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XPO (NYSE:XPO) jumped 5% premarket on Wednesday amid an earnings beat in a soft environment.
The stock has more than doubled over the past 12 months.
For the fourth quarter, non-GAAP earnings per share totaled $0.77, which beat the average analyst estimate by $0.15 on sales of $1.94B, better than the expectation by $20M. Sales improved on higher yield, excluding fuel, and an increase in tonnage per day in the North American less than truckload, or LTL, segment, partially offset by lower fuel surcharge revenue.
“We delivered fourth quarter results that were solidly above expectations, reflecting substantial momentum in service quality, pricing and productivity,” Chief Executive Officer Mario Harik said in a statement.
In North American LTL, the company outperformed on every key operating metric, including improving its damage claims ratio to a company record of 0.3%.
“The more service quality we deliver, the more value our customers realize from doing business with us. This dynamic is a key driver of our margin expansion,” the executive said.
Net income from continuing operations of $58M compared with a net loss of $36M a year earlier and operating income of $119M compared with $4M a year earlier.
In December, XPO acquired 28 service centers formerly associated with Yellow (OTC:YELLQ), which filed for bankruptcy last year.
"The Yellow Asset Acquisition is expected to be accretive to adjusted EBITDA and dilutive to adjusted diluted earnings from continuing operations per share in 2024. Starting in 2025, the Yellow Asset Acquisition is expected to be accretive to adjusted diluted earnings from continuing operations per share," said XPO in a filing at the time.