AI Earnings Predictions for Covenant Logistics Group Inc. (CVLG)

EX-99.1

5 exhibit991.htm

EXHIBIT 99.1

Exhibit 99.1

COVENANT LOGISTICS GROUP ANNOUNCES Third QUARTER 2026

FINANCIAL AND OPERATING RESULTS

CHATTANOOGA, TENNESSEE – October 29, 2026 - Covenant Logistics Group, Inc. (NYSE: CVLG) (“Covenant” or the “Company”) announced today financial and operating results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2026. The Company’s conference call to discuss the quarter will be held at 10:00 A.M. Eastern Time on Friday, October 30, 2026.

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer David R. Parker commented, “We were pleased with our third-quarter earnings of $0.40 per diluted share, or $0.50 per diluted share on a non-GAAP adjusted basis. This marked the first time since the second quarter of 2022 that adjusted earnings per diluted share increased both sequentially and year over year.

“The third quarter reflected strong coordination between our Truckload and Managed Freight segments as we continued to re-allocate assets to customers that are seeking long-term capacity for their needs and are willing to offer a reasonable return on our meaningful investments in professional drivers, new equipment, and advanced technology. Exiting the third quarter, approximately 80% of our fleet assets were under long-term contracts, and we continue to receive inbound demand from our customers on growing our committed capacity.  I’m proud of our team’s execution, as repositioning hundreds of drivers, tractors, and trailers, and starting up several new operational and administrative systems during the quarter was a big accomplishment. Repositioning for new contracts created some disruption to utilization and added cost to the Truckload fleets. This was more than countered by higher revenue and operating income in Managed Freight, as our historical brokerage operations successfully sourced capacity for overflow Expedited freight, and the brokerage operations we acquired in the fourth quarter of 2025 had their best quarter as part of Covenant. Margin improvement reflected customer rate increases implemented during the first half of the year and lower purchased transportation costs as spot rates eased during the quarter. These improvements followed three consecutive quarters of margin compression.

“From a market perspective, freight demand is adequate in most sectors and strong in specific sectors that are aligned with U.S. economic growth.  Driver capacity is tight, and the cost of recruiting, retaining, and compensating drivers is increasing significantly.  Cost inflation is weighing on nearly every significant line item in our business, including wages and benefits, equipment ownership and maintenance, and technology. In this environment, rate increases have been largely offset by cost increases. However, we expect sequential improvement to continue in the fourth quarter as a higher percentage of our fleet operates under committed arrangements and we incur less repositioning cost.

“Our goal is to place substantially all of our asset-based business under long-term dedicated or other committed contracts by the end of this freight market upcycle. Consistent with our strategy, which reduced volatility during the recent freight market downturn, we intend to remain disciplined and patient in pursuing customers and markets that support sustainable long-term value creation.

“Our 49% equity method investment with Transport Enterprise Leasing (“TEL”) exceeded our expectations for a second consecutive quarter by contributing pre-tax net income of $5.7 million, or $0.16 per share, compared to $3.6 million, or $0.10 per share, in the 2025 quarter.  TEL’s results benefited from the combination of equipment leasing growth, as well as higher equipment sale gains.”

Third Quarter Financial Performance:

Three Months Ended September 30,

Nine Months Ended September 30,

($000s, except per share information)

2026

2025

2026

2025

Total Revenue

$

353,894

$

296,889

$

993,928

$

869,098

Freight Revenue, Excludes Fuel Surcharge

$

315,050

$

268,840

$

891,668

$

788,591

Operating Income

$

12,494

$

7,926

$

27,617

$

27,116

Adjusted Operating Income (1)

$

15,823

$

14,977

$

37,602

$

40,853

Operating Ratio

96.5

%

97.3

%

97.2

%

96.9

%

Adjusted Operating Ratio (1)

95.0

%

94.4

%

95.8

%

94.8

%

Net Income

$

10,704

$

9,093

$

23,659

$

25,496

Adjusted Net Income (1)

$

13,197

$

11,517

$

31,198

$

32,927

Earnings per Diluted Share

$

0.40

$

0.35

$

0.89

$

0.94

Adjusted Earnings per Diluted Share (1)

$

0.50

$

0.44

$

1.18

$

1.22

(1)

Represents non-GAAP measures.

1

Truckload Operating Data and Statistics

Three Months Ended September 30,

Nine Months Ended September 30,

($000s, except statistical information)

2026

2025

2026

2025

Combined Truckload

Total Revenue

$

204,597

$

199,652

$

598,477

$

587,531

Freight Revenue, excludes Fuel Surcharge

$

165,960

$

171,765

$

496,735

$

507,489

Segment Operating Income (1)

$

14,262

$

EX-99.1

5 exhibit991.htm

EXHIBIT 99.1

Exhibit 99.1

COVENANT LOGISTICS GROUP ANNOUNCES SECOND QUARTER 2026

FINANCIAL AND OPERATING RESULTS

CHATTANOOGA, TENNESSEE – July 29, 2026 - Covenant Logistics Group, Inc. (NYSE: CVLG) (“Covenant” or the “Company”) announced today financial and operating results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2026. The Company’s conference call to discuss the quarter will be held at 10:00 A.M. Eastern Time on Thursday, July 30, 2026.

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer David R. Parker commented, “Our second quarter earnings were $0.32 per diluted share, or $0.42 per diluted share on a non-GAAP adjusted basis. We made constructive changes on the revenue side of the business, but our costs disappointed us in the quarter. Our strategy remains to pursue durable margin improvement during the current freight market upcycle through committed contracts that phase in over the next several quarters.

“The freight market strengthened sequentially throughout the quarter, and our team did a good job of capitalizing on opportunities to improve the quality of our Combined Truckload revenue. During the quarter, we moved approximately 15% of our Expedited fleet from uncommitted freight to attractive committed contracts, expanded our dedicated protein supply chain exposure, reduced general commodity freight, and implemented rate increases for certain customers who fell short of our profitability requirements. These actions led to a 5.9% increase in Combined Truckload average freight revenue per tractor per week, consisting of a 15.1% increase in freight revenue per total mile, offset by an 8.0% decrease in average miles per unit. Over half the increase in freight revenue per total mile came from mix shift among business units, with the balance coming from rate increases. Our fleet size was down 3.3% sequentially and is expected to hold approximately steady into the stronger market.   Our goal is to have substantially all our asset-based business under long-term dedicated or other committed contracts by the end of this freight market upcycle. Consistent with our strategy that lowered volatility during the recent freight market downturn, we intend to patiently pursue the customers and markets that help us create sustainable long-term value.

“Combined Truckload margins failed to expand due to pressure from equipment and maintenance, insurance and claims, driver expense, and general overhead that has not reduced as quickly as our tractor count over the past year. Maintenance and insurance claims together were approximately 8 cents per diluted share higher than our expectations and historical averages and are not expected to continue at this elevated level.  The excess maintenance and insurance claims expense more than offset an approximately 3 cents per diluted share benefit from a lower tax rate and interest income from a compensation plan, neither of which is expected to occur in the third quarter.

“Managed Freight experienced early cycle margin compression due to capacity costs rising faster than revenue per load, which lowered gross margin.  This is typical early in the cycle because capacity is sourced in the spot market and most of our freight rates are contractual.  Additionally, last year’s quarter included the benefit of a surge contract that was discontinued.

“Our 49% equity method investment with Transport Enterprise Leasing (“TEL”) contributed pre-tax net income of $5.3 million, or $0.16 per share, compared to $4.3 million, or $0.12 per share, in the 2025 quarter.  TEL’s results benefited from higher equipment sale gains.”

Second Quarter Financial Performance:

Three Months Ended June 30,

Six Months Ended June 30,

($000s, except per share information)

2026

2025

2026

2025

Total Revenue

$

332,873

$

302,854

$

640,034

$

572,209

Freight Revenue, Excludes Fuel Surcharge

$

294,693

$

276,532

$

576,618

$

519,751

Operating Income

$

8,841

$

11,563

$

15,123

$

19,190

Adjusted Operating Income (1)

$

12,169

$

15,019

$

21,779

$

25,876

Operating Ratio

97.3

%

96.2

%

97.6

%

96.6

%

Adjusted Operating Ratio (1)

95.9

%

94.6

%

96.2

%

95.0

%

Net Income

$

8,535

$

9,840

$

12,955

$

16,403

Adjusted Net Income (1)

$

11,201

$

12,415

$

17,980

$

21,384

Earnings per Diluted Share

$

0.32

$

0.36

$

0.49

$

0.60

Adjusted Earnings per Diluted Share (1)

$

0.42

$

0.45

$

0.68

$

0.78

(1)

Represents non-GAAP measures.

1

Truckload Operating Data and Statistics

Three Months Ended June 30,

Six Months Ended June 30,

($000s, except statistical information)

2026

2025

2026

2025

Combined Truckload

Total Revenue

$

205,786

$

199,577

$

393,880

$

387,879

Freight Revenue, excludes Fuel Surcharge

$

167,762

$

173,395

$

330,775

$

335,724

Segment Operating Income (1)

$

16,164

$

13,679

$

24,572

$

21,316

Adj. Seg. Operating Income (2)

$

8,651

$

9,590

$

13,462

$

15,799

Segment Operating Ratio (1)

92

EX-99.1

5 exhibit991.htm

EXHIBIT 99.1

COVENANT LOGISTICS GROUP ANNOUNCES First QUARTER 2026

FINANCIAL AND OPERATING RESULTS

CHATTANOOGA, TENNESSEE – April 23, 2026 - Covenant Logistics Group, Inc. (NYSE: CVLG) (“Covenant” or the “Company”) announced today financial and operating results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2026. The Company’s conference call to discuss the quarter will be held at 10:00 A.M. Eastern Time on Friday, April 24, 2026.

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, David R. Parker, commented: “Our first quarter earnings were $0.17 per diluted share or $0.26 per diluted share on a non-GAAP adjusted basis. These results fell short of our expectations, largely as a result of severe weather shutdowns and fuel cost headwinds in January and February.  However, freight volumes and rates improved in March, and we were encouraged by our positive operating performance and the momentum we carried into the second quarter.  This momentum includes an expanding pipeline of new customers seeking committed capacity, rate increases with select existing customers, and the traditional seasonal improvement in freight volumes.  Expedited and Managed Freight are expected to benefit first from the improving freight market.  Given the characteristics of these segments, we believe there is significant operational leverage that will allow for sequential improvement throughout the year based on shifting market conditions. Our plan for the remainder of 2026 is to improve yields and reallocate assets to operations that improve our margins and returns. Based on a rapidly growing pipeline of customer demand, we expect to make significant progress assuming the current market momentum continues.

“Our 49% equity method investment with Transport Enterprise Leasing (“TEL”) contributed pre-tax net income of $3.7 million, or $0.10 per share, was comparable to the 2025 quarter of $3.8 million, or $0.10 per share.”

First Quarter Financial Performance:

Three Months Ended March 31,

($000s, except per share information)

2026

2025

Total Revenue

$

307,161

$

269,355

Freight Revenue, Excludes Fuel Surcharge

$

281,925

$

243,219

Operating Income

$

6,282

$

7,627

Adjusted Operating Income(1)

$

9,610

$

10,857

Operating Ratio

98.0

%

97.2

%

Adjusted Operating Ratio (1)

96.6

%

95.5

%

Net Income

$

4,420

$

6,563

Adjusted Net Income (1)

$

6,915

$

8,995

Earnings per Diluted Share

$

0.17

$

0.24

Adjusted Earnings per Diluted Share (1)

$

0.26

$

0.32

(1)

Represents non-GAAP measures.

1

Truckload Operating Data and Statistics

Three Months Ended March 31,

($000s, except statistical information)

2026

2025

Combined Truckload

Total Revenue

$

188,094

$

188,302

Freight Revenue, excludes Fuel Surcharge

$

163,013

$

162,329

Segment Operating Income (1)

$

8,408

$

7,739

Adj. Seg. Operating Income (2)

$

4,811

$

6,210

Segment Operating Ratio (1)

95.5

%

95.9

%

Adj. Seg. Operating Ratio (2)

97.0

%

96.2

%

Average Freight Revenue per Tractor per Week

$

5,576

$

5,416

Average Freight Revenue per Total Mile

$

2.76

$

2.53

Average Miles per Tractor per Period

25,961

27,521

Weighted Average Tractors for Period

2,274

2,331

Expedited

Total Revenue

$

84,671

$

94,693

Freight Revenue, excludes Fuel Surcharge

$

71,949

$

80,249

Segment Operating Income (1)

$

2,821

$

5,590

Adj. Seg. Operating Income (2)

$

683

$

4,655

Segment Operating Ratio (1)

96.7

%

94.1

%

Adj. Seg. Operating Ratio (2)

99.1

%

94.2

%

Average Freight Revenue per Tractor per Week

$

7,327

$

7,323

Average Freight Revenue per Total Mile

$

2.20

$

2.13

Average Miles per Tractor per Period

42,772

44,260

Weighted Average Tractors for Period

764

852

Dedicated

Total Revenue

$

103,423

$

93,609

Freight Revenue, excludes Fuel Surcharge

$

91,064

$

82,080

Segment Operating Income (1)

$

5,587

$

2,149

Adj. Seg. Operating Income (2)

$

4,128

$

1,555

Segment Operating Ratio (1)

94.6

%

97.7

%

Adj. Seg. Operating Ratio (2)

95.5

%

98.1

%

Average Freight Revenue per Tractor per Week

$

4,691

$

4,316

Average Freight Revenue per Total Mile

$

3.45

$

3.10

Average Miles per Tractor per Period

17,459

17,875

Weighted Average Tractors for Period

1,510

1,479

(1)

Segment operating income and segment operating ratio exclude indirect costs not directly attributable to any one reportable segment, amortization of intangible assets, impairment of goodwill, and contingent consideration liability adjustments to match the information our Chief Operating Decision Maker uses to evaluate the operating results of our reportable segments. The prior year periods have been conformed to this presentation.

(2)

Represents non-GAAP measures.

2

Combined Truckload Revenue

Paul Bunn, the Company’s President commented on truckload operations, “For the quarter, total revenue in our truckload operations slightly decreased 0.1%, to $188.1 million.  The decrease i