Deutsche Bank analyst Amit Mehrotra initiated a "Catalyst Call" sell on J.B. Hunt (JBHT) and buys on both XPO Logistics (XPO) and Knight-Swift Transportation (KNX). The analyst made the short-term investment ideas into the Q2 earnings season. He thinks J.B. Hunt's results could serve as a catalyst for "broad-based" negative earnings revision for the company. For XPO, Mehrotra believes the company's Q2 results will mark a positive inflection point in sentiment. For Knight-Swift, the analyst thinks consensus estimates for Q4 are too low.

Reports Q1 revenue $1.82B, consensus $1.82B. CEO Adam Miller commented, "The full truckload market remains extremely challenging as carriers navigate the oversupply of capacity, reduced load volumes, and continued rate pressure through the early part of the bid season. This has negatively impacted the results of our Truckload, Logistics, and Intermodal segments...Although our consolidated results are not where we would like them to be, we are confident that we have the resources and are capable of the disciplined approach necessary to navigate the current market...We are continuing our strategy of building a nationwide LTL network through both organic and inorganic growth paths. Our logistics segment will continue to complement our truckload brands, leverage our power-only capabilities, preserve profitability, and afford outsized growth opportunity when the truckload market strengthens. We are building a strong foundation of diverse customers in our intermodal business with strategic rail partners, which we believe will position us for sustained profitability in the future."