C.H. Robinson Q3 Earnings & Revenues Top Estimates, Increase Y/Y

C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. (CHRW) reported solid third-quarter 2024 results, wherein both earnings and revenues surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.28 outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.12 and improved year over year.Find the latest EPS estimates and surprises on Zacks Earnings Calendar.Total revenues of $4.64 billion beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.50 billion and improved 6.9% year over year, owing to higher pricing and volume in the company’s ocean services, partially offset by lower pricing and volume in truckload services. C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. QuoteAdjusted gross profits increased 15.8% year over year to $735.3 million, owing to higher adjusted gross profit per transaction in ocean and truckload services. Adjusted operating margin of 24.5% increased 660 basis points from the year-ago reported quarter.Operating expenses increased 6.5% year over year to $555.1 million.C.H. Robinson's president and chief executive officer, Dave Bozeman, stated, "I’m pleased with our third-quarter results that reflect continued improvement in our execution, as we continue to deploy our new operating model. We are raising the bar, even in a historically prolonged freight recession, with strong execution and disciplined volume growth across divisions while delivering exceptional service for our customers and carriers."CHRW’s Segmental ResultsNorth American Surface Transportation’s total revenues were $2.93 billion (down 4.9% year over year) in the third quarter, owing to lower truckload pricing, reflecting an oversupply of truckload capacity compared to freight demand. The actual segmental sales figure was below our expectation of $3.12 billion. Adjusted gross profits of the segment grew 8.8% to $420.7 million.Total revenues from Global Forwarding grew 58.7% year over year to $1.14 billion, owing to higher pricing and volume in the company’s ocean services. The actual segmental sales figure was above our expectation of $784.4 million. Adjusted gross profits grew 38.1% to $234.6 million.Revenues from other sources (Robinson Fresh, Managed Services and Other Surface Transportation) increased 6.3% year over year to $568.83 million. The actual segmental sales figure was above our expectation of $542.9 million. Adjusted gross profits surged 18.1% to $36.7 million, owing to an increase in integrated supply chain solutions for retail and foodservice customers.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 $702.31million in the quarter under consideration, up 15.6% from the prior-year figure.Adjusted gross profits of Truckload, LTL, Ocean, Air and Customs grew 13.9%, 3.8%, 56.9%, 11.3% and 13.5%, year over year, respectively. Other logistics services declined adjusted gross profits by 16.2% year over year.Balance-Sheet DataCHRW exited the third quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $131.70 million compared with $113.16 million at the end of the prior quarter. Long-term debt was $1.41 billion compared with $1.42 billion at the end of the prior quarter.CHRW generated $108.1 million of cash from operations in the third quarter. Capital expenditures totaled $17.3 million in the reported quarter.In the third quarter of 2024, CHRW returned $77.1 million of cash to shareholders, including $73 million in cash dividends and $4.1 million through share repurchases.2024 OutlookCapital expenditures for 2024 are now expected to be in the range of $75 million to $85 million. The previous expectation was toward the lower end of $85 million to $95 million.CHRW’s Zacks Rank and Price PerformanceCurrently, C.H. Robinson carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.CHRW shares have gained 26.9% so far this year, outperforming its industry, as well as the S&P 500, of which the company is a key member.YTD Price ComparisonImage Source: Zacks Investment ResearchPerformances of Other Transportation CompaniesDelta Air Lines (DAL) reported third-quarter 2024 earnings (excluding 47 cents from non-recurring items) of $1.50 per share, which fell short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.56. Earnings decreased 26.11% on a year-over-year basis, mainly due to high labor costs.Revenues of $15.68 billion surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $15.37 billion and increased 1.2% on a year-over-year basis, driven by strong air travel demand. Adjusted operating revenues (excluding third-party refinery sales) totaled $14.59 billion, flat year over year.J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (JBHT) third-quarter 2024 earnings of $1.49 per share outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.42 but declined 17.2% year over year.JBHT's total operating revenues of $3.07 billion surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.04 billion but fell 3% year over year. The downfall was due to a 5% and 6% decrease in gross revenue per load in Intermodal (JBI) and Truckload (JBT), respectively, a decline in load volume of 10% and 6% in Integrated Capacity Solutions (ICS) and Dedicated Contract Services (DCS), respectively, and 6% fewer stops in Final Mile Services (FMS).These were partially offset by JBI load growth of 5%, which included growth in both the transcontinental and eastern networks and a 3% increase in revenue per load in ICS. Total operating revenues, excluding fuel surcharge revenues, decreased less than 1% from the year-ago reported quarter.United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (UAL) reported third-quarter 2024 EPS (excluding 43 cents from non-recurring items) of $3.33, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.10. Earnings decreased 8.8% on a year-over-year basis.UAL's operating revenues of $14.84 billion beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $14.76 billion. The top line increased 2.5% year over year due to upbeat air travel demand. This was driven by a 1.6% rise in passenger revenues (which accounted for 91.3% of the top line) to $13.56 billion. Almost 45,559 passengers traveled on UAL flights in the third quarter, up 2.7% year over year.5 Stocks Set to DoubleEach was handpicked by a Zacks expert as the #1 favorite stock to gain +100% or more in 2024. While not all picks can be winners, previous recommendations have soared +143.0%, +175.9%, +498.3% and +673.0%.Most of the stocks in this report are flying under Wall Street radar, which provides a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor.Today, See These 5 Potential Home Runs >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Delta Air Lines, Inc. (DAL): Free Stock Analysis Report United Airlines Holdings Inc (UAL): Free Stock Analysis Report J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (JBHT): Free Stock Analysis Report C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. (CHRW): Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks