Why Is C.H. Robinson (CHRW) Up 2.1% Since Last Earnings Report?

It has been about a month since the last earnings report for C.H. Robinson Worldwide (CHRW). Shares have added about 2.1% in that time frame, underperforming the S&P 500.Will the recent positive trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is C.H. Robinson due for a pullback? Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late, let's take a quick look at the most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important drivers. C.H. Robinson Beats on Q3 EarningsC.H. Robinson third-quarter 2024 earnings of $1.28 outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.12 and improved year over year.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. Adjusted 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.How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?In the past month, investors have witnessed an upward trend in estimates revision.VGM ScoresAt this time, C.H. Robinson has a nice Growth Score of B, however its Momentum Score is doing a bit better with an A. However, the stock was allocated a grade of C on the value side, putting it in the middle 20% for this investment strategy.Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of A. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in.OutlookEstimates have been broadly trending upward for the stock, and the magnitude of these revisions looks promising. Notably, C.H. Robinson has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). We expect an in-line return from the stock in the next few months.Free Today: Profiting from The Future’s Brightest Energy SourceThe demand for electricity is growing exponentially. At the same time, we’re working to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels like oil and natural gas. Nuclear energy is an ideal replacement.Leaders from the US and 21 other countries recently committed to TRIPLING the world’s nuclear energy capacities. 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