Trucking Firm Knight-Swift’s Stock Skids After Slashing Guidance

Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings (KNX) shares fell over 4% Wednesday as the trucking firm slashed its guidance because of headwinds facing the transportation industry.

The company reduced its current-quarter outlook for earnings per share (EPS) to a range of 11 cents to 12 cents, down from the previous 37 cents to 41 cents. It noted that the update included a loss of 8 cents per share resulting from the shutdown of its third-party insurance business.

Knight-Swift said “the full truckload industry continues to be challenging and oversupplied with capacity.” It said it faced greater-than-expected pressure on freight rates, with some shippers still trying to push them down further. The company added that it has lost contractual volumes “because we were not willing to commit to further concessions on what we view as unsustainable contractual rates.” Knight-Swift also said weather disruptions in January had a greater impact on its business than initially anticipated.

Along with the first-quarter revision, the company slashed its second-quarter EPS forecast to 26 cents to 30 cents from the earlier 53 cents to 57 cents. It expects to provide third-quarter estimates when it reports first-quarter results next Wednesday.

The news came a day after rival J.B. Hunt Transport (JBHT) reported weaker-than-expected earnings because of a drop in revenue for its intermodal and truckload business, and fewer loads in its freight brokerage business.

Shares of Knight-Swift fell 4.4% to $48.53 and J.B. Hunt shares finished 8.1% lower at $168.13 Wednesday. J.B. Hunt shares have lost 14% of their value since the start of 2024, while Knight-Swift shares have lost 15.5%.