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Why Is C.H. Robinson (CHRW) Down 1.2% Since Last Earnings Report?

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It has been about a month since the last earnings report for C.H. Robinson Worldwide (CHRW - Free Report) . Shares have lost about 1.2% in that time frame, outperforming the S&P 500.

Will the recent negative trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is C.H. Robinson due for a breakout? Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late, let's take a quick look at its most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important catalysts.

C.H. Robinson Beats on Q4 Earnings

C.H. Robinson reported mixed fourth-quarter 2024 results, wherein earnings surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate while revenues missed the same.

Quarterly earnings per share of $1.21 outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.12 and improved 142% year over year.

Total revenues of $4.18 billion missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.47 billion and fell 0.9% year over year, owing to lower volume and pricing in truckload services, partially offset by higher pricing in our ocean services.

Adjusted gross profits increased 10.7% year over year to $684.6 million, owing to higher adjusted gross profit per transaction in our truckload and ocean services.

Adjusted operating margin of 26.8% increased 940 basis points from the year-ago reported quarter. Operating expenses decreased 2.0% to $500.8 million.

CHRW’s Segmental Results

North American Surface Transportation’s total revenues were $2.80 billion (down 6.6% year over year) in the fourth quarter, owing to lower truckload volume and pricing, reflecting an oversupply of truckload capacity compared to freight demand. Adjusted gross profits of the segment grew 6.2% to $403.8 million.

Total revenues from Global Forwarding grew 24.7% year over year to $883.96 million, owing to higher pricing in the company’s ocean services. Adjusted gross profits grew 25.6% to $203.8 million.

Revenues from other sources (Robinson Fresh, Managed Services and Other Surface Transportation) decreased 2.8% year over year to $497.98 million.

Below, we present the division of adjusted profits among the service lines (on an enterprise basis).

Transportation: The unit (comprising Truckload, LTL, Ocean, Air, Customs and Other logistics services) delivered an adjusted gross profit of $684.62million in the quarter under consideration, up 10.7% from the prior-year figure.

Adjusted gross profits of Truckload, LTL, Ocean, Air and Customs grew 7.3%, 3.9%, 28.2%, 44.8% and 11.5%, year over year, respectively. Other logistics services declined adjusted gross profits by 8.4% year over year.

Balance-Sheet Data

CHRW exited the fourth quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $145.76 million compared with $131.70 million at the end of the prior quarter. Long-term debt was $921.85 million compared with $1.41 billion at the end of the prior quarter.

CHRW generated $267.9 million of cash from operations in the fourth quarter, higher than $47.3 million of cash generated in the prior-year quarter. The upside was owing to a $118.3 million increase in net income and an $81.3 million increase in cash provided by changes in net operating working capital (due to a $90.8 million sequential decrease in net operating working capital in the fourth quarter of 2024 compared to a $9.5 million sequential decrease in the fourth quarter of 2023).

In the fourth quarter of 2024, CHRW returned $82.8 million of cash to shareholders, including $74.5 million in cash dividends and $8.3 million through share repurchases.

Capital expenditures totaled $15.2 million in the reported quarter.

Outlook

Capital expenditures for 2025 are expected to be $75 million to $85 million.

How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?

It turns out, estimates review have trended upward during the past month.

VGM Scores

Currently, C.H. Robinson has a nice Growth Score of B, a grade with the same score on the momentum front. Charting a somewhat similar path, the stock was allocated a grade of C on the value side, putting it in the middle 20% for this investment strategy.

Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of B. 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, C.H. Robinson has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). We expect an in-line return from the stock in the next few months.


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