Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ: WERN) reported Q1 EPS of $0.40, $0.05 better than the analyst estimate of $0.35. Revenue for the quarter came in at $592.7 million versus the consensus estimate of $576.87 million.

First Quarter 2020 Highlights (all metrics compared to first quarter 2019 unless otherwise noted)

• Total revenues of $592.7 million, down 1%
• Operating income of $31.1 million, down 35%; non-GAAP adjusted operating income of $37.3 million, down 24%
• Operating margin of 5.2%, down 290 basis points (bps); non-GAAP adjusted operating margin of 6.3%, down 190 bps
• Diluted EPS of $0.33, down 35%; non-GAAP adjusted diluted EPS of $0.40, down 24%

“Our lives were profoundly impacted beginning in March with the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic,” said Derek J. Leathers, President and Chief Executive Officer. “Our heartfelt thoughts go out to those directly impacted by this global pandemic and their family members, the medical professionals, the first responders and all other essential workers who are bravely and heroically combatting this virus under very difficult circumstances.

“I would like to thank the men and women of Werner who are relentlessly focused, determined and 100 percent committed to serve during this challenging time. Our front-line professional drivers and mechanics take tremendous pride in being an essential service provider and safely delivering America’s freight on-time and damage-free, while protecting their safety and health. In these challenging times, our non-driver associates continue to step up in numerous ways to remain productive and efficient, while ensuring the needs of our customers and drivers are being met. We remain focused, flexible and strategic as we constantly adjust and adapt to the changes affecting our business and associates. As we adapt to changing COVID-19 developments, we are deploying and executing our plans by being rational, logical and above all compassionate.

“Our results in first quarter 2020 reflect freight demand that was slightly below the same period a year ago. Following the pandemic declaration on March 11, we experienced above normal demand for two to three weeks as consumers purchased essential products for their homes. This led to demand for the full month of March 2020 being comparable to March a year ago.

“April 2020 freight demand has held up fairly well so far, with some expected gradual weakening given that many parts of the U.S. economy are shut down or have been significantly curtailed. Our freight base is designed to more effectively manage through what we anticipate will be an extremely difficult economic environment in second quarter 2020, as a significant portion of our revenues come from delivering essential goods and products. 62% of revenues from our top 100 customers (85% of revenues in first quarter 2020) came from the discount retail, home improvement retail, food and beverage or consumer packaged goods verticals.”

For earnings history and earnings-related data on Werner Enterprises (WERN) click here.