J. Pat Carter/AP
- Trucking company Knight-Swift rose 1% Wednesday morning after it reported adjusted earnings that beat estimates.
- The company, however, dropped guidance for the second quarter citing a "less robust" operating environment driven by weaker demand.
- Watch Knight-Swift trade live.
The trucking and logistics company Knight-Swift beat first quarter earnings expectations, sending the stock 1% higher early Wednesday.
The company reported adjusted earnings of $0.55 a share, beating the $0.52 that analysts surveyed by Bloomberg were expecting. Revenue fell 5% to $1.2 billion, missing the $1.3 billion that analysts were hoping for.
Knight-Swift also guided lower for its second-quarter adjusted earnings per share, saying it sees range of $0.62 to $0.64, down from $0.62 to $0.66.
"Overall, we are pleased that our ability to deploy assets effectively in a less robust market, together with enterprise wide efforts to improve our drivers' experience and safety, and a relentless focus on cost control, delivered strong first quarter results for our stockholders," noted the company's earnings release.
Trucking stocks have been under pressure in recent months as lower demand and a drop in oil prices are starting to "take their toll on trucking-industry pricing power," according to Nicholas Colas, co-founder of DataTrek Research.
Rival JB Hunt also missed revenue expectations for the quarter, citing the Trump administration's tariff policy as a factor weakening demand.
Knight-Swift was up 38% year to date.
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