J.B. Hunt Q1 earnings plunge 35%; revenue dips 8%

Lowell-based carrier J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. posted declines in earnings and revenue in the first quarter as freight market softness persists.

After the markets closed Tuesday (April 16), J.B. Hunt reported earnings declined by 35.5% to $127.49 million, or $1.22 per share, in the first quarter from $197.76 million, or $1.89 per share, in the same period last year. Revenue fell by 8.8% to $2.94 billion from $3.22 billion.

J.B. Hunt missed earnings expectations of $1.52 per share, based on a consensus of 18 analysts. It also missed revenue expectations of $3.12 billion.

In an earnings report, analyst Justin Long and associates Brady Lierz and Collin Nieman, all of Little Rock-based Stephens Inc., attributed the miss primarily to the intermodal and dedicated segments. Intermodal volumes were flat in the first quarter from the same period last year. The segment’s margins were 7.3% compared to 9% in the fourth quarter of 2023. The analysts noted that a higher tax rate was also a headwind for the carrier.

“On the positive side of the coin, final mile was a (4-cent) beat versus our model, and brokerage was slightly better than our forecast,” the analysts said. “However, we would summarize the quarter as ‘worse than feared’ and a tough start to earnings season for the transportation sector.”

In the earnings call, J.B. Hunt executives highlighted the challenging freight market that’s persisted longer than expected. Still, executives noted they will be prepared for when the freight market rebounds and additional capacity is needed. Executives pointed to continued capacity investments to prepare for a market improvement, such as the February deal with Walmart that included purchasing its intermodal containers.

CEO John Roberts said this would be his last earnings call in his existing role. The company recently announced Roberts would transition to board chairman, and President Shelley Simpson will add CEO to her title on July 1. Roberts has been CEO since Jan. 1, 2011.

“The fire’s hot, and our people are responding to that,” Roberts said. “Our leadership is guiding the way they’re supposed to guide. Our priorities are right, and I get to hand this institution, this brand, to a very capable person in Shelley. And importantly she and I both agree neither one of us can do anything without our team and specifically our leadership team.”

Shares of J.B. Hunt (NASDAQ: JBHT) closed Tuesday at $182.99, down $2.11 or 1.14%. In the past 52 weeks, the stock has ranged between $164.39 and $219.51.

Following are the first-quarter results by segment compared to the same period last year:

INTERMODAL
Operating income declined by 39.6% to $101.88 million from $168.65 million. Revenue fell by 9.4% to $1.39 billion from $1.53 billion. The segment accounted for 52% of operating income and 47% of revenue for J.B. Hunt.

DEDICATED
Operating income decreased by 8.7% to $93.64 million from $102.56 million. Revenue fell by 2.2% to $860.01 million from $879.14 million. The segment accounted for 48% of operating income and 29% revenue for J.B. Hunt.

BROKERAGE
The segment had an operating loss of $17.54 million compared with an operating loss of $5.37 million. Revenue declined by 25.9% to $285.28 million from $384.77 million.

FINAL MILE
Operating income rose by 127.9% to $15.08 million from $6.61 million. Revenue increased by 1.9% to $229.28 million from $225.07 million.

TRUCKLOAD
Operating income fell by 75.4% to $1.22 million from $4.99 million. Revenue fell by 13.3% to $178.31 million from $205.86 million.