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Landstar (LSTR) Stock Down Almost 6% Despite Q2 Earnings Beat

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Shares of Landstar System, Inc. (LSTR - Free Report) have lost 5.06% in after-market trading on Jul 30, 2024.  The downside was owing to the disappointing second-quarter 2024 results, wherein both earnings and revenues declined on a year-over-year basis. Additionally, LSTR’s revenues lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate.

Quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.48 beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.46 but fell 20% year over year.

Revenues of $1.225 billion lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.255 billion as well as declined 10.8% year over year. The downside was owing to the weakness across all its segments in the reported quarter.

Landstar president and chief executive officer, Frank Lonegro, stated, “The Landstar network of independent business owners performed admirably in a challenging freight transportation environment. During the second quarter, we were encouraged to see our first sequential quarter-to-quarter revenue increase since the 2022 second quarter. Revenue in the 2024 second quarter grew 5% sequentially, following seven quarters of sequential revenue declines. As we look to build on that momentum, we continue to invest in leading-edge technology and new trailing equipment. We are particularly proud of the efforts of the thousands of BCOs, agents and employees in our network, who work each day to improve our safety performance and deliver great service to our customers.”

Operating income fell 22.6% from the prior-year quarter’s figure to $68.05 million. Total costs and expenses (on a reported basis) decreased 9.9% to $1.160 billion.

Landstar System, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Landstar System, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Landstar System, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Landstar System, Inc. Quote

Segmental Details

Total revenues in the truck transportation segment — contributing to 90.2% of the top line — amounted to $1.105 billion, down 11.3% from the year-ago quarter’s figure.

Rail intermodal revenues of $22.30 million decreased 11.5% from the figure recorded in second-quarter 2023. Revenues in the ocean and air-cargo carrier segments declined 5.5% year over year to $71.30 million. Other revenues decreased 2% to $25.70 million.

Liquidity, Dividends & Buyback

At the end of second-quarter 2024, Landstar had cash and cash equivalents of $438.06 million compared with $467.67million recorded at the prior-quarter end. Additionally, long-term debt (excluding current maturities) totaled $45.39 million at the end of the second quarter compared with $38.49 million at the prior-quarter end.

During the second quarter of 2024, Landstar purchased almost 316,000 shares for $57 million. LSTR is currently authorized to purchase up to an additional 2,684,000 shares under its longstanding share purchase program.

Concurrent with the second-quarter 2024 earnings release, Landstar’s board of directors announced a dividend hike of 9%, thereby raising its quarterly cash dividend to 36 cents per share ($1.44 annualized) from 33 cents ($1.32 annualized). The raised dividend will be paid out on Sep 10, 2024, to shareholders of record at the close of business on Aug 20. The move reflects LSTR’s intention to utilize free cash to enhance its shareholders’ returns.

Third-Quarter 2024 Guidance

LSTR expects third-quarter revenues in the range of $1.175-$1.275 billion. The Zacks Consensus Estimate is pegged at $1.33 billion.

LSTR expects third-quarter 2024 truckloads to decline in the range of 6-10% on a year-over-year basis. Truck revenue per load is likely to improve from breakeven to 4% on a year-over-year basis.

EPS is expected to be in the range of $1.35-$1.55 per share. The Zacks Consensus Estimate is pegged at $1.69.

Effective income tax rate is expected at 24.5%.

Zacks Rank and Price Performance

Currently, Landstar carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Over the past three months, shares of LSTR have gained 12.5%, outperforming the industry’s surge of 10%.

Zacks Investment Research
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Performances of Other Transportation Companies

Delta Air Lines (DAL - Free Report) reported second-quarter 2024 earnings (excluding 35 cents from non-recurring items) of $2.36 per share, which marginally missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.37. Earnings decreased 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. Apart from high costs, the carrier blamed the discounting pressure at the low end of the market, which hurt its pricing power, for the disappointing performance.

Revenues of $16.65 billion surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $16.25 billion and increased 6.9% year over year, driven by upbeat air travel demand. Adjusted operating revenues (excluding third-party refinery sales) came in at $15.41 billion, up 5.4% year over year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (JBHT - Free Report) reported disappointing second-quarter 2024 results wherein both earnings and revenues lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate.

JBHT’s earnings of $1.32 per share missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.51 and declined 27% year over year.

JBHT’s total operating revenues of $2.93 billion missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.03 billion and fell 7% year over year. Total operating revenues, excluding fuel surcharge revenue, fell 6% year over year.The downfall was owing to a 5% decrease in gross revenue per load in Intermodal (JBI) and a decline in load volume of 25% in Integrated Capacity Solutions (ICS), 9% in Truckload (JBT), and 9% in Dedicated Contract Services (DCS). These were partially offset by the 5% revenue growth of Final Mile Services (FMS), primarily driven by new contracts implemented over the past year, and a 5% increase in revenue per load in ICS.

United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (UAL - Free Report) reported second-quarter 2024 earnings per share (excluding 18 cents from non-recurring items) of $4.14, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.97. Earnings decreased 17.7% on a year-over-year basis.

Operating revenues of $14.98 billion missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $15.13 billion. The top line increased 5.7% year over year due to upbeat air-travel demand. This was driven by a 5.2% rise in passenger revenues (which accounted for 91.2% of the top line) to $13.680 billion. Almost 44,375 passengers traveled on UAL flights in the second quarter, up 5.8% year over year.

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