Moody’s cuts Wabash rating third time in a year, execs eye ‘27 rebound
For the third time in a year, Wabash National has had its debt rating cut by Moody’s. The post Moody’s cuts Wabash rating third time in a year, execs eye ‘27 rebound appeared first on FreightWaves.
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Trailer manufacturer Wabash National had its debt rating downgraded by Moody’s for the third time in a year, almost to the day, while executives on a company earnings call with analysts a few days earlier tried to make a case for a turnaround that would start next year.
The latest Moody’s move, announced May 5, is a downgrade of its corporate family rating to B3 from B2. Moody’s downgraded Moody’s to B1 on May 7, 2025 and then to B2 on November 5. Meanwhile, S&P Global Ratings cut the Wabash debt rating to B+ in May of last year and B soon after Moody’s (NYSE: MCO) made its move to B2 in November.
That latest rating for Wabash is still in effect at S&P Global. The B rating at S&P Global Ratings (NYSE: SPGI) is considered a notch above Wabash’s B3 grade at Moody’s. window. googletag = window. googletag || {cmd: []}; googletag. cmd. push(function() {googletag.
defineSlot('/21776187881/FW-Responsive-Main_Content-Slot1', [[300, 100], [320, 50], [728, 90], [468, 60]], 'div-gpt-ad-1709668545404-0'). defineSizeMapping(gptSizeMaps. banner1). addService(googletag. pubads()); googletag. pubads(). enableSingleRequest(); googletag. pubads(). collapseEmptyDivs(); googletag. enableServices(); }); googletag. cmd.
push(function() {googletag. display('div-gpt-ad-1709668545404-0'); }); The B3 rating at Moody’s is six notches below the cutoff line between investment grade and non-investment grade debt.
‘Very weak’ credit metrics “The rating downgrade reflects our expectation that Wabash’s credit metrics will remain at very weak, unsustainable levels over the next 12 months,” Moody’s said in its report.
“Wabash’s earnings have evaporated and cash burn has persisted during a prolonged down cycle in new truck trailer production as the company’s customers defer investments in their transportation fleets.” Moody’s said trailer production at Wabash (NYSE: WNC) should increase sequentially during the year, though the latest quarterly data continues a long slide.
Wabash data on trailers shipped has been declining steadily for many months. It was 5,378 in the first quarter, down from 5,901 in the fourth quarter of 2025. Its recent high-water mark was 13,670 in the third quarter of 2022.
Will the end of the freight recession mean the number of trailers built by $WNC hit its low water mark in the first quarter of this year? #trucking pic. twitter. com/pQ0qQfAG1P— John Kingston (@JohnHKingston) May 2, 2026 Financial measures have also been grim at Wabash. It reported cash and cash equivalents on hand at $31. 9 million at the end of 2025.
A year earlier, it was $144. 5 million. At the end of 2022, cash and cash equivalents were $58. 2 million. Net sales in its Transportation Solutions segment, which includes its truck manufacturing operations, were $250. 1 million in the first quarter of 2026. Sequentially, that is less than the $262. 9 million in the fourth quarter of 2025. window.
googletag = window. googletag || {cmd: []}; googletag. cmd. push(function() {googletag. defineSlot('/21776187881/fw-responsive-main_content-slot3', [[728, 90], [468, 60], [320, 50], [300, 100]], 'div-gpt-ad-1665767553440-0'). defineSizeMapping(gptSizeMaps. banner1). addService(googletag. pubads()); googletag. pubads(). enableSingleRequest(); googletag.
pubads(). collapseEmptyDivs(); googletag. enableServices(); }); googletag. cmd. push(function() {googletag. display('div-gpt-ad-1665767553440-0'); }); In the third quarter of 2022, Transportation Solutions reported net sales in Transportation Solutions of $611. 8 million.
Wabash’s net income last year was impacted positively by the settlement of the nuclear verdict it faced in Missouri. But more reflective of its operations, the company posted a gross profit of $69. 9 million in 2025 for all operations, down from $265 million a year before. In 2022, gross profit was $322. 7 million.
Company seeing ‘early stabilization’ In Wabash’s first quarter earnings call, when the company posted an operating loss of $37. 3 million in its Transportation Solutions segment, which contains its trailer manufacturing activities, CEO Brent Yeagy acknowledged the poor performance but sought to forecast better days.
“Order patterns were uneven, asset utilization inconsistent and capital decisions across the industry were being evaluated carefully,” he said. “At the same time, we were encouraged by early signs of stabilization and improving fundamentals that typically precede a broader recovery.
Now as we move into the second quarter of 2026, both our customers and our visibility continues to improve.
And it shows an environment that is building the set up for a constructive 2027 as spot rates, contract rates, capacity and demand, all are coming together and drive back to replacement demand for equipment and possibly beyond as fleets begin to plan more confidently.” window. googletag = window. googletag || {cmd: []}; googletag. cmd.
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