J.B. Hunt Gears Up to Report Q4 Earnings: Is a Beat in Store?

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. JBHT is scheduled to report fourth-quarter 2025 results on Jan. 15, after market close.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for JBHT’s fourth-quarter 2025 earnings has been revised upward by 1.14% to $1.78 per share in the past 60 days. Moreover, the consensus mark implies a surge of 16.34% from the year-ago actual.

J.B. Hunt’s earnings outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate in two of the trailing four quarters, the average beat being 3.42%. However, the company lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate in the remaining two quarters.

Let’s see how things have shaped up for J.B. Hunt this earnings season.

Factors Likely to Have Influenced JBHT’s Q4 Performance

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for J.B. Hunt’s fourth-quarter 2025 revenues is pegged at $3.09 billion, indicating a 1.68% decline year over year.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the fourth-quarter Intermodal revenues is pegged at $1.53 billion, indicating a 4.2% decline from the year-ago reported figure. The downside is likely due to a decrease in loads, resulting from changes in customer rates, fuel surcharge revenue and the mix of freight. The consensus mark lies below our estimate of $1.56 billion.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the Dedicated Contract Services segment revenues is pegged at $858 million, implying a 2.3% increase from the fourth quarter of 2024 reported number. The upside is likely to have been driven by the rise in productivity (revenue per truck per week).The consensus mark is pegged below our estimate of $848.2 million.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Integrated Capacity Solutions’ revenues is pegged at $299 million, indicating a 2.9% decrease from the year-ago reported figure. Our estimate is pegged at $300.9 million.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Truckload revenues is pegged at $185 million, indicating a 1.6% rise from the fourth quarter of 2024reported number. Truckload revenues are expected to have been aided by an increase inload volume. Our estimate is pegged at $175.7 million.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Final Mile Services revenues is pegged at $211 million, indicating a 7.5% decrease from the fourth quarter of 2024 reported number. General weakness in demand across many of the end markets served might have hurt the segment.Our estimate is pegged at $208.5 million.

Higher net interest expense is likely to mar J.B. Hunt’s bottom line. JBHT continues to incur higher interest expenses due to higher interest rates. Further, the company’s bottom line might have been hurt by an expected increase in operating expenses due to high purchased transportation costs, salaries, wages and benefit expenses.

What Our Model Says About JBHT

Our proven model predicts an earnings beat for J.B. Hunt this time around. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they're reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

J.B. Hunt has an Earnings ESP of +1.54% and a Zacks Rank #2 at present.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. price-eps-surprise | J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. Quote

Highlights of JBHT’s Q3 Earnings

J.B. Hunt reported third-quarter 2025 earnings of $1.76 per share, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.47 and improved 18% year over year. Total operating revenues of $3.05 billion surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.02 billion and decreased 0.5% year over year. Total operating revenues, excluding fuel surcharge revenue, fell less than 1% year over year.

Other Stocks to Consider

Here are a few stocks from the broader Zacks Transportation sector that investors may consider, as our model shows that these have the right combination of elements to beat on earnings this reporting cycle.

United Parcel Service UPS has an Earnings ESP of +1.72% and a Zacks Rank #3 at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

UPS is scheduled to report fourth-quarter 2025 earnings on Jan. 27. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fourth-quarter 2025 earnings has been revised 2.33% upward over the past 60 days. UPS’ earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the preceding four quarters and missed in the remaining one, the average beat being 11.2%.

Delta Air Lines DAL has an Earnings ESP of +0.24% and a Zacks Rank #3.

Delta Air Lines is scheduled to report fourth-quarter 2025 results on Jan. 13, before market open.Delta Air Lines has an impressive earnings surprise history, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters. The average beat is 8.9%.

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

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