Norfolk Southern CorporationNSC delivered fourth-quarter 2018 earnings of $2.57 per share, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.30. The bottom line also soared 52.1% on a year-over-year basis.
Railway operating revenues in the quarter under review grossed $2,896 million, higher than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2,845.1 million. Moreover, the top line rose 8.5% year over year owing to higher fuel-surcharge revenues and robust volumes among other factors. Overall, volumes expanded 3% on the back of growth in intermodal and coal segments.
Income from railway operations augmented 8% year over year to $1.1 billion. Operating expenses increased 9% year over year to $1.8 billion. Norfolk Southern's operating ratio (operating expenses as a percentage of revenues) in the fourth quarter came in at 62.8% compared with 62% in the fourth quarter of 2017. The same for 2018 stood at 65.4% compared with 67.4% in 2017.
Norfolk Southern Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Norfolk Southern Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | Norfolk Southern Corporation Quote
Segmental Revenues
On a year-over-year basis, coal revenues climbed 7.3% to $457 million. Coal volumes inched up 1%.
Merchandise revenues gained 6.8% year over year to $1,684 million. Merchandise volumes are flat year over year.
Intermodal revenues rose 13.2% year over year to $755 million. Intermodal volumes also improved year over year.
Liquidity
This Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company exited the fourth quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $358 million compared with $690 million at the end of 2017. The company had long-term debt of $10,560 million compared with $9,136 million as of Dec 31, 2017. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here .
Upcoming Releases
Investors interested in the broader Transportation sector are keenly awaiting fourth-quarter earnings reports from key players, such as SkyWest, Inc. SKYW , C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. CHRW and United Parcel Service, Inc. UPS . While SkyWest and UPS will report fourth-quarter earnings on Jan 31, C.H. Robinson will release the same on Jan 29.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
