CSX - Touched by an Angel - Another Beat and Raise

Research evidence excerpt

CSX - Touched by an Angel - Another Beat and Raise

Airfreight & Surface Transportation

Railroads - Market Overweight

CSX CORPORATION (CSX) July 22, 2026

CSX - Touched by an Angel - Another Beat and Raise Rating:

Outperform

The Wolfe Byte Price: $49.93

After the close, CSX reported a 2Q beat and raised its full-year margin guidance Price Target:

for the 2nd straight quarter. The stock rose 4% after-hours. We're raising our EPS $57

estimates and reiterate our Outperform rating. Prior: $56

% Upside:

14.2%

●2Q Beat. CSX reported 2Q EPS of $0.54, above our estimate and Consensus of View CSX Model

$0.52. Revenue accelerated to +10% y/y, the strongest growth in 15 quarters, View Comp Table

while margins improved 240bp y/y to a 61.7% OR (130bp better than our Company Information

model) We've now seen 2 straight quarters of strong margin improvement after 52-Week Range $32 - $51

margins previously declined y/y in 10 out of the past 11 quarters. Market Cap. (MM) $92,777

Enterprise Value (MM) $111,204

●Strong Productivity Gains. CSX's OR improved 240bp y/y to a 61.7% OR. Costs Shares Out. (MM) 1,858.1

ex-fuel declined y/y for the 2nd straight quarter after previously increasing y/y Avg. Value Traded (MM) $631.44

in the prior 20 quarters. Purchased services costs declined 8% y/y in 2Q, while Adj. Debt to Cap 55.9% SI% of Float 2.1%

CSX generated very strong labor productivity of ~1,200bp y/y (best in 5 years) FCF Yield 2.7%

with volumes up 6% y/y and headcount down 6% y/y. Equipment productivity EV/ EBITDA 15.1x

also remained strong with volumes up 420bp more than cars on-line. And while

service metrics deteriorated a bit in 2Q, CSX sounds optimistic about improving 55

service in 3Q with very small headcount additions. 50

●CSX Raises Margin Guidance.