Canadian National Railway slightly beats Q4 revenue estimates

Canadian National Railway Co

30/01/2026 12:40

Overview

Canada railway's Q4 revenue slightly beat analyst expectations

Adjusted EPS for Q4 beat analyst expectations

Company repurchased 4.4 mln shares for C$600 mln in Q4

Outlook

Canadian National Railway plans C$2.8 bln capital spending in 2026, down C$500 mln from 2025

Company expects 2026 adjusted diluted EPS growth to slightly exceed volume growth

Canadian National Railway increases quarterly cash dividend by 3% for 2026

Result Drivers

COST MANAGEMENT - Improved cost efficiency with a 4% decrease in operating expenses per GTM

INCREASED EFFICIENCY - Gross ton miles increased 5% and revenue ton miles increased 4%, contributing to revenue growth

DISCIPLINED EXECUTION - Focus on service, cost control, and productivity drove solid performance in a challenging demand environment

Key Details

Metric
Beat/Miss
Actual
Consensus Estimate
Q4 Revenue
Slight Beat*
C$4.46 bln
C$4.45 bln (19 Analysts)
Q4 Adjusted EPS
Beat
C$2.08
C$1.98 (22 Analysts)
Q4 EPS
C$2.03
Q4 Adjusted Net Income
Beat
C$1.28 bln
C$1.22 bln (14 Analysts)
Q4 Net Income
C$1.25 bln


*Applies to a deviation of less than 1%; not applicable for per-share numbers.

Analyst Coverage

The current average analyst rating on the shares is "buy" and the breakdown of recommendations is 13 "strong buy" or "buy", 10 "hold" and 1 "sell" or "strong sell"

The average consensus recommendation for the ground freight & logistics peer group is "buy"

Wall Street's median 12-month price target for Canadian National Railway Co is C$157.00, about 15.3% above its January 29 closing price of C$136.17

The stock recently traded at 17 times the next 12-month earnings vs. a P/E of 16 three months ago

Press Release: ID:nGNX6c3CGT

For questions concerning the data in this report, contact Estimates.Support@lseg.com. For any other questions or feedback, contact reuters.support@thomsonreuters.com.

(This story was created using Reuters automation and AI based on LSEG and company data. It was checked and edited by a Reuters journalist prior to publication.)