{"id":129181,"date":"2026-01-23T14:42:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-23T14:42:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/129181\/"},"modified":"2026-01-23T14:42:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T14:42:09","slug":"csx-reports-lower-earnings-in-sluggish-freight-environment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/129181\/","title":{"rendered":"CSX reports lower earnings in sluggish freight environment"},"content":{"rendered":"

CSX Corp. reported lower revenue and earnings in the fourth quarter amid a sluggish freight environment, with the Jacksonville-based railroad looking to cut costs.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis has been a challenging year for CSX and for our industry overall, with subdued demand and limited growth opportunities persisting across many of our key markets,\u201d CEO Steve Angel said in a Jan. 23 conference call with analysts.<\/p>\n

\"CSX<\/p>\n

CSX President and CEO Steve Angel<\/p>\n

\u201cAgainst this backdrop, our service levels remained positive in the fourth quarter, and we delivered modest total volume growth. However, reported operating income, operating margin, and earnings per share were all lower year over year,\u201d said Angel, who joined the company in September.<\/p>\n

CSX reported fourth-quarter revenue fell 1% to $3.51 billion, with adjusted earnings falling by 3 cents a share to 39 cents.<\/p>\n

The earnings were impacted by $31 million in severance costs and $21 million in technology-related costs, which reduced earnings by about 2 cents a share.<\/p>\n

Cutting jobs<\/p>\n

CSX Corp. said Jan. 8 it eliminated 166 management positions, or about 5% of its management workforce.<\/p>\n

The company finished 2025 with 22,935 employees in its operations which cover most of the Eastern U.S., down 601 from the end of 2024.<\/p>\n

\"Kevin<\/p>\n

Kevin Boone<\/p>\n

Chief Financial Officer Kevin Boone said in the conference call the company is looking at other expense reductions \u201cas we continue to align to the current business environment.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have identified meaningful opportunities to reduce non-labor spending with well over 100 diverse savings initiatives across the company, including cutting outside and professional service spend, improving asset utilization and maintenance efficiencies, as well as enhancing controls around all sources of discretionary spend,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Besides the reduction in CSX employees, Missouri-based Railcrew Xpress filed a notice in December under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act that CSX was canceling its contract to provide transportation services for train crews.<\/p>\n

That cancellation affects 34 jobs in Jacksonville and 48 jobs at five other Florida locations, Railcrew Xpress said.<\/p>\n

Revenue outlook<\/p>\n

CSX\u2019s total revenue for 2025 fell 3% to $14.09 billion.<\/p>\n

Boone said the company expects to increase revenue by a low single-digit percentage in 2026.<\/p>\n

However, \u201cthe near-term outlook across many key markets remains soft. As we plan for 2026, we do not anticipate any meaningful improvement in macroeconomic conditions,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Angel replaced Joe Hinrichs as CEO and president amid speculation that the company will consider merger opportunities, after Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern announced a deal in July to create a transcontinental railroad company.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The CSX Corp. Jacksonville headquarters sits along the Northbank of the St. Johns River.<\/p>\n

Photo by Monty Zickuhr<\/p>\n

Those two companies filed their merger application in December with the U.S. Surface Transportation Board, and CSX and the three other major North American railroads filed objections to the application, saying it was incomplete.<\/p>\n

The STB agreed with the objections Jan. 16, saying Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern need to refile their application with more information.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know what conditions are going to be required for approval, that remains to be seen. I think this is a long process,\u201d Angel said in response to an analyst\u2019s question about the merger.<\/p>\n

He said CSX needs to focus on its execution and the opportunities it can take advantage of as the merger process plays out.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs the time comes forward for us to make our case to the appropriate authorities, we\u2019ll certainly be prepared to do that. And then the focus is just making sure that we can be as competitive as we can be,\u201d Angel said.<\/p>\n

Ready for storm<\/p>\n

CSX\u2019s earnings report came as parts of its rail network were preparing for a major winter storm predicted to affect many eastern U.S. states.<\/p>\n

\"Mike<\/p>\n

Mike Cory<\/p>\n

Chief Operating Officer Mike Cory said CSX is well prepared to handle whatever weather disruptions come from the storm.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve modified our operating plan, working with our customers, notifying them\u201d of potential issues, Cory said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do not see us coming out of this probably for a few days. If we get it Sunday, we\u2019re looking at midweek to recover, but I\u2019m very confident, especially with the condition that we\u2019re going in, that we will come through this with no issues,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

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