J.B. Hunt Posts Q2 Profit Dip on Flat $2.93 Billion Revenue
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maintained balanced revenue with the prior-year period during the , the company reported July 15.
The Lowell, Ark.-based carrier posted net earnings of $128.6 million, or $1.31 a diluted share, for the three months ending June 30. That compared with $135.9 million, or $1.32, in 2024. Total revenue remained flat with the previous year at $2.93 billion.
“I remain highly confident that our work is building a stronger company capable of capitalizing on meaningful growth opportunities ahead,” J.B. Hunt CEO Shelley Simpson said during a call with investors. “We set out to accomplish this by staying true to our values, mission and vision, and maintaining our focus on operational excellence, scaling our investments in our people, technology and capacity, and continuing to repair our margins and drive stronger financial performance, which remains a top priority.”
The results came close to Wall Street expectations. Analysts had been looking for $1.34 per share and quarterly revenue of $2.94 billion, according to Zacks Consensus Estimate.
“Service levels across our businesses are excellent, and customers have recognized us in both internal and external surveys,” Simpson said. “Our brand is strong in the market. Our excellent service is supporting our growth with both new and existing customers that will help us scale into our investments.
“While we are preparing for future growth, we remain focused in the near term on repairing our margins and improving our financial performance,” CEO Shelley Simpson says. (J.B. Hunt Transport Services)
“Investments in our people have resulted in back-to-back years of record safety performance for the company and some of the lowest turnover metrics on record for our drivers.”
Simpson has been encouraging the company to think differently about workflows and processes to drive efficiency. That also has involved the company investing in technology to further push efficiencies in the business. It also has been investing in its intermodal business, including pre-funding its trailing capacity needs in intermodal and supporting customer growth.
“While we are preparing for future growth, we remain focused in the near term on repairing our margins and improving our financial performance,” Simpson said. “We expect the returns on our investments to match the strong and unique value we create for our customers. … We remain focused on controlling what we can with our expenses in the near term without sacrificing our long-term opportunity, or said differently, preserving our future earnings power potential.”
Revenue by Segment
• Truckload revenue increased 5% to $177 million from $168.1 million during the same time last year. That was achieved by a rise in load volume that partially was offset by a decline in revenue per load. The total average effective trailer count also decreased by 4% versus the prior year. Operating income decreased 5% to $3.37 million from $3.55 million, primarily driven by higher casualty and group medical claims expenses and increased maintenance-related costs.
• Final Mile Services revenue decreased 10% to $211 million from $235.3 million. This was mostly attributed to general softness in demand across a majority of end markets and lost business from ongoing efforts to improve revenue quality and profitability. Operating income decreased 60% to $7.99 million from $19.8 million. The quarter included a $1.1 million net benefit from two claim settlements. Operating income also decreased from lower revenue, higher claim expenses and an increase in bad debt expense.
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• Integrated Capacity Solutions revenue decreased 4% to $260.2 million from $270.4 million. The report noted that overall segment volume decreased 9%, while revenue per load increased 6% due to increases in contractual rates and changes in customer freight mix. The segment also experienced an operating loss of $3.6 million compared with an operating loss of $13.3 million last year. The improvement was primarily due to a modest increase in gross profit, plus lower personnel, insurance and technology costs.
• Dedicated Contract Services revenue inched down 0.5% to $846.8 million from $851 million. This was driven by a 3% decline in the average number of trucks that was offset by a 3% increase in productivity, defined as revenue per truck per week. Operating income decreased 3% to $93.7 million from $96.4 million. This was mostly from higher group insurance expenses, increased professional driver wages and equipment-related expenses. These items were partially offset by onboarding new business and cost management initiatives.
• Intermodal revenue increased 2% to $1.44 billion from $1.41 billion. The report noted that volume increased 6% over the same period last year. Overall demand for intermodal services remained steady despite market volatility. Operating income decreased 4% to $95.7 million from $99.2 million. This was from a combination of lower yields and an increase in professional driver wages, medical claims and higher maintenance costs.
J.B. Hunt ranks No. 3 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest for-hire carriers in North America, No. 2 on the truckload/dedicated sector list and No. 1 in the intermodal/drayage segment. It also ranks No. 4 on the TT Top 100 list of the largest logistics companies.
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