In a Monday note to clients, Morgan Stanley analyst Ravi Shanker identified three key themes for the third-quarter earnings season, which begins Oct. 15 when J.B. Hunt reports. Hurricane Ida’s impact on the period, 2022 rate expectations and labor issues throughout peak season are the areas that will get the most attention, according to Shanker.
Hurricane unlikely to materially alter Q3 results
The report said only two companies, truckload carrier Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ: WERN) and Union Pacific (NYSE: UNP), have warned that the storm would impact results, with most others noting that the weather event was “par for the course” for a third quarter.
Shanker said that rates increased in the days following the hurricane and haven’t receded materially since. “A healthy 5% rate bounce during the Hurricane in late August has largely held up which shows that the market remains very tight with little sign of letting up,” the report stated.
At a Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) investor conference, management from Werner indicated that its dedicated operations would see a bit of a cost headwind as the company compensated drivers who were unable to haul loads for a couple of days due to the storm.
Shanker lowered his earnings estimate for Werner by 7% to 88 cents per share and reduced his UP forecast by 4% to $2.51 per share.
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