J.B. Hunt moves customers’ goods by truck and rail, operates dedicated delivery fleets, and arranges transportation through other carriers. In the third quarter of 2026, revenue rose 20.4%, but operating profit increased only 1.8%. More freight and better use of its intermodal network improved earnings, while rising costs in dedicated trucking absorbed all of intermodal’s profit gain. The company can fund its operations, but collecting customer payments and controlling the cost of each shipment matter more as planned investment rises.
Analysis period: July–September 2026, with January–September comparisons where stated. Research cutoff: October 24, 2026, New York time; the latest dated company document used is the October 23 Form 10-Q.
Source: J.B. Hunt, third-quarter 2026 Form 10-Q, consolidated statements, pp. 3–6, and Management’s Discussion and Analysis, pp. 14–19.
1. Higher freight bills brought only a small increase in profit
Much of the sales increase paid for more expensive transportation rather than becoming additional profit. J.B. Hunt billed customers higher fuel surcharges and handled more shipments. At the same time, the railroads and trucking companies it hired charged more, while driver, maintenance and claims costs increased.
The distinction between the quarter and the first nine months matters. Operating profit rose 15.4% over January–September, but most of that improvement came before July. Calculated from the reported cumulative and quarterly results, first-half operating profit increased 24.1%; third-quarter growth slowed to 1.8%.
| Consolidated results, US$ millions except margins and per-share amounts | Third quarter 2025 | Third quarter 2026 | First nine months 2025 | First nine months 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 3,052.9 | 3,676.8 | 8,902.5 | 10,228.6 |
| Revenue excluding fuel surcharges | 2,667.3 | 3,006.0 | 7,803.3 | 8,508.3 |
| Operating profit | 242.7 | 247.1 | 618.6 | 713.6 |
| Operating margin | 7.95% | 6.72% | 6.95% | 6.98% |
| Net profit | 170.8 | 172.4 | 417.2 | 495.0 |
| Diluted earnings per share, US$ | 1.76 | 1.82 | 4.24 | 5.21 |
Source: 2026 third-quarter 10-Q, Condensed Consolidated Statements of Earnings, p. 3. Margins and growth rates are calculated from the unrounded statements. Operating margin is the share of revenue left after operating expenses, before interest and income tax.
Fuel surcharges accounted for $285.2 million of the quarter’s $623.9 million revenue increase, or 45.7%. Revenue excluding those surcharges still grew a substantial 12.7%. That measure removes one major source of fuel-price inflation, although it still combines shipment volume, customer rates and the mix of services sold.
The expense side explains why profit did not follow sales. Rents and purchased transportation increased $425.4 million, and the company’s own fuel and fuel-tax expense increased $96.4 million. Management attributed the first increase to more loads and higher rail and truck-carrier rates, and the second mainly to higher fuel prices. Fuel costs also sit inside payments to outside carriers, so subtracting the company’s own fuel bill from all fuel surcharges would overstate the benefit.
Source: 2026 third-quarter 10-Q, statement of earnings, p. 3; quarterly expense discussion, pp. 15–16; fuel-price risk, p. 21.
A longer same-quarter comparison puts the recovery in perspective. Operating profit was $241.7 million in the third quarter of 2023, fell to $224.1 million in 2024, and recovered to $242.7 million in 2025. The latest $247.1 million therefore represents progress from the weaker 2024 result, but only a modest increase over 2023. The business is carrying more revenue without yet producing a comparable step-up in operating profit.
Sources: J.B. Hunt, October 15, 2024 earnings release, consolidated operating-income discussion; 2026 third-quarter 10-Q, p. 3.
2. Intermodal growth is coming from more freight and better use of the network
Intermodal is the clearest source of business improvement, especially in the eastern network. In this service, J.B. Hunt arranges the long-distance rail journey and usually uses its own trucks to collect and deliver the container. Coordinating those steps well lets the company move more freight with fewer costly interruptions and less equipment sitting idle.
Third-quarter intermodal loads increased 8%. Eastern loads rose 18%, compared with 1% growth in transcontinental loads. Management specifically identified demand for moving freight from highway trucks to rail in the East. Revenue per load excluding fuel surcharges increased only 2%, so the result reflects more business as well as a modest improvement in the combined effect of rates and shipment mix.
Intermodal operating profit rose from $125.0 million to $147.5 million. Management attributed the increase to better network balance, more efficient pickup and delivery operations, its effort to lower service costs, and lower container-storage expense. Driver, equipment, insurance and medical costs partly offset those improvements. The division’s operating margin slipped slightly, from 8.22% to 8.07%, because revenue grew faster than profit.
For the first nine months, intermodal generated $412.8 million of operating profit, up from $315.1 million. Its $97.7 million improvement exceeded the entire company’s $95.0 million increase. The rail-and-truck network is therefore carrying the company’s profit recovery.
Source: 2026 third-quarter 10-Q, Note 9, pp. 11–12, and intermodal operating discussion, pp. 14 and 16–17. Segment margins and profit contributions are calculated.
The service strategy also addresses a practical customer concern: rail must be dependable enough for shipments with tight delivery schedules. BNSF describes Quantum, its joint service with J.B. Hunt, as a customized offering with continuous monitoring and intervention when shipments face disruption. That supports a reason for some customers to consider rail for time-sensitive goods. The filing does not identify Quantum’s separate revenue or profit, so the quarter’s improvement cannot be assigned to that product alone.
Source: BNSF, Quantum service description, “Quantum Delivery,” “Quantum Customization,” and “Quantum service includes”; undated product page reviewed for the research cutoff.
The opportunity extends beyond J.B. Hunt. Union Pacific reported 956,000 intermodal containers and trailers in the third quarter of 2026, compared with 860,000 a year earlier, an 11% increase. That supports a broader improvement in intermodal activity. Its routes and customer mix differ, so those figures do not establish J.B. Hunt’s market-share movement.
Source: Union Pacific, October 22, 2026 third-quarter results, Freight Revenue Statistics, “Revenue carloads,” and footnote defining an intermodal carload as one container or trailer.
Rail cooperation remains essential: most of J.B. Hunt’s intermodal business travels on BNSF and Norfolk Southern. Its competitive strength therefore depends on both its own pickup-and-delivery execution and the service supplied by those partners.
Source: J.B. Hunt, 2025 Form 10-K, Item 1A, risk concerning third-party rail service providers.
3. Dedicated trucking absorbed all of intermodal’s quarterly profit gain
Dedicated trucking’s $22.6 million profit decline nearly matched intermodal’s $22.5 million increase. Dedicated Contract Services supplies trucks, drivers and operating systems for individual customers. Keeping those customers and adding trucks helps future revenue, but the latest quarter shows that contract revenue can grow while the cost of serving customers grows faster.
| Third-quarter segment results, US$ millions | Revenue 2025 | Revenue 2026 | Operating profit 2025 | Operating profit 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intermodal | 1,520.4 | 1,827.6 | 125.0 | 147.5 |
| Dedicated Contract Services | 864.1 | 960.2 | 104.3 | 81.7 |
| Integrated Capacity Solutions | 276.3 | 433.8 | -0.8 | 9.6 |
| Final Mile Services | 206.4 | 200.1 | 6.9 | 1.6 |
| Truckload | 189.7 | 260.8 | 7.4 | 7.0 |
| Intersegment and corporate reconciliation | -4.0 | -5.7 | -0.1 | -0.3 |
| Consolidated total | 3,052.9 | 3,676.8 | 242.7 | 247.1 |
Source: 2026 third-quarter 10-Q, Note 9, p. 11. Revenue includes fuel surcharges and is shown before eliminations in the individual divisions. The reconciliation removes internal revenue and includes the disclosed operating-profit adjustment. Rounded segment amounts can differ from the consolidated total by $0.1 million.
Dedicated revenue increased 11%. Revenue per truck per week, excluding fuel surcharges, increased 3%, helped by contractual price adjustments and fewer idle trucks. Customer retention remained approximately 96%, and the revenue-producing fleet ended the quarter with 162 more trucks than a year earlier. These are signs that customer relationships and activity remain intact.
The cost of operating and starting customer fleets was the problem. Higher driver expense, medical claims, insurance premiums, equipment costs and new-business onboarding expense reduced operating profit to $81.7 million. The division kept 8.51 cents of operating profit from each revenue dollar, down from 12.07 cents. For the first nine months, its profit declined only 2.4%, so the quarterly deterioration was considerably sharper than the cumulative result suggests.
Source: 2026 third-quarter 10-Q, Note 9 and dedicated-services discussion, pp. 11–12, 14 and 17. Margins and the nine-month percentage change are calculated.
The other divisions show why higher shipping rates do not automatically mean better profitability. Integrated Capacity Solutions, the freight brokerage business, returned to profit as loads increased 22% and revenue per load increased 29%. However, its gross margin—the revenue left after buying transportation—fell from 15.0% to 14.3%. The larger amount of business still generated more gross profit dollars and supported $9.6 million of operating profit, but outside carriers took a larger share of each sales dollar.
Truckload faced a similar cost problem without the same profit improvement. Revenue excluding fuel surcharges increased 34%, supported by higher revenue per load and 4% more loads. Operating profit nevertheless fell to $7.0 million because third-party transport and equipment-maintenance costs increased. Better trailer use helped, but it did not overcome those expenses.
Final Mile Services, which handles local and home deliveries, is trying to improve the profitability of its customer accounts. Management said its deliberate efforts to improve revenue quality contributed to lost business; it also reported stabilization in several end markets. Yet quarterly revenue fell 3%, and operating profit fell from $6.9 million to $1.6 million as lower personnel and facility costs failed to offset lost revenue and higher purchased transportation costs. The intended improvement in account quality has not yet produced a better quarterly profit result.
Source: 2026 third-quarter 10-Q, ICS, FMS and JBT discussions, p. 15, and nine-month comparisons, p. 17.
The combined lesson is operational: J.B. Hunt is winning or handling more freight in several services, but dedicated-fleet costs and the prices paid to outside carriers determine how much of that growth it keeps.
4. Uncollected freight bills reduced cash from operations
Higher profit did not produce more operating cash because much more money was tied up in customer receivables. Over the first nine months, net profit increased $77.8 million, while cash generated by operations fell $184.2 million, or 14.3%.
Customers’ unpaid freight bills rose to $1,611.5 million at September 30 from $1,160.4 million at December 31. The cash-flow statement records a $451.1 million use of cash from receivables, compared with only $7.2 million in the same nine months of 2025. These are sales already recorded for which the company had not yet received the cash. The filing does not provide a current aging schedule that would separate normal billing timing from overdue balances.
The table shows why operating cash remained well above profit despite that collection burden. Depreciation and other charges reduce reported profit without requiring an equal cash payment in the same period. In addition, amounts owed to suppliers and changes in taxes and other operating balances provided cash offsets.
| Profit-to-cash reconciliation, first nine months, US$ millions | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Net profit | 417.213 | 495.005 |
| Depreciation and other noncash adjustments | 720.630 | 675.348 |
| Cash tied up in additional customer receivables | -7.190 | -451.119 |
| All other operating asset and liability changes, net | 162.021 | 389.194 |
| Cash generated by operations | 1,292.674 | 1,108.428 |
Source: 2026 third-quarter 10-Q, cash-flow statement, p. 6, and balance sheet, p. 4. The two grouped rows are calculated; their components appear in the calculation notes.
Increased unpaid supplier liabilities and lower tax payments partly cushioned the effect. Trade-payable movements added $193.6 million to operating cash, compared with $63.2 million a year earlier. In everyday terms, more operating costs had been recorded before the related bills were paid. Changes in income taxes payable or receivable contributed $72.2 million, compared with a $33.9 million cash use in 2025. Cash income-tax payments were $84.7 million versus $126.5 million.
The timing of customer receipts and company payments explains much of the gap between profit growth and lower operating cash. As sales expand, collecting invoices promptly becomes important for funding that expansion internally.
Source: 2026 third-quarter 10-Q, cash-flow statement and supplemental cash-tax disclosure, p. 6; liquidity discussion, p. 19.
5. Lower equipment spending preserved cash, but planned investment is set to rise
A $199.8 million reduction in net capital spending more than offset the decline in operating cash. J.B. Hunt says its investment supports fleet growth, replacement of older equipment and facilities. The first nine months’ spending was mainly for tractors, trailing equipment and related improvements, and real estate.
| Cash available after investment, first nine months, US$ millions | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash generated by operations | 1,292.674 | 1,108.428 |
| Cash purchases of property and equipment | 596.363 | 393.206 |
| Cash proceeds from equipment sales | 105.444 | 102.073 |
| Net capital spending: purchases less sales proceeds | 490.919 | 291.133 |
| Cash remaining after net capital spending | 801.755 | 817.295 |
Source: 2026 third-quarter 10-Q, cash-flow statement, p. 6, and liquidity discussion, p. 19. The last two rows are calculated. Purchases and sale proceeds are shown as positive amounts; only net spending is deducted from operating cash.
This $817.3 million remainder is a cash measure after equipment-sale proceeds. A stricter free-cash-flow definition—operating cash minus cash purchases of property and equipment, without adding disposal proceeds—gives $715.2 million, compared with $696.3 million in 2025. Both measures improved modestly because cash investment fell, rather than because operations produced more cash.
The spending change was selective. Intermodal’s net investment fell to $44.8 million from $168.9 million, and corporate and other investment fell to $47.4 million from $137.4 million. Dedicated-services investment increased to $197.5 million from $172.4 million. That division is receiving more capital while its current profit is under pressure, making successful customer-fleet deployment especially important.
Source: 2026 third-quarter 10-Q, Note 9, net capital expenditures, p. 11. These figures are net of asset-sale proceeds and do not provide a maintenance-versus-growth split.
Management still expects approximately $700 million of net capital spending for all of 2026. Reaching that estimate would imply about $408.9 million in the fourth quarter, more than the amount spent in the first nine months combined. This calculation assumes the annual estimate is achieved. Management also says it can accelerate or postpone some equipment replacements as conditions change.
Outstanding purchase commitments were $552.1 million, net of expected sales or trade-ins, across 2026 and 2027. Those commitments overlap the investment program and should not simply be added to the $700 million annual estimate. Equipment already received but not yet paid for also matters: the filing disclosed $64.5 million of equipment accruals as noncash investing activity. The cash-spending measure therefore does not capture every asset already delivered.
Source: 2026 third-quarter 10-Q, supplemental noncash investing disclosure, p. 6, and liquidity and commitments, p. 19.
The asset base shows the effect of lower investment and continuing depreciation. Gross property and equipment increased $132.8 million, but accumulated depreciation increased $307.3 million, leaving net property and equipment $174.5 million lower at $5,363.6 million. Depreciation spreads an asset’s cost over its expected working life, so the lower net value does not by itself show a smaller physical fleet.
Goodwill and other intangible assets fell $14.9 million to $195.5 million. That decline is consistent in scale with the prior annual report’s $19.7 million estimate of full-year 2026 amortization, although the quarterly report does not provide a separate roll-forward. Inventory is mainly parts, tires, supplies and fuel and is not separately presented on the quarterly balance sheet. Equipment spending and unpaid customer bills are the material uses of funding here.
Sources: 2026 third-quarter 10-Q, balance sheet, p. 4; 2025 Form 10-K, Note 2, inventory policy, and Note 12, amortization estimate. The explanation of the intangible-asset decline is an inference, not a disclosed quarterly bridge.
6. Debt fell, while day-to-day liquidity depends on collections and bank access
J.B. Hunt reduced financing debt, but its cash balance alone is a small operating cushion. Cash ended September at $3.8 million, down from $17.3 million at year-end. Borrowings recorded on the balance sheet fell to $1,123.8 million from $1,466.8 million, including the prior year’s current debt.
The company repaid the $700 million notes that matured in March and used a $300 million term loan as part of its funding during the year. Across all debt and revolving-credit transactions, repayments exceeded cash borrowings by $344.9 million in the first nine months. The remaining principal obligations are concentrated in 2028 and 2030.
| Financing obligations at September 30, 2026 | Principal, US$ millions | Maturity | Interest basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senior notes | 750.0 | March 2030 | Fixed 4.90% |
| Term loans | 300.0 | November 2028 | Variable bank rate |
| Drawn revolving credit | 81.9 | November 2030 | Variable bank rate |
| Total principal | 1,131.9 | — | — |
Source: 2026 third-quarter 10-Q, Note 4, pp. 8–9, and cash-flow statement, p. 6. Principal exceeds the $1,123.8 million carrying amount because the latter deducts unamortized discounts and issuance costs. The bank borrowings carried an average 4.85% rate at September 30.
The fixed-rate notes require $36.75 million of annual contractual interest. Applying the September bank rate to the $381.9 million of variable borrowings gives approximately $18.5 million annually before fees, assuming balances and rates do not change. These are contractual and illustrative run-rate amounts, respectively, rather than forecasts of total interest expense. A one-percentage-point rise in the variable rate would increase annual pretax interest cost by approximately $3.8 million at the disclosed borrowing level.
The revolving facility permits $1 billion of borrowing through November 2030. Deducting the $81.9 million drawn leaves $918.1 million of nominal undrawn capacity, subject to the agreement’s conditions. The optional $400 million increase requires a request; it is not existing committed liquidity. The earlier six-month window for drawing the delayed term loans has also passed and should not be treated as an additional unused cash source.
Source: 2026 third-quarter 10-Q, Note 4, pp. 8–9; liquidity, p. 19; interest-rate sensitivity, p. 21. Interest and undrawn-capacity calculations are shown in the calculation notes.
The credit agreement generally limits consolidated debt to 3.5 times a defined measure of the preceding four quarters’ earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization. It permits a temporary 4.0-times limit following a qualifying material acquisition. J.B. Hunt reported compliance with all covenants at September 30. The quarterly filing confirms compliance but does not state the actual ratio or the remaining cushion under this limit.
Sources: Second Amended and Restated Credit Agreement, dated November 25, 2025, definitions in Article I and Section 7.04; 2026 third-quarter 10-Q, Note 4.
Operating obligations remain separate from financing debt. Trade payables increased to $889.5 million from $655.6 million, and accrued payroll increased to $168.0 million from $110.4 million. Future operating-lease payments totaled $321.9 million, mainly for facilities, yards and equipment. That undiscounted payment commitment is not the same as a debt principal balance; lease liabilities are already included within other operating liabilities on the balance sheet.
Sources: 2026 third-quarter 10-Q, balance sheet, p. 4, and lease commitments, p. 19; 2025 Form 10-K, Note 10, classification of operating-lease liabilities.
The debt reduction and available revolving facility support management’s assessment that it can meet foreseeable funding needs. The practical constraint is cash timing: equipment payments, supplier bills and customer collections must be coordinated, particularly if fourth-quarter investment reaches the amount implied by the annual plan.
7. Buybacks lifted per-share earnings and used much of the cash left after investment
The smaller share count made quarterly earnings per share grow faster than total profit. Net profit rose just 0.9%, while diluted earnings per share increased 3.4%, from $1.76 to $1.82. Average diluted shares fell 2.3%, to 94.647 million from 96.847 million. Holding the prior-year share count constant, the latest quarter’s profit would have produced approximately $1.78 per share.
Interest and taxes also affected how much operating profit reached the final profit figure. Lower average debt helped net interest expense fall to $15.7 million from $17.9 million. However, the quarterly effective tax rate rose to 25.5% from 24.0%, mainly because of the timing of discrete tax items. Management’s approximately 24.0% full-year tax-rate expectation is a forecast and is not used here to recast reported earnings.
Source: 2026 third-quarter 10-Q, statement of earnings, p. 3, Note 7, p. 10, and expense discussion, p. 16. The constant-share-count illustration is calculated, not company-adjusted EPS.
J.B. Hunt bought approximately 1.479 million shares for $351.7 million during the first nine months, including $173.8 million in the third quarter. It also paid $127.2 million in dividends. The buyback amount was substantially below the $783.4 million spent in the first nine months of 2025, leaving more of the available cash for debt repayment.
The cash allocation reconciles. From the $817.3 million remaining after net capital spending, J.B. Hunt paid $478.9 million in dividends and program buybacks, $7.1 million for share-related payroll taxes and other items, and $344.9 million in net debt repayments. The resulting $13.5 million shortfall came from opening cash. Total cash used in financing was $830.8 million, versus $796.4 million a year earlier.
Source: 2026 third-quarter 10-Q, cash-flow statement, p. 6, and Note 5, p. 9. These are paid cash amounts, not merely announced distributions.
Repurchased shares are reported as treasury stock, rather than as retired shares. Employee awards also returned shares to circulation: 56,354 restricted-share units and 81,508 performance-share units vested into issued shares during the nine months. Share-based compensation expense was $59.5 million, compared with $58.7 million a year earlier. This expense is added back in operating cash because it does not require a contemporaneous cash payment, but the awards can still dilute existing shares.
Source: 2026 third-quarter 10-Q, equity statement, p. 5, and Notes 2–3, pp. 7–8. J.B. Hunt’s 2025 Form 10-K, Note 2, explains that vested awards are issued from treasury stock.
Shareholders’ equity increased only $68.6 million despite $495.0 million of profit, mainly because dividends and repurchases returned most of that amount to shareholders. The component reconciliation appears below. At September 30, $619.3 million remained authorized for buybacks; that is permission to spend, not a contractual cash obligation. The October 21 declaration of another $0.45 dividend, payable November 20, is also outside the nine-month cash totals.
Source: 2026 third-quarter 10-Q, equity statement, p. 5, and Note 5, p. 9.
The company has reduced debt and shares outstanding together. Future investment and collections will determine the room for further distributions.
8. Claims costs are already weighing on the recovery
More expensive claims are already reducing profit. Third-quarter insurance and claims expense rose 23.0%, to $100.9 million from $82.0 million. Management said claims became more severe even though their number declined. That means fewer incidents did not translate into lower costs.
Current and long-term claims liabilities together increased from $754.8 million at year-end to $836.3 million at September 30. These balances estimate obligations that will be settled over time; the $81.5 million increase is not the same as either the quarter’s claims expense or the period’s cash payments. The company pays part of the losses itself. Some insurance coverage also caps the total that insurers will reimburse across claims. Losses can exceed those caps and trigger additional premiums.
Source: 2026 third-quarter 10-Q, balance sheet, p. 4; Note 8, p. 10; and quarterly expense discussion, p. 16. Combined claims balances are calculated from the current and long-term lines.
Tax disputes create a separate exposure. The company is appealing state use-tax assessments and has recorded its estimate of the probable liability. It also reported $73.9 million of tax benefits it has not recognized because their acceptance remains uncertain. Of that amount, $59.6 million would affect the tax rate if recognized. Accrued interest and penalties were another $18.4 million. The eventual cash cost depends on how the tax matters are resolved.
Management expects other ordinary-course claims and litigation to be resolved without a material adverse effect. The filing provides no quantified range of additional reasonably possible losses. The supported concern is the cost already visible in insurance expense and recorded obligations, together with uncertainty over the eventual settlement amounts.
Source: 2026 third-quarter 10-Q, Notes 7–8, p. 10, and Part II, Item 1, p. 21.
These costs deserve particular attention because they affect both major profit engines. Intermodal’s efficiency gains have absorbed part of the pressure, while dedicated services has suffered a substantial margin decline. Better shipment volume will have a larger effect on company profit only if the cost of drivers, equipment, outside transport and claims stops consuming so much of the additional revenue.
9. The next improvement depends on keeping more cash and profit from growing freight
J.B. Hunt’s operating recovery is meaningful, but it is concentrated in intermodal and brokerage. The company is moving more goods, strengthening eastern intermodal activity and earning a profit again in freight brokerage. Those developments support its network strategy. Dedicated trucking’s cost increase and weaker final-mile profit explain why the broader sales recovery has not produced a similar quarterly earnings gain.
Its funding position has improved through lower debt and reduced buyback spending. However, the first nine months’ cash remaining after investment benefited from spending below the pace implied by the company’s full-year plan. If planned equipment purchases accelerate, any need for additional bank funding or adjustments to other cash uses will depend on fourth-quarter operating cash flow and the overall cash budget.
The business assessment would strengthen if growth in dedicated-fleet revenue starts to outpace growth in service costs while intermodal keeps converting additional loads into profit. It would weaken if claims and purchased transportation costs continue rising faster than customer revenue, or if customer payments remain tied up as investment increases. Retaining more earnings and cash from each shipment would make the growing freight network more profitable and easier to fund.
Reporting basis and calculation notes
Reporting basis: This analysis covers J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries, CIK 0000728535, ticker JBHT. The selected filing is Form 10-Q, accession 0001437749-26-033365, filed October 23, 2026, for the period ended September 30, 2026. The unaudited accounts use U.S. GAAP. Quarterly comparisons cover July 1–September 30; cumulative comparisons cover January 1–September 30. Balance-sheet comparisons use September 30, 2026 and December 31, 2025.
Sources: SEC submission history, matching accession, filing date, report date and primary document; selected 10-Q, cover and Note 1. The supplied full filing text was the foundation. The SEC’s company facts were used to cross-check consolidated revenue, profit, assets, equity, operating cash, cash purchases of property and equipment, and closing cash for the matching accession and periods. Dollar facts were converted from US dollars to millions; quarterly and cumulative contexts were kept separate.
Reporting basis: The research cutoff is October 24, 2026, New York time. Dated evidence includes the October 15 company earnings release, October 21 dividend declaration included in the filing, October 22 Union Pacific results, and October 23 J.B. Hunt filing. The Quantum page supplies product context and is undated. This is not a claim that all developments through the cutoff were exhaustively verified. Reported earnings are used throughout; no exceptional-item-adjusted profit is presented. The filing notes that 2025 changes in trailer useful-life estimates affect depreciation comparisons, but does not quantify a quarterly adjustment that would support a restatement here.
Calculation notes: Financial condition. The following table checks all major asset categories and the accounting equation. Amounts are US$ millions. Prepaid expenses and other current assets fell $104.390 million, while other noncurrent assets rose $16.117 million; the quarterly filing does not disaggregate these movements sufficiently to assign the full changes to particular operating causes.
| Consolidated balance-sheet check, US$ millions | December 31, 2025 | September 30, 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and cash equivalents | 17.284 | 3.750 |
| Net trade receivables | 1,160.371 | 1,611.490 |
| Prepaid expenses and other current assets | 426.535 | 322.145 |
| Net property and equipment | 5,538.101 | 5,363.638 |
| Goodwill and intangible assets | 210.357 | 195.466 |
| Other noncurrent assets | 574.507 | 590.624 |
| Total assets | 7,927.155 | 8,087.113 |
| Financing debt, current and long-term | 1,466.797 | 1,123.837 |
| Trade payables | 655.604 | 889.520 |
| Claims liabilities, current and long-term | 754.818 | 836.287 |
| Accrued payroll | 110.388 | 167.987 |
| Other accrued current expenses | 159.153 | 186.180 |
| Other long-term liabilities | 307.005 | 342.254 |
| Deferred income taxes | 908.305 | 907.345 |
| Total liabilities, calculated | 4,362.070 | 4,453.410 |
| Shareholders’ equity | 3,565.085 | 3,633.703 |
| Liabilities plus equity | 7,927.155 | 8,087.113 |
Source: 2026 third-quarter 10-Q, balance sheet, p. 4. Assets equal liabilities plus equity at both dates. Operating leases are included within the disclosed asset and liability categories; undiscounted future lease payments are not added again.
Calculation notes: Equity. Retained earnings are accumulated profits after dividends; treasury stock is the cost of shares the company has bought back and still holds. Additional paid-in capital includes the accounting effect of employee share awards. The table explains the change in each component without treating buybacks as an operating expense. Amounts are US$ millions.
| Equity movements, US$ millions | Common stock | Paid-in capital | Retained earnings | Treasury stock | Total equity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 31, 2025 | 1.671 | 627.280 | 7,800.696 | -4,864.562 | 3,565.085 |
| Net profit | 0.000 | 0.000 | 495.005 | 0.000 | 495.005 |
| Paid dividends | 0.000 | 0.000 | -127.195 | 0.000 | -127.195 |
| Program share purchases | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | -351.659 | -351.659 |
| Share compensation | 0.000 | 59.542 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 59.542 |
| Restricted-share and related entries | 0.000 | -7.894 | 0.000 | 0.819 | -7.075 |
| September 30, 2026 | 1.671 | 678.928 | 8,168.506 | -5,215.402 | 3,633.703 |
Source: 2026 third-quarter 10-Q, statement of stockholders’ equity, p. 5. The statement presents net earnings as comprehensive income and shows no separate other-comprehensive-income movement. Restricted-share and related entries total -$7.075 million across paid-in capital and treasury stock.
Calculation notes: Cash reconciliation. The table identifies the components grouped in Section 4. Positive amounts add to the reconciliation from profit to operating cash; negative amounts reduce it. For depreciation and similar charges, an addition reverses an expense that did not require an equal current cash payment. For operating balances, an addition generally reflects cash collected, a reduction in amounts prepaid, or a bill recorded before payment.
| Components of the profit-to-cash adjustment, US$ millions, first nine months | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Depreciation and amortization | 535.581 | 543.567 |
| Noncash lease expense | 72.305 | 65.829 |
| Share compensation | 58.695 | 59.542 |
| Losses on asset sales | 11.938 | 7.371 |
| Deferred income taxes | 42.111 | -0.961 |
| Noncash-adjustment subtotal | 720.630 | 675.348 |
| Change in other operating assets | 158.652 | 79.292 |
| Change in trade payables | 63.212 | 193.572 |
| Change in income taxes payable or receivable | -33.852 | 72.151 |
| Change in claims accruals | 30.972 | 43.974 |
| Change in payroll and other accrued expenses | -56.963 | 0.205 |
| Other-operating-balance subtotal | 162.021 | 389.194 |
Source: 2026 third-quarter 10-Q, cash-flow statement, p. 6. Cash-flow adjustments can differ from simple balance-sheet changes because the latter also include noncash and investing-related entries. Deferred taxes reflect differences between when income and expenses enter the accounts and when they affect tax payments.
The operating-cash decline is checked by comparing the grouped rows in Section 4: higher profit added $77.792 million, lower noncash adjustments subtracted $45.282 million, additional receivables absorbed $443.929 million, and other operating balances added $227.173 million. Together they explain the $184.246 million decline.
| Opening-to-closing cash check, US$ millions, first nine months | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Opening cash and cash equivalents | 46.983 | 17.284 |
| Operating cash inflow | 1,292.674 | 1,108.428 |
| Investing cash outflow | -490.919 | -291.133 |
| Financing cash outflow | -796.448 | -830.829 |
| Closing cash and cash equivalents | 52.290 | 3.750 |
Source: 2026 third-quarter 10-Q, p. 6. The filing presents no separate restricted-cash component. Net cash debt repayment in 2026 was $344.900 million: long-term-debt payments of $875.000 million plus revolving-credit and other payments of $1,562.000 million, less long-term proceeds of $475.000 million and revolving-credit and other proceeds of $1,617.100 million.
Calculation notes: Growth, margins, investment and funding. Growth equals the current amount divided by the comparable prior amount, minus one. Margins use operating profit divided by total revenue, including fuel surcharges. First-half operating profit is nine-month profit less third-quarter profit: 466.500 in 2026 and 375.955 in 2025, in US$ millions. The resulting 24.1% growth compares like six-month periods. A margin change is measured in percentage points, not percent growth.
The remaining calculations use these named inputs:
- Fourth-quarter investment implied by the annual plan: approximately $700.000 million planned for the year, less $291.133 million spent in the first nine months, equals approximately $408.867 million.
- Nominal unused revolving capacity: $1,000.0 million committed, less $81.9 million drawn, equals $918.1 million.
- Annual fixed-note interest: $750.0 million principal multiplied by 4.90% equals $36.75 million. Variable-rate illustration: $381.9 million principal multiplied by 4.85% equals $18.522 million before fees, if balances and rates remain unchanged.
- Quarterly EPS using the old share count: $172.418 million of profit divided by 96.847 million prior-year diluted shares equals approximately $1.78.
Source: 2026 third-quarter 10-Q, pp. 3, 6, 8 and 19. Calculations retain original inputs before rounding. Free cash flow and cash remaining after net capital spending are analytical cash measures defined in Section 5, not U.S. GAAP profit measures.
This report is for information and business analysis only. It is not investment advice or a recommendation to buy or sell securities.