News

Canadian National Railway Company CNI is scheduled to report first-quarter 2024 results on Apr 23 after market close. CNI has a mixed earnings surprise history, having surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in two of the preceding four quarters and missing the mark on the other two occasions. The average beat is 0.45%. Given this backdrop, let's delve into the factors that are likely to have influenced CNI's performance this earnings season. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Canadian National's first-quarter 2024 revenues is pegged at $3.16 billion, which indicates a 0.80% decline year over year. The top line is likely to have been weighed down owing to lower volumes of intermodal, crude oil and forest products. Moreover, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for CNI's first-quarter 2024 earnings has been revised upward by 0.79% in the past 60 days to $1.27 per share. A decline in expenses is likely to have aided the company's bottom line.

What Our Model Says

Our proven model does not conclusively predict an earnings beat for Canadian National this time. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat. However, that is not the case here.

Canadian National has an Earnings ESP of -0.75% (the Most Accurate Estimate is currently pegged at $1.26 per share, whereas the Zacks Consensus Estimate is currently pegged at $1.27) and a Zacks Rank #3. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they're reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Canadian National Railway Company Price and EPS Surprise

Highlights of Q4

Canadian National's fourth-quarter 2023 earnings per share of $1.48 (C$3.29) beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.46 but declined 4.5% year over year. Quarterly revenues of $3.28 billion (C$4,471 million) surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.25 billion but decreased 1.8% year over year.

Stocks to Consider

Here are a few other stocks from the broader Zacks Transportation sector that investors might want to consider as our model shows that these have the right combination of elements to beat on their first-quarter 2024 earnings.

CSX Corporation CSX has an Earnings ESP of +0.76% and a Zacks Rank #3. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here. CSX is scheduled to report first-quarter 2024 earnings on Apr 17. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for first-quarter earnings has remained stable at 45 cents over the past 60 days. CSX has surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in two of the preceding four quarters, reporting in-line earnings in the other two quarters. The average beat is 4.14%. Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies WAB has an Earnings ESP of +4.98% and a Zacks Rank #3. WAB is scheduled to report first-quarter 2024 earnings on Apr 24. WAB has an impressive earnings surprise history, having surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the preceding four quarters, the average beat being 6.63%.Stay on top of upcoming earnings announcements with the Zacks Earnings Calendar.WAB has an impressive earnings surprise history, having surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the preceding four quarters, the average beat being 6.63%. Stay on top of upcoming earnings announcements with the Zacks Earnings Calendar.

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