Hidden in Plain Sight: 2 Earnings Winners Investors May Have Missed

Key Points

• Ryder System beat Q3 2026 EPS estimates by 18 cents and raised its full-year EPS guidance to a range of $14.85 to $15.05.
• RingCentral posted a five-cent EPS beat and nearly 6% revenue growth, driven by AI adoption that now generates 15% of annual recurring revenue.
• Analysts hold a Moderate Buy rating on Ryder with 6% upside potential, while RingCentral carries a Hold rating with 10% upside potential.

Each earnings season, investors watch closely for signs of how target companies are performing, but it's easy to miss firms that fly under the radar but still post strong results. This may be particularly true for industries in the early stages of recovery, as investor expectations may be low. In other situations, earnings may signal that a firm is leveraging its existing operations to expand into new, more profitable areas.

The companies below each represent one of these two approaches. In one case, a traditional truck leasing and rental firm is leaning into other aspects of its logistics business as the industry begins a tentative recovery. In the other, a cloud communications platform continues its pivot toward AI-based products, with strong markers of success.

Ryder System Is Navigating the Shipping Landscape Adeptly

Transportation and logistics company Ryder System Inc. NYSE: R may have surprised with its better-than-expected Q3 2026 results, given the pressures facing companies affected by fuel prices. Nonetheless, the company was able to beat earnings per share (EPS) estimates by 18 cents. Revenue also grew 8.3% year over year (YOY) to $3.43 billion, exceeding the approximately $3.38 billion analyst consensus estimate.

Perhaps most promising for investors is Ryder's decision to raise its full-year 2026 comparable EPS outlook by 45 cents on the low end and 25 on the high end to a range of $14.85-$15.05. Strengths in fleet management, including improving used-vehicle sales and rental conditions, will be critical to this performance.

Ryder will also likely continue to lean on its asset-light supply chain solutions business for low-cost growth opportunities. Moving away from traditional commercial truck leasing in favor of other types of transportation and logistics solutions has been a boon for the company and has allowed it to boost its cash generation capacity.

The firm also benefits from long-term contracts that help produce predictable operating cash flows; management projects about $4.5 billion in flexible deployment capacity over three years, either to help grow the business or to return to shareholders.

All of these are signals that Ryder is not just waiting for freight volumes to recover, but is actively pivoting its approach to focus on high-revenue-generating portions of its business.

The market responded positively to Ryder's Q3 report, sending shares up about 7% despite high oil prices. Investors may see signs of a cautious recovery in commercial trucking ahead, driven by tightening capacity and persistent need from shipping customers. However, it's unlikely that there will be a major boom given the external pressures; Ryder may stand out for its success if it can continue to differentiate the strongest portions of its business at a time of external volatility.

RingCentral's AI Pivot Seems to Be Continuing Successfully

RingCentral Inc. NYSE: RNG demonstrated in its latest earnings report that it may be successfully turning an established communications platform into an AI-enabled business with new opportunities for profit. The company's Q3 2026 earnings highlights included a five-cent EPS beat and nearly 6% YOY revenue growth, for a top-line surprise as well.

Critical to this success is AI adoption, which has been continuing apace with many thousands of customers, reflected in nearly 15% of annual recurring revenue now coming from customers utilizing at least one of RingCentral's paid AI services.

Customers are not only flocking to RingCentral's AI offerings, but they are also staying there once they've moved: net retention among customers using paid AI products exceeded 100%, while companywide monthly net retention topped 99% for the quarter. In response, RingCentral management boosted full-year revenue, EPS, and free cash flow guidance, further signs of an improving profitability profile and overall balance sheet.

The cloud communications space can benefit from easy AI integration, a model that caters to recurring subscription revenue, a tendency for businesses to move toward consolidation and cloud migration, and improving margins. However, there may not be unlimited space for growth in cloud communications. It will be up to RingCentral to demonstrate over time that its AI products can continue to generate meaningful incremental revenue, particularly as it faces growing competitive threats. One measure of this to keep an eye on is average revenue per customer—it will be vital for the firm to grow this figure without having to spend too much in order to do so.

Ryder enjoys a Moderate Buy rating overall from analysts, with roughly 5% upside potential, while RingCentral has a more cautious Hold rating but around 9% upside potential from recent trading levels.