ZTO Express ZTO is scheduled to report fourth-quarter 2024 results on March 18, after market close.

Find the latest EPS estimates and surprises on Zacks Earnings Calendar.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ZTO’s earnings for the soon-to-be-reported quarter has remained flat at 47 cents per share over the past 60 days. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues is pegged at $1.66 billion, which indicates a rise of 10.8% year over year.

Given this backdrop, let’s see how things have shaped up for ZTO Express this earnings season.

High operating expenses are likely to have hurt the company’s bottom-line performance in the to-be-reported quarter as the company has a brief history of increasing expenses. Top-line growth is expected to have been driven by impressive parcel volumes, with the performance of the express delivery services unit likely to have been impressive.

ZTO Express now expects its 2024 parcel volume guidance in the range of 33.7 billion-33.9 billion. The updated guidance represents an increase of 11.6-12.3% year over year. Previously, ZTO expected 2024 parcel volumes in the range of 34.73-35.64 billion. The guidance represents an increase of 15%-18% year over year.

Revenues from the freight forwarding services unit of the company are expected to have been hurt by freight demand weakness. An update on the ongoing trade war between the United States and China is also expected on the fourth-quarter conference call.

What Our Model Says About ZTO

Our proven model does not conclusively predict an earnings beat for ZTO Express this time. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat. However, that’s not the case here. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. Price and EPS Surprise

ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. price-eps-surprise | ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. Quote

ZTO Express has an Earnings ESP of 0.00% and a Zacks Rank #3. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks.

Highlights of Q3 Earnings

ZTO Express’ third-quarter 2024 earnings of 41 cents per share improved year over year. Total revenues of $1.52 billion rose year over year.

Revenues from the core express delivery business improved 18.1% year over year due to 15.9% growth in parcel volume and a 1.8% increase in the unit price. 

Q4 Performances of Other Transportation Stocks

Delta Air Lines DAL reported fourth-quarter 2024 earnings (excluding 56 cents from non-recurring items) of $1.85 per share, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.76. Earnings increased 44.5% on a year-over-year basis due to low fuel costs.

DAL’s revenues of $15.56 billion surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $14.99 billion and increased 9.4% on a year-over-year basis, driven by strong holiday travel demand. Adjusted operating revenues (excluding third-party refinery sales) totaled $14.44 billion, up 5.7% year over year. Passenger revenues, which accounted for 82.4% of total revenues, increased 5% year over year at $12.82 billion.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services JBHT reported fourth-quarter 2024 earnings per share of $1.53, which fell short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.62. The bottom line rose 4.1% on a year-over-year basis.  

JBHT’s total operating revenues of $3.15 billion narrowly beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.13 billion but declined 4.8% year over year. The decrease was mainly due to lower fuel surcharge revenues and yield pressure in its Intermodal segment.

JBHT’s fourth-quarter 2024 operating revenues of $2.78 billion, excluding fuel surcharge revenues, decreased 2% from the year-ago reported quarter. Total operating income for the reported quarter increased 2% year over year to $207 million.

United Airlines Holdings UAL reported solid fourth-quarter 2024 results, with both earnings and revenues surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate.

Quarterly earnings per share (excluding 31 cents from non-recurring items) of $3.26 surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.01. The bottom line increased 63% on a year-over-year basis. The reported figure exceeded the company’s guided range of $2.50-$3.00.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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