J.B. Hunt Transport Services, I (JBHT) Stock Price & How to Invest
Short answer
J.B. Hunt Transport Services (JBHT) is one of North America's largest surface transportation and logistics companies, best known for pioneering domestic intermodal freight. Investors typically look at it as a cyclical, freight-economy bellwether rather than a fast grower, so timing and the trucking cycle matter more than most industrials.
JBHT stock price
As of 2026-07-08, J.B. Hunt Transport Services, I (JBHT) last closed at $276.45, up 81.1% over the past year. Over the past 52 weeks it has traded between $130.65 and $290.07.
Prices are daily closing prices from Yahoo Finance and may be delayed. For the live quote, check your broker or J.B. Hunt Transport Services, I's investor relations page. Walnut is informational, not investment advice.
What does J.B. Hunt Transport Services, I (JBHT) do?
J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. is a transportation and logistics company headquartered in Lowell, Arkansas. It operates across five reporting segments: Intermodal (JBI), which moves containers on Class I railroads and is the largest revenue contributor at roughly 48% of sales; Dedicated Contract Services (DCS), which runs fleets on behalf of specific customers at around 27%; Integrated Capacity Solutions (ICS), an asset-light freight brokerage at about 12%; Final Mile Services (FMS), heavy-goods home delivery near 7%; and Truckload (JBT), for-hire trucking at roughly 6%. The company's long-running partnership with BNSF Railway underpins its intermodal network, which delivered record first-quarter volumes in early 2026.
The investment picture is defined by freight cyclicality. Revenue and margins expand when shipping demand and pricing are strong and compress during freight recessions, so JBHT tends to trade as a barometer of the goods economy. Full-year 2025 revenue was roughly $12.0 billion, down slightly from 2024, reflecting a soft freight backdrop, before demand and pricing improved into early 2026. Bulls point to intermodal's structural cost and emissions advantage over long-haul trucking plus sticky Dedicated contracts, while bears focus on capital intensity, rail-service dependence, and exposure to the freight cycle.
What's driving J.B. Hunt Transport Services, I (JBHT)?
1. Intermodal scale and the BNSF partnership
Intermodal is JBHT's largest and most defensible business, moving freight off the highway and onto rail at lower cost per mile. In the first quarter of 2026 the segment posted about $1.50 billion in revenue (up roughly 2%) with operating income up around 21% to about $114.5 million, and management highlighted record first-quarter volumes. The BNSF relationship gives the company a long runway to convert highway loads to intermodal as service improves.
2. Dedicated Contract Services as a stabilizer
Dedicated Contract Services runs customer-specific fleets under multi-year contracts, which smooths out some of the freight cycle's volatility. In early 2026 the segment generated roughly $841 million in revenue with about $87.4 million of operating income, productivity per truck up around 2%, and customer retention near 96%. Its recurring, contracted nature makes it a steadier earnings anchor than the spot-exposed segments.
3. Operating leverage and cost discipline
Because JBHT carries heavy fixed costs in equipment and containers, incremental volume and better pricing can lift margins meaningfully as freight demand recovers. First-quarter 2026 operating income improved to about $207 million from roughly $179 million a year earlier, helped by higher volumes, firmer pricing, and cost management across Intermodal, Dedicated, ICS, and Truckload. That operating leverage is a core part of the recovery story.
4. Asset-light brokerage and final-mile optionality
Integrated Capacity Solutions and Final Mile Services give JBHT reach beyond its owned assets, letting it serve customers across brokerage and heavy-goods home delivery. These businesses are smaller and more volatile on margin, but they broaden the company's logistics footprint and can grow without the capital intensity of the intermodal and dedicated fleets.
What are the risks to J.B. Hunt Transport Services, I (JBHT)?
The dominant risk is the freight cycle: soft shipping demand and weak pricing can pressure volumes and margins for extended periods, as the modest 2025 revenue decline showed. Rail-service quality and velocity directly affect intermodal profitability, so congestion or partner performance issues can hurt results even when demand is healthy. The business is capital intensive, requiring ongoing spend on tractors, containers, and technology, and competition is intense across intermodal, dedicated, and brokerage. Fuel costs, labor availability, and broader macro conditions add further variability to any given quarter.
How is J.B. Hunt Transport Services, I (JBHT) valued? (approximate, JUNE 2026)
A simple financial snapshot. These are approximations and refresh quarterly; for current figures see J.B. Hunt Transport Services, I's investor relations page or your broker.
- Revenue (FY2025): ~$12.0B
- Revenue (Q1 2026): ~$3.06B
- Net earnings (Q1 2026): ~$141.6M
- Diluted EPS (Q1 2026): ~$1.49
- Market cap: ~$27B
- Dividend yield: ~0.6%
As of mid-2026 JBHT traded around $289 per share for a market capitalization near $27 billion, with a quarterly dividend of about $0.45 per share (roughly a 0.6% yield). Q1 2026 revenue of about $3.06 billion and diluted EPS of about $1.49 both rose year over year and topped consensus, signaling improving demand off a soft 2025 base.
Who competes with J.B. Hunt Transport Services, I (JBHT)?
Intermodal and truckload carriers
Schneider National, Knight-Swift, and Hub Group compete directly in domestic intermodal and for-hire truckload. Schneider and Knight-Swift both operate large truckload fleets and have expanded intermodal offerings, though JBHT's intermodal scale and BNSF partnership remain a structural edge.
Rail and asset-light logistics
Class I railroads such as BNSF and Union Pacific are both partners and, through other truckers, indirect competitors for intermodal share. Brokers and 3PLs like C.H. Robinson and XPO compete with J.B. Hunt's asset-light ICS brokerage business for freight capacity.
LTL and final-mile specialists
In less-than-truckload and heavy-goods delivery, carriers such as Old Dominion Freight Line compete on reliability and service, overlapping with the edges of J.B. Hunt's Final Mile and dedicated operations.
How to invest in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, I (JBHT)
There are three common ways to get JBHT 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 JBHT sits alongside other stocks that express the same thesis.
Walnut takes the basket route. Describe a thesis where JBHT 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 J.B. Hunt Transport Services, I (JBHT)
JBHT is a scaled, asset-heavy freight operator whose fortunes track the intermodal and trucking cycle, with the BNSF rail partnership and Dedicated Contract Services as its steadiest long-term anchors.
More on J.B. Hunt Transport Services, I (JBHT)
Whether JBHT 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 JBHT a buy?, and where the stock could go from here in the JBHT stock forecast.
For income investors, whether JBHT pays a dividend and how the payout looks is covered in does JBHT pay a dividend?
Build a basket around JBHT with Walnut
Use J.B. Hunt Transport Services, I 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
What does J.B. Hunt do?
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J.B. Hunt is a North American transportation and logistics company that moves freight by intermodal rail, dedicated fleets, truckload, brokerage, and final-mile delivery. Its largest business is domestic intermodal, hauling shipping containers on railroads such as BNSF before final delivery by truck.
What are J.B. Hunt's business segments?
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The company reports five segments: Intermodal (JBI), Dedicated Contract Services (DCS), Integrated Capacity Solutions (ICS) brokerage, Final Mile Services (FMS), and Truckload (JBT). Intermodal is the biggest at roughly 48% of sales, followed by Dedicated at about 27%.
How did J.B. Hunt perform in Q1 2026?
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First-quarter 2026 revenue was about $3.06 billion, up from roughly $2.92 billion a year earlier, with net earnings near $141.6 million and diluted EPS of about $1.49. Both revenue and earnings rose year over year and came in ahead of analyst expectations.
Does J.B. Hunt pay a dividend?
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Yes. J.B. Hunt pays a quarterly cash dividend, most recently about $0.45 per share, which works out to a yield near 0.6% at mid-2026 prices. It is a modest income component relative to the stock's cyclical price swings.
Why is J.B. Hunt considered a cyclical stock?
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Its revenue and margins rise and fall with freight demand and shipping rates, which track the broader goods economy. During freight recessions, like the soft stretch reflected in 2025, volumes and pricing weaken, while recoveries can lift results quickly because of the company's high fixed costs.
How important is the BNSF partnership?
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It is central to the intermodal business. J.B. Hunt relies on BNSF Railway to move containers over long distances at lower cost than trucking, and management sees converting highway freight to this rail network as a major long-term growth opportunity.
Who are J.B. Hunt's main competitors?
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In intermodal and truckload it competes with Schneider National, Knight-Swift, and Hub Group. Its brokerage arm competes with C.H. Robinson and XPO, and in LTL and final-mile it overlaps with carriers such as Old Dominion Freight Line.
What are the biggest risks for J.B. Hunt investors?
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The main risks are the freight cycle, rail-service quality and congestion, capital intensity from fleet and container spending, and intense competition. Fuel prices, labor availability, and macro conditions can all swing quarterly results, so performance can be volatile.
Walnut is informational, not investment advice. Financial figures on this page are approximations; always verify current numbers with J.B. Hunt Transport Services, I's investor relations page or your broker before making investment decisions.