U.S. Xpress Enterprises (USX) Reports In-Line Q1 EPS, Revenues Beat

U.S. Xpress Enterprises (NYSE: USX) reported Q1 EPS of $0.05, in-line with the analyst estimate of $0.05. Revenue for the quarter came in at $450.8 million versus the consensus estimate of $449.11 million.

Eric Fuller, President and CEO, commented, “I am pleased with our team’s continued execution of our digital initiatives, which are designed to support our goal of doubling our revenues over the next four years. Notably, we grew Variant to 11.8% of Truckload revenues in the first quarter, compared to 9.4% in the fourth quarter of 2020, and remain on track to meet or exceed our goal of reaching 1,500 Variant tractors, generating approximately 25% of Truckload revenues, by the end of 2021. We also made strong gains in our Brokerage segment as we processed 67% of our Brokerage transactions digitally in the first quarter. Our digital platform is enabling our Brokerage segment to profitably scale while offering freight selectivity for Variant.”

Mr. Fuller continued, “Additionally, our team addressed customer pricing in certain Dedicated accounts through the first quarter in response to driver and capacity cost inflation, which we expect to contribute to improved Dedicated division results as the year continues. As we look forward to the balance of the year, we believe all of our businesses are firmly positioning the Company to deliver on our goals of growing our digital businesses and achieving scale benefits which will begin to drive meaningful margin expansion as we exit the year.”

Outlook

The Company’s core markets have recovered from the weather-related disruptions that occurred through February and freight demand is running better than normal seasonality through the first three weeks of April. The Company’s expectation is for freight demand to remain strong throughout 2021 given the broader economic recovery and tailwinds that it is experiencing as a result of the Federal Government’s most recent stimulus package which is having a notable impact. On the supply side, the market for experienced drivers remains challenging which is keeping a lid on supply. Additionally, chip shortages and supply chain constraints are impacting new tractor builds which is also supportive of the supply-demand balance over the near term. These conditions are expected to continue to support spot market rates in excess of contract rates and a strengthening contract renewal environment through the remainder 2021.

For earnings history and earnings-related data on U.S. Xpress Enterprises (USX) click here.

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