Company Reports

XPO got its start in mid-2011, when entrepreneur Brad Jacobs led an equity investment in expedited freight brokerage firm Express-1 Expedited Solutions. Jacobs launched an acquisition strategy targeting the asset-light US highway brokerage industry. By mid-2013, XPO's deal focus evolved beyond truck brokerage into heavy-goods last-mile delivery, intermodal, and global contract logistics. Then in 2015, XPO jumped into the asset-based trucking landscape with the acquisition of less-than-truckload carrier Con-Way.

XPO got its start in mid-2011, when entrepreneur Brad Jacobs led an equity investment in expedited freight brokerage firm Express-1 Expedited Solutions. Jacobs launched an acquisition strategy targeting the asset-light U.S. highway brokerage industry. By mid-2013, XPO's deal focus evolved beyond truck brokerage into heavy-goods last-mile delivery, intermodal, and global contract logistics. Then in 2015, XPO jumped into the asset-based trucking landscape with the acquisition of less-than-truckload carrier Con-Way.

XPO’s fourth-quarter organic top line rose 6% year over year thanks to LTL shipment diversions and industrywide pricing strength linked to the mid-2023 Yellow failure. Revenue came in slightly ahead of our forecast. XPO's flagship LTL revenue rose a robust 9%, while European trucking segment revenue was up 2% on pricing strength.

XPO got its start in mid-2011, when entrepreneur Brad Jacobs led an equity investment in expedited freight brokerage firm Express-1 Expedited Solutions. Jacobs launched an acquisition strategy targeting the asset-light U.S. highway brokerage industry. By mid-2013, XPO's deal focus evolved beyond truck brokerage into heavy-goods last-mile delivery, intermodal, and global contract logistics. Then in 2015, XPO jumped into the asset-based trucking landscape with the acquisition of less-than-truckload carrier Con-Way.

XPO successfully bid for 28 service centers previously operated by bankrupt rival Yellow, for a purchase price of about $870 million. Note that several other large LTL carriers including Saia also successfully bid for facilities, but it appears XPO's deal was the largest. The transaction is still subject to certain closing conditions, but we expect it to close.

XPO got its start in mid-2011, when entrepreneur Brad Jacobs led an equity investment in expedited freight brokerage firm Express-1 Expedited Solutions. Jacobs launched an acquisition strategy targeting the asset-light U.S. highway brokerage industry. By mid-2013, XPO's focus evolved beyond truck brokerage and subsequent deals added heavy-goods last-mile delivery, intermodal, and contract logistics. 2015 marked an even larger shift, with the acquisition of Norbert Dentressangle (European contract logistics) and less-than-truckload carrier Con-way.

XPO got its start in mid-2011, when entrepreneur Brad Jacobs led an equity investment in expedited freight brokerage firm Express-1 Expedited Solutions. Jacobs launched an acquisition strategy targeting the asset-light U.S. highway brokerage industry. By mid-2013, XPO's focus evolved beyond truck brokerage and subsequent deals added heavy-goods last-mile delivery, intermodal, and contract logistics. 2015 marked an even larger shift, with the acquisition of Norbert Dentressangle (European contract logistics) and less-than-truckload carrier Con-way.

XPO’s third-quarter organic top-line trend swung positive year over year, rising 2%—much better than the 6% decline last quarter thanks to LTL shipment diversions from bankrupt peer Yellow. We've already been baking in a meaningful sequential uptick in LTL volume and pricing, but revenue modestly beat our forecast on strong yields. XPO's flagship LTL top line rose 2%, versus an 8% second-quarter decline. European trucking segment revenue grew 1.5%, likely driven by lingering pricing strength.

XPO got its start in mid-2011, when entrepreneur Brad Jacobs led an equity investment in expedited freight brokerage firm Express-1 Expedited Solutions. Jacobs launched an acquisition strategy targeting the asset-light U.S. highway brokerage industry. By mid-2013, XPO's focus evolved beyond truck brokerage and subsequent deals added heavy-goods last-mile delivery, intermodal, and contract logistics. 2015 marked an even larger shift, with the acquisition of Norbert Dentressangle (European contract logistics) and less-than-truckload carrier Con-way. The latter thrust XPO into the asset-heavy trucking industry.

XPO's second-quarter organic top line fell 6% year over year, excluding the November truck brokerage segment (RXO) divestiture. Revenue was mostly in line with our expectations. XPO's flagship less-than-truckload top line was down 8%, driven by lower fuel surcharges and the freight market pullback. European trucking segment revenue declined 3% on softer underlying demand, likely partly offset by new contract wins and lingering pricing strength.

XPO got its start in mid-2011, when entrepreneur Brad Jacobs led an equity investment in expedited freight brokerage firm Express-1 Expedited Solutions. Jacobs launched an acquisition strategy targeting the asset-light U.S. highway brokerage industry. By mid-2013, XPO's focus evolved beyond truck brokerage and subsequent deals added heavy-goods last-mile delivery, intermodal, and contract logistics. 2015 marked an even larger shift, with the acquisition of Norbert Dentressangle (European contract logistics) and less-than-truckload carrier Con-way. The latter thrust XPO into the asset-heavy trucking industry.

On their second-quarter conference calls, XPO's less-than-truckload competitors Saia and Old Dominion reported experiencing a material uptick in shipments over the past few weeks, despite the otherwise sluggish demand backdrop (retailer destocking and soft industrial end markets). We suspect a meaningful portion of these gains reflect freight diversions from floundering LTL peer Yellow. Recall Yellow is facing a likely bankruptcy and we understand customers have been shifting freight to other carriers at a rapid pace.

XPO got its start in mid-2011, when entrepreneur Brad Jacobs led an equity investment in expedited freight brokerage firm Express-1 Expedited Solutions. Following the transaction, Jacobs launched an acquisition strategy targeting the asset-light U.S. highway brokerage industry. By mid-2013, XPO's focus evolved beyond truck brokerage and subsequent deals added heavy-goods last-mile delivery, intermodal, and contract logistics. 2015 marked an even larger shift, with the acquisition of Norbert Dentressangle (European contract logistics) and less-than-truckload carrier Con-way. The latter thrust XPO into the asset-heavy trucking industry.

XPO got its start in mid-2011, when entrepreneur Brad Jacobs led an equity investment in expedited freight brokerage firm Express-1 Expedited Solutions. Following the transaction, Jacobs launched an acquisition strategy targeting the asset-light U.S. highway brokerage industry. By mid-2013, XPO's focus evolved beyond truck brokerage and subsequent deals added heavy-goods last-mile delivery, intermodal, and contract logistics. 2015 marked an even larger shift, with the acquisition of Norbert Dentressangle (European contract logistics) and less-than-truckload carrier Con-way. The latter thrust XPO into the asset-heavy trucking industry.

XPO’s first-quarter organic top line increased about 1% year over year, excluding the November truck brokerage segment (RXO) divestiture. Revenue came in slightly ahead of our forecast as LTL yields are holding up better than we anticipated thus far this year. Relative to first-quarter 2022, LTL tonnage fell 2%, while total yield was up about 2.5%. In short, retail-sector restocking has retrenched on elevated inventories and industrial end markets are softening, pressuring volumes across the LTL industry following an exceptionally robust growth phase. That said, the current trucking backdrop is not unexpected, and we've already been baking in a pullback in 2023. European trucking segment revenue grew 6% (removing foreign exchange), likely due to new contract wins and lingering pricing strength, though we expect pricing gains to diminish as the year progresses.

XPO got its start in mid-2011, when entrepreneur Brad Jacobs led an equity investment in expedited freight brokerage firm Express-1 Expedited Solutions. Following the transaction, Jacobs launched an acquisition strategy targeting the asset-light U.S. highway brokerage industry. By mid-2013, XPO's focus evolved beyond truck brokerage and subsequent deals added heavy-goods last-mile delivery, intermodal, and contract logistics. 2015 marked an even larger shift, with the deal for Norbert Dentressangle (European contract logistics) and the purchase of less-than-truckload carrier Con-way. The latter thrust XPO into the asset-heavy trucking industry.

XPO got its start in mid-2011, when entrepreneur Brad Jacobs led an equity investment in expedited freight brokerage firm Express-1 Expedited Solutions. Following the transaction, Jacobs launched an acquisition strategy targeting the asset-light U.S. highway brokerage industry. By mid-2013, XPO's focus evolved beyond truck brokerage and subsequent deals added heavy-goods last-mile delivery, intermodal, and contract logistics. 2015 marked an even larger shift, with the deal for Norbert Dentressangle (European contract logistics) and the purchase of less-than-truckload carrier Con-way. The latter thrust XPO into the asset-heavy trucking industry.

XPO’s fourth-quarter organic top line rose 2% year over year, excluding the first-quarter intermodal divestiture and November truck brokerage, or RXO, spinoff. Revenue was mostly in line with our expectations for the core less-than-truckload, or LTL, operations and remaining Europe trucking segment.

XPO got its start in mid-2011, when entrepreneur Brad Jacobs led an equity investment in expedited freight brokerage firm Express-1 Expedited Solutions. Following the transaction, Jacobs launched an acquisition strategy targeting the asset-light U.S. highway brokerage industry. By mid-2013, XPO's strategy evolved beyond truck brokerage; subsequent transactions added heavy-goods last-mile delivery, intermodal, and contract logistics. 2015 marked an even larger shift, with the deal for Norbert Dentressangle (European contract logistics) and the purchase of less-than-truckload carrier Con-way. The latter thrust XPO into the asset-heavy trucking industry.

Following the Nov. 1 truck brokerage (RXO) segment spinoff, we are adjusting our DCF-derived fair value estimate for XPO Logistics to $42 per share (from $70) to reflect our initial take on the stand-alone prospects of the firm's remaining North American less-than-truckload and European trucking operations.