Back to top

Image: Shutterstock

ODFL's Q4 Earnings Coming Up: What's in the Offing for the Stock?

Read MoreHide Full Article

Old Dominion Freight Line (ODFL - Free Report) is scheduled to report fourth-quarter 2024 results on Feb. 5, before market open.

Find the latest EPS estimates and surprises on Zacks Earnings Calendar.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ODFL’s fourth-quarter 2024 earnings per share has been revised downward by 0.9% in the past 60 days to $1.17 per share. However, the consensus mark implies a 20.4% decline from the year-ago actuals. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ODFL’s fourth-quarter 2024 revenues is pegged at $1.38 billion, indicating a 7.7% decrease year over year.

ODFL has an impressive earnings surprise history. It surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the preceding four quarters and met once, the average beat being 1.4%.

Let’s see how things have shaped up for ODFL this earnings season.

Factors Likely to Have Influenced ODFL’s Q4 Performance

The top-line performance in the fourth quarter is expected to have suffered from geopolitical uncertainty and high inflationary pressure.

The freight market downturn is expected to have significantly impacted the company’s performance in the to-be-reported quarter, as the decline in demand for freight services is likely to have reduced shipments and rates, impacting the company’s top line. Moreover, per our model, we expect revenues from LTL Services to be $1.38 billion and other Services to be $13.2 million, which indicates a decline of 7.1% and 6%, respectively, from the fourth-quarter 2023 actuals. Low fuel costs might aid December quarter bottom-line results.

What Our Model Says About ODFL

Our proven model does not conclusively predict an earnings beat for ODFL this time. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat. However, that’s not the case here.

ODFL has an Earnings ESP of 0.00% and a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) at present. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

ODFL’s Q3 Highlights

Old Dominion Freight Line’s third-quarter 2024 earnings per share of $1.43 was in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate but decreased 7.1% year over year. Revenues of $1.47 billion fell short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.51 billion and dropped 3% year over year. A 4.8% decrease in less-than-truckload tons per day hurt results.

Stocks to Consider

Here are a few stocks from the broader Zacks Transportation sector that investors might want to consider, as our model shows that these have the right combination of elements to beat fourth-quarter 2024 earnings.

Allegiant (ALGT - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +10.23% and a Zacks Rank #2 at present. ALGT is set to release fourth-quarter 2024 results on Feb. 4.You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

ALGT has an encouraging earnings surprise history, having surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate thrice in the preceding four quarters and missing once. The average beat is 57.4%.

Expeditors International of Washington (EXPD - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +6.54% and a Zacks Rank #3 at present. EXPD is slated to release fourth-quarter 2024 results on Feb. 18. 

EXPD has an encouraging earnings surprise history, having surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the preceding four quarters and missing once. The average beat is 4.8%.

Published in