Winning praise from analysts considering the weak freight environment, Ryder reported comparable earnings per share from continuing operations of $2.46, compared with $2.14 a year earlier. (Business Wire)
Profit at Ryder System rose in the first quarter of 2025 as higher contract revenue outweighed ongoing weakness in the rental and used vehicle sales businesses.
Miami-based Ryder posted a profit of $98 million in Q1, up 15.3% compared with $85 million a year earlier.
Ryder reported total revenue of $3.13 billion, up 1% from $3.1 billion.
Winning praise from analysts considering the weak freight environment, Ryder reported comparable earnings per share from continuing operations of $2.46, compared with $2.14 a year earlier. The EPS beat consensus analyst estimates of $2.40, according to Zacks Equity Research.
Ryder Supply Chain Solutions ranks No. 7 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest logistics companies in North America and No. 6 on the Top 100 list of the largest for-hire carriers in North America.
The company’s Supply Chain Solutions unit saw revenue rise 2% year over year to $1.33 billion from $1.30 billion in the year-ago period on the back of additional business and higher customer volumes.
Ryder’s Dedicated Transportation Solutions unit posted $602 million in revenue in Q1, a 7% increase compared with $563 million a year earlier.
“I’m proud of the Ryder team for delivering double-digit earnings growth in the first quarter,” said CEO Robert Sanchez. “This marks the second consecutive quarter with year-over-year earnings growth driven by the strength of our contractual businesses.”
“SCS delivered record first-quarter earnings, reflecting the execution of strategic initiatives and new business. This marks the eighth consecutive quarter of earnings growth in SCS,” the company’s top executive said, adding: “DTS also delivered higher earnings reflecting acquisition synergies and continued strong performance of our legacy dedicated business.”
Ryder acquired Concord, N.C.-based Cardinal Logistics on Feb. 1, 2024, for an undisclosed sum. Cardinal Logistics ranked No. 51 on the for-hire TT100 and No. 63 on the logistics Top 100 in 2023, prior to the deal.
Ryder’s rental and used vehicle sales operations are part of the company’s largest unit — Fleet Management Solutions.
FMS posted a 1% decrease in revenue in Q1 to $1.45 billion from $1.46 billion a year earlier, reflecting lower fuel costs being passed through to the customer plus rental and used truck and tractor sales weakness.
Revenue from commercial rentals in the most recent quarter totaled $219 million, down 5% from $231 million in the year-ago period.
Rental power-fleet utilization averaged 66% in Q1, matching the figure for the same period 12 months earlier, on a 2% smaller power fleet.
The company sold 5,100 used vehicles in Q1, down 22% compared with 6,500 in the year-ago period.
“Rental results for the quarter continued to reflect market conditions that remain weak, and the sequential decline in rental demand was below historical trends. On a sequential basis, proceeds for tractors decreased 7%, and proceeds for trucks decreased 8%,” Chief Financial Officer Cristy Gallo-Aquino said during Ryder’s April 23 earnings conference call.
Used tractor sales prices in the most recent three-month period fell 16% year on year, while used truck prices fell 17% compared with Q1 2024, Ryder said.
“The sequential decline in tractor pricing reflects the sale of aged inventory in the quarter. Excluding this activity, tractor pricing was up 3% sequentially, primarily driven by sleeper tractors. We expect sales of aged inventory to continue in the second quarter as we manage through our inventory levels. We were encouraged to see pricing on sleeper tractors increase sequentially,” she said.
“So, tractor inventory is down quite a bit, almost 1,700 units. That’s offset by the truck inventory going up. We like that better. The tractor inventory is historically more difficult to work through. And we feel that the tractor inventory is in line and very manageable,” noted Fleet Management Solutions President Tom Havens later in the call.
“And the elevated truck inventory, historically, we’ve been able to work through that. So, we feel pretty good about those inventory trends, and what that will mean in the future as well,” he added.
Chief Operating Officer John Diez told analysts one positive indicator for FMS was sleeper rental, where Ryder was seeing some positive momentum, which he said the company had not seen for some time.
Another positive indicator, for Ryder at least, is the expected decline in Class 8 truck production by original equipment manufacturers, said Sanchez, which would boost rental demand.
