Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) Issues Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.04 EPS

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The transportation company reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.09 by ($0.04), FiscalAI reports. Werner Enterprises had a positive return on equity of 0.04% and a negative net margin of 0.48%.The firm had revenue of $737.64 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $767.51 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.08 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis.

Here are the key takeaways from Werner Enterprises’ conference call:

• FirstFleet acquisition closed Jan 27 and is “immediately accretive,” adding ~$615M trailing revenue and 2,400 tractors, growing Werner’s dedicated business ~50% with $18M of identified annual cost synergies (a portion expected in 2026).
• Management executed a strategic one-way trucking restructure, taking a $44.2M charge in Q4 ( ~$42.7M non-cash impairments) to shrink and refocus the fleet on specialized, higher?value lanes; company expects profitability improvement to be noticeable in Q2 2026 but the action reduced Q4 fleet size and near-term volumes.
• Q4 revenue declined 2% YoY ($738M), adjusted operating income was $11.3M (1.5% margin) and adjusted EPS $0.05; full?year free cash flow was only $19M, liquidity remains ~$702M but debt increased after the FirstFleet purchase, leaving mixed near?term financial leverage dynamics.
• Non-truckload businesses and technology investments are gaining traction — intermodal grew double-digits, final mile momentum is the strongest to date, EDGE TMS and AI migrations are lowering cost-to-serve and contributed to ~$150M of structural cost reductions over the last three years.

Werner Enterprises Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WERN opened at $34.76 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a current ratio of 1.62. Werner Enterprises has a one year low of $23.02 and a one year high of $38.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.08 billion, a P/E ratio of -144.83, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.08. The company’s fifty day moving average is $31.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.81.

Werner Enterprises Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 5th were given a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, January 5th. Werner Enterprises’s payout ratio is presently 136.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on WERN. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Werner Enterprises from $34.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $27.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Werner Enterprises in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Werner Enterprises from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $32.57.

Key Headlines Impacting Werner Enterprises

Here are the key news stories impacting Werner Enterprises this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo raised its price target to $39 and set an “equal weight” rating, signaling conviction in near?term upside tied to execution and the company’s strategy. Wells Fargo raises PT
• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen raised its target to $39 and kept a “hold” rating, another vote that the stock has upside if integration and dedicated business growth play out. TD Cowen raises PT
• Positive Sentiment: Company commentary and the Business Wire release highlight growth in dedicated revenue and the strategic rationale for the FirstFleet acquisition, which management says should support longer?term stable revenue. Company Q4 release
• Neutral Sentiment: Q4 earnings call transcript is available for investors seeking detail on guidance, cost trends and fleet/dedicated integration plans — useful for assessing execution risk. Earnings call transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry coverage notes the FirstFleet buy is a strategic bet that could spark consolidation in dedicated trucking; outcome depends on scale and margin improvements. FirstFleet M&A context
• Negative Sentiment: JPMorgan cut its price target to $28 and moved to “underweight” — the most bearish broker action today and a major contributor to selling pressure. JPMorgan cuts PT
• Negative Sentiment: Citigroup reaffirmed a “sell” rating with a $34 target, keeping downside risk from some institutional desks.
• Negative Sentiment: Werner missed Q4 estimates: $0.05 EPS vs. $0.09 expected and revenue of ~$737.6M vs. $767.5M consensus — disappointing results that directly pressure the stock. Earnings miss
• Negative Sentiment: News that a long?running drivers’ lawsuit has a settlement ready raises potential cash/legal overhang and investor concern about contingency costs. Lawsuit settlement

Institutional Trading of Werner Enterprises

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WERN. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 0.6% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,791,148 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $99,782,000 after buying an additional 24,204 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 14.5% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 745,147 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $20,387,000 after acquiring an additional 94,440 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in Werner Enterprises by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 736,772 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $19,392,000 after purchasing an additional 14,503 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in Werner Enterprises during the second quarter worth $12,972,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 1.6% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 355,926 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $9,368,000 after purchasing an additional 5,675 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.32% of the company’s stock.

About Werner Enterprises

Werner Enterprises, Inc, founded in 1956 by Clarence L. “Chris” Werner, is a leading transportation and logistics provider based in Omaha, Nebraska. The company began as a one?truck operation and has since grown into one of North America’s largest carriers, offering an array of services to support diverse supply chains.

Werner’s core business activities include full truckload dry van services, dedicated contract carriage, intermodal transport and brokerage solutions. The company also provides value-added services such as warehousing, freight management and fleet maintenance through its network of terminals and service centers.