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ARCBEST CORPORATION

ARCB · Industrials · $3.4B mkt cap · FY2025 filings · Shallow moat ·

Price verdict withheld — value if growth stopped today unreliable

Shallow moat
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The five investor questions

28

2021–2025 (latest 5 aligned FYs; v3 window cap 5): revenue $3.8B to $4.0B, increasing; diluted EPS 7.98 to 2.62, decreasing.

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Not enough years of gross-margin data to score pricing power.

32

Median ROIC 10.0%, above the 12% hurdle in 30% of years.

62

Net debt/EBITDA 0.5x, interest coverage 7x.

89

Owner earnings changed +9.0%/yr over up to the ten most recent annual observations.

The pricingPower component abstained: Not enough years of gross-margin data to score pricing power. The other four 20% weights were renormalized over the scored 80%.

Price vs. value if growth stopped today

A cautious baseline, not a price target: what the shares may support if normalized owner earnings simply hold steady.

Above value if growth stopped todayBelow value if growth stopped today
58% above value if growth stopped today
$195M
$97.39
$97.39
$154.30
58% above value if growth stopped today

What today’s price assumes: owner earnings growing ~10%/yr over 5 years. The zero-growth estimate assumes owner earnings stay flat (0% growth).

How to read this

We solve for the constant annual change in owner earnings that would make the five-year zero-growth estimate equal today’s price. This keeps the existing model inputs and calculation unchanged; it is an expectations lens, not a forecast.

This zero-growth estimate assumes trailing owner earnings persist — unreliable for declining businesses. ARCB revenue fell in each of the three most recent year-over-year FY comparisons, so this estimate is flagged as unreliable for this company.

Among the current top-score group, the median current price is 239% above the zero-growth estimate across 48 of the current top 50 companies by Moat Score with both values.

Score records captured Jul 26, 2026.

Exactly which 50 companies?

FTNT, META, MEDP, IBEX, MSFT, GOOGL, LULU, ANF, IDXX, TXRH, FHI, QLYS, FFIV, ADBE, LLY, MANH, VEEV, GRMN, SSD, MNST, DOCS, MCO, CPRT, NTAP, LRCX, NVDA, CORT, SFM, MPTI, ULTA, SN, RMD, ROL, PAYC, IRMD, INTU, DECK, MORN, LGCY, DAL, GWW, ISRG, MPWR, CTAS, LOPE, MRK, CMG, FAST, BKNG, ORLY

Missing a usable price or zero-growth estimate: ANF, BKNG.

Model details under moat-index@3.0.0: zero-growth multiple 11.1×, capped-growth comparison at no more than 18×; 9% discount rate; high-end growth 0% (capped at 4%) using min(5y revenue CAGR, 5y diluted-EPS CAGR), clamped to 0%–4%; maintenance capex uses min(capex, D&A); abstain when D&A is unavailable. This is a disclosed model range, not intrinsic value as fact.

19 years of fundamentals

The business, in plain English

Across the filed record, revenue grew from $1.8B (FY2008) to $4.0B (FY2025) — about 4.7% a year compounded over 17 years.

It earned 4.6% on invested capital in the latest filed year, FY2025. Across the full 18-year measurable filed record, median ROIC was 6.8%. Over the v3 recent window (10 measurable filed years), median ROIC was 10.0%. The Returns on Capital filter above scores it 32/100.

The balance sheet carried $224M of total debt in FY2025 against $116M of owner earnings — roughly 1.9 years of owner earnings to retire it all. Balance-Sheet Safety scores it 62/100.

This breakdown is generated from the filed numbers and sub-scores above — no outside narrative, no estimates. Where a filing doesn’t disclose an input, the sentence that would need it is omitted instead of guessed.

FY2007–FY2025 · 19 fiscal years, normalized from ARCB’s SEC filings

Sales, as filed$4.0B FY2025
$0$2B$4B2007201320192025
Revenue kept after cost of goods

Not disclosed in ARCB’s filings for these years — we don’t estimate it.

Standard ROIC or separately labeled Operating ROICROIC 4.6% FY2025
−20%0%20%2007201320192025
Cash an owner could take out$116M FY2025
$0$200M2007201320192025

Gaps in a line mean that item isn’t in ARCB’s filings for that year. The series is never interpolated or estimated. The Table view lists every filed value, including operating and net margins, total debt, and share count.

Flagship explainer

How ARCBEST CORPORATION makes its money

ARCBEST CORPORATION's filing does not supply enough comparable lines for a truthful flow chart — here's what is filed:

Table alternative
Filed lineValue% of revenueSource
$4.0B100%
$90.3M2%
Income before tax$83.1M2%
Income tax$23M1%
$60.1M1%
Source: · event Dec 31, 2025 · retrieved Jul 26, 2026 · annual-row source set

Flagship explainer

What ARCBEST CORPORATION owns — and owes

ARCBEST CORPORATION's filing tags don't support a full breakdown — here's what is filed:

Table alternative
Filed lineValue% of assetsSource
Total assets$2.5B100%
Cash and equivalents$102M4%
$224M9%
Stockholders’ equity$1.3B53%
Source: · event Dec 31, 2025 · retrieved Jul 26, 2026 · annual-row source set

Flagship explainer

What drives ARCBEST CORPORATION’s return on equity?

ROE is five filed business factors multiplied together.

DuPont return on equity factor treeReturn on equity branches into tax burden, interest burden, operating margin, asset turnover, and the equity multiplier.Return on equity5%Tax burden72%net income ÷ pretax incomeInterest burden92%pretax ÷ operating incomeOperating margin2%operating income ÷ revenueAsset turnover1.64×revenue ÷ average assetsEquity multiplier1.87×average assets ÷ average equityAs of 2025-12-31 · 2 SEC filing sourcesBuy Like Buffett · buylikebuffett.com
DuPont source inputs
InputValueFiscal yearSource
$60.1MFY2025
Income before tax$83.1MFY2025
Operating income$90.3MFY2025
$4.0BFY2025
Ending assets$2.5BFY2025
Beginning assets$2.4BFY2024
$1.3BFY2025
$1.3BFY2024
Source:
  • SEC filingFiling detailsAccession 0001104659-26-019699
  • SEC filingFiling detailsAccession 0001558370-25-002037
· event Dec 31, 2025 · retrieved Jul 26, 2026 · annual-row source set
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Flagship explainer

Where ARCBEST CORPORATION's cash went

ARCBEST CORPORATION’s filing does not supply enough provenance-matched cash-flow lines for a truthful flow chart — here’s what is filed:

Table alternative
Filed lineValue% of cash from operationsSource
Cash from operations$229M100%
Depreciation and amortization$170M74%
Source: · event Dec 31, 2025 · retrieved Jul 26, 2026 · annual-row source set

Curated 19-manager tier

Who reported holding ARCBEST CORPORATION

Delayed public 13F reports for 2026-Q1—not live positions, trades, or recommendations.

0 holding0 exited0 not holding0/19 resolved19 unavailable

Named manager positions and quarter-over-quarter changes
ManagerReported positionQuarter-over-quarterFiling accession
Abrams CapitalUnavailableComparison unavailableFiling unavailable
Akre CapitalUnavailableComparison unavailableFiling unavailable
Baupost GroupUnavailableComparison unavailableFiling unavailable
Berkshire HathawayUnavailableComparison unavailableFiling unavailable
Brave Warrior AdvisorsUnavailableComparison unavailableFiling unavailable
Dodge & CoxUnavailableComparison unavailableFiling unavailable
First EagleUnavailableComparison unavailableFiling unavailable
FundsmithUnavailableComparison unavailableFiling unavailable
Gardner Russo & QuinnUnavailableComparison unavailableFiling unavailable
Gates Foundation TrustUnavailableComparison unavailableFiling unavailable
Mairs & PowerUnavailableComparison unavailableFiling unavailable
Markel / Markel-GaynerUnavailableComparison unavailableFiling unavailable
Oakmark / Harris AssociatesUnavailableComparison unavailableFiling unavailable
Pershing SquareUnavailableComparison unavailableFiling unavailable
Polen CapitalUnavailableComparison unavailableFiling unavailable
Sequoia / Ruane CunniffUnavailableComparison unavailableFiling unavailable
Southeastern Asset ManagementUnavailableComparison unavailableFiling unavailable
Tweedy, BrowneUnavailableComparison unavailableFiling unavailable
Yacktman Asset ManagementUnavailableComparison unavailableFiling unavailable

Position size uses shares and filed value from each manager’s 13F. Portfolio weight uses the eligible long-share filing denominator. Changes compare only with the immediately preceding calendar quarter.

Source: Filing source unavailable · event Mar 31, 2026 · retrieved Jul 26, 2026

Flagship explainer

What ARCBEST CORPORATION insiders reported

Insider activity is unavailable from the source; no zero-activity claim is shown.

Unavailable: Form 4 activity could not be retrieved for this rendering.

Moat Score history

16 logged readings since Jul 17, 2026 · append-only, never rewritten

Moat Score over timeLast scored reading of each day, on the 0–100 scale52.8 / 100
0406080100WideNarrowShallowNo moatJul 20, 2026Jul 26, 2026

Breaks in the line mark methodology or normalizer upgrades — readings across versions aren’t compared, so a level shift there isn’t a change in the business.

Tier changesSame-methodology and same-normalizer crossings of the Wide / Narrow / Shallow bars

  1. Normalizer upgraded unstamped (version unknown)moat-xbrl-normalizer@1.1.0 — readings across versions aren’t comparedJul 26, 2026
  2. Methodology upgraded moat-index@2.0.0moat-index@3.0.0 — readings across versions aren’t comparedJul 23, 2026
  3. Methodology upgraded moat-index@1.2.0moat-index@2.0.0 — readings across versions aren’t comparedJul 20, 2026

Scores are logged append-only and never overwritten — this record cannot be reconstructed retroactively, which is exactly why it’s worth keeping.

Insider activity

Form 4 reports mix P/S market or private transactions with compensation-plan mechanics. Activity casually described as “insider selling” can include compensation mechanics; awards, tax withholding, and option exercises are shown by their exact filed class here, never collapsed into “Bought” or “Sold.”

These are disclosed filing facts and arithmetic aggregates, not a signal or verdict.

The insider-filing service is temporarily unavailable, so no partial or guessed answer is shown for ARCB.

Industrials context

#147 of 428 scored Industrials companies, ranked by Moat Score.

Nearest peers by Moat Score

  1. #145ZWS ZURN ELKAY WATER SOLUTIONS CORPORATION53.0Shallow moat
  2. #146CRTD CREATD, INC.52.9Shallow moat
  3. #148DE DEERE FUNDING CANADA Corp52.5Shallow moat
  4. #149FSTJ First America Resources Corporation52.5Shallow moat

Compare ARCB with its nearest peers →All Industrials companies on the Index →

Common questions about ARCB

Does ARCBEST CORPORATION have an economic moat?
Based on its FY2025 SEC filings, the Moat Index scores ARCBEST CORPORATION (ARCB) 52.8 out of 100 — a Shallow moat. The five questions behind that score begin at 20% each; if exactly one genuinely lacks data, the other four weights are renormalized and disclosed. revenue and EPS trend 28, pricing power not measurable from the filings, returns on capital 32, balance-sheet safety 62, capital allocation 89.
Is ARCB trading below the conservative owner-earnings estimate?
The value if growth stopped today — a zero-growth baseline — is $97.39 per share. It capitalizes normalized owner earnings at a 9% rate and assumes 0% growth. Versus a recent price of $154.30, that is 58% above value if growth stopped today. The model also publishes a capped-growth comparison, but the zero-growth estimate is the cautious baseline. It assumes trailing owner earnings persist and is unreliable for declining businesses. This is an educational estimate from primary SEC filings, not intrinsic value as a fact or investment advice.
How has ARCB's Moat Score changed over time?
The record logs 16 readings since Jul 17, 2026; the latest reads 52.8 out of 100 (shallow moat). No tier changes on record yet. (Methodology or normalizer upgrades on Jul 20, 2026, Jul 23, 2026, Jul 26, 2026 re-based the score; readings across versions aren't compared.) The history is append-only — readings are only ever added, never rewritten.

Scored from primary SEC filings via the public methodology. Educational only — not a recommendation to buy or sell ARCB. See the disclaimer.