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Schneider National (SNDR) Q2 FY26 earnings call: guidance and Q&A

Earnings call· Jun 2026 (Q2 FY26)· Industrials· Jul 30, 2026

Source: earnings call transcript

Executive summary

Schneider National Q2 FY26 — Earnings More Than Doubled Sequentially on Supply-Led Market Improvement

Schneider National delivered strong Q2 FY26 results, with earnings more than doubling sequentially, driven by supply-led market improvement and effective execution of strategic initiatives. The company is capitalizing on tightening capacity and rising spot rates, while proactively addressing portfolio quality in Dedicated and prioritizing profitable growth in Intermodal. Management remains confident in the earnings trajectory, supported by technology innovation and cost savings, despite some demand uncertainty and driver capacity constraints.

Highlights

5

  • Earnings more than doubled sequentially, representing the strongest quarter-over-quarter improvement in the last decade.

  • Enterprise adjusted income from operations increased 29% year-over-year to $73 million.

  • Adjusted diluted EPS grew to $0.29, up from $0.21 in Q2 2025.

  • Truckload operating income increased 28% year-over-year to $51 million, with an operating ratio of 91.8% (180 bps improvement).

  • Logistics revenue grew 11% year-over-year to $376 million, with operating income up $4 million year-over-year to $12 million.

Concerns

4

  • Intermodal revenues, excluding fuel surcharge, declined 1% year-over-year to $262 million due to mix changes and lower length of haul.

  • Free cash flow declined $35 million year-over-year in the quarter due to increased net CapEx.

  • Anticipating a loss of a large Dedicated customer, which will be more evident in the second half of the year.

  • Tractor count in Truckload was impacted by driver availability, leading to lower truck count.

Guidance & targets

CategoryTargetConfidence
Full-year 2026 earnings per share
$0.90 to $1.10
high materiality
High
Full-year 2026 net CapEx
$350 million to $400 million
medium materiality
High
Full-year 2026 effective tax rate
approximately 24%
low materiality
High

Segment performance

SegmentRevenueYoYQoQMargin
Enterprise
Enterprise revenues, excluding fuel surcharge, were up 4% year-over-year. Adjusted income from operations increased 29% year-over-year, and adjusted operating ratio improved 110 basis points.
Adjusted income from operations: $73 millionAdjusted income from operations growth: 29% year-over-yearAdjusted operating ratio improvement: 110 basis points compared to second quarter 2025
$1.3 billion4%—$73 million
Truckload
Truckload revenues, excluding fuel surcharge, grew 1% year-over-year. Operating income increased 28% year-over-year, and operating ratio improved significantly, marking the strongest profitability since Q2 2023. This was driven by revenue management, improved Truckload backdrop, and cost savings.
Operating income growth: 28% year-over-yearOperating ratio: 91.8%Operating ratio improvement: 180 basis points compared to last yearRevenue per truck per week growth: 5% year-over-yearNetwork revenues (ex-fuel surcharge) growth: 8% year-over-yearNetwork revenue per truck per week growth: 16% year-over-yearNetwork price growth: high-single digits year-over-yearNetwork price renewals: up double digitsProductivity growth: high-single digits year-over-year
$628 million1%—$51 million
Dedicated
Dedicated saw modest year-over-year price improvement, supported by portfolio upgrade actions. Productivity gains helped drive margins higher despite a year-over-year tractor count decline. The segment remains a key pillar for long-term growth.
Revenue per truck per week: up modestly year-over-yearNew trucks sold year-to-date 2026: 500+
————
Intermodal
Intermodal revenues, excluding fuel surcharge, declined 1% year-over-year, but operating income increased 14%. Operating ratio improved 90 basis points. Revenue per order declined due to mix changes, while volumes grew modestly for the ninth consecutive quarter.
Operating income growth: 14% compared to same period last yearOperating ratio: 93%Operating ratio improvement: 90 basis points compared to last yearRevenue per order decline: 2%Volumes growth: modestly year-over-yearConsecutive quarters of order growth: 9
$262 million-1%—$18 million
Logistics
Logistics revenue, excluding fuel surcharge, grew 11% year-over-year, and income from operations increased $4 million. Operating ratio improved 90 basis points, driven by top-line growth, effective management of net revenue per order, and productivity gains from technology investments.
Income from operations growth: up $4 million year-over-yearOperating ratio: 96.8%Operating ratio improvement: 90 basis points from last yearBrokerage net revenue per order: improved year-over-year and sequentiallySpot exposure: increased year-over-year and sequentiallyFrontline productivity improvement: 17% year-over-year
$376 million11%—$12 million

Risks & headwinds

Driver Recruiting and Retention Challenges

putting upward pressure on the cost of capacity

Mitigation:aligned pay structure to reward hardest working drivers; surgically reinforcing recruiting efforts, including growing recruiters, expanding AI capabilities, and enhancing starting driver pay in constrained geographies.

Demand Uncertainty second half of the year

stronger demand could drive additional upside while softer demand may moderate some of the benefits from supply rationalization

Mitigation:focused on a broad portfolio of customers to provide a cushion; preparedness to execute if and when freight becomes available.

Loss of Large Dedicated Customer second half of the year

contemplated in what we're expecting going forward

Mitigation:proactively addressing bottom performing agreements and reallocating resources to higher-performing opportunities; robust sales pipeline to absorb shocks.

Litigation Environment

companies that do the right thing should be held accountable based on the facts and not exposed to disproportionate outcomes driven by the current litigation environment

Mitigation:investing heavily in safety, training, technology, compliance; advocating for tort reform to ensure fair, predictable outcomes aligned with actual conduct.

Regulatory Enforcement Impact on Supply through next year

roughly half of the noncompliant capacity is left with the remaining impact of supply expected to exit through next year

Mitigation:leveraging multimodal strategy to capitalize on market improvement; adapting to structural changes in driver supply.

What to watch in Q3 FY26

Dedicated revenue per truck per week improvement

immediately here already in third quarter
Current up modestly year-over-year
Target more pronounced improvement

Why it matters

Indicates successful portfolio quality actions and margin restoration in the Dedicated segment.

I think in Dedicated, we're expecting that we should start seeing improvement in revenue per truck per week in Dedicated immediately here already in third quarter.

Find out whether SNDR delivers this. Inve re-checks your case every morning.

Q&A highlights

What are customers saying about demand, and what are the company's plans for fleet growth, especially regarding moving trucks to the network segment?

Demand is largely stable, playing out as expected, with some modest seasonal activity. The market is primarily supply-driven. The company is excited about supply exiting the driver market. In Dedicated, sales are strong (500 new trucks YTD), offset by near-term churn. For the network, the priority is to restore margins before growing the driver fleet.

“demand is playing out largely as expected. Underlying demand is largely stable. We saw a little bit of seasonal activity in the quarter related to both summer holidays and the World Cup.”

asked by Jordan Alliger · answered by Jim Filter

2 min read 6 chapters

Detailed narrative

Market Dynamics and Supply Attrition

The market improvement is primarily supply-led, with regulatory actions (noncompliant CDL usage, English proficiency, illegal cabotage, ELD tampering) accelerating supply attrition. The market is now driver-constrained, with the long-haul driver population well below long-term averages. Roughly half of noncompliant capacity is expected to exit through next year, suggesting early stages of rate recovery. This structural shift, with capacity not growing as fast as after the pandemic, could lead to a longer recovery.

Pricing and Productivity Focus

Schneider is balancing customer commitments with the need for rates that support service, recoup cost inflation, and drive returns. Spot rates now exceed contract rates by approximately 15%, historically preceding more meaningful contract rate improvement. The company is leveraging tools like elevated spot exposure, advanced freight selection, and mini bids to extract price. Productivity gains, driven by asset efficiency and driver utilization, are compounding these pricing efforts.

Dedicated Business Strategy

Dedicated saw modest year-over-year price improvement, supported by portfolio quality actions. The company remains disciplined in adding durable solutions with targeted returns, proactively addressing pricing to get ahead of increased capacity costs. This discipline is creating some near-term churn but positions the portfolio for higher quality growth and margin restoration. The robust sales pipeline, with over 500 new trucks sold year-to-date, is expected to absorb shocks and restore margins.

Intermodal Growth and Constraints

Intermodal delivered earnings growth despite revenue pressure, prioritizing profitable growth. Drayage has become the primary constraint, and the company elected not to chase growth requiring expensive third-party dray when pricing was not supportive. Success is seen in Mexico (17 consecutive quarters of growth) and the East due to over-the-road conversion opportunities and clear differentiation. The company is making targeted investments in company dray capacity and seeing accelerated pricing renewals.

Logistics Performance and Technology

Logistics extended momentum with double-digit year-over-year growth in revenue and earnings. Brokerage net revenue per order improved due to revenue management, premium project business, and expanded spot opportunities. Technology investments, particularly in Agentic AI solutions, led to a 17% year-over-year improvement in frontline productivity. While project-based work may introduce quarter-to-quarter variability, the expertise built is expected to be a meaningful growth driver.

Capital Allocation and Balance Sheet

Strategic priorities for capital remain unchanged: disciplined deployment supporting organic growth, accretive M&A, and robust shareholder returns. The company has a strong balance sheet with $293 million in cash and cash equivalents and $397 million in debt and lease obligations, resulting in net debt leverage of 0.2x at quarter-end. This financial strength provides flexibility to execute on all three capital allocation priorities.

Summary of the company's earnings call; see how call summaries are prepared. Not investment advice.