XPO first-quarter revenue sets quarterly record
XPO Logistics Inc. (NYSE:XPO) posted late Monday the highest quarterly revenue in its history at $4.77 billion. It also posted first-quarter records for net income at $115 million, more than quintupling first-quarter 2020 results, and for adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) at $443 million, compared with $333 million in the year-earlier period.
On an adjusted and diluted basis, the Greenwich, Connecticut-based transportation and logistics provider posted earnings per share of $1.46, compared with 69 cents per share in the 2020 period. Analysts' estimates ranged from 93 cents to 98 cents per share. Operating income rose to $202 million from $81 million.
XPO also revised its 2021 guidance, hiking its adjusted EBITDA to a range of $1.825 billion to $1.875 billion from $1.72 billion to $1.8 billion. The revised range reflects a 31% year-on-year adjusted EBITDA increase, with the gains split almost evenly between its transportation and logistics segments. The latter segment is expected to be spun off in the second half of 2021 into a publicly traded company called GXO Logistics Inc.
The logistics segment posted record first-quarter revenue of $1.82 billion, XPO said. In the first four months, the segment has landed about $4 billion in new business, including an 11-year, $1.8 billion pact with an unidentified customer. It is the largest contract in XPO's history, the company said.
In a statement, Chairman and CEO Brad Jacobs said the results significantly outpaced a macro environment that's recovering faster than expected. Brokerage revenue rose 83% year-over-year, while net revenue — revenue minus transportation expenses — rose 132%. North American LTL revenue rose to $976 million from $910 million. The unit's operating ratio, the ratio of revenues to expenses, came in at 84.3%, a 220 basis-point improvement year-over-year.
The company did not start experiencing the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic until the second half of March 2020. The second-quarter 2021 results will include comparisons with the downturn in business levels that XPO experienced in the spring of 2020.
In regular trading Monday, XPO shares rose more than 1.5% to close at $141.23 a share.
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