CSX Corporation 8-K
PositiveEarnings
Higher fuel surcharges, volume and pricing lift revenue 12% Y/Y across merchandise, intermodal and coal; rail service weakens.
Filed 2026-10-21 16:01 ET
- 2.02 Results of Operations
- 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits
Summary
Q3 2026 results. Revenue rose 12% as fuel surcharge revenue increased and volume and pricing improved across merchandise, intermodal and coal. Operating income increased 44% and diluted EPS rose 54%; CSX reported 5% higher total volume.
Key Figures
| Metric | Q3 2026 | 9M 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $4.02B, +12% Y/Y | $11.4B, +8% Y/Y |
| Operating income | $1.57B, +44% Y/Y | $4.33B, +27% Y/Y |
| Operating margin | 39.1%, vs 30.3% | 37.9%, vs 32.2% |
| Net earnings | $1.05B, +52% Y/Y | $2.86B, +32% Y/Y |
| Diluted EPS | $0.57, +54% Y/Y | $1.54, +33% Y/Y |
| Operating cash flow | — | $4.22B, +31% Y/Y |
| Free cash flow (non-GAAP, before dividends) | — | $2.65B, vs $1.07B |
| Total volume | 1.69M units, +5% Y/Y | 4.92M units, +5% Y/Y |
- Q3 operating income, net earnings and EPS increased 25%, 29% and 30%, respectively, against adjusted Q3 2025 results that excluded a $164M non-cash goodwill impairment.
- Service measures weakened in Q3: velocity fell 2%, dwell increased 12%, and carload and intermodal trip-plan performance declined 12% and 11%. FRA personal injury frequency improved 17% and the train accident rate improved 5%.
- Q3 share repurchases were 11M shares for $543M, vs 3M for $112M; diluted average shares outstanding were 1.853B, vs 1.867B. At 9/30/2026, cash was $1.22B and total debt carrying value was $18.8B, vs $670M and $18.9B at 12/31/2025.
Guidance
No guidance in this filing.
Investor Takeaways
- Watch for Q4 and 2027 improvement in operating service metrics, particularly trip-plan performance and dwell, as CSX pursues its stated goal of progress toward best-in-class performance in 2027.
The summary is written by an AI model reading the filing.
Model 005 · prompt v95 · 2026-10-21 22:33:40Z