Norfolk Southern Corp. reported third quarter income of $1.1 billion on revenue that was 2% higher at $3.1 billion despite flat freight volumes.
Diluted earnings per share was $3.16, down from the prior year and short of Wall Street’s forecast range of $3.18 to $3.22.
The earnings for the Atlanta-based carrier (NYSE: NSC) came after the close of markets and on the same day proposed merger partner Union Pacific (NYSE: UNP) reported its earnings.
Income from railway operations was lower than the previous year’s figure of $1.6 billion (that had included significant railway line sales benefits), and showed a meaningful adjusted increase when excluding merger-related expenses and other charges. On an adjusted basis, the income showed an uptick of $21 million to $1.1 billion, fueled primarily by incremental land sales amounting to $65 million.
The operating ratio, a critical measure of efficiency, was 64.6% and a significant increase from the 47.7% recorded in the third quarter of 2024. When adjusting for extraordinary items, the current operating ratio presented a slight improvement to 63.3%, comparing favorably to the adjusted 63.4% from the previous year.
Excluding merger-related and other extraordinary charges, diluted earnings per share slightly increased to $3.30, up by 2% from the adjusted result for the third quarter of 2024.
“Norfolk Southern delivered another quarter of strong results on safety, service, and productivity through a dynamic freight market,” said President and Chief Executive Mark George, in a release. “The entire Thoroughbred team pulled together to serve our customers, achieve an all-time record in fuel efficiency, delivered on key productivity initiatives, and executed a noteworthy land sale that will ultimately deliver rail volumes for years to come. I’m proud of the way our team is performing with discipline and focus — driving results and strengthening our foundation for long term success.”
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Find more articles by Stuart Chirls here.
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