ZTO ExpressZTO reported first-quarter 2026 earnings of 43 cents per share, which improved from the year-ago quarter. Total revenues of $1.92 billion also improved from the year-ago reported quarter.
ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. Quote
Mr. Meisong Lai, founder, chairman and chief executive officer of ZTO, stated, "During the first quarter of 2026, ZTO maintained focus on quality of services and customer satisfaction, and well executed our key strategies to improve operating cost efficiencies and strengthening network pricing policy fairness and transparency. Our parcel volume reached 9.7 billion, which grew 13.2%, or 7.4 points above industry average, mainly attributable to strong key accounts growth. Our adjusted net income was 2.4 billion, as the daily average retail volume continued to expand at a faster rate than traditional ecommerce volume resulting in improved revenue structure that not only contributed to volume increase as well as positive contribution to overall margin."
Detailed Operational Statistics
Revenues from the core express delivery business increased 22.5% year over year, owing to 13.2% growth in parcel volume and an 8.2% increase in parcel unit price. Key account revenue, generated by direct sales organizations, grew 92.2% year over year, owing to an increase in e-commerce return parcels.
Revenues from freight forwarding services decreased 13% year over year. Revenue from sales of accessories, which largely consisted of sales of thermal paper for digital waybills, rose 3.1% year over year. Other revenues were mainly derived from financing services.
Gross profit increased 20.3% from the year-ago reported quarter. Gross margin rate fell to 24.4% from 24.7% in the year-ago period.
Total operating expenses were RMB690.0 million ($100.0 million) compared with RMB283.8 million in the same period last year.
ZTO Express exited the first quarter of 2026 with cash and cash equivalents of $1.65 billion compared with $1.43 billion at the end of the prior quarter.
ZTO’s board has approved a new share repurchase program in March 2026, authorizing the repurchase of up to $1.5 billion of its shares over the next 24 months, effective from March 20, 2026, through March 20, 2028. ZTO Express anticipates funding these repurchases utilizing its existing cash balance.
Based on current market and operating conditions, ZTO Express reaffirms its 2026 parcel volume guidance in the range of 42.37 billion to 43.52 billion (reflecting 10-13% year over year growth).
Currently, ZTO Express carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Q1 Performances of Other Transportation Companies
Delta Air Lines (DAL) reported first-quarter 2026 earnings (excluding $1.08 from non-recurring items) of 64 cents per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 61 cents. Earnings increased 39.1% on a year-over-year basis due to high labor costs. Adjusted revenues in the March-end quarter were $14.2 billion, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $14 billion and increasing on a year-over-year basis.
United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (UAL) reported solid first-quarter 2026 results wherein the company’s earnings and revenues beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate as well as improved on a year-over-year basis.
UAL's first-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings per share (EPS) (excluding 95 cents from non-recurring items) of $1.19 surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.08 and increased 30.8% on a year-over-year basis. The reported figure lies within the guided range of $1.00-$1.50.
Operating revenues of $14.6 billion outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $14.3 billion and increased 10.5% year over year. Passenger revenues (which accounted for 90.1% of the top line) increased 11% year over year to $13.1 billion. UAL flights transported 42,486 passengers in the first quarter, up 4.1% year over year.
Cargo revenues fell 1.6% year over year to $422 million. Revenues from other sources rose 10.5% year over year to $1.02 billion.
J.B. Hunt Transport Services JBHT posted first-quarter 2026 earnings per share of $1.49, up 27% from $1.17 a year ago. The result topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate by $0.04, a 2.8% surprise.
Operating revenues totaled $3.06 billion, rising 4.6% year over year. Revenues beat the consensus mark of $2.94 billion, resulting in a 3.9% surprise, as demand proved resilient across several service offerings, led by Intermodal volume growth and higher revenue per load in select highway-related businesses.
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