What Wabash National (WNC) Said on Its Q3 Earnings Call

Key Points

• Accelerating dry van demand pushed Wabash to accelerate hiring, second-shift additions and production investments originally planned for 2027. Its dry van backlog approached 20,000 units by mid-October, while total backlog reached $1.3 billion.
• The investments and seasonal weakness are weighing on near-term results: Wabash posted a third-quarter adjusted loss of $0.63 per share and no longer expects positive EBITDA late in 2026. It forecast fourth-quarter revenue of $420 million to $450 million and an adjusted operating margin of negative 8% to negative 5%.
• Management expects profitability to improve sharply in 2027 as higher-margin backlog enters production, targeting an annualized EBITDA run rate of $150 million to $170 million by the second quarter. Truck bodies remain a headwind, with recovery expected to lag the dry van market by six to nine months.

Wabash National NYSE: WNC reported third-quarter revenue of more than $476 million and an adjusted loss of $0.63 per diluted share, while management said accelerating dry van orders prompted the company to bring forward capacity and workforce investments previously planned for 2027.

The company said it shipped 9,563 new trailers and 1,685 truck bodies during the quarter. Adjusted EBITDA was a loss of $10.4 million, or 2.2% of sales, while adjusted gross margin was 3.2% and adjusted operating margin was negative 5.7%.

GAAP earnings per share were negative $0.51, including the sale of Wabash's Goshen, Indiana, manufacturing facility. The company received approximately $17.8 million in gross proceeds from the sale and recognized a gain of roughly $7.5 million, Chief Financial Officer Pat Keslin said.

Dry Van Orders Drive Earlier Production Ramp

Management characterized 2026 as a transition year, with the company shifting from cost preservation during a difficult freight market toward preparations for higher dry van production in 2027.

Wabash said its dry van backlog exceeded 12,000 units for 2027 just before the end of the third quarter, rose to nearly 16,000 units by quarter-end, and approached 20,000 units by mid-October. Total backlog reached $1.3 billion by mid-October, according to management.

The company said it has brought forward actions that had been expected in the first half of 2027, including hiring, shift additions and production-readiness spending. Wabash increased its dry van hourly workforce by 15% during the third quarter and expects all second-shift production to be active by year-end.

Those actions will weigh on near-term financial results. Management said it no longer expects to post positive EBITDA late in 2026, as previously anticipated. Instead, it expects rapid sequential improvement through 2027 and said quarterly profitability should reach an annualized EBITDA run rate of $150 million to $170 million by the second quarter of 2027.

“We have elected to incur certain costs in 2026 that otherwise would have occurred in early 2027,” management said during prepared remarks, describing the spending as investments intended to improve the company’s ability to convert higher demand into profitability.

Pricing and Capacity Outlook

Wabash said its 2027 dry van backlog carries weighted-average material margins more than 600 basis points above the second quarter of 2026. The company had previously cited a more than 500-basis-point improvement.

Keslin said the company expects dry van material margin to improve by 200 to 300 basis points in the fourth quarter, with a more substantial increase expected in 2027 as recently booked business moves into production.

Management said historical order patterns support an expectation for Wabash dry van volume of 35,000 to 38,000 units in 2027, consistent with a roughly 25% market share target. Current backlog momentum could support dry van volume in the low-40,000-unit range, although the company said it is not modeling that level of demand.

During the question-and-answer session, management said it expects a baseline industry replacement market of approximately 135,000 to 140,000 dry van units in 2027. It also pointed to potential replacement demand deferred over the prior three years as a possible driver of higher industry volumes in 2028.

• Wabash said its annualized dry van capacity should reach roughly 42,000 to 45,000 units with the planned second-shift additions.
• The company said its South plant added about 10,000 units of scalable dry van capacity compared with prior cycles.
• Management said it could respond to higher demand without a third shift, though a full or partial third shift would create additional near-term cost and margin pressure.

Keslin said current pricing and the volume levels discussed by management could support mid-single-digit operating margins, while a further improvement in pricing relative to material costs would be needed to return to margins seen in earlier cycles.

Truck Bodies Remain a Headwind

Transportation Solutions generated $408 million of third-quarter revenue and posted a non-GAAP operating loss of $14.4 million. The segment remained gross-margin positive as improved trailer volumes provided better cost absorption, Wabash said.

Truck body volumes improved sequentially but remained historically low. Management said the truck body cycle entered its downturn later than dry vans and is expected to recover more slowly, potentially beginning six to nine months after the dry van recovery.

Parts & Services generated $69 million in revenue and $5.6 million in non-GAAP operating income. Segment revenue rose 9% sequentially and 14% from a year earlier. Wabash said profitability was affected by startup costs tied to new upfit sites, but it expects the segment to return to mid-teen EBIT margins as those costs subside. The company expects Parts & Services revenue growth of 5% to 10%.

Liquidity and Fourth-Quarter Outlook

As of Sept. 30, Wabash had $277 million in total liquidity, including cash and available borrowings, up 44% from the previous quarter. The company said its July convertible debt issuance and the Goshen facility sale contributed to the increase.

The convertible issuance enabled Wabash to pay down its asset-based loan, which had a zero balance at quarter-end. Operating cash flow was negative $37 million and free cash flow was negative $41 million, reflecting the beginning of the working-capital build required for the anticipated production ramp.

For the fourth quarter, Wabash forecast:

• Revenue of $420 million to $450 million.
• Adjusted operating margin of negative 8% to negative 5%.
• Adjusted earnings per share of negative $0.75 to negative $0.55.

Management attributed the outlook to seasonally lower revenue, the ongoing production ramp and readiness expenses pulled forward from 2027. Keslin said Wabash expects negative EBITDA in the fourth quarter but anticipates incremental margins exceeding 20% in the first quarter of 2027 as production volumes rise.

Wabash also cited trade actions as a potentially favorable factor for industry pricing. Management said antidumping and countervailing duties on Chinese van-type trailer imports, combined with Section 232 tariffs, result in an effective rate of about 290%. The company also discussed preliminary duties involving Canada and Mexico, with final Commerce decisions expected by mid-December and final International Trade Commission votes expected in early 2027.

About Wabash National (NYSE:WNC)

Wabash National Corporation is a transportation equipment and logistics solutions manufacturer headquartered in Lafayette, Indiana. The company designs and produces equipment used to move freight across North America, serving trucking, transportation, distribution, and logistics customers.

Its product portfolio includes dry and refrigerated van trailers, platform trailers, truck-mounted tanks, and other specialized transportation equipment. Wabash also provides related parts, services, and technologies intended to support trailer maintenance, fleet operations, and supply-chain efficiency.

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