Canadian National Railway Shares Down as 2026 Outlook Disappoints

By Adriano Marchese

Canadian National Railway shares declined as softer-than-expected guidance overshadowed strong fourth-quarter earnings.

The stock was off 3.5% at 131.42 Canadian dollars, about $97.42. Shares are down 13% in the past year.

The Canadian railroad expects volume growth in terms of revenue ton miles to be flattish in 2026, while adjusted earnings-per-share growth is forecast to slightly exceed volume growth.

Canadian National's outlook for this year appears to be a little soft, TD Cowen analyst Cherilyn Radbourne said.

"After cutting guidance for 3 years in a row, we were expecting CN would try to underpromise and overdeliver on guidance," Radbourne said in note. TD Cowen felt that mid-single-digit earnings per share growth was realistic, but anticipated the company might guide to low-single-digit growth just to be conservative. "Actual guidance seems to fall short of even LSD growth."

Chief Executive Tracy Robinson said the company expects macroeconomic uncertainty to continue in 2026, along with heightened geopolitical risk. She said the company will go into the year focused on what it can control.

Canadian National's revenue in the fourth quarter rose 2% to C$4.46 billion, in line with forecasts. Net income rose to C$1.25 billion, or C$2.03 a share, up from C$1.15 billion, or C$1.82 a share, a year earlier.

The company said it benefited better freight volumes and improved operational efficiency in the period.

Write to Adriano Marchese at adriano.marchese@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 30, 2026 12:18 ET (17:18 GMT)