C.H. Robinson (CHRW) Stock Up Almost 9% on Q2 Earnings Beat

Core Insights - C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. (CHRW) experienced an 8.95% increase in shares during after-market trading on July 31, 2024, driven by positive second-quarter results that showed year-over-year improvements in both earnings and revenues [1] Financial Performance - Quarterly earnings reached $1.15 per share, exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 95 cents, and reflecting a 27.7% year-over-year increase [2] - Total revenues amounted to $4.483 billion, slightly below the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.484 billion, but still up 1.4% year over year, attributed to higher pricing in ocean services, offset by lower truckload pricing [2] - Adjusted gross profit rose 3.3% year over year to $687.4 million, with an adjusted operating margin of 25.9%, improving by 600 basis points from the previous year [3] Segment Performance - North American Surface Transportation reported total revenues of $2.989 billion, down 2.9% year over year due to lower truckload pricing, while adjusted gross profit for the segment increased by 4.8% to $419.7 million [4] - Global Forwarding revenues grew 18.1% year over year to $921.2 million, driven by higher pricing in ocean services, with adjusted gross profit increasing by 2.7% to $184.1 million [5] - Other revenue sources, including Robinson Fresh and Managed Services, saw a 5.2% increase to $39.9 million, supported by integrated supply-chain solutions for retail and foodservice customers [5] Profit Distribution - The transportation unit, which includes Truckload, LTL, Ocean, Air, Customs, and other logistics services, achieved an adjusted gross profit of $651.54 million, up 3.2% from the prior year [6] - Adjusted gross profits for Truckload, LTL, Ocean, and Customs increased by 5%, 6.3%, 8.5%, and 6.1% year over year, respectively, while Air and Other logistics services saw declines of 8.4% and 13.9% [7] Balance Sheet and Cash Flow - At the end of the second quarter, CHRW had cash and cash equivalents of $113.16 million, down from $121.84 million in the previous quarter, with long-term debt slightly increasing to $1.421 billion [8] - The company generated $166.4 million in cash from operations during the quarter, with capital expenditures totaling $19.3 million [8] Shareholder Returns and Outlook - In Q2 2024, CHRW returned $76.4 million to shareholders, including $72.7 million in cash dividends and $3.7 million through share repurchases [9] - Capital expenditures for 2024 are expected to be at the lower end of the previously provided range of $85 million to $95 million [9] Market Performance - C.H. Robinson currently holds a Zacks Rank 2 (Buy) and has seen a 20.1% increase in shares over the past six months, outperforming the industry, which experienced a 2.2% decline [10]