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Werner Enterprises reported third-quarter revenue of $951 million, up 23% from a year earlier. Adjusted earnings per share were $0.16, and adjusted operating income rose 92% to $21 million. Growth in its Dedicated business, the FirstFleet acquisition, fuel surcharges and better asset productivity drove results. Dedicated revenue excluding fuel surcharges rose 52%. Rising fuel, recruiting and insurance costs weighed on earnings. The One-Way segment returned to profit after a network restructuring, with revenue per truck per week up 34%. Werner remains on track for $18 million in FirstFleet synergies. The company expects modest sequential earnings improvement in the fourth quarter. It lowered net capital expenditure guidance to $190 million–$205 million.

Werner Enterprises Q3 earnings call highlights. Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) reported third-quarter revenue of $951 million, up 23% from a year earlier, as growth in its Dedicated business, the FirstFleet acquisition, fuel surcharge revenue and improved asset productivity supported results. Adjusted diluted earnings per share were $0.16, while adjusted operating income rose 92% to $21 million. Management said the quarter included roughly $0.18 per share of sequential pressure from rising fuel costs, investments in driver recruiting and retention, and unfavorable insurance reserve development tied to select FirstFleet claims. Despite those costs, Chairman and CEO Derek Leathers said the company's One-Way network restructuring and Dedicated expansion were producing higher yields, improved productivity and structural cost efficiencies. Dedicated growth and FirstFleet integration. Dedicated revenue excluding fuel surcharges increased 52% year over year, while revenue per truck per week rose nearly 6%. Werner added 130 net Dedicated trucks sequentially, aided by increased recruiting activity, and said customer retention remained above 95%. Dedicated represented 77% of Truckload Transportation Services, or TTS, trucking revenue during the quarter, compared with 65% a year earlier. The Dedicated fleet accounted for 81% of TTS trucks at quarter-end. On Werner's legacy Dedicated fleet, revenue per truck per week increased 7%, according to Chief Financial Officer Chris Wikoff. Management said FirstFleet, acquired earlier in the year, continued to perform ahead of acquisition targets. Werner reported nearly $6 million in savings during the first eight months following the transaction, contributing more than 160 basis points of margin improvement. The company said it has identified initiatives representing more than $11 million in annualized savings and remains on track to achieve its $18 million synergy target. Leathers said Werner has achieved a 98% renewal rate on more than 85% of the FirstFleet portfolio that has come up for renewal. He also said Dedicated bid activity was at record levels as shippers sought reliable capacity in a tightening freight market. One-Way turnaround gains traction. Werner's One-Way Truckload business continued to improve following its network restructuring, though revenue remained lower because of a smaller fleet. One-Way trucking revenue excluding fuel fell 15% to $136 million, while average trucks declined 37% year over year to 1,673. However, revenue per truck per week increased 34%, driven by a 22% increase in miles per truck and a 10% gain in revenue per total mile. The segment's adjusted operating margin improved by more than 800 basis points from the prior-year period, moving from a loss to a profit, management said. More than 85% of Werner's One-Way portfolio was repriced at higher rates through the first three quarters of the year. Chris Neil, senior vice president of pricing and strategic planning, said the company expects another season of rate increases in 2027 as it seeks to restore One-Way margins to "reinvestable and sustainable levels." He said early opportunities in the 2027 bid season would likely require double-digit increases on average, although pricing decisions remain customer-specific. Leathers said the One-Way restructuring resulted in more fleet shrinkage than management had anticipated, partly because drivers did not always relocate with changes in freight geography. Still, he said the network is now aligned with the company's targeted markets and freight mix, positioning it for future fleet growth. Logistics returns to positive operating income. Logistics revenue declined 7% year over year to $216 million but rose 2% sequentially. The segment returned to positive adjusted operating income, posting a 0.4% adjusted operating margin, up 170 basis points from the second quarter. Truckload logistics revenue was down 13% year over year on 40% fewer shipments, partly offset by a 44% increase in revenue per load. Higher contract rates and improved mix helped expand logistics gross margin by more than 200 basis points sequentially. Werner also reported growth in Intermodal and Final Mile. Intermodal revenue rose 7%, supported by higher load volumes and a 6% increase in revenue per load. Final Mile revenue increased 18% year over year and 8% sequentially to a record high. Fuel volatility, driver investments and outlook. Wikoff said rapid diesel price increases created a temporary margin headwind because fuel surcharges recover costs with a lag. Leathers said the lag is generally about one week, but persistent weekly price increases can compound the effect. Werner also said it worked with some customers during the quarter to modify fuel recovery programs where regional pricing differences and contract provisions reduced recovery effectiveness. Meanwhile, Werner increased spending on driver advertising, recruiting, training, instructors, onboarding and incentives to support committed freight and seat additional trucks. Leathers described much of the expense as front-loaded rather than structural labor inflation. Management expects recruiting investments to continue at a measured pace in the fourth quarter and potentially into the first quarter of 2027. Werner said its DOT-preventable accidents per million miles were down more than 40% year to date, reaching their lowest level in more than 20 years. Insurance costs were nevertheless affected by unfavorable development on select FirstFleet claims, which management expects to be contained to the third quarter. For the fourth quarter, Wikoff said Werner expects modest sequential improvement from third-quarter adjusted EPS of $0.16. The company expects most of the fuel and reserve-development pressure to abate, while peak-season demand, rate momentum and a larger active fleet support results. Those benefits may be partly offset by lower gains on equipment sales, higher interest expense and tax normalization. * Full-year TTS average truck count growth guidance was narrowed to 16% to 17%. * Dedicated revenue per truck per week guidance was raised to an increase of 4% to 5% for the full year. * Werner expects fourth-quarter One-Way revenue per total mile to rise 10% to 13% year over year. * Net capital expenditure guidance was lowered to $190 million to $205 million, primarily due to OEM delivery timing. * Expected gains on sales of used equipment and revenue-generating assets were raised to $14 million to $16 million. Werner ended the quarter with $654 million of liquidity, including $39 million of cash and $615 million available under credit facilities. In October, the company entered a new $1.1 billion unsecured credit facility with a five-year maturity, lower borrowing costs and additional capacity for investment. Total debt at quarter-end was $847 million, while covenant-defined pro forma net leverage was 1.9 times. About Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN). Werner Enterprises, Inc is a transportation and logistics company headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska. Founded in 1956 by Clarence L. Werner, the company provides freight transportation and supply chain services to customers across North America. The company's operations include truckload transportation, dedicated transportation, and regional truckload services. Werner also provides logistics services, including freight brokerage, intermodal transportation, cross-border transportation, and supply chain management solutions.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) announces Q3 2026 earnings guidance. October 21, 2026 Key points. * Werner Enterprises issued weak Q3 2026 guidance, forecasting EPS of $0.15-$0.16 versus the $0.36 consensus estimate and revenue of $946-$951 million versus $954.7 million expected. * The company's outlook follows a prior quarterly miss, with analysts citing worsening sentiment; the stock was trading near $29.88, while the consensus rating remained "Hold" and the average price target fell to $38.85. * Werner declared a quarterly dividend of $0.14 per share, or $0.56 annualized, representing an approximately 1.9% yield; the dividend is payable October 21 to shareholders of record October 5. * Want to know the moment analysts change their view on Werner Enterprises? Get MarketBeat All Access for $149 a year and keep that rate for life. Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN - Get Free Report) updated its third quarter 2026 earnings guidance on Wednesday. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 0.150-0.160 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 0.360. The company issued revenue guidance of $946.0 million-$951.0 million, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $954.7 million. Analyst Ratings changes. Several research firms have recently commented on WERN. Stephens raised shares of Werner Enterprises to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Werner Enterprises in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $43.00 to $37.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Evercore raised Werner Enterprises from an "underperform" rating to an "in-line" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird restated a "neutral" rating and set a $32.00 target price (down from $43.00) on shares of Werner Enterprises in a research report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Werner Enterprises currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $38.85. Werner Enterprises trading up 0.3%. Shares of Werner Enterprises stock traded up $0.08 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $29.88. 706,357 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,088,853. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $36.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $37.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -39.32 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. Werner Enterprises has a twelve month low of $23.06 and a twelve month high of $47.49. Discover more Book Freight Hire Truckers Read Company News Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The transportation company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.24 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $813.36 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $931.12 million. Werner Enterprises had a positive return on equity of 1.18% and a negative net margin of 1.42%. Werner Enterprises's quarterly revenue was up 24.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.11 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Werner Enterprises will post 1.08 EPS for the current fiscal year. Werner Enterprises announces dividend. The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Investors of record on Monday, October 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 5th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Werner Enterprises's payout ratio is currently -73.68%. Key headlines impacting Werner Enterprises. Here are the key news stories impacting Werner Enterprises this week: * Barclays lowered its price target from $40 to $38 but maintained an "equal weight" rating. The revised target still implies substantial upside from recent trading levels, indicating that Barclays sees potential value if freight conditions and profitability improve. * A pre-earnings Zacks report said Wall Street was expecting earnings growth and that Werner had factors that could support a potential earnings beat. However, that optimistic setup preceded the company's subsequent preliminary warning. * Werner provided earnings guidance for the third quarter ended September 30, 2026. The update gives investors a formal view of quarterly performance following the preliminary results and profit warning, with the market focused on the extent of the earnings shortfall. * Werner's early third-quarter readout missed market expectations, prompting a sharp selloff. The report raised concerns about weaker operating performance and reduced confidence ahead of the full earnings release. * The company issued a third-quarter profit warning and preliminary adjusted EPS and revenue guidance, signaling that results would fall short of earlier expectations. This is the primary catalyst behind the recent weakness in WERN. * Robert W. Baird downgraded Werner from "strong buy" to "hold," adding to the negative sentiment and suggesting that the earnings outlook no longer supports an aggressive bullish stance. Werner Enterprises company profile. Werner Enterprises, Inc is a transportation and logistics company headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska. Founded in 1956 by Clarence L. Werner, the company provides freight transportation and supply chain services to customers across North America. The company's operations include truckload transportation, dedicated transportation, and regional truckload services. Werner also provides logistics services, including freight brokerage, intermodal transportation, cross-border transportation, and supply chain management solutions. This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected]. Before you consider Werner Enterprises, you'll want to hear this. 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