Canadian National Railway CNI is scheduled to report fourth-quarter 2024 results on Jan. 30, after market close.

Find the latest EPS estimates and surprises on Zacks Earnings Calendar.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CNI’s fourth-quarter earnings has been revised downward by 7.3% in the past 60 days to $1.39 per share. The consensus mark implies a 6.1% decline from fourth-quarter 2023 actuals. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues is pegged at $3.11 billion, which indicates a fall of 5.2% compared with the fourth-quarter 2023 actuals.

Canadian National Railway Company Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Canadian National Railway Company price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Canadian National Railway Company Quote

CNI has a mixed earnings surprise history. It lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate in two of the preceding four quarters (surpassed the mark in the remaining two quarters), the average miss being 0.9%.

Factors Likely to Have Influenced CNI’s Q4 Performance

Supply-chain issues, challenges with network fluidity and weak intermodal conditions are expected to have continued impacting CNI’s performance in the December-end quarter.

The sluggish freight demand scenario is likely to have hurt the top-line performance in the to-be-reported quarter. Our estimate for freight revenues is pegged at $4.27 billion, which indicates a fall of 0.7% compared with the fourth-quarter 2023 actuals.

Moreover, for the fourth quarter of 2024, CNI expects to deliver adjusted diluted EPS growth in the low-single-digit range and plans to invest approximately C$3.5 billion in its capital program, net of amounts reimbursed by customers. The company also anticipates an adjusted return on invested capital in the 13%-15% range.

What Our Model Says About CNI

Our proven model does not conclusively predict an earnings beat for Canadian National Railway 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’s not the case here.

CNI has an Earnings ESP of -3.67% and a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) at present. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Highlights of CNI’s Q3 Results

Canadian National reported third-quarter 2024 earnings of $1.26 per share (C$1.72), which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.28. However, the bottom line remained flat on a year-over-year basis.

Revenues for the third quarter of 2024 were $3.01 billion (C$4.11 billion), which lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.06 billion. However, this reflects an increase of 1.37% year over year, driven by higher volumes.

Stocks to Consider

Here are a few 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 fourth-quarter 2024 earnings.

Allegiant ALGT has an Earnings ESP of +10.23% and a Zacks Rank #2 at present. ALGT is set to release fourth-quarter 2024 results on Feb. 4.You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

ALGT has an encouraging earnings surprise history, having surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate thrice in the preceding four quarters and missing once. The average beat is 57.4%.

C.H. Robinson Worldwide CHRW has an Earnings ESP of +5.71% and a Zacks Rank #2 at present. CHRW is slated to release fourth-quarter 2024 results on Jan. 29. 

CHRW has an encouraging earnings surprise history, having surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the preceding four quarters and missing once. The average beat is 10.3%.

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Canadian National Railway Company (CNI) : Free Stock Analysis Report

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