- J.B. Hunt Transport (NASDAQ:JBHT) jumped 5.5% in today's trade after Q2 results were not as bad as feared, as a soft freight market amid slower economic growth had set up low expectations.
- Other transportation stocks also rallied, helping lift the Dow Jones Transportation Index by 1.8%: KNX +6.3%, XPO +5.6%, SNDR +4.4%, CVTI +4.1%, R +3.7%, WERN +3.6%, LSTR +2.8%, YRCW +2%, HUBG +1.9%, SAIA +1.5%, RRTS +1.2%.
- JBHT also offered a relatively upbeat outlook, saying it expects intermodal cargo volume will improve in H2 and reverse an H1 slide in truckloads, easing concerns that the trucking industry's slump will get worse.
- “No doom, no gloom and a glimmer of hope,” said Cowen analyst Jason Seidl after the results.
- Seidl also noted Q2 revenues in JBHT's Dedicated Contract Services unit, which provides outsourced trucking services, surged 28% Y/Y to a better than expected $680M, which he believes is a good sign for other companies such as KNX and HUBG that offer similar services.
- BMO Capital's Fadi Chamoun reiterates his Market Perform rating, saying Q2 expectations were "more pessimistic than what was reported," but he remains concerned about weak demand and decelerating pricing.
- ETFs: IYT, XTN