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Why Is Werner (WERN) Up 6.1% Since Last Earnings Report?
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It has been about a month since the last earnings report for Werner Enterprises (WERN - Free Report) . Shares have added about 6.1% in that time frame, outperforming the S&P 500.
But investors have to be wondering, will the recent positive trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is Werner due for a pullback? Well, first let's take a quick look at the latest earnings report in order to get a better handle on the recent drivers for Werner Enterprises, Inc. before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late.
Werner's Q2 Earnings Met Estimates
Werner Enterprises, Inc. reported second-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings of 22 cents per share, which matched the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The figure surged more than 100% from the year-ago quarter.
Revenues of $933.9 million surpassed the consensus mark of $932 million by 0.2%. The top line increased 24% year over year owing to a $184.9 million, or 36%, increase in Truckload Transportation Services (TTS) revenues, partially offset by a decline in Werner Logistics revenues of $9.4 million. A portion of the TTS revenue increase was owing to $65.4 million higher fuel surcharge revenues.
Adjusted operating income increased 67% year over year to $27.6 million. The adjusted operating margin expanded 80 basis points to 3%, reflecting stronger underlying performance despite acquisition-related and restructuring costs.
Werner's Truckload Segment Drives Growth
Truckload Transportation Services revenues rose 36% year over year to $702.6 million. Trucking revenues, excluding fuel surcharges, increased 27% year over year to $572.2 million, aided by FirstFleet, higher rates and improved asset utilization.
Adjusted segment operating income jumped 153% year over year to $32.3 million. The adjusted operating margin, excluding fuel surcharges, improved 270 basis points to 5.5%, supported by FirstFleet contributions, better One-Way profitability and lower insurance and claims expense in the legacy business.
Average TTS trucks increased 16.3% year over year to 8,712. The quarter-end fleet totaled 8,695 trucks, up 15.2% year over year, while average revenue per truck per week rose 9.1% to $5,053.
WERN's Dedicated Fleet Benefits From FirstFleet
Dedicated trucking revenues, net of fuel surcharges, increased 51.4% year over year to $434.3 million. Average Dedicated trucks rose 43.7% year over year to 6,976, reflecting the FirstFleet acquisition and organic fleet growth.
Dedicated trucks represented 80% of the total TTS fleet at quarter-end. Average revenue per truck per week improved 5.4% year over year to $4,789, while the company maintained customer retention above 95%.
Werner said that integration and synergy realization related to FirstFleet were running ahead of schedule. Continuity among acquired drivers, associates and customers also supported the segment's profitability improvement.
Werner's One-Way Restructuring Shows Progress
One-Way Truckload revenues, excluding fuel surcharges, declined 15.9% to $137.9 million as average trucks decreased 34.1% to 1,736. The smaller fleet reflected the company's restructuring actions.
Productivity improved substantially. Revenue per total mile increased 10.4%, while total miles per truck per week rose 15.7%. Average completed trip length increased 17.9% to 685 miles, and the percentage of empty miles declined to 14.94%.
Management attributed the improvement to higher spot rates, contractual rate increases and better freight selection. The restructuring also contributed to margin improvement within the broader TTS segment.
WERN's Logistics Business Faces Margin Pressure
Werner’s Logistics revenues declined 4% year over year to $211.7 million.
Truckload Logistics revenues, representing 72% of segment revenues, fell 10% year over year as shipments decreased 29%, partly offset by a 26% year-over-year increase in revenue per shipment. Intermodal revenues rose 18% year over year, supported by a 17% increase in shipments. Final Mile revenues increased 14% year over year and 13% sequentially.
The segment posted an adjusted operating loss of $2.7 million against adjusted operating income of $5.9 million a year earlier. Higher purchased transportation costs, lower volumes and gross-margin contraction reduced the adjusted operating margin to negative 1.3%.
WERN Maintains Strong Liquidity and Cash Flow
As of June 30, 2026, Werner had cash and cash equivalents of $57.02 million compared with $61.54 million at the prior-quarter end. Long-term debt (net of current portion) was $793 million compared with $869.6 million at the prior-quarter end.
Operating cash flow increased 84% year over year to $84.7 million in the second quarter. Net capital proceeds totaled $9.7 million compared with capital expenditures of $65.6 million in the prior-year quarter, producing free cash flow of $94.4 million.
The company did not repurchase shares during the quarter. Five million shares remained available under its repurchase authorization.
Werner Updates 2026 Guidance
Werner now expects 2026 TTS average truck count growth of 16-18%, down from the previous 23-28% range, as anticipated fleet additions are likely to shift beyond year-end.
Dedicated revenue per truck per week is projected to rise 3-5%, compared with the prior flat-to-3% outlook. The company expects One-Way revenue per total mile to increase 10-13% in the third quarter.
Full-year net capital expenditures are now forecasted to be between $215 million and $250 million, up from $185-$225 million, as Werner refreshes its tractor fleet. The projected tax rate remains in the range of 25.5%-26.5%.
How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?
In the past month, investors have witnessed a upward trend in fresh estimates.
The consensus estimate has shifted 10.86% due to these changes.
VGM Scores
At this time, Werner has a strong Growth Score of A, though it is lagging a lot on the Momentum Score front with a C. Charting a somewhat similar path, the stock has a grade of B on the value side, putting it in the second quintile for this investment strategy.
Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of A. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in.
Outlook
Estimates have been broadly trending upward for the stock, and the magnitude of these revisions looks promising. Notably, Werner has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). We expect an in-line return from the stock in the next few months.
View the Zacks #1 Rank List
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Why Is Werner (WERN) Up 6.1% Since Last Earnings Report?
It has been about a month since the last earnings report for Werner Enterprises (WERN - Free Report) . Shares have added about 6.1% in that time frame, outperforming the S&P 500.
But investors have to be wondering, will the recent positive trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is Werner due for a pullback? Well, first let's take a quick look at the latest earnings report in order to get a better handle on the recent drivers for Werner Enterprises, Inc. before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late.
Werner's Q2 Earnings Met Estimates
Werner Enterprises, Inc. reported second-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings of 22 cents per share, which matched the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The figure surged more than 100% from the year-ago quarter.
Revenues of $933.9 million surpassed the consensus mark of $932 million by 0.2%. The top line increased 24% year over year owing to a $184.9 million, or 36%, increase in Truckload Transportation Services (TTS) revenues, partially offset by a decline in Werner Logistics revenues of $9.4 million. A portion of the TTS revenue increase was owing to $65.4 million higher fuel surcharge revenues.
Adjusted operating income increased 67% year over year to $27.6 million. The adjusted operating margin expanded 80 basis points to 3%, reflecting stronger underlying performance despite acquisition-related and restructuring costs.
Werner's Truckload Segment Drives Growth
Truckload Transportation Services revenues rose 36% year over year to $702.6 million. Trucking revenues, excluding fuel surcharges, increased 27% year over year to $572.2 million, aided by FirstFleet, higher rates and improved asset utilization.
Adjusted segment operating income jumped 153% year over year to $32.3 million. The adjusted operating margin, excluding fuel surcharges, improved 270 basis points to 5.5%, supported by FirstFleet contributions, better One-Way profitability and lower insurance and claims expense in the legacy business.
Average TTS trucks increased 16.3% year over year to 8,712. The quarter-end fleet totaled 8,695 trucks, up 15.2% year over year, while average revenue per truck per week rose 9.1% to $5,053.
WERN's Dedicated Fleet Benefits From FirstFleet
Dedicated trucking revenues, net of fuel surcharges, increased 51.4% year over year to $434.3 million. Average Dedicated trucks rose 43.7% year over year to 6,976, reflecting the FirstFleet acquisition and organic fleet growth.
Dedicated trucks represented 80% of the total TTS fleet at quarter-end. Average revenue per truck per week improved 5.4% year over year to $4,789, while the company maintained customer retention above 95%.
Werner said that integration and synergy realization related to FirstFleet were running ahead of schedule. Continuity among acquired drivers, associates and customers also supported the segment's profitability improvement.
Werner's One-Way Restructuring Shows Progress
One-Way Truckload revenues, excluding fuel surcharges, declined 15.9% to $137.9 million as average trucks decreased 34.1% to 1,736. The smaller fleet reflected the company's restructuring actions.
Productivity improved substantially. Revenue per total mile increased 10.4%, while total miles per truck per week rose 15.7%. Average completed trip length increased 17.9% to 685 miles, and the percentage of empty miles declined to 14.94%.
Management attributed the improvement to higher spot rates, contractual rate increases and better freight selection. The restructuring also contributed to margin improvement within the broader TTS segment.
WERN's Logistics Business Faces Margin Pressure
Werner’s Logistics revenues declined 4% year over year to $211.7 million.
Truckload Logistics revenues, representing 72% of segment revenues, fell 10% year over year as shipments decreased 29%, partly offset by a 26% year-over-year increase in revenue per shipment. Intermodal revenues rose 18% year over year, supported by a 17% increase in shipments. Final Mile revenues increased 14% year over year and 13% sequentially.
The segment posted an adjusted operating loss of $2.7 million against adjusted operating income of $5.9 million a year earlier. Higher purchased transportation costs, lower volumes and gross-margin contraction reduced the adjusted operating margin to negative 1.3%.
WERN Maintains Strong Liquidity and Cash Flow
As of June 30, 2026, Werner had cash and cash equivalents of $57.02 million compared with $61.54 million at the prior-quarter end. Long-term debt (net of current portion) was $793 million compared with $869.6 million at the prior-quarter end.
Operating cash flow increased 84% year over year to $84.7 million in the second quarter. Net capital proceeds totaled $9.7 million compared with capital expenditures of $65.6 million in the prior-year quarter, producing free cash flow of $94.4 million.
The company did not repurchase shares during the quarter. Five million shares remained available under its repurchase authorization.
Werner Updates 2026 Guidance
Werner now expects 2026 TTS average truck count growth of 16-18%, down from the previous 23-28% range, as anticipated fleet additions are likely to shift beyond year-end.
Dedicated revenue per truck per week is projected to rise 3-5%, compared with the prior flat-to-3% outlook. The company expects One-Way revenue per total mile to increase 10-13% in the third quarter.
Full-year net capital expenditures are now forecasted to be between $215 million and $250 million, up from $185-$225 million, as Werner refreshes its tractor fleet. The projected tax rate remains in the range of 25.5%-26.5%.
How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?
In the past month, investors have witnessed a upward trend in fresh estimates.
The consensus estimate has shifted 10.86% due to these changes.
VGM Scores
At this time, Werner has a strong Growth Score of A, though it is lagging a lot on the Momentum Score front with a C. Charting a somewhat similar path, the stock has a grade of B on the value side, putting it in the second quintile for this investment strategy.
Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of A. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in.
Outlook
Estimates have been broadly trending upward for the stock, and the magnitude of these revisions looks promising. Notably, Werner has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). We expect an in-line return from the stock in the next few months.