CSX (CSX) Q2 Earnings: Taking a Look at Key Metrics Versus Estimates

While investors scrutinize revenue and earnings changes year-over-year and how they compare with Wall Street expectations to determine their next move, some key metrics always offer a more accurate picture of a company's financial health.

Since these metrics play a crucial role in driving the top- and bottom-line numbers, comparing them with the year-ago numbers and what analysts estimated about them helps investors better project a stock's price performance.

Here is how CSX performed in the just reported quarter in terms of the metrics most widely monitored and projected by Wall Street analysts:

• Operating Margin: 38.3% versus the four-analyst average estimate of 64.3%.
• Volume - Merchandise - Minerals: 105 thousand versus the three-analyst average estimate of 100.46 thousand.
• Revenue ton-miles: 51.4 billion versus 52.24 billion estimated by three analysts on average.
• Revenue per unit - Intermodal: $783.00 compared to the $713.43 average estimate based on three analysts.
• Revenue- Coal: $520 million versus the three-analyst average estimate of $516.78 million. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of +9%.
• Revenue- Intermodal: $620 million versus the three-analyst average estimate of $563.18 million. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of +26.3%.
• Revenue- Merchandise- Fertilizers: $132 million versus $147.23 million estimated by two analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a +4.8% change.
• Revenue- Merchandise- Chemicals: $774 million versus the two-analyst average estimate of $756.3 million. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of +10.4%.
• Revenue- Merchandise- Automotive: $332 million compared to the $323.06 million average estimate based on two analysts. The reported number represents a change of +3.8% year over year.
• Revenue- Merchandise- Minerals: $242 million compared to the $227.78 million average estimate based on two analysts. The reported number represents a change of +11% year over year.
• Revenue- Merchandise- Forest Products: $266 million compared to the $251.57 million average estimate based on two analysts. The reported number represents a change of +6.4% year over year.
• Revenue- Total Merchandise: $2.45 billion versus $2.38 billion estimated by two analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a +8.4% change.

View all Key Company Metrics for CSX here>>>

Shares of CSX have returned +8.1% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +0.3% change. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), indicating that it could outperform the broader market in the near term.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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