Old Dominion Freight Line Inc

Old Dominion Freight Line is one of the largest less-than-truckload (LTL) trucking companies in North America. LTL carriers handle shipments too small to fill a whole trailer. One truck picks up freight from many customers, and the carrier sorts it at service centers onto trucks bound for similar destinations. At December 31, 2025, it operated 260 service centers across the continental US (240 of them owned) and owned 10,184 tractors.

It charges shippers to move their freight, using published price lists (called tariffs) and negotiated contracts. Many customers put large volumes out to bid for one- to two-year periods. More than 98% of revenue has historically come from LTL shipping. Smaller services include container drayage (short hauls of shipping containers), truckload brokerage and supply chain consulting. The company runs as a single, union-free organization and aims to win business with fast, reliable service at a fair price.

Demand tracks industrial production and the US economy. In each of fiscal 2023 through 2025, more than 95% of revenue came from services in the United States. No single customer dominates: the largest made up about 4% of fiscal 2025 revenue, the top 20 about 23%. Fiscal 2025 revenue was $5.5 billion, and the operating margin (operating profit as a share of revenue) was 24.8%.

• In Q2 FY2026 (ended Jun 30, 2026), revenue was $1.55B, up 10.4% from a year earlier, and net income was $350.6M (+30.5%).
• For fiscal 2025, revenue was $5.50B (-5.5% year over year; +6.5% a year from FY2020 to FY2025) with a 18.6% net margin.

• Over FY2021–FY2025: $3.96B in buybacks and $861.2M in dividends.
• At least 9 consecutive annual increases: every fiscal year in the SEC data (FY2016–FY2025) shows an increase; the true streak may be longer.
• Regular dividends per share grew +30.1% a year over 5 years (FY2020–FY2025).
• Dividends took 23% of earnings and 24.7% of free cash flow in the latest fiscal year.
• Shares outstanding changed -10.5% from Aug 3, 2021 to Jul 31, 2026.

Rank among 1514 US companies

Market value at each year end

Old Dominion Freight Line’s market value went from $7.07B at the end of 2016 to $36.54B on Nov 2, 2026, about 5.2 times as much; since the end of 2025 it is up 11%.

Form 4 filings from 2025-10-29 to 2026-10-29 (25 read): 0 open-market purchases and 11 sales ($23.8M).

Large shareholders (13G filings)

ETFs with the most weight in ODFL

1. Unionization would raise costs. Old Dominion operates as a single, union-free organization. The company warns that if its employees unionized, its operating costs would rise and its ability to compete with other carriers would be impaired.
2. Freight slumps squeeze a high-fixed-cost network. Demand follows industrial production and the US economy. Fewer, lighter shipments leave its costly network underused, including capacity built for expected growth. In fiscal 2025, revenue fell 5.5% but net income fell 13.7%.
3. Congdon family holds a large stake. The Congdon family, including Executive Chairman David S. Congdon, controls a large portion of the stock. Together with anti-takeover provisions in Virginia law and the company's bylaws, this can limit outside shareholders' influence.
4. Self-insured claims can hit profits. Old Dominion keeps a significant share of the risk from property damage, personal injury, cargo loss and workers' compensation claims through self-insured retentions (amounts it pays before insurance applies). More or costlier claims reduce profits.
5. Price competition while costs keep rising. Carriers compete hard on service and price, and many customers rebid freight every one to two years. Inflation lifts wages, equipment, fuel and insurance costs. If rates can't keep pace, profits shrink.
6. Higher pay for drivers and technicians. Competition for qualified drivers and maintenance technicians can push wages and benefits higher. That can squeeze profits, and a worker shortage could limit fleet growth and hurt customer relationships.

• Oct 28, 2026 Quarterly results released
• Oct 22, 2026 Other company announcement
• Sep 22, 2026 Executive or board change
• Sep 3, 2026 Investor presentation or announcement
• Jul 29, 2026 Quarterly results released
• Jul 23, 2026 Other company announcement
• Jun 3, 2026 Investor presentation or announcement
• May 21, 2026 Shareholder vote results; Other company announcement
• Apr 29, 2026 Quarterly results released
• Mar 3, 2026 Investor presentation or announcement

Old Dominion pays a small but fast-growing dividend. It has raised its dividend at least 9 years in a row, and the regular dividend rose from $0.30 a share in fiscal 2020 to $1.12 in fiscal 2025 (adjusted for stock splits), about 30% a year. In fiscal 2025, dividends used about 23% of earnings and 25% of free cash flow (cash left after capital spending). Still, the yield was only 0.66% as of October 28, 2026, so the stock produces little income. Buybacks return far more cash: about $3.96 billion over fiscal 2021–2025, versus $861 million in dividends. The company warns that dividends aren't assured and buybacks may vary.

The shares have dropped sharply in market downturns: 50.8% in the 2008 financial crisis (about 20 months to recover), 34.5% in the 2022 bear market (7.5 months) and 28.6% in the 2020 COVID crash (1.6 months). Like any single stock, ODFL carries more risk than a diversified fund.