Oh, Em, Gee, the new Keysight spec an's look freaking amazing. Oh, two hundred thousand dollars? Damn...
Many of our customers can be in the middle, justifying a rental to try new technology and justify a purchase. At some companies, it can take an act of god to get a capital acquisition approved. Cash flow is important, and writing off a rental expense can be a lot easier when it comes time to report to Uncle Sam. Other customers will rent for short term projects or to keep up with a surge in workload, among other reasons.
Eat your heart out ChatGPT.