C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. (CHRW) reported mixed first-quarter 2026 results, wherein earnings surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate while revenues missed the same.
Quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.35 outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.24 and improved 15.4% year over year. C.H. Robinson reported earnings growth on the back of market share gains, revenue management, a cost of hire advantage versus the market and productivity improvements (aided by its Lean AI strategy).
Total revenues of $4.01 billion missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.08 billion and fell 0.8% year over year, owing to the lower volume in the company’s ocean and truckload services and lower pricing in the ocean services. These were, however, partially offset by higher pricing in CHRW’s truckload and less than truckload (LTL) services.
C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. Quote
Adjusted gross profits fell 1.9% year over year to $660.5 million in the first quarter, owing to lower adjusted gross profit per transaction and lower volume in ocean services. This was partially offset by higher adjusted gross profit per transaction in the company’s LTL services.
Adjusted income from operations grew 5.6% year over year to $195.9 million. Adjusted operating margin of 26.6% grew 30 basis points from the year-ago reported quarter.
Operating expenses decreased 2.3% year over year to $484.8 million. Personnel expenses grew 1.2% year over year to $352.7 million, owing to higher restructuring charges related to workforce reductions, partially offset by cost optimization efforts and productivity improvements. Other selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses decreased 10.6% year over year to $132.1 million, owing to a prior year impairment charge on CHRW’s Kansas City regional center lease resulting from the execution of a sublease agreement on a portion of the building. In addition, other SG&A expenses declined across several expense categories in 2026 due to cost optimization efforts.
CHRW’s Q1 Segmental Results
North American Surface Transportation’s total revenues were $2.94 billion (up 2.8% year over year) in the first quarter, owing tohigher pricing in CHRW’s truckload and LTL services. Adjusted gross profit of the segment grew 3% year over year to $431.07 million.
Total revenues from Global Forwarding fell 14.2% year over year to $664.73 million, owing to lower pricing and volume in the company’s ocean services. Adjusted gross profits fell 12.1% year over year to $162.29 million.
Revenues from other sources (Robinson Fresh, Managed Services and Other Surface Transportation) decreased 0.6% year over year to $400.88 million.
Below, we present the division of adjusted profits among the service lines (on an enterprise basis).
Transportation: The unit (comprising Truckload, LTL, Ocean, Air, Customs and Other logistics services) delivered an adjusted gross profit of $628.40million in the quarter under review, down 1.9% from the prior-year figure.
Adjusted gross profits of LTL, Customs and Other logistics services grew 10.1%, 20.1% and 6.6%, year over year, respectively. Truckload, Ocean and Air’s adjusted gross profits declined 4.1%, 22% and 0.3% year over year, respectively.
Balance-Sheet Data
CHRW exited the first quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $159.66 million compared with $160.87 million at the end of the prior quarter. Long-term debt was $1.34 billion compared with $1.09 billion at the end of the prior quarter.
CHRW generated $68.6 million of cash from operations in the first quarter of 2026, down from $106.5 million generated in the year-ago quarter. The $37.9 million downside in cash flow generation was owing to a $62.4 million decrease in cash generated by changes in net operating working capital.
In the first quarter of 2026, CHRW rewarded its shareholders with $359.8 million, which includes $280.7 million in the form of share repurchases and $79 million through cash dividends.
Capital expenditures were $15 million in the reported quarter.
For 2026, capital expenditures for 2026 are anticipated to be between $75 million and $85 million.
Currently, CHRW carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). 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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Delta Air Lines, Inc. (DAL): Free Stock Analysis Report
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C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. (CHRW): Free Stock Analysis Report
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