J.B. Hunt Q3 profit lags estimates as higher third-party capacity, driver costs offset revenue gains

J.B. Hunt Transport Services

15/10/2026 21:16

Overview
US transportation provider's Q3 revenue rose 20%, beating analyst expectations
Q3 EPS of $1.82 misses consensus of $1.89 as operating margin narrows to 6.7% from 7.9%
Net income for Q3 missed analyst expectations

Outlook
Company expects 2026 full-year tax rate to be about 24%

Result Drivers
SEGMENT PERFORMANCE - Higher Intermodal loads, increased ICS and Truckload revenue per load drove revenue growth, partially offset by lower Final Mile Services stops
PRODUCTIVITY AND COSTS - Improved productivity and lower storage costs supported operating income, but higher transportation, personnel, equipment and insurance expenses offset gains
MARGIN PRESSURE - Operating margin declined due to higher purchased transportation, fuel, and insurance claims costs

Company press release: ID:nBw6tGYWla

Key Details
Metric
Beat/Miss
Actual
Consensus Estimate
Q3 Revenue
Beat
$3.68 bln
$3.57 bln (18 Analysts)
Q3 EPS
Miss
$1.82
$1.89 (22 Analysts)
Q3 Net Income
Miss
$172.40 mln
$184.87 mln (17 Analysts)

Analyst Coverage
The current average analyst rating on the shares is "buy" and the breakdown of recommendations is 15 "strong buy" or "buy", 9 "hold" and 1 "sell" or "strong sell"
The average consensus recommendation for the ground freight & logistics peer group is "buy"
Wall Street's median 12-month price target for J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. is $290.00, about 24.9% above its October 14 closing price of $232.16
The stock recently traded at 25 times the next 12-month earnings vs. a P/E of 35 three months ago

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(This story was created using Reuters automation and AI based on LSEG and company data. It was checked and edited by a Reuters journalist prior to publication.)