Expeditors International of Washington’s (NASDAQ:EXPD) fourth-quarter 2019 earnings of 81 cents per share surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a penny. However, the bottom line decreased 20.6% on a year-over-year basis.
Further, total revenues of $2.04 billion missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.19 billion and also declined 9% year over year. Consequently, the earnings report disappointed investors and the stock fell in early trading.
Lower volumes hurt Expeditors’ quarterly results. Given the company’s exposure in China, the slowdown in trade to and from China proved to be a huge setback for Expeditors. Notably, volumes with respect to airfreight tonnage and ocean container contracted 6% and 13%, respectively, year over year. Operating income dropped 17% in the final quarter of 2019.
During the fourth quarter, this Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) company repurchased 1.2 million shares at an average price of $73.89 per share. The company exited 2019 with cash and cash equivalents of $1.23 billion compared with $923.7 million at the end of 2018.
You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Segmental Revenues
Airfreight Services revenues were down 16.3% year over year to $757.9 million in the fourth quarter. Ocean Freight and Ocean Services revenues deteriorated 15.5% to $519.7 million. However, Customs Brokerage and Other Services revenues increased 7.3% year over year to $767.2 million.
Upcoming Releases
Investors interested in the broader Transportation sector are awaiting fourth-quarter earnings reports from key players like Gol Linhas (NYSE:GOL) , Hertz Global Holdings (NYSE:HTZ) and Azul (NYSE:AZUL) .
Gol and Hertz will release fourth-quarter numbers on Feb 20 and Feb 24, respectively, while Azul will release on Mar 12.
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Hertz Global Holdings, Inc (HTZ): Free Stock Analysis Report
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Expeditors International of Washington, Inc. (EXPD): Free Stock Analysis Report
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Zacks Investment Research