First Look: Universal Logistics Holdings

Universal Logistics Holdings’ first-quarter operating revenue decreased 22.3% year over year to $382.4 million, which company officials attributed to a sluggish freight market.

“While we gained positive momentum as the quarter progressed, the early softness posed a significant headwind to our overall performance for the entire period,” CEO Tim Phillips said in a news release. “Lower auto production, combined with sustained weakness in the freight market, resulted in top-line revenues falling short of our expectations and contributed to a compression in our operating margin.” 

Universal Logistics (Nasdaq: ULH) is a Warren, Michigan-based truckload transportation, intermodal and logistics provider. The company provides services across the U.S, Mexico, Canada and Colombia and has more than 10,000 employees.

First-quarter earnings per share came in at 23 cents per share, an 88% year-over-year decrease.

Universal Logistics missed Wall Street analysts’ revenue estimates of $454.1 million in the fourth quarter and earnings per share expectations of $1.04 per share.

The company’s first-quarter results showed year-over-year decreases in its trucking, contract logistics, intermodal and managed brokerage segments.

In the contract logistics segment, which includes Universal Logistics’ value-added and dedicated services, first-quarter revenues decreased 18.4% year over year to $255.9 million.

By the end of the first quarter, Universal Logistics managed 87 value-added programs, including 20 rail terminal operations, compared to a total of 71 programs at the end of the same period in 2024.

Revenue in the intermodal segment decreased 9.8% year over year to $70.7 million in the first quarter. Load volumes declined 3.4% in the intermodal segment during the quarter, and the average operating revenue per load, excluding fuel surcharges, fell by an additional 8.7% on a year-over-year basis.

Trucking segment revenue in the first quarter decreased 20.2% year over year to $55.6 million. Load volumes declined 31.3% year over year, while average operating revenue per load, excluding fuel surcharges, increased 24.3%.

As of March 29, Universal Logistics held cash and cash equivalents totaling $20.6 million, and $12 million in marketable securities. Outstanding debt at the end of the first quarter was $740 million and capital expenditures totaled $52.6 million.

Universal Logistics announced a cash dividend of 10.5 cents per share of common stock. The dividend is payable to shareholders of record by June 2.

The company will hold a conference call to discuss results with analysts at 10 a.m. Friday.

Universal Logistics key performance indicators.

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