Deutsche Bank analyst Amit Mehrotra upgraded Saia to Buy from Hold.

Reports Q1 revenue $754.8M, consensus $770.76M. LTL shipments per workday increased 15.7%; LTL tonnage per workday increased 6.2%. Saia President and CEO, Fritz Holzgrefe, commented on the quarter stating, "As is typical in the first quarter of the year, winter weather impacted operations in the first months of the quarter. March trends improved a bit from February, but we did not experience the expected seasonal step-up. Shipment growth of 15.7% for the full quarter included March shipments per workday increasing by 16.8% from the prior year. Despite volume being below our expectations late in the quarter, we continued to focus on our customer service metrics which saw continued improvement, reflecting our ongoing commitment to provide an excellent service product for customers. So far in 2024, we have opened four terminals in new markets and relocated four additional terminals to new sites in existing markets. We believe this year will mark an unprecedented year of investment in our company, with a total of 15-20 new terminal openings planned for the year. To support our growth, we have already taken delivery of over 2,000 trailers, 400 tractors and 400 forklifts this year, as part of our plan to spend more than $400 million on fleet growth and modernization. All of these investments support our strategy of continuing to enhance our already strong customer service experience, and in doing so we hope to stay on a path of improved financial performance."