Yahoo Finance Norfolk Southern (NSC) Q1 Earnings, Revenues Miss, Fall Y/Y
Norfolk Southern Corporation’s (NSC) first-quarter 2024 earnings of $2.49 per share fell short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.58 and declined 25% year over year. Results were hurt by high costs.
Railway operating revenues were $3,004 million in the quarter under review, lagging the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3,030.2 million. The top line decreased 4% year over year, with all key segments, including Merchandise, Intermodal and Coal, registering deterioration in revenues.
Overall volumes increased 4%. Total revenue per unit dipped 8% year over year. Income from railway operations decreased 70% to $213 million.
Norfolk Southern Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Norfolk Southern Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Norfolk Southern Corporation Quote
Railway operating expenses rose 15% on a year-over-year basis to $2,791 million, primarily due to a double-digit increase in expenses on compensation and benefits.
Norfolk Southern’s operating ratio (operating expenses as a percentage of revenues) increased to 92.9% in the first quarter from 77.3% in the year-ago quarter.
Segmental Performance
Merchandise revenues declined 1% year over year to $1,863 million. Actual segmental revenues were lower than our estimate of $1,864.5 million. Volumes were flat, whereas revenue per unit declined 1% year over year.
Revenues from Intermodal plunged 8% year over year to $745 million. Actual segmental revenues were higher than our projection of $715.9 million. While segmental volumes increased 8%, revenue per unit tumbled 15%.
Coal revenues came in at $396 million, down 10% year over year. Actual segmental revenues fell short of our projection of $423.7 million. Coal volumes fell 4% year over year. Revenue per unit declined 6% in the reported quarter.
Liquidity & Buyback
Norfolk Southern exited the first quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $652 million compared with $1,568 million at the end of the prior quarter. NSC had a long-term debt of $17,179 million at the first-quarter end compared with $17,175 million at the prior-quarter end.
NSC did not repurchase any shares under its stock repurchase program in the first quarter of 2024.
Outlook
Norfolk Southern expects 2024 revenues to increase 3% from 2023 actuals.
Currently, NSC carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Performances of Other Transportation Companies
Delta Air Lines DAL reported first-quarter 2024 earnings (excluding 39 cents from non-recurring items) of 45 cents per share, which comfortably beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 36 cents. Earnings increased 80% on a year-over-year basis.
Revenues of $13.75 billion surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $12.84 billion and increased 7.75% on a year-over-year basis, driven by strong air-travel demand. Adjusted operating revenues (excluding third-party refinery sales) came in at $12.56 billion, up 6% year over year.
United Airlines Holdings, Inc.UAL reported first-quarter 2024 loss per share (excluding 23 cents from non-recurring items) of 15 cents, which was narrower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate’s loss of 53 cents. In the year-ago reported quarter, UAL reported a loss of 63 cents per share.
Operating revenues of $12,539 million beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $12,428.4 million. The top line increased 9.7% year over year due to upbeat air-travel demand. This was driven by a 10.1% rise in passenger revenues (accounting for 90.2% of the top line) to $11,313 million. Almost 39,325 passengers traveled on UAL flights in the first quarter, up 6.8% year over year.
J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc.’s JBHT first-quarter 2024 earnings of $1.22 per share missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.53 and declined 35.5% year over year.
JBHT’s total operating revenues of $2,944 million missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3,117.1 million and fell 8.8% year over year. Total operating revenues, excluding fuel surcharge revenue, fell 7% year over year. The downfall was owing to a 9% decrease in segment gross revenue per load in both Intermodal (JBI) and Truckload (JBT), 22% fewer loads in Integrated Capacity Solution (ICS), and a modest decline in average trucks and productivity in Dedicated Contract Services (DCS). Revenue declines in JBI, ICS, JBT and DCS were partially offset by Final Mile Services (FMS) revenue growth of 2%, primarily driven by new contracts implemented over the past year.
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Delta Air Lines, Inc. (DAL) : Free Stock Analysis Report
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