C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. (CHRW) reported mixed fourth-quarter 2024 results, wherein earnings surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate while revenues missed the same.

Quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.21 outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.12 and improved 142% year over year.

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Total revenues of $4.18 billion missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.47 billion and decreased 0.9% year over year, owing to lower volume and pricing in truckload services, partially offset by higher pricing in our ocean services.

Adjusted gross profits increased 10.7% year over year to $684.6 million, owing to higher adjusted gross profit per transaction in truckload and ocean services.

Adjusted operating margin of 26.8% increased 940 basis points from the year-ago reported quarter. Operating expensesdecreased 2% year over year to $500.8 million.

CHRW’s Segmental Results

North American Surface Transportation’s total revenues were $2.80 billion (down 6.6% year over year) in the fourth quarter, owing to lower truckload volume and pricing, reflecting an oversupply of truckload capacity compared to freight demand. The actual segmental sales figure was below our expectations of $3.00 billion. Adjusted gross profits of the segment grew 6.2% year over year to $403.8 million.

Global Forwarding's total revenues increased 24.7% year over year to $883.96 million, owing to higher pricing in the company’s ocean services. The actual segmental sales figure was above our expectations of $878 million. Adjusted gross profits grew 25.6% year over year to $203.8 million.

Revenues from other sources (Robinson Fresh, Managed Services and Other Surface Transportation) decreased 2.8% year over year to $497.98 million. The actual segmental sales figure was below our expectations of $549.9 million.

Below, we present the division of adjusted profits among the service lines (on an enterprise basis).

Transportation: The unit (comprising Truckload, LTL, Ocean, Air, Customs and Other logistics services) delivered an adjusted gross profit of $684.62million in the quarter under review, up 10.7% from the prior-year figure.

Adjusted gross profits of Truckload, LTL, Ocean, Air and Customs grew 7.3%, 3.9%, 28.2%, 44.8% and 11.5%, year over year, respectively. Other logistics services declined adjusted gross profits by 8.4% year over year.

Balance-Sheet Data

CHRW exited the fourth quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $145.76 million compared with $131.70 million at the end of the prior quarter. Long-term debt was $921.85 million compared with $1.41 billion at the end of the prior quarter.

CHRW generated $267.9 million of cash from operations in the fourth quarter, higher than $47.3 million of cash generated in the prior-year quarter. The upside was owing to a $118.3 million increase in net income and an $81.3 million increase in cash provided by changes in net operating working capital (due to a $90.8 million sequential decrease in net operating working capital in the fourth quarter of 2024 compared with a $9.5 million sequential decrease in the fourth quarter of 2023).

In the fourth quarter of 2024, CHRW returned $82.8 million of cash to shareholders, including $74.5 million in cash dividends and $8.3 million through share repurchases.

Capital expenditures totaled $15.2 million in the reported quarter.

Outlook

Capital expenditures for 2025 are expected to be in the range of $75 million to $85 million.

CHRW’s Zacks Rank and Price Performance

Currently, C.H. Robinson carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Q4 Performances of Other Transportation Companies

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’srevenues 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. However, the bottom line increased 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 decline 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 revenue, decreased 2% from the year-ago reported quarter. Total operating income for the reported quarter increased 2% year over year to $207 million.

Alaska Air Group, Inc. (ALK) reported solid fourth-quarter 2024results, wherein both earnings and revenues surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Quarterly earnings per share of 97 cents outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 47 cents and improved more than 100% on a year-over-year basis. The reported figure exceeded the guided range of 40-50 cents.

ALK’s bottom line benefitted from solid revenue growth, cost and operational performance throughout the quarter and holiday travel periods. ALK also benefitted from a renegotiation of certain interest payments and favorability in its fourth-quarter tax rate.

ALK’s operating revenues of $3.53 billion beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.51 billion. The top line jumped 38.4% year over year, with passenger revenues accounting for 89.9% of the top line and increasing 37% owing to continued recovery in air-travel demand.

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