The end of an earnings season can be a great time to discover new stocks and assess how companies are handling the current business environment. Let’s take a look at how XPO (NYSE:XPO) and the rest of the ground transportation stocks fared in Q2.

The growth of e-commerce and global trade continues to drive demand for shipping services, especially last-mile delivery, presenting opportunities for ground transportation companies. The industry continues to invest in data, analytics, and autonomous fleets to optimize efficiency and find the most cost-effective routes. Despite the essential services this industry provides, ground transportation companies are still at the whim of economic cycles. Consumer spending, for example, can greatly impact the demand for these companies’ offerings while fuel costs can influence profit margins.

The 16 ground transportation stocks we track reported a slower Q2. As a group, revenues missed analysts’ consensus estimates by 1%.

Stocks, especially growth stocks with cash flows further into the future, had a good end of 2023. On the other hand, this year has seen more volatile stock market swings due to mixed inflation data, and ground transportation stocks have had a rough stretch. On average, share prices are down 7.2% since the latest earnings results.

XPO (NYSE:XPO)

Owning a mobile game simulating freight operations for the Tour de France, XPO (NYSE:XPO) is a transportation company specializing in expedited shipping services.

XPO reported revenues of $2.08 billion, up 8.5% year on year. This print was in line with analysts’ expectations, and overall, it was a solid quarter for the company with a decent beat of analysts’ earnings estimates.

Mario Harik, chief executive officer of XPO, said, “We reported a strong second quarter of earnings growth, underpinned by a year-over-year increase in revenue of 9%. Companywide, we grew adjusted EBITDA by 41% and adjusted diluted EPS by 58%."

The stock is down 10.6% since reporting and currently trades at $102.72.

Is now the time to buy XPO? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.

Best Q2: Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD)

Founded by the son of a trucker, Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) offers full-truckload deliveries across the United States and Mexico.

Heartland Express reported revenues of $274.8 million, down 10.3% year on year, in line with analysts’ expectations. It was a strong quarter for the company with an impressive beat of analysts’ earnings estimates.

Although it had a fine quarter compared its peers, the market seems unhappy with the results as the stock is down 3.9% since reporting. It currently trades at $11.98.

Is now the time to buy Heartland Express? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.

Weakest Q2: Hertz (NASDAQ:HTZ)

Started with a dozen Model T Fords, Hertz (NASDAQ:HTZ) is a global car rental company providing vehicle rental services to leisure and business travelers.

Hertz reported revenues of $2.35 billion, down 3.4% year on year, falling short of analysts’ expectations by 4.3%. It was a weak quarter for the company with a miss of analysts’ earnings estimates.

Hertz had the weakest performance against analyst estimates in the group. As expected, the stock is down 29.8% since the results and currently trades at $2.87.

Read our full analysis of Hertz’s results here.

Werner (NASDAQ:WERN)

Conducting business in over a 100 countries, Werner (NASDAQ:WERN) offers full-truckload, less-than-truckload, and intermodal delivery services.

Werner reported revenues of $760.8 million, down 6.2% year on year, falling short of analysts’ expectations by 1.2%. Revenue aside, it was a weak quarter for the company with a miss of analysts’ earnings estimates.

The stock is down 10.4% since reporting and currently trades at $36.32.

Read our full, actionable report on Werner here, it’s free.

Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL)

With its name deriving from the Commonwealth of Virginia’s nickname, Old Dominion (NASDAQ:ODFL) delivers less-than-truckload (LTL) and full-container load freight.

Old Dominion Freight Line reported revenues of $1.50 billion, up 6.1% year on year, in line with analysts’ expectations. More broadly, it was a mixed quarter for the company with a decent beat of analysts’ volume estimates.

The stock is down 6.8% since reporting and currently trades at $180.75.

Read our full, actionable report on Old Dominion Freight Line here, it’s free.

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