make additional acquisitions in the future that meet our selection criteria that solidify our presence in the contiguous regions where we operate with an objective of increasing our revenues, improving our profitability, entering additional attractive markets and strengthening our competitive position. Pursuant to Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 350 (“ASC 350”), Intangibles-Goodwill and Other, we record as goodwill the excess of the consideration transferred plus the fair value of any non-controlling interest in the acquiree at the acquisition date over the fair values of the identifiable net assets acquired. Such fair market value assessments require judgments and estimates that can be affected by various factors over time, which may cause final amounts to differ materially from original estimates.

With the exception of goodwill, long-lived fixed assets generally represent the largest component of our acquisitions. Typically, the long-lived fixed assets that we acquire are primarily comprised of rental fleet equipment. Historically, virtually all of the rental equipment that we have acquired through business combinations have been classified as “To be Used,” rather than as “To be Sold.” Equipment that we acquire and classify as “To be Used” is recorded at fair value. Any significant inventories of new and used equipment acquired in the transaction are valued at fair value, which should approximate a market participant’s estimated selling price adjusted for (1) costs in the selling effort and (2) a reasonable profit allowance.

In addition to long-lived fixed assets, we also acquire other assets and assume liabilities. These other assets and liabilities typically include, but are not limited to, parts inventory, accounts receivable, accounts payable and other working capital items. Because of their short-term nature, the fair values of these assets and liabilities generally approximate the carrying values reflected on the acquired entities balance sheets. However, when appropriate, we adjust these carrying values for factors such as collectibility and existence. The intangible assets that we have acquired generally consist primarily of the goodwill recognized. Depending upon the applicable purchase agreement and the particular facts and circumstances of the business acquired, we may identify other intangible assets, such as trade names or trademarks, non-compete agreements and customer-related intangibles (specifically, customer relationships). A trademark has a fair value equal to the present value of the royalty income attributable to it. The royalty income attributable to a trademark represents the hypothetical cost savings that are derived from owning the trademark instead of paying royalties to license the trademark from another owner. When specifically negotiated by the parties in the applicable purchase

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agreements, we base the value of non-compete agreements on the amounts assigned to them in the purchase agreements as these amounts represent the amounts negotiated in an arm’s length transaction. When not negotiated by the parties in the applicable purchase agreements, the fair value of non-compete agreements is estimated based on an income approach since their values are representative of the current and future revenue and profit erosion protection they provide. Customer relationships are generally valued based on an excess earnings or income approach with consideration to projected cash flows. We use an independent third party valuation firm to assist us with estimating the fair values of our acquired intangible assets.

Goodwill. We have made acquisitions in the past that resulted in the recognition of goodwill. Pursuant to ASC 350, goodwill is the excess of the consideration transferred plus the fair value of any non-controlling interest in the acquiree at the acquisition date over the fair values of the identifiable net assets acquired. We evaluate goodwill for impairment annually or more frequently if triggering events occur or other impairment indicators arise which might impair recoverability.

Application of the goodwill impairment test requires judgment, including: the identification of reporting units; assignment of assets and liabilities to reporting units; assignment of goodwill to reporting units; determination of the fair value of each reporting unit; and an assumption as to the form of the transaction in which the reporting unit would be acquired by a market participant (either a taxable or nontaxable transaction). Impairment of goodwill is evaluated at the reporting unit level. A reporting unit is defined as an operating segment (i.e., before aggregation or combination), or one level below an operating segment (i.e., a component). A component of an operating segment is a reporting unit if the component constitutes a business for which discrete financial information is available and segment management regularly reviews the operating results of that component. Pursuant to ASC 350 and ASC 280, Segment Reporting, and other relevant guidance, we have identified two components within our Rental operating segment (Equipment Rentals Component 1 and Equipment Rentals Component 2) and have determined that each of our other four operating segments (New Equipment, Used Equipment, Parts, and Service segments) represents a reporting unit, resulting in six total reporting units.

As of December 31, 2018, our goodwill was comprised of the following carrying values for our six reporting units (amounts in thousands):

ASC 350 permits an entity to first perform a qualitative assessment to determine whether it is more likely than not (a likelihood of greater than 50%) that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying value. If it is concluded that this is the case, the currently prescribed two-step goodwill test must be performed. Otherwise, the two-step goodwill impairment test is not required. Considerable judgment is required by management in using the qualitative approach under ASC 350 to determine whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying value. ASC 350 suggests that a qualitative assessment may become less relevant over time. In other words, the longer it has been since the last quantitative assessment, the more difficult it could be for a company to conclude that it is not more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount. Our most recent quantitative assessment of goodwill impairment was as of October 1, 2016, whereby we bypassed the qualitative assessment for each reporting unit and proceeded directly to Step 1 of the goodwill impairment test. Our goodwill impairment testing as of that date indicated that there was no impairment among our reporting units as estimated fair values exceeded their respective carrying amounts.

During 2017 and 2018, we performed, as of October 1 of each respective year, a qualitative assessment and determined that it is more likely than not that the fair value of each of our reporting units is not less than its carrying value and, therefore, did not perform the prescribed two-step goodwill impairment test. We considered various factors in performing the qualitative test, including macroeconomic conditions, industry and market considerations, the overall financial performance of our reporting units, the Company’s stock price and the excess amount or “cushion” between our reporting unit’s fair value and carrying value as indicated on our most recent quantitative assessment. Based upon improving macroeconomic conditions, positive trends within our industry and market and continuing positive operating results in comparison to prior periods and our internal forecasts, as well as consideration of the cushion between the reporting unit’s fair value and carrying value from our prior quantitative analysis, we determined that it is more likely than not that the fair value of our reporting units exceeds their respective carrying values at the October 1, 2017 and 2018 valuation dates and there was no goodwill impairment at October 1, 2017 or 2018.

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If the two-step goodwill test must be performed, we determine whether the fair value of our goodwill reporting units is greater than their carrying value. If the fair value of the reporting unit exceeds the carrying value of the net assets assigned to that reporting unit, goodwill is not impaired. However, if the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying value, then the second step of the impairment test is performed to determine the implied fair value of goodwill. If the carrying value of a reporting unit’s goodwill exceeds its implied fair value, then we record an impairment loss for the excess amount. See also the “Recent Accounting Pronouncements” discussion in note 2 to these consolidated financial statements for new pending accounting guidance, which removes Step 2 of the goodwill impairment test.

For purposes of performing the first step of the impairment test described above, we estimate the fair value of our reporting units using a discounted cash flow analysis and/or by applying various market multiples. The principal factors used in the discounted cash flow analysis are our internal projected results of operations, weighted average cost of capital (“WACC”) and terminal value assumptions.

Our internal projected results of operations serve as key inputs for developing our cash flow projections for a planning period of twelve years. Beyond this period, we also determine an assumed long-term growth rate representing the expected rate at which a reporting unit’s earnings stream is expected to grow. These rates are used to calculate the terminal value of our reporting units and are added to the cash flows projected during the twelve year planning period. The WACC is an estimate of the overall after-tax rate of return required by equity and debt holders of a business enterprise and represents the expected cost of new capital likely to be used by market participants. The WACC is used to discount our combined future cash flows.

The inputs and variables used in determining the fair value of a reporting unit require management to make certain assumptions regarding the impact of operating and macroeconomic changes, as well as estimates of future cash flows. Our estimates regarding future cash flows are based on historical experience and projections of future operating performance, including revenues, margins and operating expenses. These estimates involve risk and are inherently uncertain. Changes in our estimates and assumptions could materially affect the determination of fair value and/or the amount of goodwill impairment to be recognized. However, we believe that our estimates and assumptions are reasonable and represent our most likely future operating results based upon current information available. Future deterioration in the macroeconomic environment, adverse changes within our industry, further deterioration in our common stock price, downward revisions to our projected cash flows based on new information, or other factors, some of which are beyond our ability to control, could result in a future impairment charge that could materially impact our future results of operations and financial position in the reporting period identified.

Long-lived Assets. Our long-lived assets principally consist of rental equipment and property and equipment. We review our long-lived assets for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable. In reviewing for impairment, the carrying value of such assets is compared to the estimated undiscounted future cash flows expected from the use of the assets and their eventual disposition. If such cash flows are not sufficient to support the asset’s recorded value, an impairment charge is recognized to reduce the carrying value of the asset to its estimated fair value. The determination of future cash flows as well as the estimated fair value of long-lived and intangible assets involves significant estimates and judgment on the part of management. Our estimates and assumptions may prove to be inaccurate due to factors such as changes in economic conditions, changes in our business prospects or other changing circumstances.

Inventories. We state our new and used equipment inventories at the lower of cost or net realizable value by specific identification. Parts and supplies are stated at the lower of the weighted average cost or net realizable value. Net realizable value is considered to be the estimated selling price in the ordinary course of business, less reasonably predictable cost of completion, disposal and transportation. We maintain allowances for damaged, slow-moving and unmarketable inventory to reflect the difference between the cost of the inventory and the estimated market value. Changes in product demand may affect the value of inventory on hand and may require higher inventory allowances. Uncertainties with respect to inventory valuation are inherent in the preparation of financial statements.

Reserves for Claims. We are exposed to various claims relating to our business, including those for which we provide self-insurance. Claims for which we self-insure up to specified retention limits include: (1) workers compensation claims; (2) general liability claims by third parties for injury or property damage caused by our equipment or personnel; (3) automobile liability claims; and (4) employee health insurance claims. These types of claims may take a substantial amount of time to resolve and, accordingly, the ultimate liability associated with a particular claim, including claims incurred but not reported as of a period-end reporting date, may not be known for an extended period of time. Our methodology for developing self-insurance reserves is based on management estimates and independent third party actuarial estimates. Our estimation process considers, among other matters, the cost of known claims over time, cost inflation and incurred but not reported claims. These estimates may change based on, among other things, changes in our claim history or receipt of additional information relevant to assessing the claims. Further, these estimates may prove to be inaccurate due to factors such as adverse judicial determinations or other claim settlements at higher than estimated amounts. Accordingly, we may be required to increase or decrease our reserve levels.

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Income Taxes. The Company files a consolidated federal income tax return with its wholly-owned subsidiaries. The Company is a C-Corporation under the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code. We utilize the asset and liability approach to measure deferred tax assets and liabilities based on temporary differences existing at each balance sheet date using currently enacted tax rates in accordance with ASC 740, Income Taxes (“ASC 740”). ASC 740 takes into account the differences between financial statement treatment and tax treatment of certain transactions. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the future tax consequences attributable to differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. The effect of a change in tax rate is recognized as income or expense in the period that includes the enactment date of that tax rate.

In accordance with ASC 740, the Company recognizes the effect of an income tax position only if it is more likely than not (a likelihood of greater than 50%) that such position will be sustained. Recognized income tax positions are measured at the largest amount that is greater than 50% likely of being realized. Changes in recognition or measurement are reflected in the period in which the change in judgment occurs. The Company recognizes both interest and penalties related to uncertain tax positions in net other income (expense).

Our deferred tax calculation requires management to make certain estimates about future operations. Deferred tax assets are reduced by a valuation allowance when, in the opinion of management, it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized.

Our U.S. federal tax returns for 2015 and subsequent years remain subject to examination by tax authorities. We are also subject to examination in various state jurisdictions for 2013 and subsequent years.

On December 22, 2017, the Act was signed into law. Included in the Act is a reduction in the corporate statutory tax rate from 35% to 21%, effective for us as of January 1, 2018. Under ASC 740, the effects of changes in tax rates and laws are recognized in the period in which the new legislation is enacted. In the case of U.S. federal income taxes, the enactment date is the date the bill becomes law (i.e., upon presidential signature).  We have completed our accounting for all the tax effects of the enactment of the Act.

Results of Operations

The tables included in the period-to-period comparisons below provide summaries of our revenues and gross profits for our business segments and non-segmented revenues for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016. The period-to-period comparisons of our financial results are not necessarily indicative of future results.

Year Ended December 31, 2018 Compared to the Year Ended December 31, 2017

Revenues.

Total Revenues. Our total revenues were $1.24 billion for the year ended December 31, 2018 compared to $1.03 billion for the year ended December 31, 2017, an increase of $208.9 million, or 20.3%. Revenues increased for all of our reportable segments and non-segmented other revenues and are further discussed below.

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Equipment Rental Revenues. Our revenues from equipment rentals for the year ended December 31, 2018 increased $113.2 million, or 23.6%, to $592.2 million from $479.0 million in 2017. The increase in equipment rental revenues was largely due to increased demand and the equipment rental revenues from our CEC and Rental Inc. locations.

Rental revenues from aerial work platform equipment increased $66.7 million and earthmoving equipment rental revenues increased $24.3 million, while rental revenues from other equipment and lift trucks increased $8.5 million and $3.0 million, respectively. Partially offsetting these increases in equipment rental revenues was a $1.1 million decrease in crane rental revenues. The product line equipment rental revenue fluctuations above do not include the impact of legacy CEC and Rental Inc. equipment rental revenues by product line for the three month periods ended March 31, 2018 and June 30, 2018, respectively.

Our average rental rates for the year ended December 31, 2018 increased 2.1% compared to the year ended December 31, 2017. Our average rental rates for the year ended December 31, 2018 do not include rental rate data for legacy CEC and Rental Inc. for the three month periods ended March 31, 2018 and June 30, 2018, respectively.

Rental equipment dollar utilization (annual rental revenues divided by the average original rental fleet equipment costs) for the year ended December 31, 2018 increased 0.9% to 35.8% from 34.9% in 2017. The increase in comparative rental equipment dollar utilization was primarily the result of the increase in equipment rental rates, combined with the mix of equipment rented, which was partially offset by a decrease in rental equipment time utilization. Rental equipment time utilization as a percentage of original equipment cost was approximately 71.6% for the year ended December 31, 2018 compared to 72.1% in the year ended December 31, 2017, a decrease of 0.5%.

New Equipment Sales Revenues. Our new equipment sales for the year ended December 31, 2018 increased $59.6 million, or 29.3%, to $262.9 million from $203.3 million in 2017. This increase, as noted below, was driven primarily by increased sales of new cranes and aerial work platform equipment, combined with the new equipment sales revenues from our Rental Inc. locations.

Sales of new cranes increased $44.3 million, resulting from improved crane demand. Sales of new aerial work platform equipment increased $13.8 million. Sales of new lift trucks and new earthmoving equipment increased $1.4 million and $1.0 million, respectively. Partially offsetting these increases in new equipment sales was a $3.3 million decrease in new other equipment sales. The product line new equipment sales revenue fluctuations above do not include the impact of legacy CEC and Rental Inc. new equipment sales revenues by product line for the three month periods ended March 31, 2018 and June 30, 2018, respectively.

Used Equipment Sales Revenues. Our used equipment sales increased $17.8 million, or 16.6%, to $125.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2018, from $107.3 million for the same period in 2017.

Sales of used aerial work platform equipment increased $24.8 million while sales of used other equipment and used cranes increased $2.4 million and $1.5 million, respectively. Partially offsetting these increases in used equipment sales were a $9.6 million decrease in used earthmoving equipment sales and a $1.8 million decrease in used lift truck sales. The product line used equipment sales revenue fluctuations above do not include the impact of legacy CEC and Rental Inc. used equipment sales revenues by product line for the three month period ended March 31, 2018 and June 30, 2018, respectively.

Parts Sales Revenues. Our parts sales revenues increased $6.2 million, or 5.4%, to $120.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2018 from $114.3 million for the same period in 2017. The increase in parts sales was largely attributable to increases in crane parts sales, aerial work platform equipment parts sales and earthmoving equipment parts sales, combined with parts sales revenues from our CEC and Rental Inc. locations.

Services Revenues. Our services revenues for the year ended December 31, 2018 increased $0.6 million, or 1.0%, to $63.5 million from $62.9 million in the same period last year. The increase in services revenues was primarily due to services revenues from our CEC and Rental Inc. locations.

Non-Segmented Other Revenues. For the year ended December 31, 2018, our other revenues were $74.8 million, an increase of approximately $11.5 million, or 18.2%, from $63.2 million in 2017. This increase was primarily driven by higher hauling revenues and damage waiver income associated with our equipment rental activities, combined with non-segmented other revenues from our CEC and Rental Inc. locations.

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Gross Profit.

Total Gross Profit. Our total gross profit was $438.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2018 compared to $359.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2017, an increase of $78.6 million, or 21.8%. Total gross profit margin for the year ended December 31, 2018 was approximately 35.4%, an increase of 0.5% from the 34.9% gross profit margin for the same period in 2017. Gross profit and gross margin for all reportable segments and non-segmented other revenues are further described below.

Equipment Rentals Gross Profit. Our gross profit from equipment rentals for the year ended December 31, 2018 increased $62.4 million, or 26.9%, to approximately $294.2 million from $231.9 million in 2017.

The increase in equipment rentals gross profit was the result of a $113.2 million increase in equipment rental revenues for the year ended December 31, 2018 compared to last year, which was partially offset by a $38.9 million increase in rental equipment depreciation expense and an $11.9 million increase in rental expenses. The increases in both depreciation expense and rental expenses are primarily due to a larger fleet size in 2018 compared to 2017.

Gross profit margin on equipment rentals for the year ended December 31, 2018 was approximately 49.7% compared to 48.4% in 2017, an increase of 1.3%. As a percentage of equipment rental revenues, rental expenses were 15.1% for the year ended December 31, 2018 compared to 16.2% for the same period last year, a decrease of 1.1%, resulting primarily from the increase in equipment rental revenues. Depreciation expense was 35.2% of equipment rental revenues for the year ended December 31, 2018 compared to 35.4% for the same period in 2017, a decrease of 0.2%, primarily as a result of the increase in equipment rental revenues, which was partially offset by the increase in depreciation expense resulting from the purchase accounting fair value step up adjustments on the CEC and Rental Inc. acquired rental fleets, and the mix of our equipment rental fleet.

New Equipment Sales Gross Profit. Our new equipment sales gross profit for the year ended December 31, 2018 increased $8.3 million, or 36.7%, to $30.9 million compared to $22.6 million in 2017 on an increase in total new equipment sales of $59.6 million. Gross profit margin on new equipment sales for the year ended December 31, 2017 was approximately 11.7%, an increase of 0.6% from 11.1% in 2017, as a result of higher new crane and aerial work platform sales gross margins and the mix of new equipment sold.

Used Equipment Sales Gross Profit. Our used equipment sales gross profit for the year ended December 31, 2018 increased approximately $5.9 million, or 17.7%, to $39.1 million from $33.2 million in 2017 on a used equipment sales increase of $17.8 million. Gross profit margin on used equipment sales for the year ended December 31, 2018 was 31.2%, up 0.3% from 30.9% for the year ended December 31, 2017, primarily as a result of the mix of used equipment sold and higher used equipment margins on used aerial work platform equipment sales. These improved gross margins were partially offset by lower margins on sales of CEC and Rental Inc. used equipment, reflecting the purchase accounting fair value step up basis adjustment applied to the acquired used equipment inventory and rental equipment.

Our used equipment sales from the rental fleet, which comprised approximately 89.6% and 89.7% of our used equipment sales for the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively, were approximately 152.1% and 149.6% of net book value for the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively.

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Parts Sales Gross Profit. For the year ended December 31, 2018, our parts sales revenue gross profit increased $1.1 million, or 3.4%, to $32.2 million from $31.1 million for the same period in 2017 on a $6.2 million increase in parts sales revenues. Gross profit margin on parts sales for the year ended December 31, 2018 was 26.7%, a decrease of 0.5% from 27.2% in the same period in 2017, as a result of the mix of parts sold.

Services Revenues Gross Profit. For the year ended December 31, 2018, our services revenues gross profit increased $0.4 million, or 1.0%, to $42.2 million from $41.8 million for the same period in 2017 on a $0.6 million increase in services revenues. Gross profit margin on services revenues for each of the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017 was 66.4%.

Non-Segmented Other Revenues Gross Profit. Our non-segmented other revenues gross loss was approximately $1 thousand for the year ended December 31, 2018 compared to a gross loss of $0.6 million for the same period last year, a decrease of $0.6 million. Gross margin for the year ended December 31, 2018 was 0.0% compared to a gross margin of (1.0)% in 2017, an improvement of 1.0%, primarily reflective of improved gross margins on hauling and transportation related charges in the current period and improved gross margin on damage waiver income.

Selling, General and Administrative Expenses. SG&A expenses increased $45.5 million, or approximately 19.6%, to $278.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2018 compared to $232.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2017.

The net increase in SG&A expenses was attributable to several factors. Employee salaries, wages, payroll taxes and related employee benefit and other employee expenses increased $30.8 million, primarily as a result of our CEC and Rental Inc. acquisitions, a larger workforce and higher incentive compensation related to improved profitability. Legal and professional fees increased $3.6 million. Supply costs increased $2.0 million. Utilities costs increased $1.7 million and other facility-related expenses increased $1.8 million. Promotional expenses increased $1.1 million. Liability insurance costs increased $0.9 million. Additionally, our results for the year ended December 31, 2018 also includes $3.3 million of amortization expense associated with the recognition of intangible assets resulting from the CEC and Rental Inc. purchase price allocations.

Approximately $4.0 million of the total increase in SG&A expenses was attributable to branches opened since January 1, 2017 (but excluding for this purpose branches acquired as a result of our CEC and Rental Inc. acquisitions) with less than a full year of comparable operations in either or both of the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017.

As a percentage of total revenues, SG&A expenses were 22.5% for the year ended December 31, 2018 compared to 22.6% for the year ended December 31, 2017, a decrease of 0.1%.

Merger Costs (net of Merger Breakup Fee Proceeds).  Pursuant to the terms of our terminated 2017 merger agreement with Neff Corporation (“Neff”), we received a $13.2 million breakup fee concurrently with Neff’s termination of the merger agreement in the third quarter of 2017. Related estimated merger transaction fees related to Neff and other acquisition-related activity for the year ended December 31, 2017 totaled $6.7 million, resulting in estimated net proceeds of $5.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2017.  

Merger costs incurred in the year ended December 31, 2018 were approximately $0.7 million.

Gain on Sales of Property and Equipment, Net. During the year ended December 31, 2018, we sold a parcel of company-owned land and realized a gain of approximately $3.7 million, resulting in total net gains on sales of property and equipment of $7.1 million for the period, compared to $5.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2017, an increase of $2.1 million.

Other Income (Expense). For the year ended December 31, 2018, our net other expenses decreased approximately $16.6 million to $62.0 million compared to $78.6 million for the same period in 2017. Included in Other Income (Expense) for the year ended December 31, 2017 is a $25.4 million loss on the early extinguishment of debt (see “Loss on Early Extinguishment of Debt” below).

Interest expense increased approximately $8.7 million to $63.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2018 compared to $55.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2017. The increase in interest expense was due to additional interest costs of $7.2 million associated with the upsize of our $950 million 5.625% senior unsecured notes that were issued in the third and fourth quarters of 2017 compared to our $630 million 7% senior unsecured notes, which were retired in the third quarter of 2017. Interest costs related to the Credit Facility increased $1.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2018 compared to the same period last year.

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Loss on Early Extinguishment of Debt.  We recorded a one-time loss on the early extinguishment of debt in the three month period ended September 30, 2017 of approximately $25.4 million, reflecting payment of $12.8 million of tender premiums associated with our repurchase of the Old Notes and $10.5 million of premiums in accordance with the indenture governing the Old Notes to redeem the remaining untendered Old Notes, combined with the write off of approximately $2.0 million of unamortized note premium, unaccreted note discount and unamortized deferred financing costs, related to the Old Notes

Income Taxes. We recorded income tax expense of $28.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2018 compared to an income tax benefit of approximately $50.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2017. Our effective income tax rate for the year ended December 31, 2018 was 26.8%.

The 2017 income tax benefit for the year ended December 31, 2017 was the result of the Act being signed into law on December 22, 2017. Under ASC 740, the effects of changes in tax rates and laws are recognized in the period in which the new legislation is enacted. With respect to U.S. federal income taxes, the enactment date is the date the bill becomes law (i.e. upon presidential signature). Therefore, we recorded in the fourth quarter of 2017 a one-time decrease in income tax expense of $66.9 million from the re-measurement of our deferred tax assets and liabilities resulting from the decrease in the corporate federal income tax rate from 35% to 21% under the Act. Our accounting for the income tax effects of the Act has been completed.

Based on available evidence, both positive and negative, we believe it is more likely than not that our federal deferred tax assets at December 31, 2018 are fully realizable through future reversals of existing taxable temporary differences and future taxable income, and are not subject to any limitations. For the year ended December 31, 2018, we decreased our valuation allowance by $0.1 million for certain state net operating losses that were utilized.

Year Ended December 31, 2017 Compared to the Year Ended December 31, 2016

Revenues.