Rush Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:RUSHA) Q3 2023 Earnings Conference Call October 25, 2023 10:00 AM ET

Company Participants

Rusty Rush - Chairman, President & Chief Executive Officer

Steve Keller - Chief Financial Officer

Conference Call Participants

Andrew Obin - Bank of America

Justin Long - Stephens

Operator

Good day, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Rush Enterprises, Incorporated. Third Quarter 2023 Earnings Results Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded.

I would now like to hand the conference over to your speaker today, Rusty Rush, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. Please go ahead, sir.

Rusty Rush

Good morning, and welcome to our third quarter 2023 earnings release conference call. On the call are Mike McRoberts, Chief Operating Officer; Steve Keller, Chief Financial Officer; Jay Hazelwood, Vice President and Controller; and Michael Goldstone, Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary.

Now Steve will say a few words regarding forward-looking statements.

Steve Keller

Certain statements we will make today are considered forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Because these statements include risks and uncertainties, our actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, those discussed in our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022 and in our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Rusty Rush

As indicated in our news release, we achieved third quarter revenues of $2 billion and net income of $80.3 million or $0.96 per diluted share. We are proud to declare a cash dividend of $0.17 per common share. In the third quarter, we achieved strong financial results due to revenue growth from our expanded service technician workforce, our support of large national accounts and ongoing pent-up demand for new Class 8 and Class 4-7 trucks, following a limited new truck production in the past few years.

Though our largest customer segment, the over-the-road customers, are being negatively affected by high interest rates, low freight rates and other economic factors, ongoing focus on our strategic initiatives helped us partially offset these challenges and achieved strong financial results in the third quarter.

In the aftermarket, our parts, service and body shop revenues were $643.6 million, up 3.5% for our absorption rate was 132.8. Through our aftermarket revenue has slowed – growth has slowed compared to previous quarters. The diversity of our customer base, our technician workforce and focus on large national accounts fueled our strong aftermarket results this quarter.