LOWELL, Ark. - J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) reported a decline in its first quarter 2024 earnings and revenue, missing analyst expectations. The company's earnings per share (EPS) came in at $1.22, falling short of the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.30. Revenue for the quarter was $2.94 billion, also below the analyst forecast of $3.12 billion.
The transportation giant saw a 9% decrease in total operating revenue compared to the first quarter of the previous year, which was $3.23 billion. The drop was primarily attributed to a 9% reduction in segment gross revenue per load in both Intermodal (JBI) and Truckload (JBT), a 22% decline in loads in Integrated Capacity Solutions (ICS), and a slight decrease in average trucks and productivity in Dedicated Contract Services (DCS).
Still, Final Mile Services (FMS) experienced a revenue growth of 2%, driven by new contracts implemented over the past year.
Operating income for the quarter also took a hit, decreasing by 30% to $194.4 million compared to $277.5 million in the first quarter of 2023. The company cited lower volumes and yield pressure in JBI, ICS, and JBT, as well as increased expenses for equipment, insurance, claims, and bad debt as the main factors behind the decline. Furthermore, the effective income tax rate rose to 28.7% in the current quarter from 24.7% in the same period last year, due to discrete tax items.
J.B. Hunt's Intermodal segment revenue fell by 9% to $1.40 billion, with operating income plummeting by 40% to $101.9 million. DCS saw a 2% decrease in revenue to $860 million and a 9% drop in operating income to $93.6 million. ICS faced a significant 26% revenue decline to $285 million and reported an operating loss of $17.5 million, worsening from a $5.4 million loss in Q1 2023.
On a positive note, FMS revenue increased by 2% to $229 million, with operating income surging by 128% to $15.1 million. The JBT segment's revenue decreased by 13% to $178 million, and operating income fell sharply by 75% to $1.2 million.
Despite the challenging quarter, the company remains committed to its vision of creating the most efficient transportation network in North America. According to Brad Delco, Senior Vice President of Finance, "Our disciplined investments in people, technology, and capacity continue to drive long-term growth for J.B. Hunt and its stakeholders."
Investors will be closely monitoring the company's future performance as it navigates through the current market conditions.
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