CSX Corporation (CSX) Earnings

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Sep 2026upcoming

Next quarter

Expected to report Oct 15, 2026 — estimated from last year’s reporting date.

Consensus is $0.54 EPS for Sep 2026 across 8 estimates, ranging $0.52 to $0.56.

CSX Jun 2026

Reported Jul 22, 2026

: 8.00%
: +5.77%

: $0.50
: $0.54
: —
: $3.94B

Reported results

: $3.94B; from $3.57B
: $1.51B; from $1.28B
: 38.27%; from 35.90%
: $1.00B; from $829.00M
: $0.54; from $0.44

Highlights

Earnings beat: Diluted EPS was $0.54 versus the $0.50 consensus estimate, an 8% surprise, and rose 23% from $0.44 a year ago.
Record revenue: Revenue reached $3.94 billion, up 10% year over year and 13% from $3.48 billion in Q1 2026.
Margin expansion: Operating income increased 17% year over year to $1.51 billion, while operating margin expanded 240 basis points to 38.3%.
Broad volume growth: Total volume rose 6% to 1.68 million units, led by 9% intermodal growth; merchandise volume increased 4% and coal volume 4%.
Fuel-supported revenue: Fuel surcharge revenue increased to $410 million from $222 million, helping drive revenue growth alongside higher volume and pricing.
Cost productivity: Total expense rose 6% to $2.43 billion, as a $177 million increase in fuel expense was partly offset by a $39 million decline in non-fuel expense.
Service remains a focus: Train velocity improved 3% to 18.0 miles per hour, but dwell increased 6% to 11.0 hours, carload trip-plan performance fell to 71%, and intermodal performance fell to 88%.
Cash and capital returns: Six-month free cash flow before dividends was $1.62 billion versus $444 million a year ago; CSX repurchased $284 million of stock in Q2 and ended the quarter with $5.7 billion of remaining authorization.

Analysis

CSX delivered a strong second quarter, with diluted EPS of $0.54 beating the $0.50 consensus estimate by 8%. Revenue rose 10% year over year to a record $3.94 billion, operating income increased 17% to $1.51 billion, and net income rose 21% to $1.00 billion. Sequentially, the print accelerated from Q1: revenue increased from $3.48 billion, operating income from $1.25 billion, net income from $807 million, and EPS from $0.43. The operating margin of 38.3% was also 240 basis points above last year’s 35.9%.

Volume and revenue mix

Intermodal led: Intermodal volume increased 9% to 792,000 units and revenue rose 26% to $620 million, supported by customer wins, new services and a tightening trucking market.
Merchandise broadened: Merchandise volume rose 4% to 695,000 units and revenue increased 8% to $2.45 billion. Chemicals volume grew 8%, minerals 6%, and metals and equipment 3%; automotive volume declined 1% because of a temporary customer re-tooling outage.
Coal improved: Coal volume increased 4% to 189,000 units and revenue rose 9% to $520 million. Export coal benefited from higher metallurgical and thermal shipments and production from reopened mines, while domestic utility shipments declined.
Fuel recovery: Fuel surcharge revenue increased $188 million to $410 million. Revenue per unit rose 4% to $2,348, reflecting pricing and fuel recovery in addition to volume.

Margin and cost control

Operating leverage: Revenue increased $361 million year over year, while expense increased $138 million, lifting operating income by $223 million to $1.51 billion and expanding margin to 38.3% from 35.9%.
Fuel headwind: Fuel expense rose $177 million to $446 million, primarily because locomotive fuel prices increased 74%, partly offset by efficiency savings.
Non-fuel savings: Non-fuel expense declined $39 million. Purchased services and other costs fell $66 million, including $54 million of efficiency savings net of inflation and $14 million from the absence of prior-year disruption and congestion costs.
Labor mix: Labor and fringe expense increased $40 million, as $56 million of higher incentive compensation and $32 million of inflation more than offset $48 million of lower other costs, primarily from reduced headcount.

Service and safety execution

The quarter showed better safety and speed, but not uniformly better service reliability. Train velocity improved 3% year over year to 18.0 miles per hour and the FRA personal injury frequency index improved 19% to 0.83. The FRA train accident rate improved 30% to 2.72. However, dwell increased 6% to 11.0 hours, on-time arrivals declined to 54% from 55%, carload trip-plan performance fell 5% to 71%, and intermodal trip-plan performance fell 2% to 88%. Management said it intends to strengthen service execution in the second half as it manages continued volume growth.

Cash flow and capital returns

Free cash flow: Six-month operating cash flow increased to $2.60 billion from $1.89 billion, while free cash flow before dividends rose to $1.62 billion from $444 million. The comparison benefited from the prior year’s $429 million of postponed tax payments and $295 million of Blue Ridge rebuilding spending.
Capital spending: Property additions were $1.12 billion in the first half versus $1.50 billion a year ago. CSX expects 2026 capital investments to be below $2.4 billion, focused on safety, reliability, service enhancements and productivity.
Shareholder returns: CSX repurchased $284 million of stock, or 6.3 million shares, in Q2 and paid $260 million of dividends. The quarterly dividend is $0.14 per share, following an 8% increase effective March 2026.
Liquidity: Cash and short-term investments totaled approximately $1.4 billion at quarter-end. Total debt was $18.9 billion, with no borrowings under the $1.2 billion revolving credit facility or the commercial paper program.

CSX Corporation

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