The end of an earnings season can be a great time to discover new stocks and assess how companies are handling the current business environment. Let’s take a look at how Saia (NASDAQ: SAIA) and the rest of the ground transportation stocks fared in Q4.

The growth of e-commerce and global trade continues to drive demand for shipping services, especially last-mile delivery, presenting opportunities for ground transportation companies. The industry continues to invest in data, analytics, and autonomous fleets to optimize efficiency and find the most cost-effective routes. Despite the essential services this industry provides, ground transportation companies are still at the whim of economic cycles. Consumer spending, for example, can greatly impact the demand for these companies’ offerings while fuel costs can influence profit margins.

The 15 ground transportation stocks we track reported a softer Q4. As a group, revenues missed analysts’ consensus estimates by 0.8%.

Thankfully, share prices of the companies have been resilient as they are up 7.3% on average since the latest earnings results.

Saia (NASDAQ: SAIA)

Pivoting its business model after realizing there was more success in delivering produce than selling it, Saia (NASDAQ: SAIA) is a provider of freight transportation solutions.

Saia reported revenues of $790 million, flat year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 1.7%. Despite the top-line beat, it was still a softer quarter for the company with a significant miss of analysts’ adjusted operating income estimates.

Saia President and CEO, Fritz Holzgrefe, commented on the quarter stating, “Results from our core business operations were in line with our expectations for the quarter. However, the quarter was impacted by unexpected adverse developments late in the quarter related to accidents that occurred in prior years, driving approximately $4.7 million in elevated self-insurance related costs. Excluding these costs, the performance in the quarter reflected our team’s strong commitment to customer service and disciplined execution despite a dynamic operating environment. Our team’s commitment to the customer was evidenced by our claims ratio of 0.47%, which was a record for any quarter in our company’s history.”

The stock is down 13.5% since reporting and currently trades at $354.42.

Read our full report on Saia here, it’s free.

Best Q4: XPO (NYSE: XPO)

Owning a mobile game simulating freight operations for the Tour de France, XPO (NYSE: XPO) is a transportation company specializing in expedited shipping services.

XPO reported revenues of $2.01 billion, up 4.7% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 2.9%. The business had an exceptional quarter with an impressive beat of analysts’ adjusted operating income and revenue estimates.

XPO scored the biggest analyst estimates beat among its peers. The market seems happy with the results as the stock is up 11.7% since reporting. It currently trades at $200.56.

Is now the time to buy XPO? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.

Weakest Q4: Werner (NASDAQ: WERN)

Conducting business in over a 100 countries, Werner (NASDAQ: WERN) offers full-truckload, less-than-truckload, and intermodal delivery services.

Werner reported revenues of $737.6 million, down 2.3% year on year, falling short of analysts’ expectations by 2.8%. It was a disappointing quarter as it posted a significant miss of analysts’ revenue and adjusted operating income estimates.

As expected, the stock is down 20.5% since the results and currently trades at $30.11.

Read our full analysis of Werner’s results here.

Ryder (NYSE: R)

As one of the first companies to introduce the idea of leasing trucks, Ryder (NYSE: R) provides rental vehicles to businesses and delivers packages directly to homes or businesses.

Ryder reported revenues of $3.18 billion, flat year on year. This result lagged analysts' expectations by 0.7%. It was a slower quarter as it also recorded full-year EPS guidance missing analysts’ expectations significantly and EPS guidance for next quarter missing analysts’ expectations.

The stock is down 2.9% since reporting and currently trades at $206.14.

Read our full, actionable report on Ryder here, it’s free.

Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ: ODFL)

With its name deriving from the Commonwealth of Virginia’s nickname, Old Dominion (NASDAQ: ODFL) delivers less-than-truckload (LTL) and full-container load freight.

Old Dominion Freight Line reported revenues of $1.31 billion, down 5.7% year on year. This print met analysts’ expectations. It was a strong quarter as it also logged a decent beat of analysts’ adjusted operating income estimates.

The stock is up 4.4% since reporting and currently trades at $198.08.

Read our full, actionable report on Old Dominion Freight Line here, it’s free.

Market Update

Late in 2025 into early 2026, there was hand wringing around artificial intelligence. For software companies, the fear was that AI would erode pricing power and compress margins as new tools made it easier to replicate what once required expensive enterprise platforms. Crypto investors had their own version of the same anxiety: if AI agents could trade, allocate capital, and manage wallets autonomously, what exactly was the long-term value of today’s crypto infrastructure?

These concerns triggered a noticeable rotation away from these sectors and into safer havens. But markets rarely dwell on one narrative for long. Spring 2026 came, and the focus shifted abruptly from technological disruption to geopolitical risk. The US’ conflict with Iran became the dominant driver of market psychology, and when geopolitics takes center stage, the script changes quickly. Investors stop debating growth rates and start worrying about oil supply, inflation, and global stability.

Want to invest in winners with rock-solid fundamentals? Check out our Hidden Gem Stocks and add them to your watchlist. These companies are poised for growth regardless of the political or macroeconomic climate.