C.H. Robinson Q2 Earnings Surpass Estimates, Increase Year Over Year

C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. (CHRW) reported mixed second-quarter 2025 results, wherein earnings surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate while revenues missed the same.

Quarterly earnings per share of $1.29 outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.17 and improved 12.2% year over year. Total revenues of $4.13 billion missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.22 billion and fell 7.7% year over year, owing to the divestiture of CHRW’s Europe Surface Transportation business, lower pricing in the ocean services and lower fuel surcharges in the truckload services.

Adjusted gross profits grew 0.8% year over year to $693.2 million, owing to higher adjusted gross profit per transaction in the company’s customs, truckload, and less than truckload (LTL) services. This was partially offset by the divestiture of CHRW’s Europe Surface Transportation business and lower volume in ocean services.

Adjusted operating margin of 31.1% increased 520 basis points from the year-ago reported quarter. Operating expenses decreased 6.3% year over year to $477.3 million.

CHRW’s Q2 Segmental Results

North American Surface Transportation’s total revenues were $2.91 billion (down 2.4% year over year) in the second quarter, owing tolower fuel surcharges in the company’s truckload service. The actual segmental sales figure was below our expectation of $3.02 billion. Adjusted gross profits of the segment grew 3% year over year to $432.24 million.

Total revenues from Global Forwarding fell 13.4% year over year to $797.80 million, owing to lower pricing in the company’s ocean services. The actual segmental sales figure was above our expectation of $764.1 million. Adjusted gross profits grew 1.9% to $187.58 million.

Revenues from other sources (Robinson Fresh, Managed Services and Other Surface Transportation) decreased 26.5% year over year to $420.51 million. The actual segmental sales figure was above our expectation of $407.7 million.

Below, we present the division of adjusted profits among the service lines (on an enterprise basis).

Transportation: The unit (comprising Truckload, LTL, Ocean, Air, Customs and Other logistics services) delivered an adjusted gross profit of $693.23million in the quarter under consideration, up 0.8% from the prior-year figure.

Adjusted gross profits of LTL, Air and Customs grew 4.4%, 11.5% and 31.7%, year over year, respectively. Truckload, Ocean and Other logistics services declined adjusted gross profits by 2.3%, 7.5% and 1.5%, year over year, respectively.

Balance-Sheet Data

CHRW exited the second quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $155.99 million compared with $129.94 million at the end of the prior quarter. Long-term debt was $922.31 million compared with $922.08 million at the end of the prior quarter.

CHRW generated $227.1 million of cash from operations in the second quarter of 2025, up from $166.4 million generated in the year-ago quarter. The $60.7 million increase in cash flow from operations was owing to a $26.2 million increase in net income and a $57.7 million decrease in cash used by changes in net operating working capital.

In the second quarter of 2025, CHRW returned $160.7 million to shareholders, which includes $74.9 million in the form of cash dividends and $85.8 million through share repurchases.

Capital expenditures totaled $20.2 million in the reported quarter.

For 2025, CHRW continues to expect capital expenditures between $65 million and $75 million.

Currently, CHRW carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Q2 Performances of Other Transportation Companies

Delta Air Lines (DAL) reported second-quarter 2025 earnings (excluding $1.17 per share from non-recurring items) of $2.10 per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.04. Earnings decreased 11% on a year-over-year basis due to high labor costs.

Revenues in the June-end quarter were $16.65 billion, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $16.2 billion and decreasing marginally on a year-over-year basis. Adjusted operating revenues (excluding third-party refinery sales) increased 1% year over year to $15.5 billion. 

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (JBHT) reported second-quarter 2025 earnings of $1.31 per share, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.34 and declined 0.8% year over year.

Total operating revenues of $2.93 billion missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.94 billion and were flat year over year. JBHT’s second-quarter revenue performance witnessed a 6% increase in Intermodal (JBI) loads, a 13% increase in Truckload (JBT) loads, a 3% increase in Dedicated Contract Services (DCS) productivity and a 6% increase in Integrated Capacity Solutions (ICS) revenue per load. These items were offset by Final Mile Services revenue declining 10%, lower revenue per load in both JBI and JBT, a 9% decrease in ICS load volume and a 3% decline in average trucks in DCS. Total operating revenues, excluding fuel surcharge revenue, increased 1% on a year-over-year basis.

United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (UAL) reported mixed second-quarter 2025 results wherein the company’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate, but revenues missed the same.

UAL's second-quarter 2025 adjusted earnings per share of $3.87 surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a penny but declined 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. The reported figure lies within the guided range of $3.25-$4.25.

Operating revenues of $15.2 billion fell short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $15.4 billion but increased 1.7% year over year. Passenger revenues (which accounted for 90.8% of the top line) increased 1.1% year over year to $13.8 billion. UAL flights transported 46,186 passengers in the second quarter, up 4.1% 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

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

Zacks Investment Research