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Knight-Swift Q3 Earnings Beat Estimates, Decrease Year Over Year

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Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (KNX - Free Report) third-quarter 2024 adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of 34 cents beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a penny but declined 17.1% year over year. KNX’s bottom line was weighed down by a $6.6 million increase in net interest expense and a 6.1 percentage point increase in the effective tax rate.

 Find the latest EPS estimates and surprises on ZacksEarnings Calendar.

Total revenues of $1.87 million missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.94 million and declined 7.1% year over year. Revenues, excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge, declined 5.3% year over year to $1.68 billion.

Total operating expenses (on a reported basis) decreased 7.4% year over year to $1.79 billion.

 Knight-Swift’s adjusted operating income fell 7.1% year over year.

Segmental Results

Revenues (excluding fuel surcharge and inter-segment transactions) from Truckload totaled $1.10 billion, down 6.1% year over year. The actual segmental sales figure was lower than our projections of $1.18 billion. Adjusted segmental operating income plunged 19.4% year over year to $48.05 million. Adjusted operating ratio (operating expenses as a percentage of revenues) grew 70 basis points (bps) to 95.6%.  

The Less-Than-Truckload segment generated revenues (excluding fuel surcharges) worth $280.18 million in the third quarter, up 16.7% year over year. Adjusted segmental operating income decreased 19.5% year over year to $29.11 million. Adjusted operating ratio rose 470 bps to 89.6%.

Revenues from Logistics (excluding inter-segment transactions) amounted to $143.58 million, down 9.5% year over year. Adjusted operating income decreased 26.6% year over year to $7.84 million. The adjusted operating ratio rose 120 bps to 94.5%.

Intermodal revenues (excluding inter-segment transactions) totaled $102.67 million, up 1.4% year over year owing to a 7.2% increase in load count, partially offset by a 5.3% decline in revenue per load. The operating ratio (on a reported basis) fell 310 bps to 101.4%.

Liquidity

Knight-Swift exited the third quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $166.34 million compared with $186.47 million at the prior-quarter end. Long-term debt (excluding current maturities) was $1.50 billion compared with $1.17 billion at the end of the prior quarter.

Guidance

Knight-Swift expects fourth-quarter 2024 EPS in the range of 32-36 cents. The Zacks Consensus Estimate of 35 cents lies within the guidance.

Adjusted EPS for the first quarter of 2025 is expected to be in the range of 29-33 cents. The Zacks Consensus Estimate is currently pegged at 38 cents.

KNX now expects net cash capital expenditures for 2024 in the $525 million-$575 million band (prior view: $600-$650 million band).

The tax rate (on an adjusted basis) is expected to be around 26-27% for fourth-quarter 2024 and 26-28% for 2025.

KNX’s Zacks Rank & Price Performance

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

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

The company’s shares gained 12.1% over the past six months, outperforming the 6.9% rise of the industry it belongs to.

Six-Month Price Comparison

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Performances of Other Transportation Companies

Delta Air Lines (DAL - Free Report) reported third-quarter 2024 earnings (excluding 47 cents from non-recurring items) of $1.50 per share, which fell short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.56. Earnings decreased 26.11% on a year-over-year basis, mainly due to high labor costs.

Revenues of $15.68 billion surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $15.37 billion and increased 1.2% on a year-over-year basis, driven by strong air travel demand. Adjusted operating revenues (excluding third-party refinery sales) totaled $14.59 billion, flat year over year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (JBHT - Free Report) third-quarter 2024 earnings of $1.49 per share outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.42 but declined 17.2% year over year.

Total operating revenues of $3.07 billionsurpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.04 billion but fell 3% year over year. The downfall was owing to a 5% and 6% decrease in gross revenue per load in Intermodal (JBI) and Truckload (JBT), respectively, a decline in load volume of 10% and 6% in Integrated Capacity Solutions (ICS) and Dedicated Contract Services (DCS), respectively, and 6% fewer stops in Final Mile Services (FMS). These were partially offset by JBI load growth of 5%, which included growth in both the transcontinental and eastern networks and a 3% increase in revenue per load in ICS. Total operating revenue, excluding fuel surcharge revenue, decreased less than 1% from the year-ago reported quarter.

United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (UAL - Free Report) reported third-quarter 2024 EPS (excluding 43 cents from non-recurring items) of $3.33, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.10. Earnings decreased 8.8% on a year-over-year basis.

Operating revenues of $14.84 billion beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $14.76 billion. The top line increased 2.5% year over year due to upbeat air-travel demand. This was driven by a 1.6% rise in passenger revenues (which accounted for 91.3% of the top line) to $13.56 billion. Almost 45,559 passengers traveled on UAL flights in the third quarter, up 2.7% year over year.

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