Werner Guides To About $0.10 To $0.11 A Share For Third Quarter, Citing Fuel, Driver Pay And Insurance
The trucking company put a cost hit of about $0.18 per share on the quarter versus the second quarter; full results come October 27.
Werner Enterprises expects third-quarter earnings of about $0.10 to $0.11 per share under standard accounting, on revenue of about $946 million to $951 million, according to preliminary, unaudited figures in an 8-K filed Monday. The company said cost pressure of about $0.18 per share, measured against the second quarter, weighed on the period.
What the preliminary numbers show
Werner, the truckload carrier, said adjusted diluted earnings per share should land at about $0.15 to $0.16 for the quarter ended September 30, 2026. Adjusted earnings leave out items management does not count as core operations.
The company's reconciliation walks from the standard-accounting figure to the adjusted one. It adds back $0.03 for amortization of intangible assets from acquisitions and $0.03 for acquisition expenses, including legal and professional fees, then subtracts $0.01 for the income tax effect of those adjustments.
The release did not give figures for gains or losses on equity investments or for earnings from an equity-method investment; both lines show no adjustment.
Where the $0.18 came from
Werner said results were hurt by about $0.18 per share of cumulative cost headwinds compared with the second quarter. It named three main drivers:
- Rapidly rising fuel prices.
- Driver recruitment and retention investments.
- A late-quarter insurance reserve adjustment related to past claims.
The release did not split the $0.18 among the three.
What to watch
Werner said it will give more detail when it reports full third-quarter results on Tuesday, October 27, after the market close. The figures in Monday's release are preliminary and unaudited, so they can still change.
Shares closed at $32.81 at Friday's close, before the release.
The release describes Werner as having 2025 revenues of nearly $3.0 billion and says it bought FirstEnterprises, known as FirstFleet, in January 2026. FirstFleet generated more than $600 million in unaudited 2025 revenues, the company said.
The next hard numbers arrive Tuesday, October 27, after the close, when Werner reports the full quarter.
Sources
- 8-K Filing — WERNER ENTERPRISES INC (WERN) — SEC EDGAR
- Exhibit wern-8xk101926exhibit.htm — WERNER ENTERPRISES INC 8-K exhibit — SEC EDGAR
