Landstar EPS Estimates Northbound: How to Play the Stock Now?

Landstar System, Inc. (LSTR) is currently mired in multiple tailwinds, which, we believe, have made it an impressive investment option. The positive sentiment surrounding Landstar stock is evident from the fact that the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the third quarter of 2026 and the fourth quarter of 2026 earnings has been revised upward in the past 60 days. The consensus mark for 2026 and 2027 earnings has also been projected upward in the past 60 days.

The favorable estimate revisions indicate brokers’ lack of confidence in the stock.

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Given this backdrop, the question now arises whether it is worth buying, holding, or selling the Landstar stock at current prices. Let us delve deeper to find out.

Factors Working in Favor of Landstar Stock

Landstar's efforts to develop its heavy haul services in addition to the cross-border transportation with Mexico are commendable. Cross-border transportation offers significant growth opportunities to LSTR as companies are increasingly sourcing products from Mexico because it moves production lines close to the United States, not only saving production costs but also making the supply chain more secure. Development of the company's heavy haul services should also boost profitability. By bolstering its heavy haul capabilities, LSTR will be able to deliver goods between different sectors (mining, construction and manufacturing) that need transportation of large machinery and equipment.

Landstar’s strong balance sheet increases financial flexibility. The company ended first-quarter 2026 with cash and cash equivalents (and short-term investments) of $353.25 million, much higher than the current debt level of $26.1 million. This implies that the company has sufficient cash to meet its current debt obligations. Meanwhile, long-term debt has decreased to $43.14 million at first-quarter 2026-end from $48.5 million at fourth-quarter 2025-end.

A solid balance sheet allows the company to continue paying dividends and buying back shares, reflecting its pro-shareholder stance. Overall, Landstar returned nearly $120 million to shareholders through dividends ($95.3 million) and share repurchases ($24.1 million) during the first half of 2026.

Landstar has been consistently making efforts to reward its shareholders through dividends and share buybacks. As a reflection of its shareholder-friendly stance, in 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025, LSTR paid dividends of $115.6 million, $117.1 million, $120.5 million and $124.7 million, respectively. Dividend-paying stocks like LSTR are generally safe bets for creating wealth, as these payouts act as a hedge against economic uncertainty, which characterizes current times.

Landstar is also active on the buyback front. LSTR repurchased shares worth $285.9 million in 2022, $53.9 million in 2023, $81.4 million in 2024 and $179.8 million in 2025. During the first quarter of 2026, Landstar purchased 150,923 shares for $22.6 million. Landstar is currently authorized to purchase up to an additional 1,115,195 shares under its longstanding share purchase program. Buybacks not only reduce the total outstanding share count, thereby increasing earnings per share, but also signal management's belief in the intrinsic value of the stock.

LSTR Stock’s Price Performance

Shares of Landstar have gained 36% over the past year, underperforming the transportation-truck industry’s 42.6% surge. On the contrary, LSTR’s performance compares favorably with that of other industry players, Werner Enterprises, Inc. (WERN) and Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. (ODFL) within the same time frame.

LSTR Stock’s One-Year Price Comparison

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Attractive Valuation Picture for Landstar Stock

Landstar looks cheap from a valuation standpoint. Considering the forward 12-month price-to-sales ratio (P/S-F12M), LSTR is trading at a discount compared to the industry.

The stock has a forward 12-month P/S-F12M of 1.03X compared with 2.32X for the industry over the past five years. The company’s forward 12-month P/S-F12M ratio is also below the median level of 1.05X over the past five years. These factors indicate that the stock’s valuation is attractive.

LSTR P/S Ratio (Forward 12 Months) Vs. Industry

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Time to Buy LSTR Stock

Apart from being attractively valued, Landstar's efforts to develop its heavy haul services are commendable and should boost profitability. Cross-border transportation with Mexico also offers significant growth opportunities. A solid balance sheet allows the company to continue paying dividends and buying back shares, reflecting its pro-shareholder stance.

We believe that the positives surrounding the stock (as highlighted through the write-up) outweigh the concerns regarding reduced demand for freight services and increased truck capacity, low shipment volumes and rates due to demand weakness and driver shortage issues. We, therefore, suggest investors should add LSTR stock to their portfolios for healthy returns. The company’s Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) further supports our thesis. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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