CSX Q2 Earnings Came Ahead of Estimates, Revenues Decline Y/Y

CSX Corporation (CSX) reported mixed second-quarter 2025 results wherein the company’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate, but revenues missed the same. Quarterly earnings per share of 44 cents beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 42 cents but decreased 10.2% on a year-over-year basis on the back of lower revenues.Total revenues of $3.57 million missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.58 million and declined 3.4% year over year. The downside was owing to lower export coal prices, reduced fuel surcharge, and a decline in merchandise volume. These were partially offset by higher merchandise pricing, an increase in other revenue, and growth in intermodal volume.Second-quarter operating income decreased 11% year over year to $1.28 billion. CSX’s operating margin of 35.9% decreased 320 basis points year over year.Total expenses were up 2% year over year to $2.29 billion. Overall volumes rose marginally by 0.1% year over year, but revenue per unit decreased 4% year over year.CSX Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise CSX Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | CSX Corporation QuoteJoe Hinrichs, president and chief executive officer, stated, “The skill and commitment of CSX’s railroaders enabled us to deliver significant sequential improvements in network fluidity and cost efficiency that are apparent in our financial results. While uncertainty continues to impact select industrial markets, we remain focused on completing two major infrastructure projects that will strengthen our position to execute on many profitable growth opportunities ahead.”Q2 Segmental Performance of CSXMerchandise revenues fell 2% year over year to $2.25 billion in the reported quarter, lower than our estimate of $2.29 billion. Merchandise volumes fell 2% year over year to $670 million. Segmental revenue per unit remained flat year over year.Intermodal revenues decreased 3% year over year to $491 million, lower than our estimate of $528.2 million. Segmental volumes increased 2% while revenue per unit decreased 5% year over year.Coal revenues fell 15% year over year to $477 million in the reported quarter, higher than our estimate of $444.3 million.  Coal volumes increased 1% year over year while segmental revenue per unit fell 16% year over year.Trucking revenues totaled $211 million (below our estimate of $225.7 million), down 5% year over year. Other revenues grew 20% year over year to $138 million (above our estimate of $114.2 million) in the reported quarter. Liquidity CSX exited the second quarter of 2025 with cash and cash equivalents of $387 million compared with $1.14 billion at the end of the prior quarter. Long-term debt of $18.5 billion remained flat sequentially.CSX generated $635 million of cash from operating activities in the reported quarter.2025 Guidance of CSXFor 2025, CSX still expects total volume growth.For the second half of 2025, CSX now expects lesser year-over-year revenue headwinds from lower export coal benchmarks and diesel prices.CSX will continue to focus on operational excellence, labor productivity, and efficiency initiatives. Capital expenditures are expected to be roughly flat year over year, excluding hurricane rebuild spending.Currently, CSX carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.Q2 Performances of Other Transportation CompaniesDelta Air Lines (DAL) reported second-quarter 2025 earnings (excluding $1.17 per share from non-recurring items) of $2.10 per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.04. Earnings decreased 11% on a year-over-year basis due to high labor costs.Revenues in the June-end quarter were $16.65 billion, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $16.2 billion and decreasing marginally on a year-over-year basis. Adjusted operating revenues (excluding third-party refinery sales) increased 1% year over year to $15.5 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (JBHT) reported second-quarter 2025 earnings of $1.31 per share, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.34 and declined 0.8% year over year.Total operating revenues of $2.93 billion missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.94 billion and were flat year over year. JBHT’s second-quarter revenue performance witnessed a 6% increase in Intermodal (JBI) loads, a 13% increase in Truckload (JBT) loads, a 3% increase in Dedicated Contract Services (DCS) productivity and a 6% increase in Integrated Capacity Solutions (ICS) revenue per load. These items were offset by Final Mile Services revenue declining 10%, lower revenue per load in both JBI and JBT, a 9% decrease in ICS load volume and a 3% decline in average trucks in DCS. Total operating revenues, excluding fuel surcharge revenue, increased 1% on a year-over-year basis.United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (UAL) reported mixed second-quarter 2025 results wherein the company’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate, but revenues missed the same.UAL's second-quarter 2025 adjusted earnings per share (EPS) (excluding 90 cents from non-recurring items) of $3.87 surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a penny but declined 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. The reported figure lies within the guided range of $3.25-$4.25.Operating revenues of $15.2 billion fell short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $15.4 billion but increased 1.7% year over year. Passenger revenues (which accounted for 90.8% of the top line) increased 1.1% year over year to $13.8 billion. UAL flights transported 46,186 passengers in the second quarter, up 4.1% year over year.7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 DaysJust released: Experts distill 7 elite stocks from the current list of 220 Zacks Rank #1 Strong Buys. They deem these tickers "Most Likely for Early Price Pops."Since 1988, the full list has beaten the market more than 2X over with an average gain of +23.5% per year. So be sure to give these hand picked 7 your immediate attention. See them now >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report CSX Corporation (CSX): Free Stock Analysis Report Delta Air Lines, Inc. (DAL): Free Stock Analysis Report United Airlines Holdings Inc (UAL): Free Stock Analysis Report J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (JBHT): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks