Freight transportation and logistics provider Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA) will be announcing earnings results this Tuesday before the bell. Here’s what you need to know.
Saia beat analysts’ revenue expectations by 1% last quarter, reporting revenues of $839.6 million, flat year on year. It was an exceptional quarter for the company, with an impressive beat of analysts’ adjusted operating income estimates and a solid beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.
Is Saia a buy or sell going into earnings? Read our full analysis here, it’s free for active Edge members.
This quarter, analysts are expecting Saia’s revenue to decline 1.5% year on year to $777 million, a reversal from the 5% increase it recorded in the same quarter last year. Adjusted earnings are expected to come in at $1.91 per share.
Analysts covering the company have generally reconfirmed their estimates over the last 30 days, suggesting they anticipate the business to stay the course heading into earnings. Saia has missed Wall Street’s revenue estimates three times over the last two years.
Looking at Saia’s peers in the ground transportation segment, some have already reported their Q4 results, giving us a hint as to what we can expect. XPO delivered year-on-year revenue growth of 4.7%, beating analysts’ expectations by 2.9%, and Old Dominion Freight Line reported a revenue decline of 5.7%, in line with consensus estimates. XPO traded up 13.4% following the results while Old Dominion Freight Line was also up 6.5%.
Read our full analysis of XPO’s results here and Old Dominion Freight Line’s results here.
There has been positive sentiment among investors in the ground transportation segment, with share prices up 7.7% on average over the last month. Saia is up 14.4% during the same time and is heading into earnings with an average analyst price target of $354.95 (compared to the current share price of $417.03).
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