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ZTO Express (ZTO - Free Report) reported fourth-quarter 2023 earnings of 38 cents per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a penny and improved 2.7% year over year.
Total revenues of $1,495.7 million improved year over year.
ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Revenues from the core express delivery business jumped 8% year over year, owing to a 32% increase in parcel volume and an 18.2% decrease in parcel unit price. Parcel volume market share increased 32% from the year-ago reported quarter.
Revenues from freight forwarding services fell 6.9% year over year owing to declining cross-border e-commerce pricing.
Revenues from sales of accessories (mainly consisting of sales of thermal paper used for digital waybills' printing) climbed 43.1%, which aligns with parcel volume growth. Other revenues were mainly derived from financing services.
Gross profit improved 12.8% from the year-ago reported quarter on the back of revenue growth and cost productivity gain. Gross margin rate improved to 29.5% from 28.1% in the year-ago period.
Total operating expenses were RMB373.2 million compared with RMB312.7 million in the year-ago period.
Liquidity & Buyback
ZTO Express exited the fourth quarter of 2023 with cash and cash equivalents of RMB11.69billion compared with RMB 9.28 billion at the end of September 2023.
As of Dec 31, 2023, ZTO Express purchased 42,501,325 ADSs for $1,063.0 million, including repurchase commissions. The company has $437.0 million funds available under its share repurchase program.
The company’s board of directors has further approved changes to its existing share repurchase program, increasing the value of shares to be repurchased from $1.5 billion to $2 billion and extending the effective time by one year through Jun 30, 2025.
2024 Guidance
ZTO Express has provided its expectation for parcel volumes in 2024 to the range of 34.73-35.64 billion. The updated guidance represents an increase of 15-18% year over year.
Currently, ZTO Express carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc.’s (JBHT - Free Report) fourth-quarter 2023 earnings of $1.47 per share missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.74 and declined 23.4% year over year.
JBHT’s total operating revenues of $3,303.70million surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3,236.2 million but fell 9.5% year over year. Total operating revenues, excluding fuel surcharge revenue, fell 6% year over year.
Delta Air Lines (DAL - Free Report) has reported fourth-quarter 2023 earnings (excluding $1.88 from non-recurring items) of $1.28 per share, which comfortably beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.17. Earnings, however, declined 13.51% on a year-over-year basis due to high labor costs.
Revenues of $14,223 million surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $14,069.5 million and increased 5.87% on a year-over-year basis, driven by strong holiday-air-travel demand. Adjusted operating revenues (excluding third-party refinery sales) came in at $13,661 million, up 11% year over year.
United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (UAL - Free Report) reported fourth-quarter 2023 earnings per share (excluding 19 cents from non-recurring items) of $2.00, which outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.61 but declined 18.7% year over year.
Operating revenues of $13,626 million beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $13,546.8 million. The top line increased 9.9% year over year due to upbeat air-travel demand. This was driven by a 10.9% rise in passenger revenues (accounting for 91.1% of the top line) to $12,421 million. Almost 41,779 passengers traveled on UAL flights in the fourth quarter.
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ZTO Express (ZTO) Q4 Earnings Top, Revenues Increase Y/Y
ZTO Express (ZTO - Free Report) reported fourth-quarter 2023 earnings of 38 cents per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a penny and improved 2.7% year over year.
Total revenues of $1,495.7 million improved year over year.
ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. Quote
Detailed Operational Statistics
Revenues from the core express delivery business jumped 8% year over year, owing to a 32% increase in parcel volume and an 18.2% decrease in parcel unit price. Parcel volume market share increased 32% from the year-ago reported quarter.
Revenues from freight forwarding services fell 6.9% year over year owing to declining cross-border e-commerce pricing.
Revenues from sales of accessories (mainly consisting of sales of thermal paper used for digital waybills' printing) climbed 43.1%, which aligns with parcel volume growth. Other revenues were mainly derived from financing services.
Gross profit improved 12.8% from the year-ago reported quarter on the back of revenue growth and cost productivity gain. Gross margin rate improved to 29.5% from 28.1% in the year-ago period.
Total operating expenses were RMB373.2 million compared with RMB312.7 million in the year-ago period.
Liquidity & Buyback
ZTO Express exited the fourth quarter of 2023 with cash and cash equivalents of RMB11.69billion compared with RMB 9.28 billion at the end of September 2023.
As of Dec 31, 2023, ZTO Express purchased 42,501,325 ADSs for $1,063.0 million, including repurchase commissions. The company has $437.0 million funds available under its share repurchase program.
The company’s board of directors has further approved changes to its existing share repurchase program, increasing the value of shares to be repurchased from $1.5 billion to $2 billion and extending the effective time by one year through Jun 30, 2025.
2024 Guidance
ZTO Express has provided its expectation for parcel volumes in 2024 to the range of 34.73-35.64 billion. The updated guidance represents an increase of 15-18% year over year.
Currently, ZTO Express carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Performances of Other Transportation Companies
J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc.’s (JBHT - Free Report) fourth-quarter 2023 earnings of $1.47 per share missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.74 and declined 23.4% year over year.
JBHT’s total operating revenues of $3,303.70million surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3,236.2 million but fell 9.5% year over year. Total operating revenues, excluding fuel surcharge revenue, fell 6% year over year.
Delta Air Lines (DAL - Free Report) has reported fourth-quarter 2023 earnings (excluding $1.88 from non-recurring items) of $1.28 per share, which comfortably beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.17. Earnings, however, declined 13.51% on a year-over-year basis due to high labor costs.
Revenues of $14,223 million surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $14,069.5 million and increased 5.87% on a year-over-year basis, driven by strong holiday-air-travel demand. Adjusted operating revenues (excluding third-party refinery sales) came in at $13,661 million, up 11% year over year.
United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (UAL - Free Report) reported fourth-quarter 2023 earnings per share (excluding 19 cents from non-recurring items) of $2.00, which outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.61 but declined 18.7% year over year.
Operating revenues of $13,626 million beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $13,546.8 million. The top line increased 9.9% year over year due to upbeat air-travel demand. This was driven by a 10.9% rise in passenger revenues (accounting for 91.1% of the top line) to $12,421 million. Almost 41,779 passengers traveled on UAL flights in the fourth quarter.