ArcBest Corporation (ARCB) Stock Price & How to Invest
Last updated July 2026
Short answer
You can invest in ArcBest (ARCB) by buying shares or fractional shares at any major broker, through a transportation or industrials ETF that holds it, or as one holding in a thematic freight basket. ArcBest is a diversified freight and logistics company built around ABF Freight, one of North America's largest less-than-truckload (LTL) carriers, plus a growing asset-light brokerage and managed-transportation arm. The single most important thing to understand is that this is a deeply cyclical freight stock whose earnings swing with the industrial economy and the freight cycle, so it can look expensive on trailing earnings during a downturn and cheap when volumes recover.
ARCB stock price
As of 2026-07-16, ArcBest Corporation (ARCB) last closed at $157.61, up 97.7% over the past year. Over the past 52 weeks it has traded between $59.62 and $173.22.
Prices are daily closing prices from Yahoo Finance and may be delayed. For the live quote, check your broker or ArcBest Corporation's investor relations page. Walnut is informational, not investment advice.
What does ArcBest Corporation (ARCB) do?
ArcBest Corporation is an integrated freight logistics company that operates through two reporting segments. The Asset-Based segment is anchored by ABF Freight, a national, inter-regional and regional less-than-truckload carrier with roughly 240 service centers across all 50 states, Canada and Puerto Rico, and it generated about $655 million of revenue in Q1 2026, close to two-thirds of company total. The Asset-Light segment spans truckload brokerage, ground expedite, intermodal, managed transportation, warehousing and distribution, and international air and ocean freight, and produced about $378 million of Q1 2026 revenue. Because LTL is capital-intensive and priced on shipment weight, density and service, ArcBest's profitability hinges on pricing discipline, tonnage, and operating-ratio productivity as much as on raw volume.
The investment picture in mid-2026 is a company grinding through a prolonged freight downturn while trying to widen margins. Q1 2026 revenue rose about 3% year over year to roughly $999 million, but the company posted a small GAAP net loss of about $1 million (a $0.05 per-share loss) as Asset-Based operating income fell despite higher tonnage, with non-GAAP EPS of about $0.32. Management guided to sequential operating-ratio improvement in Asset-Based and a swing to positive Asset-Light operating income in Q2, later raising Q2 guidance as asset-light daily revenue accelerated. ArcBest and ABF also implemented a general LTL rate increase averaging about 5.9% effective June 22, 2026. The stock has been volatile, trading around the low $150s in mid-July 2026 within a 52-week range of roughly $59 to $177, reflecting how sharply sentiment on the freight cycle has swung.
What's driving ArcBest Corporation (ARCB)?
1. LTL pricing and operating-ratio productivity
ArcBest's biggest profit lever is the Asset-Based operating ratio, the share of revenue eaten by operating costs, which it aims to improve through pricing, mix and productivity rather than chasing low-value tonnage. The June 2026 general rate increase of about 5.9% and disciplined yield management are central to widening margins. In LTL, small operating-ratio gains translate into outsized earnings changes because of high fixed costs.
2. Asset-Light growth and margin turn
The Asset-Light segment (truckload brokerage, managed transportation, expedite and global forwarding) is the higher-growth, capital-lighter part of the story, with daily revenue accelerating sharply in Q2 2026 and management guiding the segment from losses toward positive non-GAAP operating income. Scaling this book diversifies ArcBest away from pure LTL cyclicality. The open question is whether brokerage margins hold as the segment grows.
3. Freight-cycle recovery leverage
ArcBest is heavily geared to the industrial and freight cycle, so a recovery in shipment demand and truckload rates would lift both segments at once. Q1 2026 tonnage per day was up about 6.5% year over year, a sign of volume momentum even before pricing fully recovers. As a cyclical operator, it tends to see profits rise faster than revenue when the cycle turns up.
4. Capital allocation and shareholder returns
ArcBest pays a modest quarterly dividend (about $0.12 per share) and has historically repurchased shares, while investing in service centers, technology and equipment. Balancing reinvestment against buybacks and the dividend through a down cycle is a key discipline. How management deploys cash during the trough shapes per-share value when volumes recover.
What are the risks to ArcBest Corporation (ARCB)?
The dominant risk is freight-cycle cyclicality: ArcBest's revenue and margins track the industrial economy, so a prolonged soft market can keep the Asset-Based operating ratio elevated and earnings depressed, as the Q1 2026 GAAP loss showed. LTL is capital-intensive and competitive, and aggressive pricing or capacity from larger rivals like Old Dominion and Saia can pressure ArcBest's yields. The asset-light brokerage business carries thin, volatile margins and is exposed to spot-rate swings. Labor is another factor, since ABF Freight's workforce is largely unionized under the Teamsters, making contract terms and cost inflation important. Finally, the stock's elevated trailing P/E reflects trough earnings, so a valuation that looks steep today depends on a freight recovery that may take time to arrive.
How is ArcBest Corporation (ARCB) valued? (approximate, July 2026)
A simple financial snapshot. These are approximations and refresh quarterly; for current figures see ArcBest Corporation's investor relations page or your broker.
- Revenue (TTM): ~$4.0 billion (Q1 2026 was ~$999 million, up ~3% year over year)
- Net income (Q1 2026): ~$1 million GAAP net loss (a ~$0.05 per-share loss); non-GAAP EPS ~$0.32
- Adjusted EBITDA (Q1 2026): ~$49 million, roughly flat year over year
- Market cap: ~$3.4 billion (stock ~$152 per share)
- P/E ratio (trailing): ~60x (elevated because earnings are cyclically depressed)
- Dividend: ~$0.12 per quarter, yield ~0.3%
Figures are approximate and tied to the asOf date; verify live numbers before acting. For a cyclical freight carrier, a high trailing P/E can be misleading because it reflects trough earnings that may not represent normalized profitability, so where the stock sits in the freight cycle matters more than the current multiple. The 52-week range of roughly $59 to $177 underscores how much sentiment on that cycle has swung.
Who competes with ArcBest Corporation (ARCB)?
Less-than-truckload (LTL) carriers
Old Dominion Freight Line (ODFL), Saia (SAIA), XPO, Knight-Swift's LTL operations, and TFI International (TFII) are ArcBest's core LTL rivals, competing on service, network density and price. Old Dominion in particular is the industry's margin and operating-ratio benchmark, so ArcBest is measured against it on productivity and yield.
Asset-light brokers and logistics providers
In its Asset-Light segment, ArcBest competes with truckload brokers and 3PLs such as C.H. Robinson (CHRW), RXO, Landstar (LSTR), and J.B. Hunt's brokerage arm. These players fight for shipper freight on price and technology, and their thin, spot-rate-sensitive margins set the competitive backdrop for ArcBest's brokerage growth.
Broad truckload and intermodal carriers
Larger diversified carriers like J.B. Hunt (JBHT), Werner (WERN) and Schneider (SNDR) overlap with ArcBest's expedite, intermodal and managed-transportation services. They represent an alternative, differently mixed way to invest in the freight-cycle theme rather than direct LTL competitors.
How to invest in ArcBest Corporation (ARCB)
There are three common ways to get ARCB exposure. Buy shares (or fractional shares) directly at any major broker. Hold an ETF that includes it, which spreads the position across many companies. Or build it into a focused thematic basket, so ARCB sits alongside other stocks that express the same thesis.
Walnut takes the basket route. Describe a thesis where ARCB fits (for example “AI infrastructure” or “dividend-growth large-caps”) and the AI proposes 5 to 6 constituents with target weights. You review the plan and fund it through your own broker when you're ready.
The bottom line on ArcBest Corporation (ARCB)
ArcBest is a cyclical, LTL-anchored freight operator working through a soft freight market while it grows a higher-margin asset-light business, so its appeal rests on how much industrial-cycle volatility fits your portfolio and how you weigh a depressed-earnings, elevated-P/E entry point against a potential freight recovery.
More on ArcBest Corporation (ARCB)
Whether ARCB is worth buying today depends more on your time horizon and what you already hold than on any single call. We walk through valuation, what would have to go right, and the risks in is ARCB a buy?, and where the stock could go from here in the ARCB stock forecast.
For income investors, whether ARCB pays a dividend and how the payout looks is covered in does ARCB pay a dividend?
Build a basket around ARCB with Walnut
Use ArcBest Corporation as one constituent in a thematic basket Walnut's AI helps you assemble. Describe a thesis you believe in, the AI proposes the holdings and weights, and you approve before any broker order.
FAQ
Is ARCB a good stock to buy right now?
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That depends on your goals, time horizon, and risk tolerance, and this is not investment advice. The bull case is a diversified freight operator with rising tonnage, a fresh LTL rate increase, and an asset-light segment turning profitable as the cycle recovers. The bear case is that earnings are cyclically depressed, the trailing P/E is elevated, and larger LTL rivals like Old Dominion run better margins. Weigh both against your portfolio.
What does ArcBest actually do?
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ArcBest is a freight and logistics company with two segments. The Asset-Based segment is ABF Freight, a major less-than-truckload carrier moving palletized shipments across a network of about 240 service centers. The Asset-Light segment provides truckload brokerage, managed transportation, expedite, intermodal, warehousing and international forwarding, coordinating freight without owning all the underlying equipment.
Why is ArcBest's stock so volatile?
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ArcBest is a cyclical freight company, so its shipment volumes, pricing and profits rise and fall with the industrial economy and the freight cycle. Because LTL has high fixed costs, small changes in volume or pricing produce large swings in earnings, a dynamic called operating leverage. That is why the stock has traded in a wide 52-week range as sentiment on the freight recovery has shifted.
Does ArcBest pay a dividend?
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Yes, ArcBest pays a modest quarterly dividend, most recently about $0.12 per share, for a yield of roughly 0.3%. The payout is small relative to the stock's price swings, so income is not the primary reason most investors hold it. Always check the latest declared dividend and yield before assuming any payout.
What is the difference between ArcBest's Asset-Based and Asset-Light segments?
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The Asset-Based segment is ABF Freight's less-than-truckload operation, which owns trucks, trailers and service centers and earns money on shipment pricing and network productivity. The Asset-Light segment brokers and manages freight (truckload brokerage, managed transportation, expedite, forwarding) with less owned equipment, so it grows faster and uses less capital but tends to run thinner, more volatile margins.
How did ArcBest perform in its most recent quarter?
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In Q1 2026, ArcBest reported revenue of about $999 million, up roughly 3% year over year, with Asset-Based tonnage per day up about 6.5%. It posted a small GAAP net loss of about $1 million (a $0.05 per-share loss) as Asset-Based operating income fell, though non-GAAP EPS was about $0.32 and the asset-light segment improved toward breakeven. Management guided to sequential margin improvement in Q2.
How can I get exposure to ArcBest through an ETF?
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ARCB appears in various transportation, industrials and small- or mid-cap ETFs, where it sits among trucking and logistics names. ETF exposure spreads single-stock risk across many holdings but dilutes how much any ArcBest move affects you. Always check a fund's holdings and weighting before assuming meaningful exposure to ArcBest specifically.
What are the main risks of investing in ARCB?
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The central risk is freight-cycle cyclicality: earnings track the industrial economy, so a prolonged soft market can keep margins and profits depressed, as the Q1 2026 GAAP loss showed. LTL is capital-intensive and competitive, brokerage margins are thin and spot-rate-sensitive, and ABF Freight's largely unionized workforce makes labor costs a factor. The elevated trailing P/E also reflects trough earnings, so it leans on a freight recovery that may take time.
Walnut is informational, not investment advice. Financial figures on this page are approximations; always verify current numbers with ArcBest Corporation's investor relations page or your broker before making investment decisions.