CSX Meets on Revenues, Misses on EPS

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

CSX (NYS: CSX) reported earnings on Jan. 23. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Dec. 30 (Q4), CSX met expectations on revenues and missed on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue increased, and earnings per share grew.

Gross margins dropped, operating margins dropped, net margins improved.

Revenue details
CSX booked revenue of $3.0 billion. The 17 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected sales of $3.0 billion. Sales were 4.8% higher than the prior-year quarter's $2.8 billion

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Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions.

EPS details
EPS came in at $0.43. The 26 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ averaged $0.44 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.43 for Q4 were 13% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.38 per share.

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Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Figures may be non-GAAP to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
For the quarter, gross margin was 36.5%, 270 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 28.5%, 150 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 15.5%, 20 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $3.0 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.42.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $12.5 billion.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a five-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 1,911 members out of 1,980 rating the stock outperform, and 69 members rating it underperform. Among 475 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 464 give CSX a green thumbs-up, and 11 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on CSX is outperform, with an average price target of $27.24.

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At the time thisarticle was published Seth Jayson had no position in any company mentioned here at the time of publication. You can view his stock holdings here. He is co-advisor ofMotley Fool Hidden Gems, which provides new small-cap ideas every month, backed by a real-money portfolio. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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