J.B. Hunt’s Profit Declines 24% As Costs Rise

Freight company J.B. Hunt Transport Services (JBHT) has reported second-quarter financial results that fell short of analyst forecasts.

The Arkansas-based trucking company announced Q2 earnings per share (EPS) of $1.32 U.S., which was below Wall Street forecasts of $1.53 U.S. The profit was down 24% year-over-year.

Revenue in the quarter totaled $2.93 billion U.S., which also missed consensus expectations of $3.05 billion U.S. Sales were down 6% from a year earlier.

J.B. Hunt blamed the poor results on increased insurance and equipment costs.

While final mile service revenues grew 5% to $235 million U.S. during Q2, the company’s truckload segment reported a 12% revenue decline from a year ago.

Management has been aggressively cutting operating expenses in recent months as they struggle with not only rising costs but a slowdown in shipping volumes.

The company said it continues to expect rate and volume declines across trucking and domestic intermodal service offerings in the second half of this year.

The stock of J.B. Hunt has declined 10% on the year and currently trades at $176 U.S. per share.


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