CSX Stock Falls Pre-Market on Q4 Revenue Miss, Lower Profit: Retail Reaction Muted

CSX Corp’s (CSX) shares fell 3.5% in pre-market trade on Friday after the railroad operator posted a 16.9% decline in quarterly earnings.

On Thursday, CSX reported a net income of $733 million, or $0.38 per share, for the fourth quarter, compared to $882 million, or $0.45 per share, last year.

Its total revenue fell 4% to $3.54 billion, below the Wall Street estimate of $3.56 billion, according to Koyfin data.

CSX’s adjusted earnings of $0.42 per share came in line with estimates.

The company attributed the fall to declines in fuel surcharge and coal revenue that offset the positive impact of higher pricing and volume in merchandise and growth in intermodal freight volumes.

The Jacksonville, Florida-based company said its coal volumes fell 7% to 20.1 million tons, hurt by reduced export volumes due to decreased customer production at their facilities.

Domestic coal volumes also dropped due to lower intakes by utility plants.

CSX said its merchandising revenue grew primarily due to a 7% rise in revenue from chemicals as shipments of plastics, crude oil, and natural gas liquids rose.

However, lower fertilizer shipments offset the gains, partly due to stoppages at production facilities during the hurricane season.

Its train velocity remained flat compared to last year, while on-time arrivals declined by 12%.

CSX added that its total revenue ton-miles fell 1% to 48.3 billion.

The company forecasted low to mid-single-digit percentage point growth in total volumes in 2025.

However, it said that 2025 revenue would be impacted by lower coal and diesel prices.

Retail sentiment on Stocktwits moved to ‘neutral’(52/100) from ‘bullish’ (61/100) a day ago, while retail chatter remained ‘extremely high.’

At the same time, retail chatter on Stocktwits indicated a divided opinion on the stock.

Some users were bearish, while some expressed optimism about the impact of President Trump's new administration.

Earlier on Thursday, peer Union Pacific had topped estimates on increased volume and core pricing gains.

Over the past year, CSX stock has fallen about 2%.

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