Large-cap stocks are known for their staying power and ability to weather market storms better than smaller competitors.
However, their sheer size makes it more challenging to maintain high growth rates as they’ve already captured significant portions of their markets.
Looking back on heavy transportation equipment stocks’ Q2 earnings, we examine this quarter’s best and worst performers, including Greenbrier (NYSE:GBX) and its peers.
The stocks featured in this article have all approached their 52-week highs.
When these price levels hit, it typically signals strong business execution, positive market sentiment, or significant industry tailwinds.
Quarterly earnings results are a good time to check in on a company’s progress, especially compared to its peers in the same sector. Today we are looking at Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) and the best and worst performers in the heavy transportation equipment industry.
Even if they go mostly unnoticed, industrial businesses are the backbone of our country. Their momentum is also rising as lower interest rates have incentivized higher capital spending.
As a result, the industry has posted a 9.1% gain over the past six months, beating the S&P 500 by 4.4 percentage points.
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 PACCAR (NASDAQ:PCAR) and the rest of the heavy transportation equipment stocks fared in Q2.
QuinStreet’s second quarter results were marked by strong revenue growth, but the market responded negatively due to concerns about future momentum. Management attributed the quarter’s performance to broad-based increases in client spending, especially in auto insurance and home services. CEO Doug Valenti pointed to auto insurance revenue rising 62% year over year, supported by both existing and new carrier clients. He acknowledged that while demand was robust, some carriers remained cautious due to “tariff uncertainties,” which moderated spending in the latter half of the quarter.
Digital infrastructure provider Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD) met Wall Street’s revenue expectations in Q2 CY2025, but sales fell by 13% year on year to $38.01 million. Its non-GAAP loss of $0.03 per share was 85.9% above analysts’ consensus estimates.
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 Oshkosh (NYSE:OSK) and the rest of the heavy transportation equipment stocks fared in Q2.
Applied Digital’s second quarter results were met with a positive market response, as management highlighted new long-term lease agreements and a refined operational focus. CEO Wes Cummins pointed to the transformative 15-year leases with CoreWeave for the Polaris Forge 1 campus as a pivotal driver, positioning the company as a leader in AI and high-performance computing infrastructure. The company also emphasized progress in optimizing data center build processes, reducing build times, and consolidating suppliers to streamline delivery. These strategic developments, rather than headline financial metrics, shaped investor sentiment this quarter.
Engine manufacturer Cummins (NYSE:CMI) reported Q2 CY2025 results topping the market’s revenue expectations, but sales fell by 1.7% year on year to $8.64 billion. Its non-GAAP profit of $6.43 per share was 23.5% above analysts’ consensus estimates.
Cummins delivered results in Q2 that led to a notably positive reaction from the market, driven by strong execution in its Power Systems and Distribution segments, which offset ongoing weakness in North America’s truck market. Management credited record profitability in these two segments to robust demand for power generation equipment, particularly for data centers, and operational efficiencies. CEO Jennifer Rumsey explained, “Record performance from these segments, along with strong operational execution across our entire company, led to EBITDA increasing 310 basis points year-over-year despite North America heavy- and medium-duty truck volumes declining 30% from a year ago.”
A company that generates cash isn’t automatically a winner.
Some businesses stockpile cash but fail to reinvest wisely, limiting their ability to expand.
Stocks slipped Tuesday as fresh economic data reignited stagflation fears on Wall Street, overshadowing a blowout quarter from Palantir Technologies Inc.
