What Management Said
Read the full Q3 2025 transcript ↗Earlier today, we issued our earnings release with our third quarter results. Please see the disclosure statement on slide two of the presentation, as well as the disclaimers in our earnings release related to forward-looking statements. A reconciliation to the most directly comparable GAAP measures is included in the tables attached to the earnings release and in the appendix of the slide presentation. In logistics, we continue the double-digit growth trajectory with lower operating costs year-over-year, despite some anticipated change in mix.
In one-way trucking, revenue per total mile increased, the fifth consecutive quarter of year-over-year improvement, and in dedicated, revenue grew sequentially year-over-year as momentum continued from recent business awards and startups. Moving to slide five, our focus remains on three overarching priorities: driving growth in core business, driving operational excellence as a core competency, and driving capital efficiency. We've been awarded several new fleets, and the pipeline remains strong with momentum growing in new and attractive end markets of choice. All logistics divisions produced top-line growth the past two consecutive quarters, with Intermodal achieving its highest quarterly revenue in 11 quarters.
Despite the challenging operating environment, we continue to generate solid operating cash flow, maximize value on the sale of used equipment, and invest for growth. These costs represent a $0.26 negative impact to GAAP EPS but are removed as part of adjusted EPS. In One-Way Truckload, revenue per total mile increased sequentially and was up modestly again year-over-year. However, gross margin was pressured as the conclusion of higher margin project work was replaced with contractual business.
- Logistics continued its double-digit growth trajectory, with revenue up 12% year-over-year and 5% sequentially, while Intermodal achieved its highest quarterly revenue in 11 quarters (up 23%) and logistics adjusted operating margin improved 140 basis points to 1.8%.
- In one-way trucking, revenue per total mile increased for the fifth consecutive quarter of year-over-year improvement.
- Dedicated revenue net of fuel rose 2.5% to $292 million, representing 65% of TTS trucking revenues, with revenue per truck per week up 1.3% (now increased in 29 of the last 31 quarters).
- The company achieved 80% of its $45 million 2025 cost savings target by the end of the third quarter and remains on track to hit the full goal, marking a third consecutive year of $40-$50 million in cost savings.
- DOT preventable accidents per million miles declined low double-digits year-over-year.
- The balance sheet remained strong with net debt to adjusted EBITDA of 1.9 times and total liquidity of $695 million.
- The one-way business presented significant challenges, with revenue per truck per week down 4.3% driven by a 4.7% decline in miles per truck, which fell more than expected due to fleet composition shifts, new driver onboarding, and network softness.
- Adjusted EPS was negative $0.03, and adjusted operating margin was just 1.4%, with discrete tax items (a $4.7 million return-to-provision adjustment) hurting adjusted EPS by $0.08.
- TTS adjusted operating margin net of fuel decreased 340 basis points, with 200 basis points from higher insurance and claims expenses and 50 basis points from dedicated startup costs.
- Dedicated startup costs exceeded $2 million and were higher than anticipated and difficult to predict.
- Logistics gross margin was pressured as higher-margin project work was replaced with contractual business, and logistics volume and margins softened in October.
Guidance Changes
| Metric | Period | Current guidance |
|---|---|---|
| Full-year fleet growth | FY2025 | down 2% to flat (lowered) |
| Full-year net CapEx | FY2025 | $155M-$175M (tightened, midpoint unchanged) |
| Dedicated revenue per truck per week | FY2025 | flat to up 1.5% (tightened) |
| One-Way revenue per total mile | Q4 2025 | down 1% to up 1% vs prior year |
| Equipment gains | FY2025 | $14M-$16M (narrowed) |
| Effective tax rate | Q4 2025 | 26%-27% |
Performance Breakdown
| Metric | YoY | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Total revenue | +3% ($771M) | logistics growth, partly offset by TTS softness |
| Adjusted EPS | -$0.03 | one-way challenges, higher insurance/claims, dedicated startup costs, and an $0.08 discrete tax hit |
| Logistics revenue | +12% | higher volume across all divisions, with PowerLink up 26% and Intermodal up 23% |
| Dedicated revenue net of fuel | +2.5% ($292M) | new business awards and startups; revenue per truck per week up 1.3% |
| One-Way trucking revenue net of fuel | -3% ($160M) | 4.7% lower miles per truck from fleet composition, new driver onboarding, and network softness |
| TTS adjusted operating margin net of fuel | -340 bps (1.9%) | 200 bps higher insurance and claims, 50 bps dedicated startup costs |
Earnings Call Themes & Trends
| Topic | Previous mention | Current period | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regulatory capacity attrition (ELP, non-domiciled CDL, B-1 visa) | — | ELP enforcement projecting ~30,000 annual out-of-service; ~150,000-200,000 conservative combined impact; described as larger than the ELD introduction | Accelerating |
| One-way production | modest year-over-year decreases in first half | down more than expected in Q3, but improved to nearly flat through October | Recovering |
| Insurance and claims costs | below $30M in prior-year quarter (a low since Q1 2022) | normalized run rate of ~$35M-$38M; significantly higher year-over-year | Elevated but normalizing |
| Technology transformation (EDGE TMS / AI) | multi-year journey | later innings; logistics nearly fully implemented; one back-office expense down 40% over two years | Maturing |
| Dedicated pipeline | — | robust, with business pre-committed into Q1 2026 and new verticals like tech and automotive aftermarket | Building |
| Peak season outlook | — | expected similar to a year ago in volume and pricing, with more network balance | Stable |
Q&A Summary
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