Truist Securities lowered its price target on Landstar System (NASDAQ:LSTR) to $145.00 from $150.00 on Thursday, while keeping a Hold rating on the transportation and logistics firm.
The analyst action followed Landstar’s fourth-quarter 2025 results, which Truist said were weighed down by discrete insurance items. The brokerage noted that, despite those accounting or one-off insurance impacts, the company’s underlying operating fundamentals have not yet shown clear improvement.
Truist analyst Lucas Servera highlighted areas of mixed performance inside Landstar. Pricing trends appeared to stabilize, with January showing a 4% year-over-year gain, and heavy haul operations were identified as a relative bright spot for the business. Nevertheless, the company is still contending with weak volume levels overall, and its Ocean and Air segments continue to drag on consolidated results.
Looking ahead, Truist projects Landstar’s revenue for 2026 to be flat to modestly higher year over year. The firm also flagged continued insurance volatility as a factor that could influence near-term results. Because of those uncertainties, Truist said it will wait for "clearer evidence of sustained rate recovery and earnings normalization" before adopting a more positive stance on the stock.
Separately, Landstar reported fourth-quarter 2025 earnings and revenue that missed analysts’ expectations. The company posted earnings per share of $0.70, falling short of the forecasted $1.22 - a 42.62% miss relative to the consensus. Revenue for the quarter came in at $1.17 billion, narrowly below the anticipated $1.19 billion. Despite these shortfalls, Landstar’s shares experienced a modest uptick in aftermarket trading following the release of the results.
These developments underscore the near-term challenges Landstar faces as it seeks to normalize earnings following the quarter. The combination of one-off insurance impacts, soft volumes, and continued weakness in specific segments has prompted Truist to adopt a cautious posture until more consistent evidence of recovery emerges.
Sector implications - The results and analyst reaction have direct relevance to the transportation and logistics sector, and by extension to freight-dependent industries and segments tied to ocean and air cargo flows. Insurance cost volatility is an additional cross-cutting factor that can affect margins across the sector.
What to watch next - Investors and analysts are likely to monitor subsequent quarterly reports and any commentary on rate trends, volume recovery, and insurance expense normalization as indicators that could shift the outlook for Landstar.