Here's Why You Should Give Matson Stock a Miss for Now

Matson MATX is grappling with ongoing tariff-related uncertainty and increased volatility, significantly impacting the company’s performance and making it an unattractive choice for investors’ portfolios.

Let’s delve deeper.

MATX: Key Risks to Watch

Southward Earnings Estimate Revision:The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current-quarter earnings has been revised 31.8% downward over the past 60 days and is pegged at $2.38 per share. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 earnings stands at $9.04 per share, indicating an 8.3% fall over the past 60 days.

The unfavorable estimate revision indicates brokers’ lack of confidence in the stock.

Dim Price Performance:  The company’s price trend reveals that its shares have declined 22.2% over the past year compared with the Transportation - Services industry’s 9.9% fall.

Weak Zacks Rank: MATX currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

Bearish Industry Rank: The industry to which Matson belongs currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 206 (out of 245). Such an unfavorable rank places it in the bottom 16% of Zacks Industries.Studies show that 50% of a stock price movement is directly related to the performance of the industry group it belongs to.

A mediocre stock within a strong group is likely to outclass a robust stock in a weak industry. Reckoning the industry’s performance becomes imperative in this case.

Other Headwinds: Matson has been impacted by ongoing tariff uncertainty and shifting trade dynamics, which have pressured its China Service segment with lower freight demand and volumes. After a steep decline in April 2025 and only a temporary rebound in May, volumes settled modestly below last year as customers pulled shipments forward and carriers cut capacity. Although MATX benefited from shifting production to Southeast Asia and adding services in Vietnam, the segment remains under pressure from lower year-over-year freight rates. Continued weakness in the Shanghai Containerized Freight Index is further hampering the company’s overall performance.

Moreover, the volatile macro environment, driven by economic uncertainty, shifting tariff policies and geopolitical tensions, is weighing on Matson’s performance. Persistent tariff-related pressures are likely to continue disrupting trade flows and dampening freight demand, which could constrain Matson’s operational efficiency in the near term.

Stocks to Consider

Investors interested in the Transportation sector may consider LATAM Airlines Group LTM and SkyWest SKYW.

LTM currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

LTM has an expected earnings growth rate of 45% for the current year. The company has a mixed earnings surprise history. Its earnings outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate in two of the trailing four quarters, missed once and met in the remaining one, delivering an average beat of 4.04%.

SKYW currently sports a Zacks Rank #1.

SkyWest has an expected earnings growth rate of 28.06% for the current year. The company has an encouraging earnings surprise history. Its earnings topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, delivering an average beat of 21.92%.

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

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