Freight carrier Old Dominion (NASDAQ: ODFL) met Wall Streets revenue expectations in Q4 CY2025, but sales fell by 5.7% year on year to $1.31 billion. Its GAAP profit of $1.09 per share was 2.9% above analysts’ consensus estimates.

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Marty Freeman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Old Dominion, commented, “Old Dominion’s fourth quarter financial results reflect our ongoing commitment to revenue quality and cost discipline in what remains a challenging operating environment. Although our revenue and earnings per diluted share both decreased in the fourth quarter, our team continued to focus on executing the fundamental elements of our long-term strategic plan. The cornerstone of our plan remains our commitment to providing our customers with superior service at a fair price. As a result of the dedication of our OD Family of employees, we were pleased to once again provide our customers with 99% on-time service and a cargo claims ratio of 0.1%.

Company Overview

With its name deriving from the Commonwealth of Virginia’s nickname, Old Dominion (NASDAQ: ODFL) delivers less-than-truckload (LTL) and full-container load freight.

Revenue Growth

A company’s long-term performance is an indicator of its overall quality. Any business can put up a good quarter or two, but many enduring ones grow for years. Over the last five years, Old Dominion Freight Line grew its sales at a mediocre 6.5% compounded annual growth rate. This was below our standard for the industrials sector and is a poor baseline for our analysis.

Long-term growth is the most important, but within industrials, a half-decade historical view may miss new industry trends or demand cycles. Old Dominion Freight Line’s performance shows it grew in the past but relinquished its gains over the last two years, as its revenue fell by 3.2% annually.

Old Dominion Freight Line also reports its number of units sold, which reached 2.56 million in the latest quarter. Over the last two years, Old Dominion Freight Line’s units sold averaged 4.6% year-on-year declines. Because this number is in line with its revenue growth, we can see the company kept its prices fairly consistent.

This quarter, Old Dominion Freight Line reported a rather uninspiring 5.7% year-on-year revenue decline to $1.31 billion of revenue, in line with Wall Street’s estimates.

Looking ahead, sell-side analysts expect revenue to grow 1.8% over the next 12 months. While this projection implies its newer products and services will fuel better top-line performance, it is still below the sector average.

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Operating Margin

Old Dominion Freight Line has been a well-oiled machine over the last five years. It demonstrated elite profitability for an industrials business, boasting an average operating margin of 27.1%. This result isn’t surprising as its high gross margin gives it a favorable starting point.

Analyzing the trend in its profitability, Old Dominion Freight Line’s operating margin decreased by 1.7 percentage points over the last five years. This raises questions about the company’s expense base because its revenue growth should have given it leverage on its fixed costs, resulting in better economies of scale and profitability.

In Q4, Old Dominion Freight Line generated an operating margin profit margin of 23.3%, in line with the same quarter last year. This indicates the company’s cost structure has recently been stable.

Earnings Per Share

We track the long-term change in earnings per share (EPS) for the same reason as long-term revenue growth. Compared to revenue, however, EPS highlights whether a company’s growth is profitable.

Sadly for Old Dominion Freight Line, its EPS declined by 3.2% annually over the last five years while its revenue grew by 6.5%. This tells us the company became less profitable on a per-share basis as it expanded due to non-fundamental factors such as interest expenses and taxes.

Diving into the nuances of Old Dominion Freight Line’s earnings can give us a better understanding of its performance. As we mentioned earlier, Old Dominion Freight Line’s operating margin was flat this quarter but declined by 1.7 percentage points over the last five years. This was the most relevant factor (aside from the revenue impact) behind its lower earnings; interest expenses and taxes can also affect EPS but don’t tell us as much about a company’s fundamentals.

Like with revenue, we analyze EPS over a more recent period because it can provide insight into an emerging theme or development for the business.

Old Dominion Freight Line’s two-year annual EPS declines of 7.3% were bad and lower than its two-year revenue losses.

In Q4, Old Dominion Freight Line reported EPS of $1.09, down from $1.23 in the same quarter last year. Despite falling year on year, this print beat analysts’ estimates by 2.9%. Over the next 12 months, Wall Street expects Old Dominion Freight Line’s full-year EPS of $4.83 to grow 3.5%.

Key Takeaways from Old Dominion Freight Line’s Q4 Results

Revenue was in line, but EPS managed to beat. Overall, this print was fine. The stock remained flat at $189.78 immediately following the results.

Big picture, is Old Dominion Freight Line a buy here and now? If you’re making that decision, you should consider the bigger picture of valuation, business qualities, as well as the latest earnings. We cover that in our actionable full research report which you can read here (it’s free).