Schneider National Q2 Earnings Call Highlights

Schneider National (NYSE:SNDR) reported higher second-quarter earnings and raised its full-year 2026 outlook, citing improving freight-market conditions, pricing gains, productivity initiatives and progress on a $40 million cost-savings program.

Adjusted diluted earnings per share rose to $0.29 from $0.21 a year earlier, while adjusted income from operations increased 29% to $73 million. Revenue excluding fuel surcharge grew 4% year over year to $1.3 billion. The company’s adjusted operating ratio improved by 110 basis points from the second quarter of 2025.

President and Chief Executive Officer Jim Filter said the company is beginning to see the benefits of actions intended to improve revenue management, asset efficiency and costs. He described the freight recovery as primarily supply-driven, with regulatory enforcement and attrition removing noncompliant capacity from the market.

“We would now categorize the market as driver-constrained,” Filter said, adding that spot rates were testing prior-cycle highs and remained above contract rates. He said Schneider believes it is still in the early stages of contract-rate recovery, although the pace of supply attrition has also increased pressure on driver recruiting, retention and capacity costs.

Truckload Results Benefit From Pricing and Productivity

Truckload revenue excluding fuel surcharge increased 1% year over year to $628 million. Revenue per truck per week rose 5%, more than offsetting a lower truck count associated with constrained driver availability.

Within truckload, network revenue excluding fuel surcharge grew 8%, and revenue per truck per week increased 16%. Filter said network pricing rose by high single digits year over year, while average network price renewals reached double-digit increases during the quarter. The company also reported high-single-digit productivity growth, aided by improved freight selection, asset efficiency and efforts to reduce unseated tractors.

Truckload operating income rose 28% to $51 million, while the segment’s operating ratio improved 180 basis points to 91.8%. Campbell said this represented the truckload segment’s strongest profitability since the second quarter of 2023.

Filter said Schneider may shift some capacity toward its network operations in the near term as market opportunities emerge, but said restoring network margins remains the company’s first priority before pursuing driver-fleet growth.

Dedicated, Intermodal and Logistics Performance

Dedicated pricing improved modestly from a year earlier as Schneider continued to upgrade its portfolio and address lower-performing agreements. Filter said these actions have created some near-term customer churn, and Campbell said the company expects the loss of a large dedicated customer to become more apparent in the second half of the year.

Still, Schneider sold more than 500 new dedicated trucks year to date and said its sales pipeline remains robust. Management expects dedicated revenue per truck per week to begin improving in the third quarter as contract renewals and productivity actions take effect.

Intermodal revenue excluding fuel surcharge declined 1% to $262 million, as revenue per order fell 2% due to a shorter average length of haul and mix changes. Volumes grew modestly, marking the ninth consecutive quarter of order growth. Intermodal operating income increased 14% to $18 million, and the operating ratio improved 90 basis points to 93%.

Filter said Schneider declined some intermodal freight opportunities that would have required costly third-party drayage without sufficient pricing. The company is expanding company dray capacity selectively and has seen accelerating pricing renewals, including stronger out-of-cycle increases. Management expects volume growth in the second half, supported by over-the-road conversion opportunities, higher truckload prices, elevated fuel costs and rail service.

Logistics revenue excluding fuel surcharge rose 11% to $376 million, while income from operations increased by $4 million to $12 million. The logistics operating ratio improved 90 basis points to 96.8%.

Filter attributed the gains to premium project business, revenue management, greater spot-market exposure and productivity gains from technology investments. He said frontline productivity in logistics improved 17% year over year during the quarter. However, management noted that project-based business that contributed to first-half results is expected to be less pronounced in the third quarter.

Guidance Raised as Capital Spending Outlook Is Reduced

Schneider raised its full-year adjusted earnings-per-share guidance to a range of $0.90 to $1.10, from a previous range of $0.70 to $1.00. The outlook assumes an effective tax rate of about 24% and continued supply attrition that supports freight conditions through the rest of the year.

Campbell said the guidance incorporates different scenarios for demand and driver availability. Demand has tracked largely in line with the company’s base case, he said, while stronger demand could create further upside and weaker demand could reduce some benefits from supply rationalization.

The company reduced its 2026 net capital-expenditure forecast to $350 million to $400 million from $400 million to $450 million. The reduction reflects lower anticipated needs for trailing equipment, Campbell said, while investment plans continue to include tractor-fleet modernization, intermodal drayage capacity and specialty equipment for dedicated operations.

• Second-quarter net capital expenditures were $84 million, compared with $53 million a year earlier.
• Schneider returned nearly $35 million to shareholders through dividends year to date.
• As of June 30, the company had $397 million of debt and lease obligations, $293 million in cash and cash equivalents, and net debt leverage of 0.2 times.

Filter said Schneider remains focused on disciplined capital deployment, including organic growth, acquisitions and shareholder returns. He said the company sees its multimodal operations, technology investments and cost structure as positioning it to capture further benefits if freight-market conditions continue to improve.

About Schneider National (NYSE:SNDR)

Schneider National, Inc is a leading provider of transportation and logistics services in North America. The company offers a full spectrum of solutions, including truckload transportation, intermodal services and dedicated logistics. Through these offerings, Schneider supports the movement of goods ranging from dry van freight to refrigerated and flatbed shipments, while also providing customized supply chain management and warehousing capabilities.

Founded in 1935 by Al Schneider as a single-truck operation in Green Bay, Wisconsin, the company has grown into one of the industry’s most recognized carriers.