CSX Corporation (CSX) Earnings

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Dec 2026upcoming

Next quarter

Expected to report Jan 21, 2027 — estimated from last year’s reporting date.

Consensus is $0.52 EPS for Dec 2026 across 8 estimates, ranging $0.51 to $0.54.

CSX Sep 2026

Reported Oct 21, 2026 · after the close

: 9.62%
: +6.76%

: $0.52
: $0.57
: —
: $4.02B

Reported results

: $4.02B; from $3.59B
: $1.57B; from $1.09B
: 39.08%; from 30.30%
: $1.05B; from $694.00M
: $0.57; from $0.37

Highlights

Earnings beat: Diluted EPS of $0.57 exceeded the $0.52 consensus by 9.6%, up from $0.54 in Q2 and $0.44 on an adjusted basis in Q3 2025.
Record revenue and margin: Revenue rose 12% year over year to $4.02 billion; operating income increased 25% against adjusted prior-year results to $1.57 billion, and operating margin expanded 420 basis points to 39.1%.
Volume and pricing: Total volume grew 5% to 1.687 million units and revenue per unit rose 7%; excluding fuel, revenue per unit increased 1%.
Intermodal strength: Volume increased 7% to a quarterly record, while revenue grew 20% to $634 million; domestic conversions and new services helped drive gains.
Productivity offset fuel: Nonfuel costs declined 3% with 5% more volume, including a 10% reduction in purchased services and other; fuel expense rose $170 million as locomotive fuel prices increased 67%.
Service remained a constraint: Year over year, dwell increased 12% to 10.6 hours, velocity fell 2% to 18.6 mph, and carload and intermodal trip-plan performance declined to 73% and 83%, respectively.
Higher 2026 outlook: CSX raised its revenue-growth outlook to high single digits, while maintaining expectations for operating-margin expansion above 350 basis points, capital spending below $2.4 billion, and free-cash-flow growth above 80%.

Analysis

CSX delivered a stronger-than-expected Q3: diluted EPS of $0.57 beat the $0.52 consensus by 9.6%, compared with $0.54 in Q2 and $0.37 reported in Q3 2025. The year-ago quarter included a $164 million goodwill impairment; against adjusted Q3 2025 EPS of $0.44, EPS grew 30%. Revenue reached a record $4.02 billion, up 12% year over year and from $3.94 billion in Q2. Operating income rose 25% versus adjusted prior-year results to $1.57 billion, and the adjusted-comparable margin expanded 420 basis points to 39.1%.

The print was defined by growing freight demand, especially intermodal, and productivity gains that more than absorbed higher fuel costs. Volume rose 5%, while higher fuel surcharge revenue and pricing across merchandise, intermodal, and coal contributed to growth; excluding fuel, revenue per unit increased 1%. Nonfuel costs fell 3% despite higher volume, but service metrics remained weaker year over year even as management cited sequential improvement and stronger October trends. CSX raised its full-year revenue-growth outlook to high single digits and reiterated margin expansion above 350 basis points, capex below $2.4 billion, and free-cash-flow growth above 80%.

Earnings and margins

Beat and sequential growth: Q3 diluted EPS was $0.57, above the $0.52 consensus and up from $0.54 in Q2. Revenue increased from $3.94 billion to $4.02 billion; operating income rose from $1.51 billion to $1.57 billion.
Adjusted comparison: Q3 2025 included a $164 million non-cash Quality Carriers goodwill impairment. Excluding it, prior-year operating income was $1.251 billion, net earnings $818 million, and EPS $0.44; Q3 2026 increased 25%, 29%, and 30%, respectively.
Margin expansion: The reported operating margin was 39.1%, versus 30.3% in Q3 2025; against the adjusted prior-year margin of 34.9%, expansion was 420 basis points. Revenue growth and lower nonfuel costs drove improvement despite fuel-price headwinds.

Volume and revenue mix

Overall growth: Volume increased 5% to 1.687 million units and revenue rose 12%. Revenue per unit increased 7%, while revenue per unit excluding fuel increased 1%; management said fuel contributed about half of revenue growth.
Intermodal: Volume rose 7% to 820,000 units, a quarterly record, and revenue increased 20% to $634 million. Domestic shipments benefited from customer wins, new services, and tighter truck capacity; international volume was roughly stable.
Merchandise and coal: Merchandise revenue rose 11% on 3% volume growth, with metals and equipment volume up 12% and chemicals up 7%; fertilizer volume fell 13%. Coal revenue increased 10%, as volume rose 2% and revenue per unit increased 7%, including higher export shipments.
Fuel surcharge: Fuel surcharge revenue was $466 million, compared with $234 million a year earlier. Higher diesel prices supported revenue but also increased costs and contributed to margin pressure.

Productivity and costs

Nonfuel efficiency: With volume up 5%, nonfuel costs declined 3%. Purchased services and other expense fell 10%, including $42 million of efficiency savings net of inflation; management cited improved asset utilization, lower external labor reliance, and maintenance efficiencies.
Labor: Labor and fringe expense increased $19 million. Higher incentive compensation and wage and healthcare inflation were partly offset by lower headcount and the prior-year severance comparison; average total employee count was down 1,320 year over year.
Fuel and other expenses: Total expense decreased $53 million, or 2%, but this included the absence of the prior-year $164 million impairment. Fuel expense increased $170 million to $451 million, as locomotive fuel prices rose 67%; fuel efficiency reached a company record, according to management.

Service and safety

Year-over-year service: Velocity declined 2% to 18.6 mph and dwell rose 12% to 10.6 hours. On-time originations fell to 69% from 75%, arrivals to 56% from 64%, and carload and intermodal trip-plan performance to 73% from 83% and 83% from 93%.
Sequential progress and capacity: Management said velocity, dwell, and customer-switch measures improved sequentially; October velocity averaged more than 19 mph and dwell approached 10 hours. CSX cited crew management, planning, and targeted capacity investments, including Atlanta infrastructure work to increase switching and processing capacity by 50%.
Safety: The FRA personal-injury frequency index improved 17% year over year to 0.97, and the train-accident rate improved 5% to 2.77.

Outlook and cash flow

2026 guidance: CSX raised expected revenue growth to high single digits from its prior mid-to-high-single-digit range. It maintained full-year operating-margin expansion above 350 basis points, capital expenditures below $2.4 billion, and free-cash-flow growth above 80%.
Fourth quarter: Management expects year-over-year margin improvement above 350 basis points, alongside normal winter-related sequential cost increases and lower fuel efficiency. It also expects normal merchandise seasonality and sees continued domestic intermodal demand.
Cash generation: Nine-month operating cash flow was $4.216 billion and free cash flow before dividends was $2.648 billion, versus $1.066 billion a year earlier. The increase reflected higher earnings, lower property additions after completion of the Blue Ridge rebuild, and the prior-year tax-payment comparison.

CSX Corporation

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