J.B. Hunt Q3 EPS $1.82 beats, but diesel costs squeeze margins; carrier to raise prices, shares fall after hours (Oct 15)
What happened
J.B. Hunt Transport Services reported third-quarter EPS of $1.82 on revenue of $3.68 billion, narrowly beating the FactSet consensus of $1.81 and $3.59 billion. Profit of $172.4 million was up slightly from $170.8 million a year earlier but down 4.7% from Q2, as operating expenses jumped to $3.43 billion from $2.81 billion. Operating margin fell about a percentage point to 6.7% on higher fuel, driver, equipment, claims, and medical costs. On the Thursday analyst call, executives said the cost pressures — which hit operating income by more than $50 million from Q2 to Q3 — will persist into Q4 and next year, and that the carrier is turning to price increases to recoup them. Shares fell 4.2% in after-hours trading after gaining 1.4% in the regular session.
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Who’s affected
- J.B. Hunt (JBHT) — margin squeeze and after-hours decline; freight/transport peers (Old Dominion, Knight-Swift, XPO, CH Robinson) face the same diesel and cost pressures; diesel-sensitive shippers and retailers could see higher logistics costs passed through.
Sources