Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation (WAB) reported third-quarter 2024 earnings per share (EPS) (excluding 37 cents from non-recurring items) of $2.00, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.87. The bottom line improved 17.6% year over year due to higher sales and operating margin expansion.
Wabtec’s bullish EPS guidance looks encouraging. WAB now expects its 2024 adjusted EPS in the range of $7.45-$7.65, which is higher than the prior guidance of $7.20-$7.50. The Zacks Consensus Estimate of $7.48 lies within the updated guidance.
Find the latest EPS estimates and surprises on Zacks Earnings Calendar.
Revenues of $2.66 billion beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.64 billion. The top line grew 4.4% year over year due to higher sales of the Freight and Transit segments.
Segmental Highlights
Freight net sales of $1.93 billion increased 2.6% year over year. Results were boosted by the strong performance of Services and Digital, which rose 16.5% and 12.7%, respectively. The actual segmental sales figure was below our expectations of $1.97 billion.
Freight segment’s adjusted operating margin increased 2.9 points to 24.1%. Adjusted operating margin benefited from higher sales, improved gross margin and operating expenses.
In the Transit segment, net sales grew 9.6% year over year to $733 million due to strong aftermarket sales. The actual segmental sales figure was higher than our projections of $653 million. The segmental adjusted operating margin increased to 12.8% from 12.5% in the third quarter of 2023.
Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation Quote
Other Details of Q3
The adjusted operating margin increased 1.8 points to 19.7%. The operating margin benefited from higher sales and improved gross margins.
Total operating expenses in the reported quarter increased by $25 million to $447 million.
Wabtec exited the third quarter with cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash of $410 million compared with $595 million at the prior-quarter end. Long-term debt was $3.52 billion compared with $3.49billion at the second-quarter end.
During the reported quarter, WAB repurchased shares worth $599 million and paid $35 million in dividends.
2024 Guidance
Wabtec’s revenue guidance remains unchanged in the range of $10.25 billion-$10.55 billion. The Zacks Consensus Estimate of $10.39 billion lies within the guidance.
For 2024, management expects operating cash flow conversion to be greater than 90%.
WAB’s Zacks Rank and Price Performance
Currently, WAB carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
WAB shares have gained 49.5% so far this year, outperforming its industry as well as the S&P 500, of which the company is a key member.
YTD Price Comparison
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Performances of Other Transportation Companies
Delta Air Lines (DAL) reported third-quarter 2024 earnings (excluding 47 cents from non-recurring items) of $1.50 per share, which fell short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.56. Earnings decreased 26.11% on a year-over-year basis, mainly due to high labor costs.
Revenues of $15.68 billion surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $15.37 billion and increased 1.2% on a year-over-year basis, driven by strong air travel demand. Adjusted operating revenues (excluding third-party refinery sales) totaled $14.59 billion, flat year over year.
J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (JBHT) third-quarter 2024 earnings of $1.49 per share outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.42 but declined 17.2% year over year.
Total operating revenues of $3.07 billionsurpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.04 billion but fell 3% year over year. The downfall was owing to a 5% and 6% decrease in gross revenue per load in Intermodal (JBI) and Truckload (JBT), respectively, a decline in load volume of 10% and 6% in Integrated Capacity Solutions (ICS) and Dedicated Contract Services (DCS), respectively, and 6% fewer stops in Final Mile Services (FMS). These were partially offset by JBI load growth of 5%, which included growth in both the transcontinental and eastern networks, and a 3% increase in revenue per load in ICS. Total operating revenue, excluding fuel surcharge revenue, decreased less than 1% from the year-ago reported quarter.
United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (UAL)reported third-quarter 2024 EPS (excluding 43 cents from non-recurring items) of $3.33, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.10. Earnings decreased 8.8% on a year-over-year basis.
Operating revenues of $14.84 billion beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $14.76 billion. The top line increased 2.5% year over year due to upbeat air-travel demand. This was driven by a 1.6% rise in passenger revenues (which accounted for 91.3% of the top line) to $13.56 billion. Almost 45,559 passengers traveled on UAL flights in the third quarter, up 2.7% year over year.
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Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation (WAB) : Free Stock Analysis Report
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