HSY vs URI Comparison

Hershey is a leading US confectionery manufacturer (around a $54 billion market, according to Euromonitor), controlling around 36% of the domestic chocolate aisle. Beyond its namesake label, the firm's portfolio has expanded over the last 85 years and now comprises 100 brands, including Reese's, Kit Kat, Kisses, and Ice Breakers. Hershey's products are sold in about 80 countries, albeit with just a high-single-digit percentage of sales coming from markets outside the US, including Brazil, India, and Mexico. The firm has sought inorganic opportunities to extend its reach beyond its core confectionery business, adding Amplify Snack Brands and its Skinny Pop ready-to-eat popcorn to its portfolio, as well as Pirate Brands and Dot's Pretzels over the past few years.

United Rentals is the world's largest equipment rental company, principally operating in the US and Canada. It has 16% share in a highly fragmented market serving general industrial (49%), commercial construction (46%), and residential construction (5%). The company operates a $21 billion fleet of equipment, including aerial platforms, forklifts, excavators, trucks, power generators, and various other materials serving local and national accounts from nearly 1,600 locations in North America and 100 abroad. It has pursued a strategy of bundling specialty rental capabilities to offer its customers more advanced solutions in addition to its core equipment rental business, supporting its ambitions to become a one-stop shop for customers and enhance and maintain its margin profile.