ArcBest Delivers A Mixed Q4: Revenue Down, EPS Up But Outperforms Estimates

ArcBest Corp ARCB shares are trading higher after the company reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter 2024 results.

The company reported a fourth-quarter revenue decline of 8.1% year over year to $1.001 billion, beating the consensus of $994.994 million.

The operating income declined 40.6% YoY to $38.16 million

Sales by segments: Asset-Based $656.22 million, down 7.6% YoY (per-day decrease of 7.6%) and Asset-Light $375.43 million, down 9.2% YoY (per-day decrease of 9.2%).

Asset-based business total tonnage per day decreased by 7.3%, and total shipments per day fell by 1.1% YoY. Pricing rose 4.5% on renewals, but lower fuel costs limited overall gains, keeping LTL pricing stable.

Meanwhile, asset-light revenues declined due to lower shipment rates and a higher mix of smaller managed transportation shipments. Daily shipments fell 2.1%.

Fourth-quarter shipments fell 1.4% from the third quarter, but daily revenue rose 0.6% as revenue per shipment increased by 2%. Higher transport costs compressed margins, driving a $2 million operating loss increase.

Adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations declined to $73.99 million from $113.567 million a year ago, and the margin contracted by 304 bps to 7.4% for the quarter.

Adjusted EPS was $1.33 compared to $2.47 a year ago, beating the consensus of $1.04.

ArcBest’s operating cash flow for fiscal 2025 totaled $285.846 million, compared to $322.167 million a year ago. As of the end of December, the company held cash and equivalents of $127.44 million.

ArcBest returned over $85 million to shareholders in 2024 through buybacks and dividends while investing in growth. As of January 29, 2025, $48.7 million remained for repurchases.

Price Action: ARCB shares traded higher by 1.80% at $94.51 premarket at the last check Friday.

Photo: Shutterstock