RUSH ENTERPRISES INC TX Q1 FY26 Results

“Despite continued weakness across the commercial vehicle industry, I am proud of the way our team performed in the first quarter. We believe the first quarter represents the trough of this current downcycle, and while conditions remain challenging, we are beginning to see early indicators of gradual improvement in market conditions, which we believe will continue for the remainder of 2026.” “During the quarter, freight rates began to improve modestly, miles driven increased and customer sentiment generally improved, all of which contributed to increased new commercial vehicle quoting activity and order intake. However, new commercial vehicle sales during the first quarter were at historically low levels across the industry, reflecting the prolonged impact of the multi-year freight recession, excess capacity and broader economic uncertainty.” “Importantly, our diversified business model once again demonstrated its resilience. Our continued focus on aftermarket products and services, along with our leasing and rental operations and diligent expense management, helped support our financial performance during a quarter with significantly reduced commercial vehicle sales activity. We continue to believe that our focus on building a business that does not rely completely on truck sales has allowed us to navigate this industry downturn more effectively.” “We remain confident that as market conditions improve, demand will return. We have maintained appropriate inventory levels, continued to invest in our operations and remain focused on delivering the highest level of service to our customers, all of which we believe will allow us to capture opportunities as the market recovers.” “This acquisition reflects our continued focus on expanding our network in strategic markets and broadening the solutions we offer our customers. By growing our footprint, we believe we are strengthening our ability to support customers, capture market share and position the Company for long-term growth.” “Our aftermarket business delivered solid first‑quarter performance despite continued softness across much of the industry. While demand remained subdued in several customer segments, we achieved modest growth, reflecting the strength of our customer relationships and our focus on expanding our customer base. Although macroeconomic factors have continued to pressure aftermarket demand, we are beginning to see encouraging indicators of improving market conditions, including increases in both freight activity and miles driven, which we believe will support higher parts and service demand as deferred maintenance is addressed.” “We also believe certain of our aftermarket strategic initiatives, including enhanced inspection processes, improved parts delivery operations, and a continued emphasis on customer uptime, are gaining traction across our network and contributing to our success. Looking ahead, we expect aftermarket demand to gradually improve through the remainder of 2026 as fleet utilization increases and customers reinvest in their equipment, positioning our aftermarket business as a key driver of stability and profitability for the Company.” “Industry conditions for new commercial vehicle sales remained challenging in the first quarter, with industry-wide retail sales at their lowest levels since 2020 with respect to new Class 8 truck sales and 2015 with respect to new Class 4-7 commercial vehicle sales. Despite the difficult operating conditions, we were able to significantly outperform the market in new Class 8 truck sales. Our performance during the first quarter was driven by strong execution, appropriate inventory levels and the diversity of our customer base.” “We saw strong order intake and increased quoting activity throughout the quarter, particularly among large fleet customers. We believe the increase in new Class 8 truck orders during the quarter was primarily due to improving freight conditions and the upcoming change in emissions regulations. While uncertainty related to economic conditions and global events, along with significantly increased fuel prices, is weighing on the market, we believe that customer sentiment is improving, despite these headwinds, and we are encouraged by the level of engagement we are experiencing.” “Our medium-duty results were impacted by the timing of customer orders and deliveries, particularly among a number of our large fleet customers. Normally, our large medium-duty fleet customers place their orders in the fourth quarter for vehicles that are expected to be delivered in the coming year. However, we did not see that activity in the fourth quarter of 2025. Instead, our larger medium-duty fleet customers began asking for quotes and ordering vehicles in the first quarter of 2026. Given the level of quoting, ordering and general customer engagement that we have experienced since the beginning of the year, we expect our medium-duty sales to improve as the year progresses and to be roughly in line with our sales during 2025.” “In the used truck market, we saw improving demand late in the quarter, driven by strengthening spot rates and tightening capacity. We believe this momentum will continue as market conditions improve.” “Overall, we expect commercial vehicle sales to improve gradually beginning in the second quarter, with a more meaningful recovery in the second half of the year. As customer confidence returns and vehicle replacement cycles resume, we believe we are well positioned to capture increased demand.” “Our leasing and rental business delivered solid performance in the first quarter, driven by continued strength in our full-service leasing operations. Leasing demand remains healthy, as customers look to replace aging equipment and position themselves ahead of anticipated future cost increases associated with engine emissions regulations.” “While rental demand remained below historical levels, we saw improvement as the quarter progressed and expect utilization to continue to increase throughout the year. We believe our leasing and rental business will remain a stable contributor to our financial performance and continue to strengthen as market conditions improve. I would also like to recognize our Rush Truck Leasing – PacLease team for being named PacLease North American Franchise of the Year, which reflects their strong execution and commitment to delivering outstanding service to our customers.” “Our first quarter financial results reflect the continued impact of the prolonged freight recession and resulting decrease in demand for new commercial vehicles, which led to lower overall revenues. However, we were able to deliver improved earnings per share compared to the first quarter of 2025 and maintain profitability through diligent expense management and the consistency of our aftermarket and leasing and rental businesses. Our aftermarket operations once again provided stability, while our leasing and rental business continued to grow and generate recurring revenue, demonstrating the resilience of our diversified business model and our ability to generate cash and return value to our shareholders even in a challenging operating environment.” “Finally, I want to thank our employees across the Company for their hard work, dedication and commitment to our customers. Their focus on execution, operational discipline and delivering a high level of service continues to be the foundation of our performance, particularly during challenging market conditions.”