Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc.

Consolidated revenue excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge increased 5.5% year over year. Operating income grew $32.2 million, or 44.4%, and adjusted operating income grew $47.2 million, or 45.5%. GAAP EPS was $0.26, up 23.8% year over year, and adjusted EPS was $0.63, up 80% year over year. Consolidated adjusted operating ratio was 91.4%, a 240 bps improvement year over year; the GAAP tax rate was 34.1% and the non-GAAP tax rate was 24.4%. Truckload revenue excluding fuel surcharge rose 2.8% and adjusted operating income rose 69.4%; revenue per loaded mile excluding fuel surcharge rose 5.5%, and the Truckload adjusted OR improved 360 bps to 91%. LTL revenue excluding fuel surcharge fell 1.4%, but adjusted operating income rose 13.3% and adjusted OR improved to 92.1%. Logistics revenue rose 8.9%, gross margin was 15.4% (down 350 bps year over year), and adjusted OR was 96.4%. Intermodal revenue rose 34.9%, supported by 19.6% higher load count and 12.8% higher revenue per load. For Q3 2026, management guided adjusted EPS to $0.71 to $0.77.

Adam Miller sounded constructive on the freight cycle, saying the market has progressed rapidly, with spot rates above normal seasonality and tender rejections at levels not seen since 2021. He emphasized that the environment is still largely supply-driven, with regulatory actions and the Montgomery ruling likely to tighten capacity further, especially for lower-quality carriers and brokers. He framed the company as well positioned through scale, network agility, driver training infrastructure, and a strong cost culture, and said the company is focused on restoring margins while selectively investing in driver pay and capacity.

Andrew Hess led with the quarter’s improvement in pricing, network efficiency, and profitability, citing 5.5% growth in consolidated revenue ex fuel surcharge, 45.5% growth in adjusted operating income, and adjusted EPS of $0.63. He highlighted Truckload’s 5.5% increase in revenue per loaded mile, LTL’s 100 bps OR improvement, Intermodal’s 34.9% revenue growth, and Logistics’ 15.4% gross margin, which was down 350 bps year over year. He also discussed the convertible issuance, saying it should produce about $44 million of annual pretax interest savings after deal costs, extend maturities, and reduce leverage exposure. For Q3, he said fuel could be a headwind, inventory gains may normalize, and driver pay could add some cost pressure, but the company still expects continued rate momentum and relatively stable truck counts.

Analysts focused on how quickly higher spot rates and bid wins would flow through to revenue and margins, and whether utilization, seated tractors, and deadhead reduction could keep improving. Management said June was the inflection point for pricing, with July and later quarter activity still working through, and that truck counts should be relatively stable sequentially while empty miles continue to improve. Several questions probed driver pay inflation versus the 2021 cycle; Adam Miller said this cycle should require less pay pass-through than 2020-2021 because the company is starting from a much better rate base and expects to retain more of the pricing improvement to rebuild margins. Analysts also asked about intermodal vs. truckload share shifts and the impact of the Montgomery ruling; management said some shippers are exploring more asset-based capacity and that Knight-Swift sees more opportunity than cost from the ruling, especially in its asset businesses.