Quarterly earnings results are a good time to check in on a company’s progress, especially compared to its peers in the same sector. Today we are looking at Landstar (NASDAQ: LSTR) and the best and worst performers in the ground transportation industry.

The growth of e-commerce and global trade continues to drive demand for shipping services, especially last-mile delivery, presenting opportunities for ground transportation companies. The industry continues to invest in data, analytics, and autonomous fleets to optimize efficiency and find the most cost-effective routes. Despite the essential services this industry provides, ground transportation companies are still at the whim of economic cycles. Consumer spending, for example, can greatly impact the demand for these companies’ offerings while fuel costs can influence profit margins.

The 15 ground transportation stocks we track reported a softer Q4. As a group, revenues missed analysts’ consensus estimates by 0.8%.

Thankfully, share prices of the companies have been resilient as they are up 6% on average since the latest earnings results.

Landstar (NASDAQ: LSTR)

Covering billions of miles throughout North America, Landstar (NASDAQ: LSTR) is a transportation company specializing in freight and last-mile delivery services.

Landstar reported revenues of $1.18 billion, down 2.9% year on year. This print fell short of analysts’ expectations by 1.4%. Overall, it was a slower quarter for the company with a significant miss of analysts’ EPS estimates and a slight miss of analysts’ revenue estimates.

“The Landstar team of independent business owners and employees performed well during the 2025 fourth quarter despite continued tough macro demand conditions in the freight transportation market. In fact, fourth quarter truck transportation revenue was nearly flat year over year, as the decrease in total revenue was primarily attributable to decreased ocean revenue. Our services hauled by unsided/platform equipment, a real bright spot for Landstar throughout 2025, continued to demonstrate sustained strength in the fourth quarter,” said Landstar President and Chief Executive Officer Frank Lonegro.

Interestingly, the stock is up 5.3% since reporting and currently trades at $161.64.

Read our full report on Landstar here, it’s free.

Best Q4: XPO (NYSE: XPO)

Owning a mobile game simulating freight operations for the Tour de France, XPO (NYSE: XPO) is a transportation company specializing in expedited shipping services.

XPO reported revenues of $2.01 billion, up 4.7% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 2.9%. The business had an exceptional quarter with an impressive beat of analysts’ adjusted operating income estimates and a solid beat of analysts’ revenue estimates.

XPO pulled off the biggest analyst estimates beat among its peers. The market seems happy with the results as the stock is up 10.6% since reporting. It currently trades at $198.50.

Is now the time to buy XPO? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.

Weakest Q4: Werner (NASDAQ: WERN)

Conducting business in over a 100 countries, Werner (NASDAQ: WERN) offers full-truckload, less-than-truckload, and intermodal delivery services.

Werner reported revenues of $737.6 million, down 2.3% year on year, falling short of analysts’ expectations by 2.8%. It was a disappointing quarter as it posted a significant miss of analysts’ revenue estimates and a significant miss of analysts’ adjusted operating income estimates.

As expected, the stock is down 21.6% since the results and currently trades at $29.70.

Read our full analysis of Werner’s results here.

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE: KNX)

Covering 1.6 billion loaded miles in 2023 alone, Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE: KNX) offers less-than-truckload and full truckload delivery services.

Knight-Swift Transportation reported revenues of $1.86 billion, flat year on year. This result missed analysts’ expectations by 2.4%. Overall, it was a softer quarter as it also produced a significant miss of analysts’ revenue estimates and a significant miss of analysts’ EPS estimates.

The stock is flat since reporting and currently trades at $58.00.

Read our full, actionable report on Knight-Swift Transportation here, it’s free.

Ryder (NYSE: R)

As one of the first companies to introduce the idea of leasing trucks, Ryder (NYSE: R) provides rental vehicles to businesses and delivers packages directly to homes or businesses.

Ryder reported revenues of $3.18 billion, flat year on year. This number came in 0.7% below analysts' expectations. It was a slower quarter as it also recorded full-year EPS guidance missing analysts’ expectations significantly and EPS guidance for next quarter missing analysts’ expectations significantly.

The stock is down 2.5% since reporting and currently trades at $206.87.

Read our full, actionable report on Ryder here, it’s free.

Market Update

Late in 2025 into early 2026, there was hand wringing around artificial intelligence. For software companies, the fear was that AI would erode pricing power and compress margins as new tools made it easier to replicate what once required expensive enterprise platforms. Crypto investors had their own version of the same anxiety: if AI agents could trade, allocate capital, and manage wallets autonomously, what exactly was the long-term value of today’s crypto infrastructure?

These concerns triggered a noticeable rotation away from these sectors and into safer havens. But markets rarely dwell on one narrative for long. Spring 2026 came, and the focus shifted abruptly from technological disruption to geopolitical risk. The US’ conflict with Iran became the dominant driver of market psychology, and when geopolitics takes center stage, the script changes quickly. Investors stop debating growth rates and start worrying about oil supply, inflation, and global stability.

Want to invest in winners with rock-solid fundamentals? Check out our Top 5 Quality Compounder Stocks and add them to your watchlist. These companies are poised for growth regardless of the political or macroeconomic climate.