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Bear Of The Day: ArcBest (ARCB)

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ArcBest (ARCB - Free Report) is a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) as earnings estimates have tracked lower after a recent earnings miss.  The company is best known for its freight transportation services and solutions. This article will look at why this stock is a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) as it is the Bear of the Day.

Description

ArcBest Corporation provides freight transportation services and solutions. The company's Freight Transportation segment offers transportation of general commodities; motor carrier freight transportation services; business-to-business air transportation services; ocean transport services; global customizable supply chain solutions and integrated warehousing services. Its Premium Logistics & Expedited Freight Services segment provides expedited freight transportation services to commercial and government customers; premium logistics services; and domestic and international freight transportation with air, ocean, and ground service. ArcBest Corporation, formerly known as Arkansas Best Corporation, is headquartered in Fort Smith, Arkansas.

Earnings History

When I look at a stock, the first thing I do is look to see if the company is beating the number.  This tells me right away where the market’s expectations have been for the company and how management has communicated to the market.  A stock that consistently beats has management communicating expectations to Wall Street that can be achieved.  That is what you want to see.

In the case of ArcBest, I see two beats sandwiched between two misses of the Wall Street Estimate. The most recent quarter was a miss with the company posting $1.34 when $1.54 was expected.  This alone does not make the stock a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and it doesn’t make it a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) either.

The Zacks Rank does care about the earnings history, but it is much more heavily influenced by the movement of earnings estimates.

Earnings Estimates

The Zacks Rank tells us which stocks are seeing earnings estimates move higher or in this case lower.  For ARCB I see annual estimates moving lower of late.

The current year (2024) consensus number moved lower from $10.19 to $8.78 over the last 60 days. 

The next year has moved from $12.77 to $11.16 over the last 60 days.

Negative movement in earnings estimates like that is why this stock is a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).

It should be noted that a lot of stocks in the Zacks universe are seeing negative earnings estimate revisions.  That means that the stocks that are seeing small but negative earnings estimate revisions are falling to a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).


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