What Happened?
Shares of freight delivery company Landstar (NASDAQ: LSTR) jumped 3.1% in the afternoon session after its peer, J.B. Hunt Transport Services, reported strong third-quarter 2025 earnings that surpassed expectations, lifting sentiment across the transportation sector.
J.B. Hunt announced an 18% increase in earnings per share and an 8% rise in operating income compared to the previous year. The company's earnings of $1.76 per share easily beat the anticipated $1.46, while its revenue of $3.05 billion edged past the forecast of $3.02 billion. Following the positive report, J.B. Hunt's stock jumped over 13%.
After the initial pop the shares cooled down to $130.01, up 2.7% from previous close.
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What Is The Market Telling Us
Landstar’s shares are not very volatile and have only had 6 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful, although it might not be something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The biggest move we wrote about over the last year was 5 months ago when the stock gained 7.3% as the major indices popped (Nasdaq +3.4%, S&P 500 +2.5%) in response to the positive outcome of U.S.-China trade negotiations, as both sides agreed to pause some tariffs for 90 days, signaling a potential turning point in ongoing tensions.
This rollback cuts U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods to 30% and Chinese tariffs on U.S. imports to 10%, giving companies breathing room to reset inventories and supply chains. However, President Trump clarified that tariffs could go "substantially higher" if a full deal with China wasn't reached during the 90-day pause, but not all the way back to the previous levels. Still, the agreement has cooled fears of a prolonged trade war, helping stabilize expectations for global growth and trade flows and fueling renewed optimism. The optimism appeared concentrated in key trade-sensitive sectors, particularly technology, retail, and industrials, as lower tariffs reduce cost pressures and restore cross-border demand.
Landstar is down 23.7% since the beginning of the year, and at $130.01 per share, it is trading 32.6% below its 52-week high of $192.81 from November 2024. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Landstar’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $995.30.
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