Covenant Logistics Group Announces Third Quarter 2026 Financial and Operating Results

David R. Parker, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Covenant Logistics Group

“We were pleased with our third-quarter earnings of $0.40 per diluted share, or $0.50 per diluted share on a non-GAAP adjusted basis. This marked the first time since the second quarter of 2022 that adjusted earnings per diluted share increased both sequentially and year over year.”

David R. Parker, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Covenant Logistics Group

“Exiting the third quarter, approximately 80% of our fleet assets were under long-term contracts, and we continue to receive inbound demand from our customers on growing our committed capacity.”

David R. Parker, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Covenant Logistics Group

“However, we expect sequential improvement to continue in the fourth quarter as a higher percentage of our fleet operates under committed arrangements and we incur less repositioning cost.”

David R. Parker, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Covenant Logistics Group

“Our goal is to place substantially all of our asset-based business under long-term dedicated or other committed contracts by the end of this freight market upcycle.”

David R. Parker, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Covenant Logistics Group

“Our 49% equity method investment with Transport Enterprise Leasing (“TEL”) exceeded our expectations for a second consecutive quarter by contributing pre-tax net income of $5.7 million, or $0.16 per share, compared to $3.6 million, or $0.10 per share, in the 2025 quarter.”

Paul Bunn, President of Covenant Logistics Group

“For the quarter, total revenue in our Truckload operations increased 2.5%, to $204.6 million.”

Paul Bunn, President of Covenant Logistics Group

“Freight revenue in our Expedited segment decreased $9.6 million, or 12.0%.”

Paul Bunn, President of Covenant Logistics Group

“During the quarter, our Expedited fleet continued to transition to multi-year committed capacity agreements.”

Paul Bunn, President of Covenant Logistics Group

“Truckload freight revenue per total mile increased approximately 19.7% year-over-year, and Truckload operating expenses increased approximately 20.8% year-over-year, each on a non-GAAP adjusted basis.”

Tripp Grant, Chief Financial Officer of Covenant Logistics Group

“At September 30, 2026, our total indebtedness, comprised of total debt and finance lease obligations, net of cash (“net indebtedness”), decreased by $12.4 million to approximately $283.9 million as compared to December 31, 2025.”

Tripp Grant, Chief Financial Officer of Covenant Logistics Group

“For the balance of 2026, our expectations for net capital equipment expenditures range from $35.0 million to $40.0 million.”

David R. Parker, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Covenant Logistics Group

“For the fourth quarter of 2026, we expect a modest sequential increase in earnings per share, with anticipated operating margin improvement from our asset-based operations partially offset by lower income from our equity method investment, TEL.”