J.B. Hunt Third-Quarter Revenues Top Views; Transportation, Fuel Costs Dent Operating Profit Margin

06:57 AM EDT, 10/16/2026 (MT Newswires) -- J.B. Hunt Transport Services (JBHT) reported better-than-expected third-quarter revenue, but purchased transportation, fuel taxes, and insurance claims expenses weighed on the company's operating income margin, sending its shares down early Friday. Revenue climbed 20% to $3.68 billion, exceeding the FactSet-polled consensus of $3.59 billion. Per-share earnings came in at $1.82 for the quarter ended September, up from $1.76 the year before, the transportation and logistics company said late Thursday. Operating income as a percentage of revenue declined to 6.7% from 7.9% on a yearly basis due to higher purchased transportation, fuel and fuel taxes, and increased insurance claims expenses, according to the company. The stock decreased 1.3% in the most recent premarket activity. It's up about 21% year to date. Operating income rose 2% to $247.1 million, supported by higher revenue and improved productivity, though increased purchased transportation, equipment-related and driver personnel expenses partially offset the gains, J.B. Hunt said. "At an investor conference in September, we identified three primary cost headwinds this quarter: driver-related investments, volatile fuel prices, and higher claims and medical cost," Chief Financial Officer Brad Delco said during an earnings call, according to a FactSet transcript. "In total, these cost buckets, drive-related claims and fuel, impacted operating income by over $50 million versus the second quarter this year." In a client note last month, UBS Securities said J.B. Hunt was facing cost pressures that could weigh on its financial results for the back half of the year. Headwinds from fuel costs are likely to be temporary, while higher driver costs are expected to persist, the brokerage said at the time. "These pressures are either more cyclical or unpredictable than structural," Delco said, adding that they "reinforce the need to price our services for the value, capacity and reliability we deliver." Intermodal revenue rose 20% to $1.83 billion, lifted by an 11% gain in gross revenue per load, though per-load revenue excluding fuel surcharges rose just 2%. Dedicated contract services revenue rose 11% to $960.2 million as revenue per truck per week increased 10%. The integrated capacity solutions segment revenue surged 57% to $433.8 million as volume advanced 22% year over year, while truckload sales gained 37% to $260.8 million. Revenue in the final mile services segment decreased 3%. For the ongoing three-month period, J.B. Hunt projects capital expenditures to be higher than the $146 million spent in the third quarter, based "on a robust pipeline of dedicated opportunities," Delco told analysts on the call. The company is still targeting about $700 million in capital expenditures for the full year, the CFO added. Rivals C.H. Robinson Worldwide (CHRW) and Schneider National (SNDR) are scheduled to report their latest results later in October. Earlier this month, C.H. Robinson agreed to acquire RXO (RXO) in a cash-and-stock deal worth roughly $5.8 billion to create a more than $25 billion third-party logistics provider.