What Happened?
Shares of freight transportation and logistics provider Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA) jumped 6.9% in the afternoon session after the company reported second-quarter earnings that surpassed analyst expectations.
The less-than-truckload (LTL) transportation provider posted earnings per share (EPS) of $2.67, which was significantly higher than the consensus forecast of around $2.42. The strong profit performance occurred despite quarterly revenue of $817.1 million, which marked a slight 0.7% decrease from the prior year and narrowly missed some estimates. Investors seemed to prioritize the company's effective cost management and operational efficiency in a challenging market over the slight revenue shortfall. While the reported earnings beat expectations, they were lower than the $3.83 per share earned in the same quarter of 2024, indicating a tougher operating environment compared to the previous year.
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What Is The Market Telling Us
Saia’s shares are very volatile and have had 20 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The biggest move we wrote about over the last year was 3 months ago when the stock dropped 34.8% on the news that the company reported weak first-quarter 2025 results, with its revenue and EBITDA both falling short of analysts' estimates, reflecting a tough start to the year.
The real story was the sharp sales and profit declines, driven by weather-related disruptions, and weaker-than-expected March shipments. While revenue ticked up 4%, that modest gain masked deeper issues: growth in tonnage and shipments was undermined by a drop in revenue per unit, especially when excluding fuel surcharges, which fell more than 5%. The lack of typical seasonal acceleration in March also weighed heavily on performance. Overall, this was a softer quarter.
Saia is down 26.3% since the beginning of the year, and at $328.85 per share, it is trading 42.2% below its 52-week high of $569.08 from November 2024. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Saia’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $2,539.
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