J.B. Hunt Transport Services Delivers Strong Fourth-Quarter and Full-Year 2025 Financial Performance
J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ: JBHT), one of North America’s largest and most diversified transportation and logistics providers, reported solid financial results for both the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2025, demonstrating continued operational discipline, cost management, and progress on long-term strategic initiatives. Despite ongoing market volatility and selective softness across certain freight segments, the company delivered year-over-year growth in profitability while strengthening safety performance and shareholder returns.
Fourth-Quarter 2025 Financial Highlights
For the fourth quarter of 2025, J.B. Hunt reported U.S. GAAP net income of $181.1 million, translating to diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.90. This compares favorably to net earnings of $155.5 million, or $1.53 per diluted share, reported in the fourth quarter of 2024. The year-over-year improvement reflects stronger operating income, disciplined expense control, and improved execution across key business units.
Total operating revenue for the quarter reached $3.10 billion, compared to $3.15 billion in the same period last year, representing a modest 2% decline. Revenue excluding fuel surcharge revenue also declined by 2% year-over-year, primarily due to lower revenue per load in select segments, reduced load volumes in some service lines, and a slight contraction in average equipment counts. These declines were partially offset by strong volume growth in truckload operations, productivity gains within dedicated services, and higher revenue per load in brokerage-related activities.
Leadership Perspective and Strategic Focus
Shelley Simpson, President and Chief Executive Officer of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, emphasized the company’s strong execution and momentum entering 2026.
“Our team finished the year with another quarter of strong execution and financial results,” Simpson said. “We continue to see the benefits of our focus on operational excellence, which is setting us apart with customers. We also achieved a record year in safety for the third consecutive year, underscoring our commitment to protecting our people, our freight, and the communities we serve. We remain focused on improving our financial performance to drive long-term value for our company and our shareholders.”
Safety performance remains a cornerstone of J.B. Hunt’s operating philosophy, particularly given the scale and complexity of its nationwide transportation network. The company’s continued investment in training, technology, and process improvement has contributed to measurable gains in safety outcomes while supporting productivity and service reliability.
Operating Income and Margin Performance
Operating income for the fourth quarter increased 19% year-over-year to $246.5 million, up from $207.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2024. The prior-year period included $16.0 million in pre-tax intangible asset impairment charges, which negatively impacted reported operating income at that time. Excluding these charges, the improvement in operating income was driven primarily by structural cost reduction initiatives, enhanced productivity across the organization, and lower personnel-related expenses.
On a consolidated basis, operating income as a percentage of gross revenue improved compared to the prior year. These gains were partially offset by higher equipment-related costs and fuel expense as a percentage of revenue, reflecting inflationary pressures and ongoing investments in fleet modernization.
Interest Expense and Tax Considerations
Net interest expense declined during the quarter, largely due to a lower average interest rate environment, though this benefit was partially offset by a higher average outstanding debt balance compared to the fourth quarter of 2024. The effective tax rate for the fourth quarter of 2025 was 22.4%, compared to 19.0% in the same period last year. For the full year, the effective tax rate was 24.7%, largely in line with 24.8% in 2024.
Looking ahead, J.B. Hunt expects its 2026 annual effective tax rate to range between 24.0% and 25.0%, based on current enacted legislation and prevailing tax policies.
Segment Performance Overview
Intermodal (JBI)
The Intermodal segment, which remains J.B. Hunt’s largest business unit, generated fourth-quarter 2025 revenue of $1.55 billion, a 3% decline compared to the prior-year period. Despite the revenue decrease, operating income increased 16% to $135.5 million, reflecting meaningful efficiency gains and improved network balance.
Intermodal volume declined 2% year-over-year, with Transcontinental network loads down 6% while Eastern network loads increased 5%. Sequentially, overall volumes improved 2% from the third quarter, supported by seasonally strong demand and improving trends in both networks.
Revenue declines were driven by a combination of lower load volume and a 1% decrease in revenue per load, largely due to freight mix, customer pricing adjustments, and fuel surcharge impacts. Revenue per load excluding fuel surcharge revenue declined 2% year-over-year.
Operating income growth was driven by improved network balance, reduced empty container repositioning, lower container storage expenses, and enhanced productivity from third-party drayage providers. Continued execution on initiatives to lower the cost to serve further supported profitability across the intermodal network.
Dedicated Contract Services (DCS)
Dedicated Contract Services delivered fourth-quarter revenue of $843 million, representing a 1% increase compared to the same period in 2024. Operating income rose 9% to $98.4 million, reflecting steady productivity gains and cost discipline.
Revenue growth was driven by a 1% improvement in productivity, measured as revenue per truck per week, partially offset by a 1% decline in average truck count. Excluding fuel surcharge revenue, productivity increased 1% due to indexed-based contractual price escalators.
Customer retention remained strong at approximately 94%, highlighting the long-term, strategic nature of dedicated relationships. Operating income growth was supported by lower insurance claims expense, continued progress in reducing cost to serve, and maturation of recently onboarded business, partially offset by higher equipment-related costs.
Integrated Capacity Solutions (ICS)
Integrated Capacity Solutions reported fourth-quarter revenue of $305 million, down 1% year-over-year, while significantly narrowing its operating loss to $3.3 million, compared to a loss of $21.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2024.
Segment volume declined 7%, though revenue per load increased 6% due to improved contractual and transactional pricing. Contractual freight represented approximately 65% of total load volume and 66% of total revenue during the quarter.
The year-over-year improvement in operating performance was driven by lower personnel costs, reduced equipment and facility rental expenses, and lower bad debt expense. These gains were partially offset by higher third-party purchased transportation costs in a tightening capacity environment. Gross profit margins declined to 12.4% from 17.3% in the prior year due to lower-margin contractual business and elevated purchased transportation costs.
Final Mile Services (FMS)
Final Mile Services generated fourth-quarter revenue of $206 million, reflecting a 10% decline year-over-year. Operating income fell 43% to $7.5 million, primarily due to softer end-market demand and changes in business mix between asset-based and asset-light offerings.
Higher equipment-related expenses further pressured margins, though these impacts were partially offset by lower personnel costs, reduced facility expenses, and continued progress on cost-reduction initiatives.
Truckload (JBT)
The Truckload segment reported fourth-quarter revenue of $200 million, an increase of 10% compared to the prior-year period. Revenue excluding fuel surcharge also increased 10%, driven primarily by a 15% increase in load volume, partially offset by a 4% decline in revenue per load.
Despite revenue growth, operating income declined slightly to $8.4 million, down 2% year-over-year, due to higher third-party purchased transportation costs, increased insurance and claims expense, and higher equipment-related costs. Trailer utilization improved meaningfully, with trailer turns increasing 12% compared to the prior year.
Cash Flow, Capital Allocation, and Shareholder Returns
As of December 31, 2025, J.B. Hunt reported total debt outstanding of $1.47 billion, slightly lower than $1.48 billion at year-end 2024 and down from $1.60 billion at the end of the third quarter 2025. Cash and cash equivalents totaled $17 million at year-end.
Net capital expenditures for 2025 were approximately $575 million, down from $674 million in 2024, reflecting disciplined capital allocation while continuing to invest in fleet, technology, and infrastructure.
The company remained active in returning capital to shareholders. During the fourth quarter, J.B. Hunt repurchased approximately 843,000 shares for $140 million. For the full year, share repurchases totaled approximately 6.3 million shares, valued at $923 million. At year-end, approximately $968 million remained available under the company’s share repurchase authorization, with total shares outstanding approximating 94.6 million.
Source lnik: https://www.businesswire.com