Expeditors' (EXPD) Q4 Earnings Lag Estimates, Decline Y/Y
Expeditors International of Washington’s EXPD fourth-quarter 2023 earnings of $1.09 per share missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.21. The bottom line plunged 21% year over year due to volume woes. Total revenues of $2.28 billion beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.24 billion but declined 33.8% year over year.
Airfreight tonnage and ocean container volumes dipped 3% and 10%, respectively. We had expected airfreight tonnage and ocean container volumes to decline 7.7% and 9%, respectively, from fourth-quarter 2022 actuals. Operating income decreased 40% to $199 million. Total operating expenses fell 33.4% to $2.08 billion.
Airfreight Services revenues tumbled 28.1% year over year to $866.1 million in the final quarter of 2023. Ocean freight and ocean services revenues decreased 54.5% to $511.9 million. Customs Brokerage and other services revenues shrank 19.1% year over year to $899.8 million.
Per EXPD’s president and chief executive officer Jeffrey S. Musser, "While ocean and air markets have been recovering from the massive disruptions brought on by the global Covid-19 pandemic, we continue to face further market uncertainty due to the current conflicts in the Middle East and on the Red Sea.”
In the fourth quarter of 2023, Expeditors repurchased 1.6 million shares at an average price of $119.22 per share. EXPD exited 2023 with cash and cash equivalents of $1.51 billion compared with $2.03 billion at the end of 2022.
Currently, Expeditors carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). 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 fourth-quarter 2023 earnings (excluding $1.88 from non-recurring items) of $1.28 per share comfortably beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.17. Earnings, however, declined 13.5% on a year-over-year basis due to high labor costs.
Revenues of $14.22 billion surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $14.07 billion and increased 5.9% on a year-over-year basis, driven by strong holiday-air-travel demand. Adjusted operating revenues (excluding third-party refinery sales) came in at $13.66 billion, up 11% year over year.
United Airlines UAL reported fourth-quarter 2023 earnings per share (excluding 19 cents from non-recurring items) of $2, which outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.61 but declined 18.7% year over year.
Operating revenues of $13.6 billion beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $13.5 billion. The top line increased 9.9% year over year due to upbeat air-travel demand. Cargo revenues fell 14.8% year over year to $402 million. Revenues from other sources jumped 10.6% year over year to $803 million.
J.B. Hunt Transport Services' JBHT fourth-quarter 2023 earnings per share of $1.47 missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.74 and declined 23.4% year over year.
Total operating revenues of $3.3 billion surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.2 billion but fell 9.5% year over year. Total operating revenues, excluding fuel surcharge revenues, decreased approximately 6% year over year.
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
Expeditors International of Washington, Inc. (EXPD) : Free Stock Analysis Report
