Fort Smith-based ArcBest reported fourth-quarter net income and revenue Friday that missed analysts' estimates as demand continued to slow across the trucking industry.
Before markets opened, the trucking and logistics company reported net income of $37.3 million, or $1.48 per share, for the quarter that ended Dec. 31, down from $65.88 million, or $2.47 per share, for the same quarter last year. A consensus estimate of nine analysts placed net income at $2.53 per share, according to Yahoo Finance.
If certain items in both periods are excluded, net income on a non-GAAP basis was $61.6 million, or $2.45 per diluted share, in the fourth quarter, compared with $73.9 million, or $2.79 per diluted share, for the same quarter last year. GAAP stands for generally accepted accounting principles.
Revenue for the fourth quarter was $1.24 billion, compared with $1.19 billion for the same period a year ago. A consensus of seven analysts predicted revenue of $1.25 billion.
For the year, net income was $298.2 million, or $11.69 per share, up from $213.5 million, or $7.98 per share. Revenue for the year was $5.32 billion, up from $3.98 billion the year before. Both net income and revenue broke annual records for the second year in a row, according to the company.
ArcBest was also able to pay a profit-sharing bonus to eligible unionized employees for the fourth consecutive year.
Shares of ArcBest closed at $86.70, down $3.45, or 3.8%, in trading Friday on the Nasdaq. Shares have traded as low as $65.16 and as high as $96.80 over the past year.
During a conference call with analysts Friday morning, ArcBest executives said demand continued to decelerate broadly across it customer base as the fourth quarter progressed and they were saw similar trends in January. The executives noted that pricing was still solid, with the company being able to keep up with inflationary costs.
Judy R. McReynolds, ArcBest chairman, president and chief executive officer said the company continues to innovate and will remain resilient going into the coming year.
"Nothing intimidates us," she said during the call.
She said the company was celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2023, saying the milestone would not have been possible without its dedicated workforce.
"We are proud of what we've accomplished but we're just getting started," McReynolds said.
In the fourth quarter, ArcBest's asset-based business which consists of ABF Freight, booked revenue of $711.4 million, up from $683.5 million a year ago. Operating income for the quarter was $75.1 million compared with $83.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2021. Billed revenue per hundredweight was up 9.3% on higher fuel surcharges while revenue per underweight on the less-than-truckload-rated business, without taking fuel surcharges into account, also improved.
The company's asset-light business, which covers logistics, transportation management and household goods moving services and includes brokerage company MoLo, booked revenue of $572.4 million, up from $541.2 million. The business posted an operating loss of $9.6 million, which factored in a $17.5 million charge as part of the acquisition of MoLo Solutions that was finalized in November of 2021.
During the call it was noted David Cobb, longtime chief financial officer, will retire in October. Cobb has been with Fort Smith-based ArcBest since 2006 and has served as its chief financial officer since 2015. His retirement was announced in early December.
Late Thursday, the company said it appointed Salvatore A. Abbate, 54, chief executive officer of Veritiv Corporation, to its board of directors. He fills the vacancy left by Steve Gorman who left the board in August and brings the board's membership back to nine.
Graphs showing ArcBest Corp. fourth quarter information.