J.B. Hunt Q3 Earnings & Revenues Beat Estimates, Decrease Y/Y

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (JBHT) third-quarter 2024 earnings per share (EPS) of $1.49 outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.42 but declined 17.2% year over year.

Find the latest EPS estimates and surprises on ZacksEarnings Calendar.

Total operating revenues of $3.07 billion surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.04 billion but declined 3% year over year. The downfall was owing to a 5% and 6% decrease in gross revenue per load in Intermodal (JBI) and Truckload (JBT), respectively, a decline in load volume of 10% and 6% in Integrated Capacity Solutions (ICS) and Dedicated Contract Services (DCS), respectively, and 6% fewer stops in Final Mile Services (FMS). These were partially offset by JBI load growth of 5%, which included growth in both the transcontinental and eastern networks and a 3% increase in revenue per load in ICS. Total operating revenues, excluding fuel surcharge revenue, decreased less than 1% from the year-ago reported quarter.

Operating income for the reported quarter decreased 7% year over yearto $224.1 million. The downfall was owing to lower revenues in all segments excluding JBI, and higher personnel-related, insurance and claims, and equipment-related expenses.

Segmental Highlights

Intermodal division generated quarterly revenues of $1.56 billion, flat year over year. Our estimate of $1.49 billion implies a decline of 3.6% year over year. JBHT witnessed solid demand for its Intermodal service throughout the quarter across both the transcontinental and eastern networks, aided by seasonal activity and strong performance from rail providers. Demand was solid on eastbound transcontinental loads out of Southern California which increased by a double-digit percentage from the prior-year quarter.

Transcontinental network loads increased 7% year over year, while eastern network loads increased 3% year over year.

Operating income decreased 13% year over yearowing to lower yields, which was only partially offset by the resulting impact of absorbing network and equipment costs with higher volume.

Dedicated Contract Services segment revenues fell 5% from the year-ago period to $846 million, owing to a 3% decline in average trucks and a 3% decline in productivity (revenue per truck per week).

Operating income fell 7% year over year owing to lower revenues, higher insurance and claims and new-account start-up costs. These were partially offset by lower personnel, bad debt and equipment-related expenses and the maturing of new business onboarded over the trailing 12 months.

Integrated Capacity Solutions revenues decreased 7% year over year to $278 million. Segmental volumes decreased 10% year over year. Revenue per load increased 3% year over year owing to increases in both contractual and transactional rates, as well as changes in customer mix.

In the reported quarter, JBHT reported an operating loss of $3.3 million compared with an operating loss of $9.4 million in the third quarter of 2023. The decrease in operating loss was owing to an $11.7 million increase in gross profit and lower cargo claims and personnel-related expenses, partially offset by integration and transition costs related to the purchase of the brokerage assets of BNSF Logistics.

Truckload revenues fell 12% year over year to $173 million. Excluding fuel surcharge revenues, segmental revenues fell9% due to a 6% decline in load volume and a 3% decline in gross revenue per load excluding fuel surcharge revenue.

At the third-quarter end, total tractors were 1,989, which remained flat year over year. Trailers were 13,205 compared with the year-ago quarter’s figure of 13,409.

Operating income grew 6% year over year owing to the improved network balance and lower trailing capacity costs.

Final Mile Services revenues fell 3% year over year to $218 million due to general weakness in demand across many of the end markets served. The decline in revenues was partially offset by multiple new customer contracts implemented over the trailing 12 months and improved revenue quality on the overall business portfolio.

Operating income fell 7% year over year owing to the decline in segment revenues, along with higher purchased transportation costs and insurance premiums, partially offset by lower personnel-related expenses.

Liquidity & Buyback

J.B. Hunt exited the third quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $120 million compared with $53.50 million at the prior-quarter end. Long-term debt was $1.03 billion compared with $1.48 billion at the end of the prior quarter.

In the third quarter of 2024, JBHT purchased almost 1,200,000 shares for $200 million. As of Sept. 30, 2024, JBHT had approximately $967 million remaining under its share repurchase authorization.

JBHT’s Zacks Rank and Price Performance

Currently, J.B. Hunt carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can seethe complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Over the past three months, shares of J.B. Hunt have gained 6.6% outperforming the industry’s growth of 0.7%.

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Performances of Other Transportation Companies

Delta Air Lines (DAL) reported third-quarter 2024 earnings (excluding 47 cents from non-recurring items) of $1.50 per share, which fell short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.56. Earnings decreased 26.11% on a year-over-year basis, mainly due to high labor costs.

Revenues of $15.68 billion surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $15.37 billion and increased 1.2% on a year-over-year basis, driven by strong air travel demand. Adjusted operating revenues (excluding third-party refinery sales) totaled $14.59 billion, flat year over year. This was inclusive of the $380 million impact from the CrowdStrike (CRWD)-caused outage.

United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (UAL) reported third-quarter 2024 EPS (excluding 43 cents from non-recurring items) of $3.33, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.10. Earnings decreased 8.8% on a year-over-year basis.

Operating revenues of $14.84 billion beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $14.76 billion. The top line increased 2.5% year over year due to upbeat air-travel demand. This was driven by a 1.6% rise in passenger revenues (which accounted for 91.3% of the top line) to $13.56 billion. Almost 45,559 passengers traveled on UAL flights in the third quarter, up 2.7% year over year.

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