Landstar (LSTR) Q4 Earnings & Revenues Lag Estimates, Down Y/Y
Landstar System, Inc. (LSTR) fourth-quarter 2023 earnings per share (EPS) of $1.62 missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a penny and declined 37.6% year over year. Revenues of $1,204.4 million lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1,245.6 million and declined 28% year over year.
Operating income fell 40% from the prior-year quarter’s figure to $74.56million. Total costs and expenses (on a reported basis) decreased 26.9% to $1.13 billion.
Landstar System, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Landstar System, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Landstar System, Inc. Quote
Total revenues in the truck transportation segment, contributing to 90.1% of the top line, amounted to $1.09 billion, down 29.2% from the year-ago quarter’s figure. The actual figure was lower than our estimate of $1.15 billion.
Rail intermodal revenues of $24.34 million decreased 22.1% from the figure recorded in fourth-quarter 2022. The actual figure was higher than our estimate of $22.2 million.
Revenues in the ocean and air-cargo carrier segments declined 23.3% year over year to $64.28 million. The actual figure was higher than our estimate of $46.2 million.
Other revenues increased 17.6% to $30.7 million. The actual figure was higher than our estimate of $26.9 million.
Liquidity, Dividends & Buyback
At the end of fourth-quarter 2023, Landstar had cash and cash equivalents of $481.04million compared with $439.66million recorded at the prior-quarter end. Additionally, long-term debt (excluding current maturities) totaled $43.26 million at the end of the fourth quarter compared with $46.17 million at the third-quarter end.
LSTR is currently authorized to purchase up to 3,000,000 shares under its previously announced share purchase programs. Concurrent with its fourth-quarter 2023 results, LSTR’s board of directors has declared a quarterly dividend of 33 cents per share, payable on Mar 8, 2024, to stockholders of record as of the close of business on Feb 12.
Q1 Outlook
Landstar anticipates first-quarter 2024 revenues in the range of $1.10-$1.15 billion. EPS for the first quarter is estimated to be in the band of $1.25-$1.35. LSTR expects first-quarter effective income tax rate of 24.5%.
Currently, Landstar carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Performances of Other Transportation Companies
J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc.’s JBHT fourth-quarter 2023 EPS of $1.47 missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.74 and declined 23.4% year over year.
JBHT’s total operating revenues of $3,303.70 million surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3,236.2 million but fell 9.5% year over year. Total operating revenues, excluding fuel surcharge revenue, fell 6% year over year.
Delta Air Lines DAL has reported fourth-quarter 2023 EPS (excluding $1.88 from non-recurring items) of $1.28, which comfortably beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.17. Earnings, however, declined 13.51% on a year-over-year basis due to high labor costs.
Revenues of $14,223 million surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $14,069.5 million and increased 5.87% on a year-over-year basis, driven by strong holiday-air-travel demand. Adjusted operating revenues (excluding third-party refinery sales) came in at $13,661 million, up 11% year over year.
United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (UAL) reported fourth-quarter 2023 EPS (excluding 19 cents from non-recurring items) of $2.00, which outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.61 but declined 18.7% year over year.
Operating revenues of $13,626 million beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $13,546.8 million. The top line increased 9.9% year over year due to upbeat air-travel demand. This was driven by a 10.9% rise in passenger revenues (accounting for 91.1% of the top line) to $12,421 million. Almost 41,779 passengers traveled on UAL flights in the fourth quarter.
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