J.B. Hunt Reports Q4 2025 Revenue Down 2%, Operating Income Up 19%

Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst

JBHT+0.34%

Source: seekingalpha

Updated: 1h ago

0mins

Source: seekingalpha

Revenue and Profit Performance: J.B. Hunt reported a 2% year-over-year decline in revenue for Q4 2025, while operating income increased by 19%, indicating significant progress in cost control and operational efficiency despite a fragile overall market environment.
Capital Expenditure and Buybacks: The company invested $575 million in capital reinvestment in 2025 and spent $923 million on share repurchases, the largest annual amount in its history, successfully retiring 6.3 million shares, demonstrating a strong commitment to shareholder value.
Safety and Service Levels: J.B. Hunt achieved its third consecutive year of record safety performance, with a continued decline in DOT preventable accident rates, further solidifying its competitive advantage in the industry and laying the groundwork for future customer retention and market share growth.
Future Outlook and Challenges: Management anticipates a $90 million revenue headwind in 2026 primarily from legacy appliance business losses, but the company is actively working to onboard new business to offset this impact, showcasing its adaptability to market changes.

JBHT

$206.52+Infinity%1D

Analyst Views on JBHT

Wall Street analysts forecast JBHT stock price to fall over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for JBHT is 167.06 USD with a low forecast of 147.00 USD and a high forecast of 180.00 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.

18 Analyst Rating

10 Buy

8 Hold

0 Sell

Moderate Buy

Current: 205.810

Low

147.00

Averages

167.06

High

180.00

Current: 205.810

Low

147.00

Averages

167.06

High

180.00

BofA

NULL -> Buy

maintain

$216 -> $227

Al Analysis

2026-01-09

Reason

BofA

Price Target

$216 -> $227

Al Analysis

2026-01-09

maintain

NULL -> Buy

Reason

BofA raised the firm's price target on J.B. Hunt to $227 from $216 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The firm looks to expand its exposure to cyclical Transport stocks into 2026, with a focus on cost conscious AI-enabled share gainers, the analyst tells investors in a year-ahead note on the sector. Demand should be aided by the Big Beautiful Bill's benefits of bonus depreciation, leading to infrastructure investments, $1.4 trillion in expected expenditures over the next three years on data centers and power supply, lower interest rates and potential flow through to the housing and forest product segments, the analyst says.

Bernstein

Market Perform

maintain

$158 -> $195

2026-01-09

Reason

Bernstein

Price Target

$158 -> $195

2026-01-09

maintain

Market Perform

Reason

Bernstein raised the firm's price target on J.B. Hunt to $195 from $158 and keeps a Market Perform rating on the shares. Longer term, the company is heavily levered to contract truck rates, which are poised to recover.

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Susquehanna

Neutral -> Positive

upgrade

$160 -> $240

2026-01-08

Reason

Susquehanna

Price Target

$160 -> $240

2026-01-08

upgrade

Neutral -> Positive

Reason

Susquehanna upgraded J.B. Hunt to Positive from Neutral with a price target of $240, up from $160. The firm believes the company will benefit from better truckload contract rates and volume tailwinds in intermodal. Intermodal is entering its second straight year of "excellent" rail service and "highly motivated" rail partners, incentivized by the competitive reshuffling, the analyst tells investors in a research note.

Goldman Sachs

Jordan Alliger

Neutral

maintain

$169 -> $187

2026-01-08

Reason

Goldman Sachs

Jordan Alliger

Price Target

$169 -> $187

2026-01-08

maintain

Neutral

Reason

Goldman Sachs analyst Jordan Alliger raised the firm's price target on J.B. Hunt to $187 from $169 and keeps a Neutral rating on the shares. The price target increase reflects the recent Dedicated margin trendline and cost control measures in Intermodal, the analyst tells investors in a research note.

About JBHT

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. is a surface transportation, delivery, and logistics company in North America. The Company, through its wholly owned subsidiaries, provides a range of transportation, brokerage, and delivery services to a diverse group of customers and consumers throughout the continental United States, Canada, and Mexico. It operates through five segments: Intermodal (JBI), Dedicated Contract Services (DCS), Integrated Capacity Solutions (ICS), Final Mile Services (FMS) and Truckload (JBT). JBI segment includes freight that is transported by rail over at least some portion of the movement and also includes certain repositioning truck freight moved by JBI equipment or third-party carriers. DCS segment focuses on private fleet conversion and creation of replenishment and specialized equipment. ICS segment provides non-asset and asset-light transportation solutions to customers through relationships with third-party carriers and integration with Company-owned equipment.

About the author

Emily J. Thompson

Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.