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Knight-Swift (KNX) Q1 Earnings & Revenues Miss Estimates

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Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (KNX - Free Report) reported first-quarter 2023 adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of 12 cents, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 19 cents and declined 83.6% year over year.  Total revenues of $1,822.46 million missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1,841.3 million but improved 11.3% year over year.

Total operating expenses (on a reported basis) increased 20.7% year over year to $1.80 billion.

 Knight-Swift’s adjusted operating income fell 68.5% year over year.

Segmental Results

Revenues (excluding fuel surcharge and inter-segment transactions) from Truckload totaled $1,094.05 million, up 26.3% year over year. Adjusted segmental operating income plunged 75% to $29.11 million. Adjusted operating ratio (operating expenses as a percentage of revenues) grew 1070 basis points (bps) to 97.3%.  

The Less-Than-Truckload segment generated revenues (excluding fuel surcharges) worth $240.99 million in the first quarter, up 12.6% year over year. Adjusted segmental operating income fell 20.6% to $24.20 million. Adjusted operating ratio rose 430 bps to 90%.

Revenues from Logistics (excluding inter-segment transactions) amounted to $126.72 million, down 7.3% year over year. Adjusted operating income decreased 72.4% to $3.63 million. The adjusted operating ratio rose 670 bps to 97.1%.

Intermodal revenues (excluding inter-segment transactions) totaled $87.98 million, down 20.4% year over year. The operating ratio (on a reported basis) soared to 105.6% from 95.4% in the year-ago quarter.

Liquidity

Knight-Swift exited the first quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $204.76 million compared with $168.55 million at the prior-quarter end. Long-term debt (excluding current maturities) was $1.19 billion compared with $1.22 billion at the fourth-quarter end.

Guidance

Knight-Swift expects second-quarter 2024 adjusted EPS in the range of 26-30 cents and third-quarter 2024 EPS between 31 and 35 cents. KNX expects net cash capital expenditures for 2024 in the $625-$675 million band. The tax rate is expected to be around 25-26% for 2024.

Currently, Knight-Swift carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Performances of Other Transportation Companies

Delta Air Lines (DAL - Free Report) reported first-quarter 2024 earnings (excluding 39 cents from non-recurring items) of 45 cents per share, which comfortably beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 36 cents. Earnings increased 80% on a year-over-year basis.

Revenues of $13.75 billion surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $12.84 billion and increased 7.75% on a year-over-year basis, driven by strong air-travel demand. Adjusted operating revenues (excluding third-party refinery sales) came in at $12.56 billion, up 6% year over year.

United Airlines Holdings, Inc.(UAL - Free Report) reported first-quarter 2024 loss per share (excluding 23 cents from non-recurring items) of 15 cents, which was narrower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate’s loss of 53 cents. In the year-ago reported quarter, UAL reported a loss of 63 cents per share.

Operating revenues of $12,539 million beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $12,428.4 million. The top line increased 9.7% year over year due to upbeat air-travel demand. This was driven by a 10.1% rise in passenger revenues (accounting for 90.2% of the top line) to $11,313 million. Almost 39,325 passengers traveled on UAL flights in the first quarter, up 6.8% year over year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc.’s (JBHT - Free Report) first-quarter 2024 earnings of $1.22 per share missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.53 and declined 35.5% year over year.

JBHT’s total operating revenues of $2,944 million missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3,117.1 million and fell 8.8% year over year. Total operating revenues, excluding fuel surcharge revenue, fell 7% year over year. The downfall was owing to a 9% decrease in segment gross revenue per load in both Intermodal (JBI) and Truckload (JBT), 22% fewer loads in Integrated Capacity Solution (ICS), and a modest decline in average trucks and productivity in Dedicated Contract Services (DCS). Revenue declines in JBI, ICS, JBT and DCS were partially offset by Final Mile Services (FMS) revenue growth of 2%, primarily driven by new contracts implemented over the past year.

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