OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Union Pacific reported 7% more fourth-quarter profit as the railroad prepared to deal with whatever challenges President Donald Trump’s administration or the economy might present.
If Trump follows through on his threat to impose tariffs on America’s two biggest trading partners of Mexico and Canada, that would hurt the imports railroads deliver, but if the Federal Railroad Administration eases regulations and approves some of the waivers the industry has been pursuing for years and taxes change that would help the bottom line. So the effects of Trump taking over will be mixed.
UP CEO Jim Vena said that “in my 48 years of railroading, I’ve never entered a year without some economic question mark.” But maybe the tariffs won’t match the rhetoric.
“I’m hoping that it’s a negotiating position by the president because I don’t think anybody — the consumers in the U.S. — would love to have increase in prices because of a dispute, unless there’s some strategic reason that the president needs to do that for the security of the country,” Vena said.
For years, Union Pacific and the other major railroads have been asking to get waivers from some inspection requirements because they believe some of the new high-tech automated inspection tools can replace some human inspections. Unions have opposed that and argued that the new inspection technology should supplement — not replace — human inspections.
The key thing for any railroad is to try to haul freight as efficiently as possible so you can deal with whatever comes, Edward Jones analyst Jeff Windau said. Union Pacific did a good job doing that in the quarter, and CSX will discuss its performance Thursday afternoon.
The Omaha, Nebraska-based Union Pacific reported $1.76 billion profit Thursday, or $2.91 per share, to easily top Wall Street expectations. That’s up from $1.65 billion, or $2.71 per share a year ago. The railroad improved its bottom line even though it had an additional one-time cost related to some buyouts of brake persons in one region that added $40 million in costs.
Wall Street expected Union Pacific to report earnings per share of $2.80 on average, according to the survey of analysts FactSet Research did.
Revenue slipped 1% to $6.12 billion in the quarter even though volume was up 5% because much of the additional shipments were intermodal carloads that are less profitable than coal and other categories. Analysts expected the railroad’s revenue to be $6.15 billion.
Union Pacific said it is on track to achieve its long-term goals to deliver high single-digit to low double-digit earnings per share growth over the next three years.
Union Pacific and CSX are two of the nation’s five largest freight railroads with Union Pacific operating in the west and CSX serving the Eastern United States.
Analysts expect CSX to earn 42 cents per share on $3.5578 billion revenue.
CSX started the quarter by dealing with the aftermath of Hurricanes Helene and Milton in the Southeast, but officials said in October when the railroad reported third-quarter results that it was able to quickly get its trains moving again after those storms.
