Ryder's (R) Incurs Q4 Loss, Stock Down On Soft EPS Forecast

Ryder System (NYSE:R) reported fourth-quarter 2019 loss (excluding $1.01 from non-recurring items) of 1 cent per share against the Zacks Consensus Estimate of earnings 3 cents. Moreover, the bottom line declined more than 100% year over year primarily due to softening of rental demand. Total revenues amounted to $2,276.5 million, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2,264.4 million. Also, the top line inched up 0.8% year over year.

More than weak revenues and year-over-year earnings decline, the company’s bearish bottom-line projections for the first quarter and 2020 disappointed investors. Consequently, the stock fell 10.3% to $45.01 per share on Feb 13.

For first-quarter 2020, the company anticipates adjusted earnings per share in the range of 65-80 cents. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for first-quarter earnings is currently pegged at 7 cents.

For 2020, Ryder, carrying a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), anticipates adjusted earnings per share between $1.10 and $1.50. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2020 earnings is pegged at $2.55. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

The company expects below-par conditions in rental to persist in 2020 due to the lackluster freight environment, particularly for heavy duty tractors.

Segmental Results

Fleet Management Solutions (FMS): Total revenues at this segment amounted to $1.4 billion, which rose 4% year over year. Operating revenues (excluding fuel) summed $1.2 billion, up 6% year over year. Segmental results were driven by larger average fleet size and favorable pricing of new vehicles. Notably, the lease fleet increased 7% in 2019 on a year-over-year basis.

Dedicated Transportation Solutions (DTS): Total revenues amounted to $346 million, down 5% from the year-ago quarter’s figure. Operating revenues (excluding fuel and subcontracted transportation) rose 4% year over year to $241 million backed by higher pricing and addition of new business.

Supply Chain Solutions (SCS): Total revenues in this segment were $649 million, down 3% year over year. Operating revenues (excluding fuel and subcontracted transportation) declined 5% year over year to $466 million. Segmental results were hurt primarily by previously-announced lost business and customer labor strikes.

Liquidity

Ryder exited the year with cash and cash equivalents of $73.6 million compared with $68.1 million at the end of 2018. The company’s total debt rose 19.2% to $7.92 billion.

As the company is investing substantially in its lease and rental fleets, capital expenditures (net) increased 12% year over year to $3.1 billion at 2019-end. Operating cash flow for 2019 was $2.1 billion, up 23.5% year over year.

2020 Outlook

Net capital expenditure for 2020 is predicted to be around $1.7 billion. Free cash flow is predicted to be positive $350 million owing to lower net capital expenditures.

Upcoming Releases

Investors interested in the broader Transportation sector are awaiting fourth-quarter 2019 earnings reports from key players like Expeditors International of Washington (NASDAQ:EXPD) , Gol Linhas (NYSE:GOL) and Hertz Global Holdings (NYSE:HTZ) .

Expeditors will announce fourth-quarter 2019 results on Feb 18. Gol Linhas and Hertz will release fourth-quarter 2019 numbers on Feb 20 and Feb 24, respectively.

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