CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The transportation company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by ($0.02), Zacks reports. CSX had a net margin of 20.55% and a return on equity of 24.95%. The firm had revenue of $3.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.42 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year.

Here are the key takeaways from CSX’s conference call:

• Q4 results showed only modest volume growth (+1%) while revenue fell 1%, and reported operating income and EPS declined ~9% and ~7%; results included roughly $50 million of workforce and technology charges.
• Management says service and safety have stabilized with quarter-to-quarter improvements in velocity, cars online, dwell and FRA injury/accident rates, and they report clear productivity gains that supported modest volume growth.
• The company plans to drive margin expansion via cost actions (workforce optimization, >100 savings initiatives) and tighter capex discipline, forecasting 200–300 bps of operating margin improvement, CapEx below $2.4B, and at least 50% growth in free cash flow vs. 2025.
• Market headwinds and mix pressures persist—chemicals, forest products and automotive volumes were weak (down 6–11%), coal RPU fell with met-coal benchmark weakness, visibility is limited, and the company withdrew its prior multi-year targets to focus on 2026 execution.

CSX Stock Performance

NASDAQ CSX opened at $35.78 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $35.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $35.09. The firm has a market cap of $66.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.30. CSX has a twelve month low of $26.22 and a twelve month high of $37.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of CSX from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 18th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of CSX in a report on Monday, January 12th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of CSX in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on CSX from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Wolfe Research decreased their price objective on CSX from $43.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $39.13.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CSX

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its position in shares of CSX by 0.8% during the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 405,828 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $13,242,000 after buying an additional 3,162 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC grew its stake in CSX by 22.5% during the third quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 148,355 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $5,268,000 after acquiring an additional 27,280 shares in the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S increased its holdings in CSX by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 74,410 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,428,000 after acquiring an additional 2,281 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in CSX by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 16,254 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $525,000 after purchasing an additional 849 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of CSX during the 3rd quarter valued at about $67,000. 73.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting CSX

Here are the key news stories impacting CSX this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Operating cash flow improved materially (reported up ~30% year-over-year to ~$1.4B) and operating profit held roughly flat, which supports liquidity and investment capacity. Quiver Quant: Q4 results
• Positive Sentiment: Management commentary and the company outlook helped push shares higher in extended trading immediately after the print, indicating investors saw some forward-looking positives despite the miss. Benzinga: After-hours move
• Neutral Sentiment: Wider market action—U.S. futures pulled back after two days of gains—added headwinds to the name today, amplifying the reaction to CSX’s results. Benzinga: Market summary
• Negative Sentiment: Top- and bottom-line misses: Q4 revenue and EPS came in below consensus, with revenue down ~0.9% year-over-year and gross profit declining — a clear near-term growth/margin concern. MarketBeat: Earnings summary
• Negative Sentiment: Demand headwinds: management flagged weaker industrial demand and lower export coal volumes as drivers of the revenue decline — factors that, if persistent, could pressure near-term volumes and pricing. AP: Profit and demand notes
• Negative Sentiment: Legal risk: a federal judge allowed CSX’s trespass claims against a fiber-optics firm to proceed, introducing an additional legal overhang. Law.com: Trespass ruling

About CSX

CSX Corporation is a leading North American transportation company that provides rail-based freight services and supply-chain solutions. Its operating subsidiary, CSX Transportation, moves a wide range of goods for customers across multiple industries, using a combination of long-haul rail service, intermodal operations and terminal and yard services. The company focuses on delivering efficient, reliable freight transportation between major production centers, consumption markets and port gateways.

CSX’s freight portfolio includes intermodal containers and trailers, bulk commodities, industrial products and specialized unit trains.