UUHALU-Haul Holding Company

U-Haul rents trucks for do-it-yourself moving and has become a large owner of storage facilities along the way.

One-way van rental is a service hard to copy: it requires a network of thousands of locations nationwide, or there is nowhere to drop the vehicle off. Most outlets are independent operators working under the brand, and that allowed growth without buying property in every town.

The second business grew out of the first naturally: someone moving needs somewhere to keep their belongings, and the company built storage next to the rental sites. Today it is half the company's value, and those properties are owned outright. Risks: fuel prices, the housing market that determines how many people move, and an ageing fleet. The company pays a small dividend.