FedEx Freight Holding Company, Inc.FDXF reported four-month transition period 2026 adjusted earnings of $1.49 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.38 by 8%. Revenues increased 8.1% year over year to $2.44 billion, surpassing the consensus mark of $2.42 billion by 1.1%.
Results were bolstered by higher fuel surcharge revenues and improved freight yields, partly offset by softer shipment volumes. Revenue per shipment increased 9.5% year over year, while average daily shipments declined 0.7%.
FedEx Freight Holding Company Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
FedEx Freight Holding Company Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | FedEx Freight Holding Company Inc. Quote
FDXF Benefits From Higher Freight Yields
Composite revenue per shipment increased 9.5% year over year to $412.05. Excluding fuel surcharges, revenue per shipment rose 1.1% to $316.78, reflecting modest improvement in underlying pricing.
Revenue per hundredweight climbed 8.8% to $44.20. Excluding fuel surcharges, the metric improved 0.4% to $33.98. Higher fuel surcharge collections contributed significantly to reported yield growth.
FedEx Freight Sees Stabilizing Shipment Volumes
Average daily shipments declined 0.7% year over year during the four-month transition period in 2026, reflecting continued softness in freight demand.
However, shipment trends improved sequentially, with monthly volume growth turning positive at 0.9% in September. Management expects volume stabilization and pricing initiatives to support future performance.
FDXF Reports Higher Adjusted Operating Income
Adjusted operating income increased 11.9% year over year to $358 million from $320 million. The adjusted operating margin expanded to 14.7% from 14.2%, benefiting from higher revenues and fuel-related gains.
However, reported operating income declined 12.8% to $253 million. The reported operating margin contracted to 10.4% from 12.8%, reflecting increased operating expenses.
FedEx Freight Faces Higher Operating Costs
Total operating expenses increased 11.2% year over year to $2.19 billion. Salaries and employee benefits rose 4.1% to $1.13 billion, while operating supplies and expenses increased 15.9% to $546 million.
Purchased transportation expenses climbed 17.5% to $235 million. Separation and other costs increased to $105 million from $30 million, reflecting expenses associated with the company's transition to an independent business.
FDXF Raises Transition-Period Earnings Outlook
FedEx Freight raised its adjusted earnings guidance for the seven-month transition period ending Dec. 31, 2026, to $2.80-$2.90 per share from $2.40-$2.60.
The company projects revenues of $5.58-$5.65 billion and adjusted operating income of $695-$715 million compared with its previous operating income forecast of $605-$645 million. The adjusted operating margin is expected to be between 12.5% and 12.7%.
For the fourth quarter of 2026, management expects revenues of $2.30-$2.37 billion and adjusted earnings of 65-75 cents per share. Adjusted operating income is projected between $185 million and $205 million.
FedEx Freight Maintains Liquidity and Reduces Debt
Net cash provided by operating activities totaled $390 million during the four-month 2026 transition period, down from $1.09 billion a year earlier. Capital expenditures reached $151 million, resulting in free cash flow of $239 million.
The company repaid $100 million of debt ahead of schedule. Its gross leverage ratio stood at 2.8 times, with management targeting approximately 2.5 times within 12 months of the spin-off.
FDXF ended September with $388 million in cash compared with $251 million at May-end. Total liquidity stood at approximately $1.6 billion, including an undrawn $1.2 billion revolving credit facility.
FDXF currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Q3 Performance of Other Transportation Companies
Alaska Air Group, Inc.ALK reported third-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings of 36 cents per share, excluding certain tax impacts, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 35 cents by 2.9%. The company reported adjusted earnings of $1.05 per share a year earlier. Higher fuel expenses weighed on profitability despite strong revenue momentum.
Operating revenues increased 14.4% year over year to $4.30 billion but missed the consensus mark of $4.31 billion marginally by 0.1%.
Wabtec CorporationWAB reported mixed third-quarter 2026 results, wherein earnings surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate while revenues missed the same.
Quarterly earnings (excluding 41 cents from non-recurring items) of $2.83 per share beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.72 by 4.04% and increased 22% year over year. Revenues climbed 8.1% year over year to $3.12 billion but missed the consensus mark of $3.18 billion by 2%. The 12-month backlog increased 8.8% to $8.99 billion.
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FedEx Freight Holding Company Inc. (FDXF) : Free Stock Analysis Report
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
