Company Description
Alta Equipment Group Inc. (NYSE: ALTG) owns and operates one of the largest integrated equipment dealership platforms in North America. The company focuses on material handling, construction equipment and environmental processing equipment, and describes itself as a leading provider of premium equipment and related services. Alta is based in Livonia, Michigan and trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol ALTG.
Alta operates through a branch network that sells, rents, and provides parts and service support for several categories of specialized equipment. According to company disclosures, these categories include lift trucks and other material handling equipment, heavy and compact earthmoving equipment, crushing and screening equipment, environmental processing equipment, cranes and aerial work platforms, paving and asphalt equipment, other construction equipment and allied products. This mix of equipment supports customers across material handling and construction applications.
Business model and segments
Alta describes itself as an integrated equipment dealership platform. The company’s activities include equipment sales, rentals, parts sales and service work. In public materials, Alta refers to two major segments: a Material Handling segment and a Construction Equipment segment. It also references a Master Distribution business related to environmental processing equipment.
The Material Handling segment is associated with lift trucks and other material handling equipment. The Construction Equipment segment is associated with heavy and compact earthmoving equipment and other construction-related machinery. Across these segments, Alta highlights product support revenues, which include parts and service, as an important component of its operations.
Geographic footprint
Alta reports that it has operated as an equipment dealership for more than four decades and has developed a branch network that includes over 80 total locations. These locations span multiple U.S. states and Canadian provinces. In the United States, Alta cites operations in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Maine, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island, New York, Virginia, Nevada and Florida. In Canada, Alta references locations in Ontario, Quebec and the Maritime provinces.
This geographic footprint positions Alta across several key industrial and construction regions in the Midwest, Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast and selected western markets, as well as in parts of Canada. The company emphasizes that its branch network allows it to sell, rent, and support equipment close to customer operations.
Products, services and equipment categories
Alta’s disclosures identify several broad categories of specialized equipment that it sells and supports:
- Lift trucks and other material handling equipment
- Heavy and compact earthmoving equipment
- Crushing and screening equipment
- Environmental processing equipment
- Cranes and aerial work platforms
- Paving and asphalt equipment
- Other construction equipment and allied products
In addition to equipment sales and rentals, Alta provides parts and service support across these categories. The company regularly highlights product support revenues and service gross profit metrics in its financial communications, underscoring the role of parts and service in its business model.
Revenue mix and activities described in filings
Alta’s financial releases break out revenues into several lines, including new and used equipment sales, parts sales, service revenues, rental revenues and rental equipment sales. These disclosures show that Alta participates in both transactional equipment sales and recurring or repeat activities such as rentals and service work.
The company’s commentary emphasizes product support as a “pillar of strength” for the business, and it reports product support revenues that combine parts and service. Alta also discusses its rental fleet, rental revenues and rental equipment sales, and notes initiatives to optimize fleet size and utilization.
Capital allocation and securities
Alta’s board has authorized a common stock repurchase program and has discussed reallocating capital between common stock dividends and share repurchases. In one period, the company announced a quarterly dividend on its common stock and later described an indefinite suspension of that common stock dividend in connection with an expanded share repurchase program. Alta has also disclosed a 10% Series A Cumulative Perpetual Preferred Stock, with depositary shares representing fractional interests in the preferred shares trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ALTG PRA. The company’s board has repeatedly declared quarterly dividends on this Series A preferred stock.
Strategic focus and portfolio adjustments
Alta’s public statements describe ongoing efforts to refine its focus and optimize its portfolio. The company has reported divestitures of certain businesses, such as the sale of substantially all of an aerial fleet rental business in the Chicago, Illinois market and the divestiture of a Dock and Door business. Alta has indicated that proceeds from such divestitures are intended to reduce outstanding indebtedness and that these moves are part of a broader effort to concentrate on areas that align with its strategic priorities.
Management commentary also references initiatives to right-size the rental fleet, adjust to market conditions in material handling and construction end markets, and pursue cost savings in selling, general and administrative expenses. These disclosures provide insight into how Alta manages its operations and capital structure over time.
Position within the industrial equipment distribution space
Alta operates in the industrial machinery and equipment merchant wholesaler sector, within the broader wholesale trade category. Within this context, Alta characterizes its platform as one of the largest integrated equipment dealership networks in North America, with a broad portfolio of material handling, construction and environmental processing equipment and related services.
By combining equipment sales, rentals, parts and service across multiple equipment categories and geographies, Alta presents itself as a one-stop shop for equipment needs. Its public disclosures repeatedly emphasize the breadth of its product portfolio and the scale of its branch network.
Frequently asked questions about Alta Equipment Group (ALTG)
The following FAQs summarize key points drawn from Alta’s public disclosures.