J.B. Hunt
J.B. Hunt's revenue fell 0.7% to $12.0 billion in fiscal 2025. Its operating margin was 7.2%, up from 6.9% a year earlier. Free cash flow was $948 million, up 53.4%. It paid out $1.1 billion in dividends and buybacks, 115% of free cash flow. The diluted share count fell 4.9%.
Operating margin is operating income as a share of revenue. Free cash flow is cash from operations minus capital spending. Return on capital is after-tax operating income as a share of the money invested in the business: debt plus equity, minus cash. Market cap is the last closing share price times the latest diluted share count, so it is approximate. P/E is the last close divided by diluted earnings per share over the last four quarters, or the latest fiscal year where the quarters aren't available; there is none when the company made a loss.
Charts show fiscal years, from the 10-K filings.
Revenue and margins
Net income and earnings per share
From fiscal 2016 to 2025, earnings per share grew 5.4% a year and net income 3.7% a year, as buybacks cut the share count by 14%.
Returns on capital
Cash flow
Payouts and share count
Valuation
Two ways to value J.B. Hunt yourself, both starting from its filings: a discounted cash flow model and the price-to-earnings method.
What J.B. Hunt says to expect
- Full year 2026: annual tax rate
We expect our 2026 full year annual tax rate to be approximately 24.0%.
Discounted cash flow (DCF)
A discounted cash flow (DCF) model values a business as the cash it may generate in future, discounted back to today. The starting figures come from J.B. Hunt's 10-K (or, for net cash and shares, its latest 10-Q) and the assumptions are yours: start from one of three example scenarios, then change any figure to see what it implies for a share, and how that compares with the last share price.
Value per share on three example scenarios, from J.B. Hunt's fiscal 2025 free cash flow of $948M, net cash of −$1.4B at December 31, 2025 and 98 million diluted shares, from its filings. The scenarios are fitted to J.B. Hunt: the base scenario's growth in years 1 to 5 is its revenue growth over the last 3 years, -6.8% a year, kept between 0% and 20%; the cautious and optimistic ones are lower and higher, and growth in years 6 to 10 is halfway to the long-run rate. The base scenario's discount rate is 10%: 9% for a business of moderate risk (Cargo Ground Transportation), plus 1 point for unsteady results (revenue fell in two of the last five years); the cautious and optimistic ones use a point more and a point less. Select one to load it into the calculator. These are the model's arithmetic on those assumptions, not a forecast or a price target.
- Last close, October 26, 2026
- $224.48
- Value on these assumptions, against the last close
- —
- Cash flows in years 1 to 10, valued today
- —
- Everything after year 10, valued today
- —
- Plus net cash
- —
- Share of value from after year 10
How the value changes with two assumptions
Price-to-earnings (P/E) method
Another common way to value a company is to multiply its earnings per share by a price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple: the number of years of today's earnings an investor pays for a share. A higher multiple usually means investors expect earnings to grow. Choose a multiple, for example from similar companies, to see the value it gives.
Value per share on three example scenarios, from J.B. Hunt's earnings per share of $7.10 (over the last four quarters). Each grows earnings for a year at the cash flow scenarios' rates and applies a multiple to next year's earnings: 26.7×, the middle of J.B. Hunt's own P/E today, its peers' median and its sector's median (the Industrials median) for the base scenario, 20% less and more for the cautious and optimistic ones. The price is brought back a year at 11%, 10% and 9%. Select one to load it into the calculator. These are the model's arithmetic on those assumptions, not a forecast or a price target.
- Last close, October 26, 2026
- $224.48
- Value at this multiple, against the last close
- —
- J.B. Hunt's P/E at the last close
- 31.6×
| Company | Last close | Earnings per share | P/E today |
|---|---|---|---|
| XPOXPO | $182.32 | $3.38 | 53.9× |
| J.B. HuntJBHT | $224.48 | $7.10 | 31.6× |
| FedEx FreightFDXF | $109.45 | $4.38 | 25.0× |
| RyderR | $282.11 | $13.11 | 21.5× |
Balance sheet
| Fiscal year end | FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash and short-term investments | 356 | 52 | 53 | 47 | 17 |
| Debt incl. finance leases | 945 | 1,262 | 1,326 | 978 | 1,467 |
| Net debt (negative means net cash) | 590 | 1,210 | 1,273 | 931 | 1,450 |
| Net debt to EBITDA | 0.4x | 0.6x | 0.7x | 0.6x | 0.9x |
| Debt to equity | 0.3x | 0.3x | 0.3x | 0.2x | 0.4x |
| Interest coverage | 22.6x | 26.0x | 15.1x | 10.5x | 11.5x |
| Current ratio | 1.3x | 1.4x | 1.4x | 1.1x | 0.8x |
| Quick ratio | 1.3x | 1.4x | 1.3x | 1.0x | 0.8x |
Insider trades
Over the 12 months between October 27, 2025 and October 26, 2026, 1 insider bought $2,086 of J.B. Hunt shares on the open market, and 12 insiders sold $13.8 million.
| Date | Insider | Trade | Shares | Price | Value | Filing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 5, 2026 | Brian WebbEVP- Final Mile Services | Sold | 1,500 | $284.01 | $426,015 | Form 4 |
| Jun 5, 2026 | David KeefauverEVP of People | Sold | 703 | $285.13 | $200,446 | Form 4 |
| May 19, 2026 | Spencer FrazierEVP of Sales and Marketing | Sold | 2,000 | $258.20 | $516,400 | Form 4 |
| May 15, 2026 | Bradley W. HicksPresident of DCS | Sold | 7,644 | $261.91 | $2.0 million | Form 4 |
| May 14, 2026 | Darren P. FieldEVP and President Intermodal | Sold | 4,000 | $254.49 | $1.0 million | Form 4 |
| Apr 22, 2026 | Nicholas HobbsEVP and COO | Sold | 1,272 | $250.75 | $318,954 | Form 4 |
| Apr 21, 2026 | James K ThompsonDirector | Sold | 1,000 | $254.28 | $254,280 | Form 4 |
| Feb 27, 2026 | Jennifer BoattiniSR VP Legal/General Counsel | Sold | 2,238 | $232.00 | $519,216 | Form 4 |
| Feb 11, 2026 | James K ThompsonDirector | Sold | 2,300 | $230.75 | $530,725 | Form 4 |
| Feb 6, 2026 | Albert Brad DelcoEVP & CFO | Sold | 1,000 | $227.25 | $227,250 | Form 4 |
| Feb 4, 2026 | Bradley W. HicksPresident of DCS | Sold | 4,028 | $225.13 | $906,824 | Form 4 |
| Feb 4, 2026 | John KuhlowChief Accounting Officer | Sold | 1,000 | $225.68 | $225,680 | Form 4 |
Piotroski F-score
The F-score counts how many of nine simple tests of profitability, funding and efficiency a company passed in a year (Piotroski, 2000). The more tests passed, the stronger the year: 8 or 9 is strong, 0 to 2 weak. Companies that report no gross profit are scored on the other eight.
| Test | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Net income is positive | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| Cash from operations is positive | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| Return on assets rose | Fail | Fail | Pass |
| Cash from operations exceeds net income | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| Debt fell relative to assets | Pass | Pass | Fail |
| Current ratio rose | Fail | Fail | Fail |
| Share count didn't rise | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| Gross margin rose | — | — | — |
| Revenue rose relative to assets | Fail | Fail | Pass |
| F-score | 5 of 8 | 5 of 8 | 6 of 8 |
| Accruals ratio | −12.4% | −10.8% | −13.3% |
Compare
Put J.B. Hunt side by side with any other company we cover: revenue, growth, margins, cash flow and returns, with ten years of charts.
Similar companies
| Company | Year | Revenue growth | Operating margin | Free cash flow margin | Return on capital | Net debt to EBITDA | F-score | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| J.B. Hunt | FY25 | −0.7% | 7.2% | 7.9% | 13.1% | 0.9x | 6 | |
| Ryder | FY25 | 0.2% | — | 3.6% | 7.5% | 2.2x | 6 | Compare |
| FedEx Freight | FY26 | −1.1% | 6.1% | −2.4% | 13.0% | 4.1x | — | Compare |
| XPO | FY25 | 1.1% | 8.0% | 4.0% | 9.5% | 2.8x | 5 | Compare |
| TFI International | FY25 | −6.1% | 7.2% | 8.9% | 8.6% | 2.0x | 6 | Compare |
10 years of figures
| Fiscal year | FY16 | FY17 | FY18 | FY19 | FY20 | FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Income statement | ||||||||||
| Revenue | 6,556 | 7,190 | 8,615 | 9,165 | 9,637 | 12,168 | 14,814 | 12,830 | 12,087 | 11,999 |
| Revenue growth | 5.9% | 9.7% | 19.8% | 6.4% | 5.1% | 26.3% | 21.7% | −13.4% | −5.8% | −0.7% |
| Gross profit | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Research and development | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Operating income | 721 | 624 | 681 | 734 | 713 | 1,046 | 1,332 | 993 | 831 | 865 |
| Net income | 432 | 686 | 490 | 516 | 506 | 761 | 969 | 728 | 571 | 598 |
| Diluted EPS (US$) | 3.81 | 6.18 | 4.43 | 4.77 | 4.74 | 7.14 | 9.21 | 6.97 | 5.56 | 6.12 |
| Diluted shares (millions) | 113 | 111 | 110 | 108 | 107 | 107 | 105 | 104 | 103 | 98 |
| Cash flow | ||||||||||
| Cash from operations | 854 | 855 | 1,088 | 1,098 | 1,123 | 1,224 | 1,777 | 1,745 | 1,483 | 1,678 |
| Capital expenditure | 638 | 527 | 996 | 854 | 738 | 948 | 1,541 | 1,862 | 865 | 731 |
| Free cash flow | 216 | 328 | 92 | 244 | 384 | 276 | 236 | −118 | 618 | 948 |
| Dividends paid | 99 | 101 | 105 | 112 | 114 | 124 | 167 | 174 | 176 | 171 |
| Share buybacks | 250 | 180 | 150 | 276 | 92 | 152 | 300 | 160 | 514 | 923 |
| Acquisitions | 0 | 137 | 0 | 116 | 12 | 0 | 118 | 85 | 4 | 0 |
| Stock-based compensation | 41 | 38 | 47 | 53 | 61 | 62 | 78 | 79 | 66 | 72 |
| Balance sheet at fiscal year end | ||||||||||
| Cash and short-term investments | 6 | 15 | 8 | 35 | 313 | 356 | 52 | 53 | 47 | 17 |
| Debt incl. finance leases | 986 | 1,086 | 1,149 | 1,296 | 1,305 | 945 | 1,262 | 1,326 | 978 | 1,467 |
| Total assets | 3,951 | 4,465 | 5,092 | 5,471 | 5,928 | 6,794 | 7,787 | 8,588 | 8,312 | 7,927 |
| Total liabilities | 2,537 | 2,626 | 2,990 | 3,204 | 3,328 | 3,676 | 4,120 | 4,484 | 4,298 | 4,362 |
| Shareholders' equity | 1,414 | 1,839 | 2,101 | 2,267 | 2,600 | 3,118 | 3,667 | 4,104 | 4,014 | 3,565 |
| Margins and ratios | ||||||||||
| Gross margin | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Operating margin | 11.0% | 8.7% | 7.9% | 8.0% | 7.4% | 8.6% | 9.0% | 7.7% | 6.9% | 7.2% |
| Net margin | 6.6% | 9.6% | 5.7% | 5.6% | 5.2% | 6.2% | 6.5% | 5.7% | 4.7% | 5.0% |
| Free cash flow margin | 3.3% | 4.6% | 1.1% | 2.7% | 4.0% | 2.3% | 1.6% | −0.9% | 5.1% | 7.9% |
| Return on capital | 21.9% | 23.5% | 16.9% | 16.4% | 15.2% | 21.8% | 23.5% | 15.1% | 12.1% | 13.1% |
| Return on equity | 31.8% | 42.2% | 24.9% | 23.6% | 20.8% | 26.6% | 28.6% | 18.7% | 14.1% | 15.8% |
| Return on assets | 11.4% | 16.3% | 10.2% | 9.8% | 8.9% | 12.0% | 13.3% | 8.9% | 6.8% | 7.4% |
| Net debt to EBITDA | 0.9x | 1.1x | 1.0x | 1.0x | 0.8x | 0.4x | 0.6x | 0.7x | 0.6x | 0.9x |