XPO Earnings Build Confidence in U.S. Industrial Recovery -- Barrons.com

By Al Root

Another strong quarter from logistics provider XPO boosted shares in early trading. It also built confidence in the U.S. industrial recovery.

Thursday morning, XPO reported second-quarter earnings per share of $1.70 and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, or Ebitda, of $434 million from sales of $2.36 billion.

Wall Street was looking for $1.48, $406 million, and $2.28 billion, respectively.

A year ago, XPO reported EPS of $1.05 and Ebitda of $340 million from sales of $2.08 billion.

XPO stock was up 2.8% in premarket trading at $204.99, while SP 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 0.6% and 0.4%, respectively.

XPO is a less-than-truckload, or LTL, shipper. LTL business is mainly for industrial companies that need less than a full truck to move goods over relatively short distances. Its results are a good proxy for the health of U.S. manufacturing.

Strong cost controls and operational improvements are responsible for the gains. So is improvement in the U.S. industrial economy. Benchmark manufacturing indexes are growing again in 2026 after a painful three-year period of declines.

Things are continuing to improve. XPO's June tonnage was up 4% year over year, and the company said it is seeing a broader-based acceleration in manufacturing, beyond AI-related spending, which is translating into higher volumes.

Improving results have shown up in XPO stock. Coming into Thursday trading, XPO stock was up 47% this year and 51% over the past 12 months.

Write to Al Root at allen.root@dowjones.com

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July 30, 2026 08:14 ET (12:14 GMT)