Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. Announces Quarterly Dividend Increase and Reinforces Long-Term Shareholder Commitment
Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings, one of the largest and most diversified freight transportation providers in North America, has announced that its board of directors has approved an increase to the Company’s quarterly cash dividend, further underscoring its commitment to delivering consistent value to shareholders while maintaining financial discipline and operational resilience across market cycles, as the Board declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.20 per share of common stock, representing a $0.02 increase from the prior quarterly dividend of $0.18 per share, reflecting the Company’s confidence in its long-term cash flow generation capabilities and its continued focus on capital allocation strategies that balance reinvestment in the business with direct returns to investors.
Seven Consecutive Years of Dividend Growth Reflect Financial Strength
The newly declared dividend marks the seventh consecutive year in which the Company has raised its quarterly dividend, culminating in an impressive 233% cumulative increase over that period, a record that highlights management’s disciplined execution strategy, prudent balance sheet management, and consistent operational performance across varying freight market conditions, including periods of volatility and tightening capacity, while demonstrating a sustained commitment to shareholder-friendly policies and long-term value creation that aligns with the Company’s broader growth initiatives and network optimization strategies throughout North America.
Dividend Policy and Board Oversight
The Company’s quarterly dividend payments are made pursuant to a formal cash dividend policy approved by the Board, which provides a structured framework for returning capital to stockholders while preserving flexibility to invest in fleet modernization, technology enhancements, safety initiatives, and strategic growth opportunities, and while this policy establishes a disciplined approach to shareholder returns, the actual declaration of each quarterly dividend, including the establishment of record and payment dates, remains subject to final determination and approval by the Board following its comprehensive review of the Company’s financial results, liquidity position, capital expenditure requirements, regulatory considerations, and broader macroeconomic conditions affecting the freight transportation industry.
Record and Payment Dates Confirmed for March 2026
Under the latest declaration, the dividend will be payable to stockholders of record as of March 6, 2026, and is expected to be distributed on March 23, 2026, reinforcing the Company’s established cadence of quarterly distributions and providing shareholders with predictable and transparent return timelines, while maintaining alignment with the Company’s fiscal calendar and capital management planning processes designed to ensure sustainable distributions without compromising operational flexibility or strategic investment capacity.
A Diversified North American Freight Transportation Leader
Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. operates as one of North America’s largest and most diversified freight transportation enterprises, delivering a comprehensive suite of services that includes multiple truckload transportation offerings, logistics and brokerage solutions, and less-than-truckload (LTL) services, leveraging a nationwide network of business units and terminals strategically positioned across the United States and Mexico to serve customers throughout North America, thereby enabling scalable service coverage, improved transit efficiencies, and responsive customer support across diverse industries ranging from retail and manufacturing to consumer goods and industrial sectors.
Extensive Network and Operational Scale
Through its expansive operational footprint, the Company maintains and operates the largest tractor fleet in the United States, positioning it as a critical participant in domestic supply chain infrastructure, while also partnering with third-party equipment providers to supplement capacity and deliver a broad range of truckload services tailored to customer needs, an integrated model that allows the Company to balance asset-based efficiency with asset-light flexibility, optimize route density, manage seasonal demand fluctuations, and support network resiliency amid evolving freight cycles and regulatory landscapes across North America.
Workforce Development and Independent Contractor Opportunities
Beyond fleet scale and logistics integration, the Company emphasizes the creation of high-quality driving jobs for its professional driving associates while simultaneously offering meaningful entrepreneurial opportunities for independent contractors, reflecting a dual commitment to workforce stability and flexible capacity solutions, and through investments in safety programs, driver training, technology integration, and operational support systems, the Company continues to reinforce its reputation as an employer of choice within the trucking industry while strengthening service reliability for customers navigating increasingly complex supply chain dynamics.
Capital Allocation Strategy Balancing Growth and Returns
The decision to increase the quarterly dividend aligns with the Company’s broader capital allocation philosophy, which prioritizes maintaining a strong balance sheet, supporting strategic acquisitions and organic growth initiatives, investing in equipment modernization and digital transformation efforts, and returning excess capital to shareholders when appropriate, all while preserving liquidity buffers to manage cyclical freight demand patterns and economic uncertainties, thereby positioning the Company to remain competitive across varying market conditions and regulatory environments.
Statements and Regulatory Safe Harbor
This announcement includes statements that may be considered forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and such statements are subject to the safe harbor provisions established by those sections and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended, and forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements relating to the Company’s declaration of quarterly dividends, expectations regarding future financial performance, anticipated payment dates, and management’s strategic outlook, all of which are based on current beliefs, assumptions, and expectations of management as well as prevailing market conditions within the freight transportation sector.
Risks and Uncertainties Impacting Future Dividends
Forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, some of which may not be predictable or quantifiable, that could cause actual results and future events to differ materially from those contemplated in such statements, including but not limited to fluctuations in freight demand, changes in fuel prices, evolving regulatory requirements, labor market conditions, competitive dynamics, economic downturns, disruptions in supply chain activity, access to capital markets, and macroeconomic pressures that may impact cash flow generation and liquidity management, and there can be no assurance that future dividends will be declared or that the amount of any such dividends will be consistent with current levels, as the declaration and amount of future dividends remain subject to Board approval and the Company’s financial condition at the relevant time.
Financial Considerations and Legal Constraints
The payment of dividends may also be influenced by compliance with applicable laws and regulations, restrictions under existing or future financing arrangements, changes in tax laws relating to corporate dividends, deterioration in financial performance or operating results, and other risk factors disclosed in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, all of which underscore the importance of prudent financial stewardship and disciplined governance practices in sustaining long-term shareholder value creation within a capital-intensive and cyclical industry environment.
SEC Filings and Investor Disclosures
Investors and stakeholders are encouraged to review the risk factors and disclosures detailed in Part I, Item 1A, Risk Factors, of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, as well as additional disclosures contained in subsequent press releases, stockholder reports, and filings submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission, as these documents provide comprehensive insight into operational risks, market exposures, and financial performance metrics that may influence future results and capital allocation decisions.
No Obligation to Update Statements
The Company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements contained in this release, whether as a result of new information, future events, changes in circumstances, or otherwise, except as required by law, reinforcing that forward-looking statements represent management’s perspective as of the date of the announcement and should be evaluated within the broader context of the Company’s disclosed risk factors and market conditions prevailing at the time of review.
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