Old Dominion Freight (ODF) Q3 2026 Earnings Report
DE:ODF Q3 2026 EPS Results
- Actual EPS
- EUR 1.47
- Consensus EPS
- EUR 1.44
- Beat/Miss
- Beat by +EUR 0.03
- One Year Ago EPS
- EUR 1.14
DE:ODF Q3 2026 Revenue Results
- Actual Revenue
- EUR 1.42B
- Expected Revenue
- EUR 1.40B
- Beat/Miss
- Beat by +EUR 16.41M
- YoY Revenue Growth
- +13.10%
Earnings Announcement Details
- Quarter
- Q3 2026
- Date
- 10/28/2026
- Time
- Before Open
- Conference Call
- Wednesday, October 28, 2026
Old Dominion Freight's next earnings date is estimated for February 3, 2027, based on past reporting schedules.
Q3 2026 Earnings Call Audio
Q3 2026 Earnings Slide Deck
No slide deck is available for this earnings event.
Q3 2026 Earnings Call Summary
The call was strongly positive overall. Old Dominion delivered substantial revenue and earnings growth, improved its operating ratio, maintained leading service metrics, generated significant cash flow, and described improving demand, pricing, capacity, and market-share opportunities. The primary challenges were uneven tonnage trends, elevated medical and fringe-benefit costs, fuel and petroleum-based inflation, and expected fourth-quarter operating-ratio seasonality. The positive operational and financial developments significantly outweighed the stated cost and volume pressures.
For the fourth quarter, Old Dominion currently anticipates revenue of $1.54 billion to $1.58 billion, which would be above our normal seasonality, and an operating ratio of around 73.5% with a plus or minus 20 basis points range if revenue trends continue to hold steady and the company continues to outperform seasonality; incremental margins are expected to be in about the 45% range, the effective tax rate is expected to be 24.8%, and the company expects November and December to trend above seasonality, with potential fringe-benefit and fuel-cost headwinds baked into the operating ratio guidance. For 2027, total CapEx will likely be lower than the 10% to 15% of revenue spend that the company typically sees, while fourth-quarter headcount is expected to show no material change unless there is a major change in overall demand.
- Strong Third-Quarter Financial ResultsThird-quarter revenue increased 13.1% to $1.59 billion, earnings per diluted share increased 28.9% to $1.65, and the operating ratio improved by 280 basis points to 71.5%.
- Improved Demand Trends in September and OctoberLTL tons per day increased 1.6% year over year in September. October month-to-date revenue per day increased approximately 22% compared with October 2025, including a 1.6% increase in LTL tons per day.
- Higher Revenue per Hundredweight and Sequential ActivityThird-quarter revenue growth was primarily driven by a 13.3% increase in LTL revenue per hundredweight. Sequentially, third-quarter revenue per day increased 2.4%, LTL tons per day increased 1.2%, and LTL shipments per day increased 2.4%.
- Above-Seasonal Fourth-Quarter Revenue GuidanceManagement anticipates fourth-quarter revenue of $1.54 billion to $1.58 billion, which it said would be above normal seasonality. October month-to-date LTL revenue per hundredweight was approximately 20% higher with fuel and 5.5% to 6% higher without fuel, while LTL tons per day were up 1.6%.
- Operating Efficiency and LeverageThe third-quarter operating ratio improvement reflected better direct operating costs and overhead expenses as a percentage of revenue. Management cited operating leverage from revenue growth, efficient execution, and continued control of discretionary spending.
- Best-in-Class Service PerformanceOld Dominion reported 99% on-time service and a 0.1% cargo claims ratio during the third quarter.
- Seventeenth Consecutive National LTL Service Leadership RecognitionMastio and Company named Old Dominion the number 1 national LTL provider for the 17th consecutive year. The company finished first in 24 of the 28 evaluated service and value categories and increased its advantage over competitors.
- Strong Pricing and Yield ManagementRevenue per hundredweight excluding fuel was 5.1% higher for the full third quarter. Management said its cost-based general rate increase has generally targeted approximately 5%, with the current GRI at 4.9%, and that its individual-account profitability approach supports long-term pricing and yield management.
- Capacity to Support Additional GrowthManagement said the company has the necessary capacity across its service centers, equipment, people, and technology to handle incremental volume while operating efficiently. Spare real-estate capacity remains north of 35%, and the company said it has plenty of power and trailing-equipment capacity.
- Stable Workforce and Internal Driver PipelineHeadcount remained a little over 20,000 full-time employees and was described as pretty flat throughout the year. Old Dominion continues to operate truck-driving schools, produce and train the majority of its own drivers internally, and reported a driver turnover ratio of less than 8%.
- Positive Customer and Market-Share IndicatorsManagement cited success in customer bids, increased requests for multiyear contracts, continued market-share opportunities, and strong growth with several large retail accounts that increased their share of LTL spending with Old Dominion.
- Industrial and Retail Customer StrengthIndustrial business represents 55% to 60% of revenue and was described as performing well. Retail business has outperformed the company average, partly due to significant market-share gains with several large accounts.
- Strong Cash Flow and Shareholder ReturnsCash flow from operations was $469.5 million in the third quarter and $1.1 billion for the first nine months of 2026. The company used $160.9 million and $400.6 million for share repurchases during those respective periods, while cash dividends totaled $60 million and $180.7 million.
- Strategic Investment and Capital Allocation FlexibilityManagement continues to invest in its network, people, and technology. It expects total 2027 capital expenditures will likely be lower than the typical 10% to 15% of revenue because of the size of the existing fleet, while continuing normal equipment replacement and evaluating real-estate opportunities based on long-term market-share potential.
- Attractive Returns on Added CapacityManagement stated that Old Dominion has achieved returns on invested capital of 25% to 30% when adding capacity and continues to evaluate service-center additions using long-term capital-allocation criteria.
- Potential Data-Center and AI Infrastructure OpportunityManagement said some data-center and AI-infrastructure freight is high value and time sensitive and that Old Dominion is serving some of this business, creating incremental opportunity based on its service quality and ability to handle high-value goods.
- Contracted Third-Party Logistics BusinessApproximately 95% of the company's 3PL business is contract business by customer rather than dynamic or transactional pricing. Management said it prefers long-term contractual business and had two large 3PLs visiting during the week to discuss such opportunities.
- Effective Tax RateThe third-quarter effective tax rate was 24.5%, compared with 24.8% in the third quarter of 2025. Management expects a 24.8% effective tax rate for the fourth quarter of 2026.
DE:ODF Earnings History
| Report Date | Fiscal Quarter | Forecast / EPS | Last Year's EPS | EPS YoY Change | Press Release |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 03, 2027 | 2026 (Q4) | 1.33- | 0.97 | ― | ― |
| Oct 28, 2026 | 2026 (Q3) | 1.441.47 | 1.14 | 28.91% (+0.33) | |
| Jul 29, 2026 | 2026 (Q2) | 1.371.50 | 1.13 | 32.28% (+0.37) | |
| Apr 29, 2026 | 2026 (Q1) | 0.941.02 | 1.06 | -4.20% (-0.04) | |
| Feb 04, 2026 | 2025 (Q4) | 0.950.97 | 1.1 | -11.38% (-0.12) | |
| Oct 29, 2025 | 2025 (Q3) | 1.091.14 | 1.28 | -10.49% (-0.13) | |
| Jul 30, 2025 | 2025 (Q2) | 1.151.13 | 1.32 | -14.19% (-0.19) | |
| Apr 23, 2025 | 2025 (Q1) | 1.021.06 | 1.2 | -11.19% (-0.13) | |
| Feb 05, 2025 | 2024 (Q4) | 1.041.10 | 1.31 | -16.33% (-0.21) | |
| Oct 23, 2024 | 2024 (Q3) | 1.271.28 | 1.38 | -7.44% (-0.10) |
The table shows recent earnings report dates and whether the forecast was beat or missed. See the change in forecast and EPS from the previous year.
