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Is a Beat in Store for Canadian National's (CNI) Q1 Earnings?

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Canadian National Railway Company (CNI - Free Report) is scheduled to report first-quarter 2023 results on Apr 24, after market close.

Canadian National has outperformed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in two of the preceding four quarters, the average beat being 3.46%.

Let’s see how things have shaped up for Canadian National this earnings season.

Q1 Expectations

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Canadian National’s first-quarter 2023 revenues is pegged at $3.14 billion, indicating 7.25% year-over-year growth. The top line is likely to have been aided by higher fuel surcharge revenues, freight rate increases and rising volumes of Canadian grain.

On the flip side, rising fuel prices have been bothering CNI’s bottom line. Moreover, supply-chain woes, network fluidity challenges and weak intermodal scenarios are expected to have weighed on volumes in the first quarter. Notably, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for CNI’s first-quarter 2023 earnings has been revised downward by 1.6% in the past 90 days.

What Our Model Says

Our proven model predicts an earnings beat for Canadian National this time around. 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, which is the case here, as you can see below. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they're reported with our  Earnings ESP Filter.

Canadian National has an Earnings ESP of +1.72% and a Zacks Rank #3.

Q4 Highlights

Canadian National’s fourth-quarter 2022 earnings of $1.55 per share (C$2.10) missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.56 and improved 13.97% year over year. Quarterly revenues of $3,345.7 million (C$4,542 million) outperformed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3,326.1 million and increased year over year. The uptick was driven by higher fuel surcharge revenues, freight rate increases, rising volumes of Canadian grain and positive translation impacts of a weaker Canadian dollar.

Stocks to Consider

Here are a few stocks from the broader Zacks Transportation sector that investors may consider, as our model shows that these have the right combination of elements to beat their first-quarter 2023 earnings.

Copa Holdings, S.A. (CPA - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +13.66% and currently flaunts a Zacks Rank #1. CPA will release results on May 10.

You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Copa Holdings has an expected earnings growth rate of more than 100% for the first quarter. CPA delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 33.35%, on average.

American Airlines (AAL - Free Report) presently has an Earnings ESP of +75.82% and a Zacks Rank #2. AAL will release results on Apr 27.

AAL has an expected earnings growth rate of more than 100% for the first quarter. AAL delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 7.79%, on average.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AAL’s first-quarter earnings has improved more than 100% over the past 60 days. Shares of AAL have gained 14.8% over the past six months.

United Parcel Service (UPS - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +5.02% and a Zacks Rank #3. UPS will release results on Apr 25.

UPS delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 4.36%, on average. UPS has a long-term earnings growth rate of 7.17%.

Stay on top of upcoming earnings announcements with the Zacks Earnings Calendar.

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