Old Dominion's (ODFL) Q1 Earnings Beat Estimates, Rise Y/Y

Old Dominion Freight Line’s ODFL first-quarter 2022 earnings per share of $2.60 outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.37. The bottom line surged 52.9% year over year. The upside was driven by an improvement in the operating ratio (operating expenses as a percentage of revenues) on the back of higher revenues.

Revenues of $1497.3 million also surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1,454.1 million and increased 32.9% year over year. The uptick was backed by a 12% increase in LTL (Less-Than-Truckload) tons per day and a 17.4% rise in LTL revenue per hundredweight.

Other Details

In the quarter under review, LTL weight per shipment fell 1.1%, while LTL revenue per shipment rose 16.1%. LTL shipments and LTL shipments per day were up 15% and 13.2% year over year, respectively.

Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. Quote

Old Dominion’s major revenue-generating segment LTL services logged a total of $1,475.8 million, up 33% year over year. Revenues from other services rallied 27.3% to $21.5 million.

Total operating expenses moved up 27.4% to $1,091.6 million, mainly due to a 24.6% rise in costs pertaining to salaries, wages & benefits, a 54% increase in operating supplies and expenses as well as a 51.3% surge in purchased transportation costs. Operating ratio improved 320 basis points to 72.9%. Lower the value of this metric, the better.

Old Dominion exited the quarter with cash and cash equivalents worth $262.12 million compared with $462.6 million at the end of 2021. Capital expenditures incurred in the reported quarter were $93.7 million. Old Dominion expects a capex of $825 million for 2022. Of the total, $300 million is anticipated to be invested in real estate and service-center expansion. ODFL expects to spend $485 million and $40 million on tractors/trailers and information technology and other assets, respectively.

During the first quarter, Old Dominion — currently carrying a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) — paid out dividends worth $34.2 million to its shareholders. ODFL used $438.4 million of cash for its share repurchase program, including a $400-million accelerated share buyback program that will expire by August 2022. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Earnings Snapshots

Within the broader Transportation sector, J.B. Hunt Transport Services JBHT, CSX Corporation CSX and United Airlines UAL recently reported first-quarter 2022 results.

J.B. Hunt reported better-than-expected first-quarter 2022 earnings numbers. Quarterly earnings of $2.29 per share surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.91. The bottom line surged 67.2% year over year on the back of higher revenues across all segments.

Total operating revenues of $3,488.6 million also outperformed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3,260.5 million. The top line jumped 33.3% year over year. JBHT currently carries a Zacks Rank #3.

CSX Corp’s first-quarter 2022 earnings of 39 cents per share beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a penny despite the decrease in overall volumes as supply-chain issues continue to dent results. The bottom line improved 25.81% year over year owing to higher revenues, aided by increased shipping rates.

Total revenues of $3,413 million outperformed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3291.2 million. The top line increased 21.33% year over year. CSX carries a Zacks Rank of 3 at present.

United Airlines incurred a loss of $4.24 per share in the first quarter of 2022, wider than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of $4.19. This is the ninth consecutive quarterly loss suffered by UAL as coronavirus concerns continue to weigh on air-travel demand.

Operating revenues of $7,566 million also fell short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $7,657.2 million. UAL is presently Zacks #3 Ranked.

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