Knight-Swift Q3 Adjusted EPS Jumps 159% to $0.83; Guides Q4 to $0.78-$0.84
KNX sits 55% above its 52-week low of $41.235.
Summary
Knight-Swift reported Q3 2026 adjusted EPS of $0.83, up 159% year-over-year, on 14.2% revenue growth and a 700 basis point truckload margin improvement, and guided Q4 adjusted EPS to $0.78-$0.84.
Key Events · Earnings and Guidance · KNX
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Q3 Adjusted EPS More Than Doubles
Adjusted EPS of $0.83 vs $0.32 a year ago (+159.4%); GAAP diluted EPS $0.72 vs $0.05. Total revenue rose 14.2% to $2.20B and revenue excluding fuel surcharge rose 7.7% to $1.85B.
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Truckload Margin Up 700 Basis Points
Truckload adjusted operating ratio improved to 89.2% from 96.2%, driven by a 9.7% increase in revenue per loaded mile and a 170 basis point reduction in empty miles. Adjusted operating income for the segment rose 202% to $124.6M.
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Q4 Guidance of $0.78-$0.84 Adjusted EPS
Guidance assumes truckload adjusted OR improving 650-750 bps and LTL 100-200 bps year-over-year, with intermodal revenue up 25-30%. Full-year net capex guidance narrowed to $600M-$625M from $600M-$650M.
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LTL Margin Slips on Lower Equipment Gains
LTL adjusted operating ratio worsened 80 bps to 91.4% and adjusted operating income fell 8.4% to $29.4M, primarily on a $4.6M year-over-year decrease in gains on sale, despite mid-single-digit contract renewal increases.
Analysis · KNX · Energy & Transportation
Knight-Swift's earnings power inflected sharply this quarter: adjusted EPS of $0.83 more than doubled from $0.32 a year ago, and the truckload segment's adjusted operating ratio improved 700 basis points to 89.2% as pricing gains (revenue per loaded mile up 9.7%) outran cost inflation. That is the margin repair investors have been waiting for through a multi-year freight downturn. The Q4 guide of $0.78-$0.84 implies continued year-over-year growth and assumes a solid peak season with more project freight booked than any time since the pandemic. The main caveats are that LTL margins slipped 80 basis points on lower gains on sale, and management said further meaningful rate growth is needed in 2027 to fund fleet investment — so the recovery still depends on the pricing cycle holding.
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At the time of this filing, KNX was trading at $64.01 on NYSE in the Energy & Transportation sector, with a market capitalization of approximately $10.3B. The 52-week trading range was $41.24 to $82.86. This filing was assessed with positive market sentiment and an importance score of 8 out of 10.