LSTR's Q4 Earnings Coming Up: What's in the Offing for the Stock?

Core Viewpoint - Landstar System, Inc. (LSTR) is expected to report a decline in earnings and revenues for the fourth quarter of 2024, influenced by a downturn in the freight market and reduced demand for freight services [2][4]. Financial Performance Expectations - The Zacks Consensus Estimate for LSTR's fourth-quarter 2024 earnings per share (EPS) is $1.36, reflecting a 16.1$1.20 billion, indicating a 0.5% decrease year over year [2]. - The company anticipates fourth-quarter 2024 EPS to be in the range of $1.25 to$1.45 per share [5]. Earnings Surprise History - Landstar has a mixed earnings surprise history, outperforming the Zacks Consensus Estimate in two of the last four quarters, with an average beat of 0.12% [3]. - In the third quarter of 2024, LSTR reported an EPS of $1.41, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of$1.46 and represented a 17.5% year-over-year decline [7]. Influencing Factors - The company's top-line performance in Q4 is expected to be negatively impacted by a downturn in the freight market, characterized by reduced demand for freight services and increased truck capacity [4]. - LSTR expects fourth-quarter 2024 truckloads to be either 4% below or up to 1.0% above the actuals from the fourth quarter of 2023 [4]. Earnings Prediction Model - The current model does not predict a conclusive earnings beat for Landstar, as it has an Earnings ESP of +1.58% and a Zacks Rank of 5 (Strong Sell) [6].