CN Rail Profit Falls as Revenue Slips, Operating Ratio Worsens

By Adriano Marchese

Canadian National Railway reported lower first-quarter profit as revenue edged down and its operating ratio deteriorated, offsetting improved freight volumes.

The Canadian railroad posted on Wednesday a decrease in net income to 1.15 billion Canadian dollars ($840.5 million), down slightly from C$1.16 billion in the comparable quarter a year ago. On a per-share basis, earnings were C$1.87, compared with C$1.85.

Adjusted earnings were C$1.80 a share. According to FactSet, analysts were expecting C$1.80 a share.

Revenues fell 1% to C$4.38 billion, in line with analyst expectations.

Operating ratio, a key measure of railroad efficiency that calculates operating expenses as a percentage of revenue, increased 120 basis points to 64.6%. A lower ratio signals stronger cost control and higher profitability.

Revenue ton-miles, a metric that measures how much freight and how far the railroad transports, rose 3% in the quarter to 61.83 billion.

CN Rail said it continues to assume that volume growth in terms of revenue ton-miles will be flattish, and that adjusted diluted EPS growth will slightly exceed volume growth.

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

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 29, 2026 08:27 ET (12:27 GMT)