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ArcBest

ARCB
40
Trucking · Industrials
Price
$140.34
+4.45 (+3.27%)
Market Cap
$3.14B
Exchange
NASDAQ
Winston Score
40
Winston is serious
Mixed quality — meaningful strengths and weaknesses.
Data as of Aug 23, 2026 · filings through Jun 30, 2026
How the score breaks down
Quality
Mixed
Growth
Weak
Cash Flow
Strong
Stability
Strong
Valuation
Good
Dividends
Weak

Share count falling — buybacks

14.3% over 4y

The company has reduced its share count over this period, returning value to shareholders through buybacks.

Diluted shares outstanding: 26.8M (2021) → 22.9M (2025)

Winston Score History

The full picture

ArcBest is a freight transportation and logistics company based in Fort Smith, Arkansas. Its main business is less-than-truckload (LTL) shipping, which means it moves smaller shipments from multiple customers together in one truck rather than dedicating a whole truck to one company. Its subsidiary ABF Freight is one of the larger LTL carriers in the United States, serving businesses across manufacturing, retail, and industrial sectors.

ArcBest earns money by charging shippers per unit of freight moved, and it also generates revenue through managed logistics services where it coordinates transportation on behalf of clients using outside carriers. The company operates primarily in the United States, with some cross-border service into Canada and Mexico. Its unionized ABF Freight workforce and established terminal network provide operational scale, but also create higher labor costs compared to some non-union competitors. The key risk is that LTL freight volumes are closely tied to the broader economy, and a slowdown in industrial or consumer activity can quickly compress margins, as the thin operating margin currently reflects.

Growth Profile

When traditional metrics don't capture the full picture, these are the signals growth stock investors use instead.

Revenue Growth

+15.9% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Steady revenue growth

EPS Growth

-155.4% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Earnings declining

R&D Spend

$0/ year

0.0% of revenue

Below sector average (4%)

Research and development spending

Insider Activity

2.0%ownership

Flat

Insider ownership roughly steady over the past year

Cash Position

Cash flow positive

$168M cash & investments

Quarterly Free Cash Flow

↑ Burn rate improving

Company generates more cash than it spends — no dilution risk from fundraising

Growth + cash flow

ArcBest is a rare growth stock that's already generating positive cash flow while growing at 16%. The Winston Score doesn't fully credit this transition from "burner" to "earner."

The Winston Score above measures business quality today. Growth stocks often score lower because they invest in the future rather than maximising current profits. These metrics show what matters most for evaluating that future.

Score breakdown

Every number that matters to educated investors.

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Quality

Profit per sale
Gross Margin
184.0%
Premium pricing power — 184.0% gross margin
Profit after running costs
Operating Margin
-1.7%
Losing money on operations — -1.7%
Return on the money invested
ROCE
1.8%
Weak — 1.8% return on capital

ROIC between 0% and 5%. They earn a few cents back per dollar invested in the business.

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Growth

Sales growth
Sales YoY
+3.7%
Slow sales growth (+3.7% YoY)
Profit growth
EPS YoY
-89.6%
Earnings shrinking (-89.6% YoY)

Earnings per share down more than 10%. Either a bad year, or a real decline.

How steady the profit is
EPS Consistency
2/8 quarters
Earnings rarely grow — volatile business

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Cash Flow

Profit that turns into cash
Cash Conversion
1725%
Turns 1725% of profit into real cash
Spare cash per sale
FCF Margin
4.6%
Thin free cash flow (4.6%)

FCF margin between 0% and 10%. Some cash from sales, but not a lot.

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Stability

What it owes vs what it owns
Debt / Equity
0.27
Conservative — low debt load (0.27)
Covers its interest
Interest Cover
4.39x
Adequate interest coverage (4.4x)

Interest coverage between 3 and 8. Profits cover interest several times over.

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Valuation

Price vs profit
P/E Ratio (TTM)
200.5x
Expensive — P/E 200.5

P/E over 35. The market is pricing in heavy, sustained growth.

Cheaper or dearer next year
P/E vs Forward
+178.9
GROWING
Earnings expected to grow meaningfully — cheaper on forward P/E (200.5 → 21.5)

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Dividends

Dividend
Dividend Yield
0.34%
Small dividend — 0.34% yield

Modest yield. The bulk of any return needs to come from price appreciation.

Dividend record
Dividend Growth
+0.0%
Dividend flat

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