Earnings results often indicate what direction a company will take in the months ahead. With Q3 behind us, let’s have a look at Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ: ODFL) and its peers.

The growth of e-commerce and global trade continues to drive demand for shipping services, especially last-mile delivery, presenting opportunities for ground transportation companies. The industry continues to invest in data, analytics, and autonomous fleets to optimize efficiency and find the most cost-effective routes. Despite the essential services this industry provides, ground transportation companies are still at the whim of economic cycles. Consumer spending, for example, can greatly impact the demand for these companies’ offerings while fuel costs can influence profit margins.

The 16 ground transportation stocks we track reported a softer Q3. As a group, revenues missed analysts’ consensus estimates by 1.9%.

In light of this news, share prices of the companies have held steady. On average, they are relatively unchanged since the latest earnings results.

Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ: ODFL)

With its name deriving from the Commonwealth of Virginia’s nickname, Old Dominion (NASDAQ: ODFL) delivers less-than-truckload (LTL) and full-container load freight.

Old Dominion Freight Line reported revenues of $1.47 billion, down 3% year on year. This print fell short of analysts’ expectations by 1.2%. Overall, it was a slower quarter for the company with a miss of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.

Marty Freeman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Old Dominion, commented, “Old Dominion’s third quarter financial results reflect ongoing softness in the domestic economy. The challenging operating environment, and strong comparable results for the third quarter of 2023, resulted in the first year-over-year decrease in our quarterly revenue and earnings per diluted share this year. Our market share and volume trends, however, remained relatively consistent with the first half of this year while our yield continued to improve. The consistency in our market share and yield performance continued to be supported by our best-in-class service, as we once again provided our customers with 99% on-time service and a cargo claims ratio of 0.1% during the quarter.

Unsurprisingly, the stock is down 4.3% since reporting and currently trades at $191.01.

Read our full report on Old Dominion Freight Line here, it’s free.

Best Q3: XPO (NYSE: XPO)

Owning a mobile game simulating freight operations for the Tour de France, XPO (NYSE: XPO) is a transportation company specializing in expedited shipping services.

XPO reported revenues of $2.05 billion, up 3.7% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 1.8%. The business had a very strong quarter with a solid beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.

XPO pulled off the biggest analyst estimates beat among its peers. The market seems happy with the results as the stock is up 20.4% since reporting. It currently trades at $144.78.

Is now the time to buy XPO? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.

Weakest Q3: Werner (NASDAQ: WERN)

Conducting business in over a 100 countries, Werner (NASDAQ: WERN) offers full-truckload, less-than-truckload, and intermodal delivery services.

Werner reported revenues of $745.7 million, down 8.8% year on year, falling short of analysts’ expectations by 2.6%. It was a disappointing quarter as it posted a significant miss of analysts’ adjusted operating income estimates.

As expected, the stock is down 2.3% since the results and currently trades at $37.39.

Read our full analysis of Werner’s results here.

ArcBest (NASDAQ: ARCB)

Historically owning furniture, banking, and other subsidiaries, ArcBest (NASDAQ: ARCB) offers full-truckload, less-than-truckload, and intermodal deliveries of freight.

ArcBest reported revenues of $1.06 billion, down 5.8% year on year. This result met analysts’ expectations. Taking a step back, it was a softer quarter as it recorded a significant miss of analysts’ EPS and adjusted operating income estimates.

The stock is down 6.9% since reporting and currently trades at $97.09.

Read our full, actionable report on ArcBest here, it’s free.

Saia (NASDAQ: SAIA)

Pivoting its business model after realizing there was more success in delivering produce than selling it, Saia (NASDAQ: SAIA) is a provider of freight transportation solutions.

Saia reported revenues of $842.1 million, up 8.6% year on year. This print was in line with analysts’ expectations. Zooming out, it was a mixed quarter as it also produced an impressive beat of analysts’ sales volume estimates but a miss of analysts’ EPS estimates.

Saia pulled off the fastest revenue growth among its peers. The stock is up 18.9% since reporting and currently trades at $491.93.

Read our full, actionable report on Saia here, it’s free.

Market Update

Thanks to the Fed's series of rate hikes in 2022 and 2023, inflation has cooled significantly from its post-pandemic highs, drawing closer to the 2% goal. This disinflation has occurred without severely impacting economic growth, suggesting the success of a soft landing. The stock market has thrived in 2024, spurred by recent rate cuts (0.5% in September and 0.25% in November), and a notable surge followed Donald Trump’s presidential election win in November, propelling indices to historic highs. Nonetheless, the outlook for 2025 remains clouded by potential trade policy changes and corporate tax discussions, which could impact business confidence and growth. The path forward holds both optimism and caution as new policies take shape.

Want to invest in winners with rock-solid fundamentals? Check out our Hidden Gem Stocks and add them to your watchlist. These companies are poised for growth regardless of the political or macroeconomic climate.

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