JB Hunt Transport Services Inc (JBHT)

Pretax margin

		Dec 31, 2023	Sep 30, 2023	Jun 30, 2023	Mar 31, 2023	Dec 31, 2022	Sep 30, 2022	Jun 30, 2022	Mar 31, 2022	Dec 31, 2021	Sep 30, 2021	Jun 30, 2021	Mar 31, 2021	Dec 31, 2020	Sep 30, 2020	Jun 30, 2020	Mar 31, 2020	Dec 31, 2019	Sep 30, 2019	Jun 30, 2019	Mar 31, 2019
Earnings before tax but after interest (EBT) (ttm)	US$ in thousands	934,887	1,018,697	1,138,233	1,222,366	1,281,374	1,323,421	1,236,607	1,125,853	999,773	884,314	786,070	718,948	666,025	660,976	652,873	668,838	680,895	600,102	609,324	635,951
Revenue (ttm)	US$ in thousands	12,747,130	13,119,770	13,793,300	14,499,970	14,784,890	14,626,330	13,934,470	13,006,090	12,117,390	11,371,780	10,700,040	9,936,910	9,599,420	9,312,090	9,202,630	9,316,330	9,123,180	8,990,700	8,838,860	8,721,150
Pretax margin		7.33%	7.76%	8.25%	8.43%	8.67%	9.05%	8.87%	8.66%	8.25%	7.78%	7.35%	7.24%	6.94%	7.10%	7.09%	7.18%	7.46%	6.67%	6.89%	7.29%

December 31, 2023 calculation

Pretax margin = EBT (ttm) ÷ Revenue (ttm)
= $934,887K ÷ $12,747,130K
= 7.33%

The pretax margin of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has shown a slight decline over the past two quarters, dropping from 8.40% in Q1 2023 to 7.29% in Q4 2023. Similarly, there was a decrease in pretax margin from 8.65% in Q4 2022 to 8.22% in Q2 2023, before slightly rebounding to 7.73% in Q3 2023. This suggests a trend of decreasing profitability before a temporary improvement.

There appears to be some volatility in the pretax margin over the past few quarters, with fluctuations between 7.29% and 9.03%. Furthermore, the pretax margin has generally been above 8% throughout the periods analyzed, indicating a solid level of profitability for the company.

It may be beneficial for J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. to closely monitor its cost structure and operational efficiency to maintain and potentially improve its pretax margin in the future.