Knight-Swift third-quarter net income rises to $118.3 million as truckload pricing improves

Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (KNX) said Wednesday it earned $118.3 million, or 72 cents per diluted share, in the third quarter of 2026. That compares with $7.9 million, or 5 cents, a year earlier.

Revenue rose to $2.2 billion from $1.9 billion. Revenue excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge grew 7.7%, the company said.

Operating income was $178.7 million, up 255.1% from a year earlier. Adjusted Operating Income, which excludes items the company treats as outside its core operations, was $198.5 million, up 87.4%.

Adjusted EPS, a non-GAAP measure that adds back after-tax intangible amortization and certain other items, was 83 cents. The figure compares with 32 cents a year earlier.

Here's how the company did:

• Revenue: $2,200.9 million vs. $1,927.1 million a year earlier
• Net income attributable to Knight-Swift: $118.3 million vs. $7.9 million a year earlier
• Earnings per diluted share: 72 cents vs. 5 cents a year earlier
• Adjusted EPS: 83 cents vs. 32 cents a year earlier
• Operating ratio: 91.9% vs. 97.4% a year earlier
• Adjusted Operating Ratio: 89.3% vs. 93.8% a year earlier

Interest expense fell to $18.2 million from $40.9 million, a reduction the company put at $22.8 million. The effective tax rate on GAAP results was 27.4%, compared with 47.0% a year earlier.

Operating income includes $6.3 million of costs for a new accounts receivable securitization program. The company said costs of the prior arrangement were reported in interest expense before 2026.

The prior-year quarter included an $11.2 million loss contingency, a $2.0 million write-off of debt issuance costs and $34.8 million of impairment charges, the company said.

CEO Adam Miller said: "Industry capacity remains under pressure, and sourcing quality drivers is as challenging as it has been in years."

Here's how the company's segments did during the quarter:

• Truckload: revenue excluding fuel surcharge and intersegment transactions of $1,154.9 million, up 6.5%; Adjusted Operating Ratio of 89.2%, improved 700 basis points
• LTL: revenue excluding fuel surcharge of $341.7 million, up 0.4%; Adjusted Operating Ratio of 91.4%, up 80 basis points
• Logistics: revenue of $139.0 million, down 1.0%; Adjusted Operating Income of $9.6 million, up 19.6%
• Intermodal: revenue of $122.9 million, up 30.6%; Adjusted Operating Ratio of 97.8%, improved 200 basis points

Truckload revenue per loaded mile, excluding fuel surcharge and intersegment transactions, rose 9.7%, while loaded miles fell 3.0%. The company said the segment's margin gain came mainly from pricing, growth in loaded miles per tractor and a 170 basis point reduction in empty miles.

After driver recruiting pressured its seated truck count in the second quarter, the company said the count stabilized in July and held through the quarter.

U.S. Xpress's over-the-road division reached a mid-90s Adjusted Operating Ratio, while the legacy brands achieved 88.0%, the company said.

LTL revenue excluding fuel surcharge rose 0.4%. A 4.0% increase in revenue per shipment was partly offset by a 1.4% drop in shipments per day. Adjusted Operating Income declined $2.7 million, mainly because of a $4.6 million decrease in gains on sale.

Logistics revenue fell 1.0% as revenue per load rose 46.7% and load count fell 32.6%. The company said it maintained a disciplined approach to profitability and carrier selection.

Intermodal load count rose 13.3% to the highest level in over five years, the company said. Revenue per load rose 15.2%.

Miller said the company anticipates a solid truckload peak season: "We anticipate a solid truckload peak season, as consumers have remained resilient, inventory levels have been well-managed, and capacity remains under pressure."

For the fourth quarter, the company expects Adjusted EPS of 78 cents to 84 cents. It also expects truckload revenue excluding fuel surcharge to rise by a low double-digit percentage, with the Adjusted Operating Ratio improving 650 to 750 basis points.

For intermodal, the company expects revenue to rise 25% to 30%, with the Adjusted Operating Ratio improving 150 to 250 basis points. The company said it cannot estimate the effect of certain items on Adjusted EPS, because they may be infrequent and hard to predict.

The company now expects 2026 net cash capital expenditures of $600 million to $625 million. The previous range was $600 million to $650 million.

As of Sept. 30, the company had $1.7 billion of unrestricted cash and available liquidity and $7.1 billion of stockholders' equity. Net debt was $2.1 billion. Free cash flow for the first nine months of 2026 was $373.2 million.

On Aug. 6, the board declared a quarterly cash dividend of 20 cents per share. It was paid on Sept. 21 to holders of record on Sept. 4. The year-earlier quarter's declared dividend was 18 cents per share.