J.B. Hunt Transport Services JBHT is scheduled to report first-quarter 2025 results on April 15 after market close.

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The Zacks Consensus Estimate for first-quarter earnings is currently pegged at $1.18 per share, revised 1.7% downward over the past 60 days. The consensus mark reflects a 3.3% year-over-year decline. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for first-quarter 2025 revenues is pegged at $2.94 billion, indicating a marginal decline year over year.

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JBHT has a disappointing earnings surprise history. The company’s earnings lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the last four quarters (outpaced the mark in the remaining quarter), delivering an average miss of 8.4%.

Let’s see how things might have shaped up for J.B. Hunt this earnings season.

Q1 Expectations for JBHT

We expect JBHT’s top-line performance to have been weighed down by weakness across the majority of its segments, owing to weak freight demand and tariff-induced uncertainty.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for first-quarter 2025 Intermodal revenues is pegged at $1.41 billion, indicating a 1.4% decline from the year-ago reported figure. The downside is likely to have been due to a decrease in volume and a decline in gross revenue per load, resulting from changes in customer rates, fuel surcharge revenues and the mix of freight.

The consensus mark for Dedicated Contract Services segment revenues is pegged at $854 million, implying a 2.3% decrease from the first-quarter 2024 reported number. The downside is likely to have been caused by a decline in average trucks and productivity (revenue per truck per week).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Integrated Capacity Solutions revenues is pegged at $292.9 million, indicating a 2.7% increase from the year-ago reported figure.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Truckload revenues is pegged at $176.4 million, indicating a 1.1% decline from first-quarter 2024 reported number. Truckload revenues are expected to have been hurt due to a decrease in revenue per load and load volume.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Final Mile Services revenues is pegged at $226.2 million, indicating a 1.3% decrease from first-quarter 2024 reported number. General weakness in demand across many of the end markets served might have hurt the segment.

Higher net interest expense is likely to mar J.B. Hunt’s bottom line. It continues to incur higher interest expenses due to higher interest rates. Notably, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for JBHT’s first-quarter 2025 earnings has been revised downward by 1.7% in the past 60 days to $1.18 per share.

What Our Model Says

Our proven model does not conclusively predict an earnings beat for J.B. Hunt this time around. 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. But 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.

J.B. Hunt has an Earnings ESP of -2.29% and a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) at present.

Highlights of JBHT’s Q4 Performance

J.B. Hunt Transport Services' fourth-quarter 2024 earnings per share of $1.53 fell short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.62. The earnings miss naturally disappointed investors, resulting in the stock declining in double digits in aftermarket trading on Jan. 16. The bottom line increased 4.1% on a year-over-year basis.

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 decline was mainly due to lower fuel surcharge revenues and yield pressure in its Intermodal segment. Total operating income for the reported quarter increased 2% year over year to $207 million.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. price-eps-surprise | J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. Quote

Stocks to Consider

Here are a few stocks from the broader Zacks Transportation sector that investors may consider, as our model shows that these have the right combination of elements to beat on earnings this reporting cycle.

C.H. Robinson CHRW has an Earnings ESP of +0.78% and a Zacks Rank #3 at present. CHRW is scheduled to report first-quarter 2025 earnings on April 30. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for first-quarter 2025 earnings has been revised 1.94% upward in the past 90 days. CHRW’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the preceding four quarters, the average beat being 21.7%.

Expeditors International of Washington EXPD has an Earnings ESP of +1.74% and a Zacks Rank #2 at present. EXPD is scheduled to report first-quarter 2025 earnings on May 6.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for first-quarter 2025 earnings has been revised 1.94% upward in the past 90 days. EXPD’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the preceding four quarters, the average beat being 21.7%

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J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (JBHT) : Free Stock Analysis Report

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

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