Union Pacific Earnings: Fifth Consecutive Quarter of Double-Digit Growth

S&P 500 (NYSE:SPY) component Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) reported net income above Wall Street’s expectations for the second quarter. Union Pacific links 23 states in the western two-thirds of the United States through its operating company, Union Pacific Railroad Company.

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Union Pacific Corporation Earnings Cheat Sheet

Results: Net income for Union Pacific Corporation rose to $1 billion ($2.10 per share) vs. $785 million ($1.59 per share) in the same quarter a year earlier. This marks a rise of 27.6% from the year-earlier quarter.

Revenue: Rose 7.5% to $5.22 billion from the year-earlier quarter.

Actual vs. Wall St. Expectations: Union Pacific Corporation beat the mean analyst estimate of $1.96 per share. Analysts were expecting revenue of $5.23 billion.

Quoting Management: “We’re clearly delivering on the strength of our diverse franchise,” said Jack Koraleski, Union Pacific chief executive officer. “Volume growth across many of our market sectors offset the 17 percent decline in coal volumes. When combined with solid pricing, efficient network operations and continued productivity gains, the net result was our best-ever quarter by nearly every financial measure.”

Key Stats:

The company has now seen net income rise in three straight quarters. In the first quarter, net income rose 35.1% and in the fourth quarter of the last fiscal year, the figure rose 24.4%.

The company has now topped analyst estimates for the last four quarters. It beat the mark by 15 cents in the first quarter, by 18 cents in the fourth quarter of the last fiscal year, and by 4 cents in the third quarter of the last fiscal year.

Revenue has risen for the last four quarters. Revenue increased 13.9% to $5.11 billion in the first quarter. The figure rose 15.8% in the fourth quarter of the last fiscal year from the year earlier and climbed 15.7% in the third quarter of the last fiscal year from the year-ago quarter.

Looking Forward: Analysts appear increasingly optimistic about the company’s results for the next quarter. The average estimate for the third quarter has moved up from $2.19 a share to $2.20 over the last sixty days. Over the past three months, the average estimate for the fiscal year has climbed from $8.06 per to share to $8.16.

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(Company fundamentals provided by Xignite Financials. Earnings estimates provided by Zacks)

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