Old Dominion Earnings Per Share Jump 28.9% To $1.65 On Pricing, Even As Daily Shipments Fall 2.0%
The trucker's operating ratio improved 280 basis points to 71.5% as revenue per hundredweight rose 13.3%.
Old Dominion Freight Line, a less-than-truckload carrier that moves freight sharing trailers with other customers' loads, earned $1.65 per diluted share in the third quarter, up 28.9% from $1.28 a year earlier, the company said Wednesday. Higher prices did the work: daily shipments fell 2.0%.
Price over volume
Revenue rose 13.1% to $1.59 billion, and net income climbed 26.9% to $343.7 million. Operating income rose 25.4% to $452.6 million.
Revenue per hundredweight rose 13.3%, or 5.1% excluding fuel surcharges. Daily tons slipped 0.1%, reflecting a 2.0% drop in daily shipments offset by a 1.9% rise in weight per shipment.
CEO Marty Freeman said the company continued to maintain a disciplined approach to yield management. He said demand improved during the quarter and daily tons rose year over year in September.
The operating ratio, which measures costs as a share of revenue, improved 280 basis points to 71.5% from 74.3%. Salaries, wages and benefits fell to 44.3% of revenue from 47.1%, more than offsetting higher operating supplies and expenses. Overhead costs improved by 170 basis points.
A smaller workforce, flat tonnage
Average active full-time employees numbered 20,202, down 4.1% from a year earlier. Old Dominion, whose 10-K says it operated 260 service centers at the end of 2025, draws more than 98% of its revenue historically from LTL shipments.
Cash, buybacks and a $380 million capital plan
Operating cash flow was $469.5 million in the quarter and $1.1 billion for the first nine months. Cash stood at $466.2 million at September 30, against $120.1 million at the end of 2025, and long-term debt was zero.
For the first nine months, the company spent $400.6 million on buybacks and paid $180.7 million in dividends. It expects 2026 capital spending of about $380 million, including $180 million for real estate and service center expansion, $155 million for tractors and trailers and $45 million for technology and other assets.
Management holds a call on the results at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Wednesday.
Freeman said the company remains confident in its ability to win profitable market share over the long term.
Sources
- 8-K Filing — OLD DOMINION FREIGHT LINE, INC. (ODFL) — SEC EDGAR
- Exhibit odfl-ex99_1.htm — OLD DOMINION FREIGHT LINE, INC. 8-K exhibit — SEC EDGAR
