Knight-Swift Transportation Q2 Earnings Call Highlights

Knight-Swift said the truckload market tightened sharply in Q2 2026 , with spot rates, tender rejections and bid activity all improving. Management said the tighter environment was largely supply-driven, though demand signs are also starting to improve. Second-quarter earnings improved meaningfully , with adjusted EPS rising 80% year over year to $0.63 and consolidated adjusted operating ratio improving 240 basis points to 91.4%. The company also guided Q3 adjusted EPS to $0.71 to $0.77, above Q2 results. Truckload was the standout segment , benefiting from better pricing and network efficiency, while U.S. Xpress posted its first profitable quarter since acquisition. By contrast, Logistics was weaker and LTL was mixed, though both intermodal and LTL margins improved.

Knight-Swift Transportation NYSE: KNX executives said the truckload freight market tightened sharply during the second quarter of 2026, helping drive year-over-year earnings improvement and prompting the company to issue third-quarter adjusted earnings guidance above its second-quarter result. Chief Executive Officer Adam Miller said spot rates have been “trending well ahead of normal seasonality,” tender rejection rates have reached levels not seen since 2021, and contractual bid activity has become increasingly supportive. He characterized the tightening as “largely supply-driven,” though he said signs of improving demand are beginning to appear.

Miller said the company’s own tender rejection rates ran at roughly twice the level of public market indications during the second quarter, which he cited as evidence that demand for Knight-Swift’s truckload service offering is outpacing the broader market. He said realized revenue per mile began to recover in the quarter, with revenue per mile accelerating in June as more recent bids took effect. Those bids, he said, largely reflected double-digit percentage pricing gains.

Chief Financial Officer Andrew Hess said consolidated revenue, excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge, increased 5.5% year over year. GAAP earnings per diluted share were $0.26, up 23.8% from the prior-year period, while adjusted earnings per share were $0.63, an 80% increase. Consolidated adjusted operating ratio improved 240 basis points to 91.4%.

Hess said the earnings improvement was primarily driven by pricing and network efficiency gains across the company’s asset-based businesses. He said all reportable segments other than Logistics improved their operating margins and income contribution year over year. The company projected adjusted earnings per share of $0.71 to $0.77 for the third quarter of 2026. Treasurer and Senior Vice President of Investor Relations Brad Stewart said the outlook reflects recent trends in volumes, spot rates, rate activity and driver hiring, as well as expected seasonal patterns in truckload and LTL services.

Knight-Swift’s Truckload segment increased revenue, excluding fuel surcharge, by 2.8% year over year, while adjusted operating income rose 69.4%. Revenue per loaded mile, excluding fuel surcharge and intersegment transactions, increased 5.5% for the quarter. Hess said the company reduced deadhead miles by 140 basis points, improving revenue per total mile. The segment’s adjusted operating ratio improved 360 basis points year over year to 91%, which he said was the best adjusted operating margin for the combined Truckload segment in more than three years. Rate improvement accelerated in June, Hess said, with...