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Werner Enterprises
(NASDAQ:WERN)
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Rating:51Neutral
Price Target:
$33.00
â–¼(-15.15% Downside)
Action:Reiterated
Date:10/09/26
The score reflects weak recent financial performance (TTM loss and compressed margins) and bearish technicals (price below major moving averages with negative momentum). These are partially offset by a more positive earnings-call outlook (raised guidance, strong free cash flow and liquidity) and a modest dividend yield, but profitability and trend weakness remain the main overhangs.
Positive Factors
Dedicated trucking momentum
Strong dedicated growth and customer retention support recurring utilization and more predictable revenue than purely transactional freight. A larger contracted network can improve fleet planning, deepen shipper relationships, and provide a durable base for earnings recovery over the next several quarters.
Negative Factors
Profitability deterioration
The recent loss and near-breakeven operating profit show that revenue recovery has not yet translated into durable earnings. Compressed margins versus earlier profitable periods weaken internal funding capacity and leave results more exposed to pricing, utilization, and cost pressures.
Read all positive and negative factors
Positive Factors
Negative Factors
Dedicated trucking momentum
Strong dedicated growth and customer retention support recurring utilization and more predictable revenue than purely transactional freight. A larger contracted network can improve fleet planning, deepen shipper relationships, and provide a durable base for earnings recovery over the next several quarters.
Read all positive factors
Werner Enterprises (WERN) vs. SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY)
Market Cap
$1.96B
Dividend Yield1.71%
Average Volume (3M)798.32K
Price to Earnings (P/E)―
Beta (1Y)0.83
Revenue Growth9.64%
EPS Growth-190.02%
CountryUS
Employees12,031
SectorIndustrials
Sector Strength72
IndustryTrucking
Share Statistics
EPS (TTM)-0.76
Shares Outstanding59,977,158
10 Day Avg. Volume767,266
30 Day Avg. Volume798,323
Financial Highlights & Ratios
PEG Ratio0.87
Price to Book (P/B)1.33
Price to Sales (P/S)0.61
P/FCF Ratio-26.54
Enterprise Value/Market Cap1.81
Enterprise Value/Revenue1.09
Enterprise Value/Gross Profit15.16
Enterprise Value/Ebitda12.31
Forecast
1Y Price Target
$42.38Price Target Upside8.99% Upside
Rating ConsensusHold
Number of Analyst Covering13
EPS Forecast (FY)1.13
Revenue Forecast (FY)$3.64B
Werner Enterprises Business Overview & Revenue Model
Company Description
Werner Enterprises, Inc. is a prominent transportation and logistics company that specializes in the movement of full truckload shipments for a wide range of goods. Operating both domestically across U.S. states and internationally, including Mexi...
How the Company Makes Money
Werner Enterprises primarily makes money by moving freight for customers and charging rates tied to miles, time, and capacity committed, as well as by earning fees for arranging transportation through third parties. Its major revenue streams inclu...
Werner Enterprises Earnings Call Summary
Earnings Call Date:Jul 28, 2026
(Q2-2026)
| % Change Since: |
Next Earnings Date:Oct 27, 2026
Earnings Call Sentiment Positive
The call communicated a predominantly positive operational and financial momentum: strong consolidated revenue growth (+24%), substantial adjusted operating income and margin expansion, meaningful productivity gains from restructuring (notably 1-way) and rapid, accretive integration of First Fleet with synergy progress. Cash flow and liquidity strengthened materially. Offsetting headwinds include logistics margin pressure, lower used-equipment gains, continued driver supply constraints and regulatory-driven market uncertainty. Management raised revenue guidance and expects accelerating earnings in H2, while acknowledging certain delayed fleet growth and elevated near-term CapEx to modernize the fleet.Positive Updates
Strong Consolidated Revenue and Profit Growth
Second quarter revenues totaled $934 million, up 24% year-over-year. Adjusted operating income was $27.6 million, up 67% year-over-year, and adjusted operating margin expanded to 3.0%, an increase of 80 basis points. Adjusted EPS was $0.22, up $0.14 versus prior year.
Negative Updates
Logistics Margin Pressure
Logistics segment adjusted operating margin was negative 1.3%, a 400 basis point decline year-over-year driven primarily by gross margin pressure in truckload brokerage. Higher purchase transportation costs reduced segment gross margin by ~260 basis points. Brokerage volumes were down 29% with 26% higher revenue per load, and April-May were particularly challenging before June improvement.
Read all updates
Q2-2026 Updates
Positive
Negative
Strong Consolidated Revenue and Profit Growth
Second quarter revenues totaled $934 million, up 24% year-over-year. Adjusted operating income was $27.6 million, up 67% year-over-year, and adjusted operating margin expanded to 3.0%, an increase of 80 basis points. Adjusted EPS was $0.22, up $0.14 versus prior year.
Read all positive updates
Company Guidance
Werner raised and refined several pieces of 2026 guidance: it bumped full‑year dedicated revenue‑per‑truck guidance from flat–+3% to +3%–+5% and gave 3Q 1‑way revenue-per-total‑mile guidance of +10%–+13% YoY (Q2 was +10.4%); it trimmed full‑year average fleet growth to +16%–+18% (from +23%–+28%); increased net CapEx to $215M–$250M (from $185M–$225M); narrowed expected gains on sale of used equipment to $10M–$14M (from $8M–$18M) with H1 gains of $5.2M; maintained a full‑year effective tax rate of 25.5%–26.5% (Q2 was 27.3%); expects net interest expense of $40M–$45M; reiterated an $18M First Fleet synergy target (≈$3M realized YTD, ~$7M–$9M actions to be realized in 2026); and emphasized continued free‑cash‑flow positivity (Q2 FCF $94M, H1 FCF $176M), pro‑forma net leverage ~2x and liquidity of $657M (cash $57M, $600M available).Werner Enterprises Financial Statement Overview
Summary
Income Statement
36
Negative
Balance Sheet
61
Positive
Cash Flow
48
Neutral
| Breakdown | TTM | Dec 2025 | Dec 2024 | Dec 2023 | Dec 2022 | Dec 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Income Statement | ||||||
| Total Revenue | 3.25B | 2.97B | 3.03B | 3.28B | 3.29B | 2.73B |
| Gross Profit | 233.57M | 172.42M | 338.63M | 423.65M | 521.59M | 477.93M |
| EBITDA | 287.63M | 304.58M | 372.10M | 480.82M | 616.54M | 618.14M |
| Net Income | -46.27M | -14.40M | 34.23M | 112.38M | 241.26M | 259.05M |
Balance Sheet | ||||||
| Total Assets | 3.16B | 2.89B | 3.05B | 3.16B | 3.18B | 2.68B |
| Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments | 57.02M | 59.92M | 40.75M | 61.72M | 107.24M | 54.20M |
| Total Debt | 941.91M | 752.00M | 701.76M | 685.26M | 736.04M | 456.51M |
| Total Liabilities | 1.77B | 1.50B | 1.56B | 1.59B | 1.70B | 1.32B |
| Stockholders Equity | 1.36B | 1.36B | 1.46B | 1.53B | 1.44B | 1.33B |
Cash Flow | ||||||
| Free Cash Flow | 53.37M | -68.53M | -84.06M | -124.42M | -58.54M | -38.03M |
| Operating Cash Flow | 273.69M | 181.83M | 329.73M | 474.37M | 448.71M | 332.82M |
| Investing Cash Flow | -293.45M | -171.57M | -241.45M | -434.94M | -514.33M | -397.30M |
| Financing Cash Flow | 24.35M | 7.30M | -105.72M | -87.07M | 118.03M | 89.67M |
Werner Enterprises Technical Analysis
Negative
38.89
Price Trends
36.55
Negative
39.40
Negative
35.91
Negative
Market Momentum
-1.23
Positive
36.18
Neutral
17.46
Positive
Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For WERN, the sentiment is Negative. The current price of 38.89 is above the 20-day moving average (MA) of 34.36, above the 50-day MA of 36.55, and above the 200-day MA of 35.91, indicating a bearish trend. The MACD of -1.23 indicates Positive momentum. The RSI at 36.18 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 17.46 is Positive, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Negative sentiment for WERN.
Werner Enterprises Risk Analysis
Werner Enterprises disclosed 18 risk factors in its most recent earnings report. Werner Enterprises reported the most risks in the "Production" category.
Finance & Corporate - Financial and accounting risks. Risks related to the execution of corporate activity and strategy
Latest Risks Added 0 New Risks
Werner Enterprises Peers Comparison
UnderperformOutperform
Sector (63)
Name | Overall Rating | Market Cap | P/E Ratio | ROE | Dividend Yield | Revenue Growth | EPS Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
63 Neutral | $10.79B | 15.43 | 7.44% | 2.01% | 2.89% | -14.66% | |
61 Neutral | $5.52B | 49.22 | 3.68% | 1.25% | 6.25% | -10.92% | |
58 Neutral | $10.49B | 240.20 | 0.61% | 1.21% | 4.07% | -74.05% | |
53 Neutral | $810.82M | 213.00 | 0.92% | 0.88% | 8.34% | -89.15% | |
52 Neutral | $1.04B | 82.15 | 1.65% | 1.88% | -6.87% | -39.59% | |
51 Neutral | $1.96B | -42.96 | -3.39% | 1.71% | 9.64% | -190.02% | |
46 Neutral | $859.94M | -39.40 | -2.89% | 0.72% | -21.02% | 38.05% |
* Industrials Sector Average
WERN
Werner Enterprises
32.70
6.71
25.83%
CVLG
Covenant Logistics Group
31.95
11.34
55.05%
HTLD
Heartland Express
11.12
3.23
40.90%
KNX
Knight Transportation
64.47
22.26
52.74%
MRTN
Marten Transport
12.75
2.37
22.81%
SNDR
Schneider National
31.50
9.66
44.24%
Werner Enterprises Corporate Events
Business Operations and StrategyPrivate Placements and Financing
Werner Enterprises Establishes New $1.1 Billion Credit Facility
Positive
Oct 8, 2026
On October 5, 2026, Werner Enterprises entered a new $1.1 billion unsecured credit facility maturing October 5, 2031, replacing its prior $1.075 billion facility dated December 20, 2022. The agreement maintains a $100 million letters of credit cap...
Executive/Board Changes
Werner Enterprises Board Member Resigns for New Role
Neutral
Oct 6, 2026
Werner Enterprises, Inc., a leading transportation and logistics provider, continues to emphasize strong corporate governance and board oversight as it manages its nationwide freight operations and relationships with shippers. The company’s ...
Business Operations and Strategy
Werner Enterprises Announces Participation in Morgan Stanley Conference
Neutral
Aug 24, 2026
On August 24, 2026, Werner Enterprises announced that members of its management team will participate in Morgan Stanley’s 14th Annual Laguna Conference on September 15, 2026, in Laguna Beach, California. The engagement, which includes invest...
Business Operations and StrategyExecutive/Board Changes
Werner Enterprises Appoints Veteran Executive to Board
Positive
Aug 10, 2026
On August 7, 2026, Werner Enterprises’ Board of Directors appointed veteran transportation executive Paul Hoelting to fill a Class I directorship vacancy, a move later announced publicly on August 10, 2026. Hoelting, who has over three decad...
Business Operations and Strategy
Werner Enterprises to Present at Deutsche Bank Industrials Summit
Positive
Aug 5, 2026
Werner Enterprises announced on August 5, 2026 that its management team will participate in Deutsche Bank’s Chicago Industrials Summit, scheduled for August 11, 2026 in Chicago, including a fireside chat for investors from 10:00 a.m. to 10:4...
Glossary
BuyA stock rated as a "Buy" is expected to perform better than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock is likely to deliver higher returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
HoldA stock rated as a "Hold" is expected to perform in line with the overall market or a specific benchmark. This rating indicates that the stock is neither particularly compelling nor unfavorable for investment. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
SellA stock rated as a "Sell" is expected to perform worse than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock may deliver lower returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
Disclaimer
This AI Analyst Stock Report is automatically generated by our AI systems using advanced algorithms and publicly available financial, technical, and market data. While the information provided aims to be accurate and insightful, it is intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Any content created by an AI (Artificial Intelligence) system may contain inaccuracies and/or contain errors. Investing in stocks carries inherent risks, and past performance is not indicative of future results. This report does not account for your personal financial circumstances, objectives, or risk tolerance. Always conduct your own research or consult with a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions. The analysis and recommendations provided are based on historical and current data and may not fully reflect future market conditions or unexpected developments. Neither the creators of this report nor its affiliated entities guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the information presented. Use this report at your own discretion and risk.