COVENANT LOGISTICS GROUP, INC. (CVLG)

ITEM 2.     MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

The condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Covenant Logistics Group, Inc., a Nevada holding company, and its wholly owned subsidiaries. References in this report to "we," "us," "our," the "Company," and similar expressions refer to Covenant Logistics Group, Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiaries. All significant intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

This report contains certain statements that may be considered forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"), and Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act") and such statements are subject to the safe harbor created by those sections and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. All statements, other than statements of historical or current fact, are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements, including without limitation: any projections of earnings, revenues, or other financial items; any statement of plans, strategies, and objectives of management for future operations; any statements concerning proposed new services or developments; any statements regarding future economic conditions or performance; and any statements of belief and any statements of assumptions underlying any of the foregoing. In this Form 10-Q, statements relating to future impact of accounting standards, future third-party transportation provider expenses, future tax rates, expenses, and deductions, expected freight demand, capacity, and volumes and trucking industry conditions, potential defaults and results of a default and testing of our fixed charge covenant under the Credit Facility or other debt agreements, expected sources, as well as adequacy, of working capital and liquidity (including our mix of debt, finance leases, and operating leases as means of financing revenue equipment), future inflation, future stock repurchases and dividends, if any, expected capital expenditures, allocations, and requirements, future customer relationships, future interest expense, future driver market conditions, including driver satisfaction, future use of independent contractors, expected cash flows, future investments in and growth of our reportable segments and services, future margins of our reportable segments, future rates and prices, future depreciation and amortization, future salaries, wages, and related expenses, including driver compensation, expected net fuel costs, strategies for managing fuel costs, the effectiveness and impact of, and cash flows relating to, our fuel surcharge programs, future fluctuations in operations and maintenance expenses, expected effects and mix of our solo and team operations, future fleet size, management, utilization, upgrades, and age, availability and usage of tractors and trailers, the market value of used equipment, the anticipated impact of our investment in TEL, the future impact of our business model, service standards, strategic plan and other strategic initiatives, changes to and deviations from our business model, strategic plan, and other strategic initiatives, claims and litigation, anticipated levels of and fluctuations relating to insurance and claims expenses, including the erosion of available limits in our aggregate insurance policies, insurance and claims accruals, and the impact of a recent Supreme Court decision discussed in Item 1A of Part II in this Form 10-Q, contingent consideration related to our prior acquisitions, and the future impact of our prior acquisitions, among others, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of terms or phrases such as "believe," "may," "could," "would," "will," "expects," "estimates," "projects," "appears," "mission," "anticipates," "plans," " outlook," "focus," "seek," "potential," "continue," "goal," "target," "objective," "optimistic," "intends," "improve," "remain," "strategy," derivations thereof, and similar terms and phrases. Such statements are based on currently available operating, financial, and competitive information. Forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, some of which cannot be predicted or quantified, which could cause future events and actual results to differ materially from those set forth in, contemplated by, or underlying the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, those discussed in the sections entitled "Item 1A. Risk Factors," set forth in this Form 10-Q and our Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025. Readers should review and consider the factors discussed in "Item 1A. Risk Factors," set forth in this Form 10-Q and our Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025, along with various disclosures in our press releases, stockholder reports, and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

All such forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this Form 10-Q. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. We expressly disclaim any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in our expectations with regard thereto or any change in the events, conditions, or circumstances on which any such statement is based.

Executive Overview

Our second quarter earnings were $0.32 per diluted share, with constructive changes made on the revenue side of the business, but disappointing costs in the quarter. Our strategy remains to pursue durable margin improvement during the current freight market upcycle through committed contracts that phase in over the next several quarters and our goal is to have substantially all our asset-based business under long-term dedicated or other committed contracts by the end of this freight market upcycle.

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Additional items of note for the second quarter of 2026 include the following:

Outlook

We were pleased with the recent progress in our top-line results, despite incurring higher costs to serve our customers. Based on our growing pipeline of customer demand, we expect our fleet count to stabilize, our fleet percentage under dedicated and committed capacity contracts to grow, and our margins to expand gradually. Most of our Expedited and Dedicated fleets are under dedicated or similar committed capacity contracts, which will extend our renewal cycle compared with companies that operate largely in the uncommitted market. In the near term, approximately 40% of our Expedited fleet and 25% of our Dedicated fleet are operating under contracts that renew over the next 12 months, with many of these contracts being our least profitable. Additionally, we are intensely focused on reducing overhead and other controllable costs as a percentage of revenue. Despite our safety efforts, insurance and claims expense is expected to remain volatile due to high retention levels, the potential that we could be uninsured, underinsured, or experience claims that fall outside of our insurance coverage, the unpredictability of so-called nuclear verdicts in our industry, and the potential for higher costs and expansion of liability to Managed Freight operations after a recent Supreme Court decision, as discussed in Item 1A of Part II in this Form 10-Q. For the third quarter of 2026, we expect a modest sequential increase to earnings per share as anticipated operating margin improvement is partially offset by the absence of higher TEL equipment sales, lower income tax rate, and interest income that benefitted the second quarter.  In the longer term, we are confident in our ability to grow revenue and materially improve our Expedited and Dedicated reportable segments operating margin as we continue offering world-class service to our customers and proactively reallocate assets to operations that we believe will enhance margins and returns.

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Non-GAAP Reconciliation

In addition to operating ratio, we use "adjusted operating ratio" as a key measure of profitability. Adjusted operating ratio is not a substitute for operating ratio measured in accordance with GAAP. There are limitations to using non-GAAP financial measures. Adjusted operating ratio means operating expenses, net of fuel surcharge revenue, excluding amortization of intangibles, and significant unusual items, divided by total revenue, less fuel surcharge revenue. We believe the use of adjusted operating ratio allows us to more effectively compare periods, while excluding the potentially volatile effect of changes in fuel prices, amortization of intangibles, and significant unusual items. Our Board and management focus on our adjusted operating ratio as an indicator of our performance from period to period. We believe our presentation of adjusted operating ratio is useful because it provides investors and securities analysts the same information that we use internally to assess our core operating performance. Although we believe that adjusted operating ratio improves comparability in analyzing our period-to-period performance, it could limit comparability to other companies in our industry, if those companies define adjusted operating ratio differently. Because of these limitations, adjusted operating ratio should not be considered a measure of income generated by our business or discretionary cash available to us to invest in the growth of our business. Management compensates for these limitations by primarily relying on GAAP results and using non-GAAP financial measures on a supplemental basis.

Operating Ratio

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ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

This Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations should be read together with “Business” in Part I, Item 1 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, as well as the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. This discussion contains forward-looking statements as a result of many factors, including those set forth under Part I, Item 1A. “Risk Factors” and Part I “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, and elsewhere in this report. These statements are based on current expectations and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those discussed.

EXECUTIVE OVERVIEW

We are a leading provider of high-service truckload transportation and logistics services. Our strategy is to focus on value-added, less commoditized portions of our customers’ supply chains and thereby become embedded in their business processes. We believe disciplined planning and execution of our strategy will continue to reduce the cyclicality and seasonality of our financial results through growth in higher margin, less volatile services, which in turn will enhance sustainable long-term earnings power and return on invested capital for our stockholders.

Our four reportable segments are Expedited, Dedicated, Managed Freight, and Warehousing, each as described under “Reportable Segments and Service Offerings” in Part I, Item 1 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. During 2025, the Company operated in a challenging freight and logistics environment characterized by prolonged industry overcapacity, muted demand, episodic weather-related disruptions, and elevated cost pressures, including elevated insurance expense, impairment of goodwill, and additional equipment related expenses. Within our Expedited reportable segment, both total revenue and margins declined year over year primarily as a result of an approximately 4.7% reduction in average total tractors and a 3.7% increase in utilization year over year. Within our Dedicated reportable segment, total revenue increased while margins declined year over year primarily as a result of an approximately 11.5% increase in average total tractors along with a 8.0% decrease in utilization year over year. Managed Freight experienced increased revenue with the fourth quarter integration of assets acquired that are now operating as Star (the "Star Acquisition") helping to offset the July 2025 loss of a key customer, but heightened costs associated with securing capacity during peak season compressed margins. Warehousing operating income declined compared to 2024 primarily as the result of onboarding a significant new customer during the fourth quarter of 2025 resulting in associated startup expenses and operational inefficiencies that more than offset the incremental revenue.

The table below reflects the total revenue trends in each of these reportable segments:

Our consolidated financial results are summarized as follows:

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Outlook

Our plan for 2026 includes continued reallocation of capital to better returning operations while positioning for an expected improvement in freight fundamentals. During the first half of the year, we expect to exit unprofitable business relationships, moderately reduce our total truckload fleet (while growing the most profitable components), improve free cash flow and deleverage our balance sheet.  We will be opportunistic in investing in areas that differentiate us from other carriers, focusing on high value and high service requirement freight. Our truckload business requires substantial capital and carries significant risks, and we need to seek and execute on business where the returns justify continued reinvestment.

We remain optimistic about improving freight fundamentals, as well as our ability to be more efficient with our equipment and capture operating leverage and improve financial results in 2026. The improvements are likely to come later in the year, with the first quarter being impacted by seasonality, extreme weather, a still-developing freight market situation, and a potential margin squeeze in Managed Freight.

The last few years have been characterized by acquisitions, dispositions, and share buybacks as we have revamped the Company. We believe we have a stronger, more stable business with greater upside leverage in a future market recovery. We believe 2026 is all about execution, and we are hard at work to get that done.

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RESULTS OF CONSOLIDATED OPERATIONS

Our Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations included in this document generally discusses 2025 and 2024 items and year-to-year comparisons between 2025 and 2024. Discussions of 2023 items and year-to-year comparisons between 2024 and 2023 that are not included in this document can be found in “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in Part II, Item 7 of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024.

The following table sets forth total revenue and freight revenue (total revenue less fuel surcharge revenue) for the periods indicated:

Revenue

The increase in total revenue resulted from a $37.9 million and $36.8 million increase in Managed Freight and Dedicated freight revenue, respectively, partially offset by a $29.5 million and $0.5 million decrease in freight revenue from our Expedited and Warehousing reportable segments, respectively.

See results of reportable segment operations section for discussion of fluctuations.

For comparison purposes in the discussion below, we use total revenue and freight revenue (total revenue less fuel surcharge revenue) when discussing changes as a percentage of revenue.

For each expense item discussed below, we have provided a table setting forth the relevant expense first as a percentage of total revenue, and then as a percentage of freight revenue.

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Salaries, wages, and related expenses

The increase in salaries, wages, and related expenses on a dollars basis is primarily the result of pay increases due to the expanded scale of our Dedicated agriculture supply chain operations and the strategic reduction in commoditized freight across the Expedited and Dedicated fleets since the prior period, as well as averaging more drivers and tractors resulting in higher driver salaries, wages, and benefits as a result of growth in Dedicated. As a percentage of freight revenue salaries, wages, and related expenses decreased as the foregoing factors increasing these expenses were offset by a lower percentage of revenue from Expedited, where we have driver pay, and a higher percentage of revenue from Managed Freight, where we don't have driver pay.

We believe driver and non-driver, including shop technicians, pay and benefits will continue to increase as the result of wage inflation, higher healthcare costs, and, in certain periods, increased incentive compensation due to better performance. Driver pay may also fluctuate based on the number of miles driven. While driver pay remains stable at the present time, we have historically put driver pay increases in place as necessary to address driver market pressure and will continue to do so in the future as necessary. If freight market rates increase, we would expect to, as we have historically, pass a portion of those rate increases on to our professional drivers. Salaries, wages, and related expenses will fluctuate to some extent based on the percentage of revenue generated by independent contractors and our Managed Freight reportable segment, for which payments are reflected in the purchased transportation line item, as well as the mix of specialized freight (which requires higher driver pay) and commoditized freight.

Fuel expense

The decreases in total fuel expense are primarily related to lower fuel prices in 2025, as well as a 4.4% decrease in total miles.

We receive a fuel surcharge on our loaded miles from most shippers; however, in times of increasing fuel prices, this does not cover the entire increase in fuel prices for several reasons, including the following: surcharges cover only loaded miles we operate; surcharges do not cover miles driven out-of-route by our drivers; and surcharges typically do not cover refrigeration unit fuel usage or fuel burned by tractors while idling. Moreover, most of ou

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