Norfolk Southern (NSC) Q2 Earnings: How Key Metrics Compare to Wall Street 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.

As these metrics influence top- and bottom-line performance, comparing them to the year-ago numbers and what analysts estimated helps investors project a stock's price performance more accurately.

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

• Railway Operating Ratio: 67.6% versus the three-analyst average estimate of 66.7%.
• Revenue ton miles: 49.7 billion compared to the 48.58 billion average estimate based on two analysts.
• Carloads (Units) - Volume - Merchandise: 610.7 thousand compared to the 612.51 thousand average estimate based on two analysts.
• Carloads (Units) - Volume - Intermodal: 1.06 million versus the two-analyst average estimate of 1.07 million.
• Revenue per Carload (Unit) - Total: $1,861.00 versus the two-analyst average estimate of $1,765.63.
• Railway operating revenues- Merchandise- Agriculture, forest and consumer products: $673 million versus $674.63 million estimated by two analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a +4.3% change.
• Railway operating revenues- Coal: $424 million versus the two-analyst average estimate of $393.37 million. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of +7.3%.
• Railway operating revenues- Merchandise- Chemicals: $646 million versus $585.34 million estimated by two analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a +18.3% change.
• Railway operating revenues- Intermodal: $908 million versus $821.41 million estimated by two analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a +22.2% change.
• Railway operating revenues- Merchandise- Automotive: $334 million versus the two-analyst average estimate of $332.44 million. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of +3.4%.
• Railway operating revenues- Merchandise: $2.13 billion versus the two-analyst average estimate of $2.08 billion. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of +8.2%.
• Railway operating revenues- Merchandise- Metals and construction: $480 million versus the two-analyst average estimate of $491.94 million. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of +4.8%.

View all Key Company Metrics for Norfolk Southern here>>>

Shares of Norfolk Southern have returned +8.9% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +0.4% change. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), indicating that it could perform in line with the broader market in the near term.

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