Company Reports

Railroad turnaround legend Hunter Harrison led Eastern Class I railroad CSX from early 2017 until his death in December that same year. Before joining CSX, he optimized three railroads, including Canadian National and Canadian Pacific. While his time was cut short at CSX, Harrison laid the foundation for rapid improvement.

Eastern Class I railroad CSX’s first-quarter revenue fell slightly (about 1%) year over year on fuel surcharge declines, lower global benchmark coal pricing, and softer trucking revenue. On the other hand, total volume growth accelerated slightly in the quarter, merchandise carload core pricing remains healthy, and management maintained 2024 revenue growth guidance. Revenue was mostly aligned with our expectations, though intermodal yields fell more than we anticipated on persistent truck competition.

Railroad turnaround legend Hunter Harrison led Eastern Class I railroad CSX from early 2017 until his death in December that same year. Before joining CSX, he turned around three railroads, including Canadian National and Canadian Pacific. While his time was cut short at CSX, Harrison laid the foundation for rapid improvement.

Railroad turnaround legend Hunter Harrison led Eastern Class I railroad CSX from early 2017 until his death in December that same year. Before joining CSX, he turned around three railroads, including Canadian National and Canadian Pacific. While his time was cut short at CSX, Harrison laid the foundation for rapid improvement.

Eastern Class I railroad CSX’s fourth-quarter revenue declined roughly 1% year over year on easing storage income, fuel surcharge declines, lower global benchmark coal pricing, and softer trucking revenue. That said, total volume flipped positive and core carload pricing remains healthy. Revenue was in line with our expectations.

Railroad turnaround legend Hunter Harrison led Eastern Class I railroad CSX from early 2017 until his death in December that same year. Before joining CSX, he turned around three railroads, including Canadian National and Canadian Pacific. While his time was cut short at CSX, Harrison laid the foundation for rapid improvement.

Eastern Class I railroad CSX’s third-quarter revenue declined 8% year over year on persistent intermodal weakness, easing accessorial income, unfavorable mix, and lower fuel surcharges. Revenue missed our forecast slightly on greater-than-anticipated intermodal volume declines. We note that core carload pricing remains positive.

Railroad turnaround legend Hunter Harrison led Eastern Class I railroad CSX from early 2017 until his death in December that same year. Before joining CSX, he turned around three railroads, including Canadian National and Canadian Pacific. While his time was cut short at CSX, Harrison laid the foundation for rapid improvement.

Eastern Class I railroad CSX’s second-quarter top line trend flipped negative, falling 3% year over year on lower intermodal container volumes, easing accessorial income, and falling fuel surcharges. Revenue came in shy of our forecast due to greater-than-anticipated deterioration in intermodal activity, though merchandise volumes were in line. CSX' operating ratio worsened, but largely met our expected run rate.

Railroad turnaround legend Hunter Harrison led Eastern Class I railroad CSX from early 2017 until his death in December that same year. Before joining CSX, he turned around three railroads. Most impressively, his leadership improved Canadian Pacific's reported operating ratio from 81.3% in 2011 to 58.6% in 2016. While his time was cut short at CSX, Harrison laid the foundation for rapid improvement.

Eastern Class I railroad CSX’s first-quarter top line grew 9% year over year driven by core-pricing gains, higher fuel surcharges and the addition of Pan Am. Revenue exceeded our expectations on strong yield growth (up 9.5%). Volume, which fell 1%, was mostly in line with our forecast as merchandise activity came in ahead but intermodal underperformed—sluggish retail end market demand (high inventory levels) is proving more potent than service improvement.

Railroad turnaround legend Hunter Harrison led Eastern Class I railroad CSX from early 2017 until his death in December that same year. Before joining CSX, he turned around three railroads. Most impressively, his leadership improved Canadian Pacific's reported operating ratio from 81.3% in 2011 to 58.6% in 2016. While his time was cut short at CSX, Harrison laid the foundation for rapid improvement.

The U.S. Surface Transportation Board announced that it has approved the merger of Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern. CP bought KCS in December 2021 for an implied enterprise value near $31 billion but placed the shares into a voting trust (with KCS run independently) pending regulatory approval. We'd been expecting STB approval, but there was incremental uncertainty recently, given political pushback on the deal following Norfolk Southern's East Palestine derailment. The press release said CP is reviewing the decision and "in the coming days will announce its plans with respect to the creation of CPKC [Canadian Pacific Kansas City]," but we expect the rail to take control of KCS on or around April 14, when permitted.

Railroad turnaround legend Hunter Harrison led Eastern Class I railroad CSX from early 2017 until his death in December that same year. Before joining CSX, he turned around three railroads. Most impressively, his leadership improved Canadian Pacific's reported operating ratio from 81.3% in 2011 to 58.6% in 2016. While his time was cut short at CSX, Harrison laid the foundation for rapid improvement.

Eastern Class I railroad CSX’s fourth-quarter top line grew 9% year over year driven by core-pricing gains, higher fuel surcharges, higher storage revenue, and the addition of Pan Am. Revenue largely met our forecast, but that's because healthy total-yield gains (up 11%) offset lower-than-expected volumes.

Railroad turnaround legend Hunter Harrison led Eastern Class I railroad CSX from early 2017 until his death in December that same year. Before joining CSX, he turned around three railroads. Most impressively, his leadership improved Canadian Pacific's reported operating ratio from 81.3% in 2011 to 58.6% in 2016. While his time was cut short at CSX, Harrison laid the foundation for rapid improvement.

Eastern Class I railroad CSX’s third-quarter top line grew 18% year over year on core-pricing gains, higher fuel surcharges, the addition of Quality Carriers and Pan Am Railways, and modest volume gains. Growth came in slightly ahead of our forecast due to strong total-yield improvement (up 16.5%).

Wide-moat Class-I railroad Union Pacific's top line grew 18% year over year on core-pricing gains, higher fuel surcharges, and modest volume improvement. Growth came in slightly ahead of our forecast due to strong yields. Total volume (up 3%) was mostly in line, though intermodal activity fell short on softening parcel-related shipments.

The U.S. Class-I railroads and two remaining union holdouts struck a tentative labor agreement, averting what seemed to be an imminent strike. Recall that last month a White House-appointed Presidential Emergency Board, or PEB, put forth a nonbinding proposal, which split the difference between both sides' proposals down the middle. Until the Sept. 14 bargaining session, the two largest (of 12) railroad unions had yet to agree to a settlement. We understand the finalized agreement largely reflects the PEB's proposal, with the addition of a few sweeteners related to time off. The agreement will now enter the ratification process (approval from the rank and file), and during that time the unions have agreed not to strike.

Railroad turnaround legend Hunter Harrison led Eastern Class I railroad CSX from early 2017 until his death in December that same year. Before joining CSX, he turned around three railroads. Most impressively, his leadership improved Canadian Pacific's reported operating ratio from 81.3% in 2011 to 58.6% in 2016. While his time was cut short at CSX, Harrison laid the foundation for rapid improvement. As his replacement, the rail installed James Foote, who is quite familiar with Harrison's precision scheduled railroading model from years working at Canadian National.