Ryder System’s stock price is up more than 80% in the last year–more than 23% in a month–for a business whose latest earnings report for 2026’s first quarter shows it has had to fight for growth.
There was nothing in the quarterly report that was particularly negative. It showed a company that is not getting that much of a lift from underlying freight market conditions, but had a solid performance on the back of its own initiatives and something it has little control over: used vehicle sales.
All that happened even as its Fleet Management Solutions (FMS) unit, its flagship leasing and rental operations, had just a 1% increase in revenue year-on-year; its contract logistics operations through Supply Chain Solutions (SCS) was up just 2% in revenue; and its Dedicated Transportation Solutions (DTS), which provides dedicated trucking, saw an 8% drop in revenue.
But with the help of used vehicle sales, FMS was able to push out a 6% increase in earnings before taxes. Those used vehicle sales, which come out of FMS, were cited near the top of the company’s earnings announcement as a reason for its performance.
A different company than eight years ago
In his first earnings call as CEO since he took over Ryder (NYSE: R) from the retired Robert Sanchez, John Diez made several comparisons to where the company stood in 2018, when its vehicle leasing and sales of those vehicles was far and away the key driver of profitability at Ryder. Now, SCS and DTS supply about 60% of revenue, compared to 44% in 2018.
But while the fundamental shift has provided long-term stability to the Ryder business, the company’s earnings call with analysts Thursday kept coming back to used vehicle sales, even as Diez said the company’s strategy in recent years has been to “derisk” its fortunes by “significantly reducing our reliance on used vehicle proceeds to achieve our targeted returns.”
The used vehicle sales were featured on the call for a simple reason: Ryder said those sales were key to why the bottom line at the company was strong. Ryder posted non-GAAP earnings of $2.54 in the first quarter, compared to $2.46 a year ago. That was also a 27 cents per share “beat” over consensus forecasts, according to SeekingAlpha.
Free cash flow rose to $273 million from $259 million, even as operating revenue was flat at $1.3 billion.
Cristina Gallo-Aquino, Ryder’s CFO, said on the call that the company expects to reap about $500 million in used vehicle sales proceeds this year, which would be in line with what it received in 2025.
Used vehicle market likely to stay firm
But although no meaningful increase in that figure is projected, Diez talked at several times during the call as if the used vehicle market might be stronger this year.
He said Ryder expected a “modest improvement in used vehicle market conditions.”
And looking to the future, Diez said that by “the next cycle peak,” without putting a date on when that might be, Ryder expected a potential $250 million increase in annual pretax earnings, which were just under $100 million for the first quarter. One of the drivers of that increase, Diez said: used vehicle sales.
“Our increased forecast reflects stronger-than-expected first quarter performance, a modest improvement in used vehicle market conditions and continued strong contractual performance,” Diez said on the call. .
Ryder, in its earnings announcement, increased its forecast for 2026 financial performance. One of the reasons for that, Diez said, was a projection of higher used vehicle sales results.
But while the impact of that was a small part of the forecast, Diez said, more may come later.
Inflation in the market for new vehicles also is a factor in the company’s projections. “We do expect later on this year that we’re going to see significant increases on new equipment, which will provide support for higher used vehicle sales pricing,” he said. “We just haven’t put that into the forecast because we need to see more development on that side to kind of get confident in that activity.”
Regulatory atmosphere and its impact on vehicle sales
But there’s a potential newer area of competition in used vehicle sales: trucks put on the market where the driver lost their ability to be behind the wheel because of various regulatory crackdowns.
Diez conceded “there’s some structural changes happening in the marketplace.”
But he added that the regulatory actions are mostly taking place in over the road driving, and that means a lot of sleeper cabs.
About 60% of Ryder’s used vehicle inventory is in trucks, like a box truck, with about 40% being tractors. It was improved tractor pricing that led to the used vehicle sales performance being higher than expected.
But Diez added that the biggest share of the tractors it owns that will be sold into the market are day cabs, “which is a different application than the over-the-road activity.”
“So I think we’re pretty well calibrated there,” Diez said. “We don’t think that’s going to be a meaningful impact even if there’s pressure on the sleeper class moving forward.”
The sales mix for Ryder was positive for the quarter compared to last year. Sales through retail outlets were 61% of the mix in the first quarter of 2026, versus 56% a year ago. Retail sales proceeds are generally better than wholesale outlets. But the retail percentage was 69% in the fourth quarter.
Ryder said retail pricing “remained stable sequentially.”
Actual vehicles sold were 4,600, which was down from a year ago but up 1,000 sequentially.
Applause for the performance
Even though some of the standard measurements like operating income and revenue didn’t move up significantly in the quarter, and a key driver of the first quarter profit growth–used vehicle sales–is something Ryder is trying to diminish in importance, there were positive analyst statements.
The transportation research team at Wells Fargo said the latest guidance from Ryder, up to an earnings per share target of $14.05-$14.80 from $13.45-$14.45, “feels conservative.”
Diez talked on the call about the company’s strategic plans, which includes continued focus on maintenance improvements. “Ryder expects $70m (+$1.24/share) of YoY benefits from strategic initiatives and a conservative $10m (+$0.19/share) from its cyclical businesses despite end market improvements,” Wells Fargo said.
That team also focused on sales in the Supply Chain Solutions segment, which is a contract logistics provider. Ryder, the analysts said, “inked record SCS sales activity and customers are finally signing long-term leasing contracts.”
Wells Fargo raised its price target to $260 per share from $236.
At approximately 2:45 p.m. EDT Friday, Ryder stock was at $251.56, up $8.97 for a gain on the day of 3.70%. Two days ago, the stock closed at $227.58.
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