CSX Q3 Earnings Meet, Rise Y/Y, Revenues Miss Estimates

CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX) reported third-quarter 2017 earnings of 51 cents per share, in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Quarterly earnings came in 6.3% higher than the year-ago figure.

Revenues of $2,743 million missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2,769.4 million. However, the figure improved 1.2% year over year owing to core pricing gains. Overall volumes also inched up 1% year over year.

The revenue miss disappointed investors. Consequently, the stock slid 1.6% in early trading.

Also, third-quarter operating income (on a reported basis) improved 4% year over year to $876 million. While the operating ratio (operating expenses as a percentage of revenues) reportedly improved 90 basis points to 68.1%, operating expenses remained flat year over year to $1,867 million.

Adjusted operating income in the third quarter was $877 million. On an adjusted basis, the operating ratio for the reported quarter was 68%.

Driven by improved efficiencies, CSX expects the bottom line to expand between 20% and 25% in 2017 on a reported basis over 2016 levels. Operating ratio in the high end of mid-60s is expected in 2017. The company expects free cash flow before dividends (excluding restructuring costs) of around $1.5 billion in 2017.

Segmental Performance

Merchandise revenues slipped 3% year over year to $1,688 million in the quarter.

Coal revenues rose 10% year over year to $514 million owing to 5% expansion in volumes.

Intermodal revenues improved 5% year over year to $446 million. On a year-over-year basis, volumes expanded 5%.

Other revenues grossed $95 million, up 23% year over year.

Liquidity & Buyback

This Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) company exited the third quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $591 million compared with $603 million at the end of 2016. Long-term debt totaled $11,788 millioncompared with $10,962 millionat the same time around. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

For the period ending Sep 30, 2017, net cash provided by operating activities was$2,861 million compared with $2,488 million in the year-ago period. During the third quarter, the company completed a $1.5 billion share repurchase program, announced in April and expanded in July.

Upcoming Releases

Investors interested in the railroad space are keenly waiting for third-quarter earnings reports from key players like Canadian National Railway Company (NYSE:CNI) , Kansas City Southern (NYSE:KSU) and Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) . Canadian National is scheduled to report third-quarter results on Oct 24, while Kansas City Southern and Norfolk Southern will report on Oct 20 and Oct 25, respectively.

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