CSX Q4 Profit Tops Wall Street

(RTTNews) - Railroad operator CSX Corp. (CSX), Wednesday reported a profit for the fourth quarter that trumped Wall Street estimates, helped by higher revenues. The board also authorized $5 billion stock buyback.

Jacksonville, Florida-based CSX's fourth-quarter profit dropped to $843 million or $1.01 per share from $4.14 billion or $4.62 per share last year. Last year's results included a one-time tax benefit of $3.16 billion.

On average, 25 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters estimated earnings of $0.99 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Revenues for the quarter grew 10 percent to $3.14 billion compared to last year's revenues of $2.86 billion. Analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $3.13 billion for the quarter.

Total volumes rose 3 percent to 1.65 million units, while revenue per unit rose 7 percent to $1,907 from $1,788 last year.

CEO James Foote said, "We are entering 2019 on a new trajectory with significant opportunity to improve across all aspects of our business. I expect CSX to deliver even better service to our customers and drive significant shareholder value."

CSX also announced the Board has authorized $5 billion in share repurchases.

CSX closed Wednesday's trading at $65.38, up $0.27 or 0.41% on the Nasdaq. The stock, however, slipped $1.53 or 2.34% in the after-hours trading.