Looking back on ground transportation stocks’ Q1 earnings, we examine this quarter’s best and worst performers, including Saia (NASDAQ: SAIA) and its peers.
The growth of e-commerce and global trade continues to drive demand for shipping services, especially last-mile delivery, presenting opportunities for ground transportation companies. The industry continues to invest in data, analytics, and autonomous fleets to optimize efficiency and find the most cost-effective routes. Despite the essential services this industry provides, ground transportation companies are still at the whim of economic cycles. Consumer spending, for example, can greatly impact the demand for these companies’ offerings while fuel costs can influence profit margins.
The 16 ground transportation stocks we track reported a slower Q1. As a group, revenues missed analysts’ consensus estimates by 2.2%.
Thankfully, share prices of the companies have been resilient as they are up 5.7% on average since the latest earnings results.
Saia (NASDAQ: SAIA)
Pivoting its business model after realizing there was more success in delivering produce than selling it, Saia (NASDAQ: SAIA) is a provider of freight transportation solutions.
Saia reported revenues of $787.6 million, up 4.3% year on year. This print fell short of analysts’ expectations by 3.1%. Overall, it was a disappointing quarter for the company with a significant miss of analysts’ adjusted operating income estimates.
Saia President and CEO, Fritz Holzgrefe, commented on the quarter stating, “Primarily resulting from an uncertain macroeconomic environment, we did not see the typical sequential growth in shipments through the quarter, with March shipments flat to February, causing our first quarter revenues to fall well below our expectations. Additionally, while the first quarter is typically impacted by adverse weather events, unusually harsh winter weather in the southern part of the country prompted closures and limited operations in some of our most dense and most profitable regions. Despite these headwinds, we experienced shipment growth of 4.6% for the full quarter, led by terminals opened in the past three years, and we continue to be pleased with customer acceptance in these markets.”
Unsurprisingly, the stock is down 27.5% since reporting and currently trades at $256.
Read our full report on Saia here, it’s free.
Best Q1: Schneider (NYSE: SNDR)
Employing thousands of drivers across the country to make deliveries, Schneider (NYSE: SNDR) makes full truckload and intermodal deliveries regionally and across borders.
Schneider reported revenues of $1.40 billion, up 6.3% year on year, in line with analysts’ expectations. The business had a very strong quarter with an impressive beat of analysts’ adjusted operating income estimates.
The market seems happy with the results as the stock is up 11.6% since reporting. It currently trades at $23.97.
Is now the time to buy Schneider? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.
Weakest Q1: Heartland Express (NASDAQ: HTLD)
Founded by the son of a trucker, Heartland Express (NASDAQ: HTLD) offers full-truckload deliveries across the United States and Mexico.
Heartland Express reported revenues of $219.4 million, down 18.8% year on year, falling short of analysts’ expectations by 9%. It was a disappointing quarter as it posted a significant miss of analysts’ adjusted operating income estimates.
Interestingly, the stock is up 12.2% since the results and currently trades at $8.80.
Read our full analysis of Heartland Express’s results here.
Landstar (NASDAQ: LSTR)
Covering billions of miles throughout North America, Landstar (NASDAQ: LSTR) is a transportation company specializing in freight and last-mile delivery services.
Landstar reported revenues of $1.16 billion, down 1.6% year on year. This result surpassed analysts’ expectations by 1.4%. More broadly, it was a mixed quarter as it also produced a decent beat of analysts’ Van Equipment revenue estimates but a miss of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.
The stock is down 4.9% since reporting and currently trades at $136.81.
Read our full, actionable report on Landstar here, it’s free.
Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE: KNX)
Covering 1.6 billion loaded miles in 2023 alone, Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE: KNX) offers less-than-truckload and full truckload delivery services.
Knight-Swift Transportation reported revenues of $1.82 billion, flat year on year. This print beat analysts’ expectations by 1.6%. Zooming out, it was a satisfactory quarter as it also recorded a solid beat of analysts’ EPS estimates.
The stock is up 7.6% since reporting and currently trades at $42.59.
Read our full, actionable report on Knight-Swift Transportation here, it’s free.
Market Update
Thanks to the Fed’s rate hikes in 2022 and 2023, inflation has been on a steady path downward, easing back toward that 2% sweet spot. Fortunately (miraculously to some), all this tightening didn’t send the economy tumbling into a recession, so here we are, cautiously celebrating a soft landing. The cherry on top? Recent rate cuts (half a point in September 2024, a quarter in November) have propped up markets, especially after Trump’s November win lit a fire under major indices and sent them to all-time highs. However, there’s still plenty to ponder — tariffs, corporate tax cuts, and what 2025 might hold for the economy.
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