Norfolk Southern Q3 adj EPS beats estimates on increased rail demand

By Reuters News


Overview

  • US freight railroad's Q3 revenue rose 14% yr/yr, slightly beating analyst expectations

  • Adjusted EPS for Q3 rose 10% yr/yr, beating analyst expectations

  • Company performance aided by increased rail demand and productivity gains


Outlook

  • Company expects growth opportunities from investments in network capacity and resilience


Result Drivers

  • COST CONTROL - Co said disciplined cost control helped support earnings growth despite higher fuel costs

  • RAIL DEMAND - Increased demand for rail service, partly due to a tighter trucking market, contributed to revenue growth

  • PRODUCTIVITY GAINS - Productivity improvements across the network aided earnings growth


Company press release:


Key Details

Metric

Beat/Miss

Actual

Consensus Estimate

Q3 Operating Revenue

Slight Beat*

$3.50 bln

$3.48 bln (16 Analysts)

Q3 Adjusted EPS

Beat

$3.62

$3.47 (19 Analysts)

Q3 EPS

$3.37

*Applies to a deviation of less than 1%; not applicable for per-share numbers.


Analyst Coverage

  • The current average analyst rating on the shares is "hold" and the breakdown of recommendations is 5 "strong buy" or "buy", 17 "hold" and no "sell" or "strong sell"

  • The average consensus recommendation for the ground freight & logistics peer group is "buy."

  • Wall Street's median 12-month price target for Norfolk Southern Corp is $354.50, about 8% above its October 21 closing price of $328.09

  • The stock recently traded at 23 times the next 12-month earnings vs. a P/E of 24 three months ago


Reuters Recommended Reads

  • Oct 22 - Norfolk Southern tops profit estimates as freight demand stays strong

  • Oct 22 - Union Pacific's third-quarter profit rises on pricing strength

  • Oct 21 - CSX Q3 revenue beats estimates on higher fuel surcharges, freight volumes and pricing


For questions concerning the data in this report, contact Estimates.Support@lseg.com. For any other questions or feedback, contact reuters.support@thomsonreuters.com.


(This story was created using Reuters automation and AI based on LSEG and company data. It was checked and edited by a Reuters journalist prior to publication.)

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