CSX Corporation · CSX · FY2025 Q2 · Calendar Q3 2025

CSX rebounds operationally while coal weakness and execution risks remain

The quarter provides evidence of an operational rebound: improved network performance, cost discipline, and planned capacity additions support the longer-term growth case. That support is balanced by coal-price weakness, labor-cost pressure, mixed demand, and execution risk around infrastructure projects.

Reported After market closeNASDAQIndustrials $87.99B market cap
100quality score

Earnings scorecard

Reported versus consensus
Reported EPS $0.44 Consensus $0.42
EPS surprise +5.8% Reported versus consensus
Reported revenue $3.57B Consensus $3.58B
Revenue surprise -0.1% Reported versus consensus

Market reaction

event-close to next-session close
Stock move +0.1% Event window
SPY move +0.0% Same window
Abnormal move +0.1% Stock minus SPY
Volume 2.2× Versus trailing sessions
Subsequent drift +2.5% Up to 20 sessions
CSXSPY benchmark

Ask FN2 about CSX FY2025 Q2

Transcript, numbers and history already loaded

Free account. Your question opens in FN2 with this report's transcript and numbers attached.

Transcript intelligence

What changed

Compared with the prior quarter, management’s tone shifted from cautious to confident as network performance rebounded and sequential margin expansion emerged. The operational focus remained consistent, but the current analysis puts greater emphasis on project completion, intermodal capacity, and efficiency gains while retaining unchanged guidance.

Guidance delta

Guidance was maintained. Management expects modest volume growth and high-single-digit EPS growth, while emphasizing efficiency, service quality, and capacity expansion.

Key takeaways

  • Network performance improved, with velocity, dwell, and trip-plan compliance trending toward best-in-history levels.
  • Cost discipline supported sequential margin expansion despite lower revenue.
  • Howard Street Tunnel and Blue Ridge projects were described as on track for Q4 completion, supporting future double-stack intermodal capacity.
  • Coal revenue remained under pressure from lower benchmark pricing, although domestic utility demand was supportive.
  • Management maintained guidance and highlighted industrial development, truck-to-rail conversions, and the CPKC partnership as growth avenues.

Management priorities

  • Complete the Howard Street Tunnel and achieve double-stack clearance in 2026.
  • Finish the Blue Ridge subdivision rebuild by Q4 2025.
  • Upgrade the Indianapolis yard to increase throughput.
  • Expand the industrial development pipeline with additional projects in the second half.
  • Pursue intermodal growth through truck-to-rail conversions and the CPKC partnership.

Follow CSX with an agent that reads every filing, transcript, and price print. Free to start.

Try FN2 free

Earnings History

Estimate Beat Miss Match
CSX REVENUE earnings history estimate and actual scatter chart 9 reported fiscal quarters and 4 future estimate-only quarters. Q1 '24 estimate $4B Q1 '24 actual $4B, beat Q2 '24 estimate $4B Q2 '24 actual $4B, match Q3 '24 estimate $4B Q3 '24 actual $4B, miss Q2 '25 estimate $4B Q2 '25 actual $4B, match Q3 '25 estimate $4B Q3 '25 actual $4B, beat Q4 '25 estimate $4B Q4 '25 actual $4B, miss Q1 '26 estimate $3B Q1 '26 actual $3B, miss Q2 '26 estimate $4B Q2 '26 actual $4B, beat Q3 '26 estimate $4B Q4 '26 estimate $4B Q1 '27 estimate $4B Q2 '27 estimate $4B
Show 1 more >

Analyst Consensus ?

ConsensusBuy45 ratings
Bullish2760.0%
Neutral1635.6%
Bearish24.4%

Analyst 52W Price Targets

$47.5Previous close
$25Low
$44.5Average
$105High

Latest persisted target per named analyst; persisted previous close from FN2's market snapshot as of Oct 7, 2026. Not an FN2 forecast.

Firm-level rating actions

FMP grade actions identify the grading firm, not a named analyst.

FirmRatingPrior ratingActionDate
JP Morgan Overweight OverweightMaintainOct 5, 2026
Susquehanna Positive PositiveMaintainOct 2, 2026
B of A Securities Buy BuyMaintainSep 18, 2026
Citigroup Neutral NeutralMaintainJul 24, 2026
TD Cowen Buy BuyMaintainJul 23, 2026
Show 40 more rating actions

Named analyst price targets

Upside is calculated against the persisted previous close $47.5. FMP does not supply a rating on these named-analyst rows.

FirmAnalyst52W targetPrice when postedUpsideDate
RBC CapitalAnalyst unavailable$53$47.2 +11.6%Sep 24, 2026
Argus ResearchAnalyst unavailable$56$50.15 +17.9%Jul 31, 2026
Deutsche BankAnalyst unavailable$59$53.2 +24.2%Jul 24, 2026
RBC CapitalWalter Spracklin$54$52.68 +13.7%Jul 23, 2026
Stifel NicolausAnalyst unavailable$54$52.68 +13.7%Jul 23, 2026
See 96 more

Track every rating change on CSX the moment it posts. Free to start.

Start free

Company context

Snapshot as of publication

CSX Corporation, operating through its subsidiaries, stands as a leading provider of rail-based cargo transportation services. The company offers a wide range of services, including general rail freight, the movement of intermodal containers and trailers, and specialized transport solutions such as efficient rail-to-truck transfers and the handling of bulk commodities. CSX facilitates the shipment of a diverse array of goods, encompassing industrial chemicals, agricultural and food products, automotive components and finished vehicles, minerals, timber products, fertilizers, and various metals and heavy equipment. Additionally, it plays a crucial role in energy supply chains, transporting coal, coke, and iron ore to power generation facilities, steel manufacturers, and industrial plants, and also manages the export of coal via deep-water port access.…

Historical context

All CSX earnings

Industrials peers this season

Latest reports in the same sector

Latest beats and misses

Who reports next

Get the CSX recap when the next report posts

One email per quarter with the scorecard, the market reaction and what changed on the call. No account needed.

Sources

  1. Earnings call transcript and parsed analysis · 2026-05-11T10:29:34.698584+00:00
  2. FN2 earnings calendar · 2026-07-26T00:37:55.686058+00:00
  3. Polygon adjusted daily market bars · 2026-10-07T09:20:41.981457+00:00
  4. Financial Modeling Prep analyst price-target consensus and quote snapshot · 2026-10-07T09:20:41.978770+00:00

Methodology

Reported and consensus figures come from FN2's earnings event records. Market reaction and volume are calculated from daily adjusted bars around the event; abnormal move subtracts the SPY move over the same window.

Analyst target low, average, and high values are derived at request time from each named analyst's latest persisted FMP target. The current-price marker comes from FN2's persisted market snapshot. They are sell-side estimates, not an FN2 valuation or recommendation.

Transcript intelligence is a structured synthesis of the current and prior earnings-call analyses. Missing values stay missing and are never estimated.

By FN2 Research · Updated · As of 2026-10-07. For educational purposes only; not investment advice.