Covenant Logistics sees 4.7% rise in Q2 earnings amid ‘weak’ freight market

‘We believe a material improvement in the freight market will take time,’ said David Parker, Covenant chairman, CEO

Covenant’s freight revenue per tractor per week increased 1% year-over-year to $5,726 during the second quarter. (Jim Allen/FreightWaves)

Covenant Logistics Group reported revenue of $287.5 million in the second quarter after the market closed Wednesday, an increase of 4.7% year-over-year compared to 2023.

The company posted adjusted second-quarter earnings of $1.04 cents per share, a 2.8% decrease compared to the same year-ago period.

Chattanooga, Tennessee-based Covenant’s (NASDAQ: CVLG) second-quarter EPS surpassed the consensus estimate of 99 cents per share. But the company missed Wall Street’s revenue prediction of $299 million.

David Parker, Covenant chairman and CEO said Covenant showed “consistently strong financial performance over the duration of a very weak general freight market.”

Adjusted net income was $14.45 million compared to $14.44 million in the year-ago quarter.

“While we believe freight market fundamentals have continued to slowly improve and macroeconomic indicators are beginning to positively reveal themselves, absent an outside catalyst, we believe a material improvement in the freight market will take time,” Parker said in a news release.

Combined truckload revenue was $201.4 million in the second quarter, an 8.7% y/y increase.

The company operates four business segments: expedited, dedicated, warehousing and managed freight transportation.

Freight revenue per tractor per week increased 1% y/y to $5,726 during the second quarter.

Total revenue in the expedited truckload segment increased 3.8% y/y to $108 million, and dedicated segment revenue increased 15% y/y to $93.4 million.

Covenant’s managed freight segment saw revenue of $60.3 million in the second quarter, a decrease of 5% from the same time last year. The warehousing segment had revenue of $25.3 million during the quarter, a 1% y/y increase.

Covenant will hold a conference call to discuss results with analysts at 9 a.m. Thursday.

Covenant Logistics GroupQ2/24Q2/23Y/Y % Change
Total revenue$287$2744.7%
Truckload combined:
Revenue$201$1858.7%
Freight revenue (ex fuel)$171$15510.3%
Revenue per total mile$2.382.322.6%
Revenue/tractor/week$5,726$5,6781%
Adjusted OR %92.5%91.6%1%
Managed freight:
Revenue$60.3$63.2(4.5%)
Adjusted operating income$3,594$2,07074%
Adjusted OR %94.5%96.9%(2.5%)
Expedited freight:
Revenue (ex fuel)$88.9$85.93.4%
Adjusted operating income$5,302$7,953(33%)
Adjusted OR %95.6%94.4%1.3%
Dedicated freight:
Revenue (ex fuel)$93.4$81.115%
Adjusted operating income$7,486$5,09446%
Adjusted OR %94.2%96%(1.8%)
Adjusted earnings per share$1.04$1.07(2.8%)
Revenue and operating income in millions.
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Noi Mahoney

Noi Mahoney is a Texas-based journalist who covers cross-border trade, logistics and supply chains for FreightWaves. He graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in English in 1998. Mahoney has more than 20 years experience as a journalist, working for newspapers in Maryland and Texas. Contact nmahoney@freightwaves.com