Canadian National Railway CNI is scheduled to report first-quarter 2026 results on April 29, before market open.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CNI’s first-quarter 2026 earnings has been revised downward by 1.5% over the past 60 days to $1.31 per share. The consensus mark for earnings implies a 1.6% increase from first-quarter 2025 actuals. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues is pegged at $3.17 billion, which indicates growth of 3.3% from the first-quarter 2025 actuals.
Canadian National has an encouraging earnings surprise history. The company’s earnings outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the trailing four quarters (missed the mark in the remaining quarter), delivering an average beat of 2.26%.
Canadian National Railway Company Price and EPS Surprise
Canadian National Railway Company price-eps-surprise | Canadian National Railway Company Quote
Let us see how things have shaped up for CNI this earnings season.
Factors Likely to Have Influenced CNI’s Q1 Performance
We expect CNI’s performance in the to-be-reported quarter to have been bolstered by record grain transportation volumes, supported by enhanced locomotive reliability, efficient resource allocation and targeted infrastructure investments to ensure smooth operations.
On the contrary, rising operating expenses, along with ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and supply-chain disruptions, are likely to have materially affected CNI’s performance in the March-end quarter.
Softness in freight market demand and lower volumes are likely to have significantly impacted the company’s performance in the March-end quarter of 2026. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue ton miles from the Metals & Minerals and Forest Products segments suggests declines of 8% and 8.5%, respectively, from the year-ago actuals.
What Our Model Says About CNI
Our proven model conclusively predicts an earnings beat for Canadian National this time. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they are reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.
CNI has an Earnings ESP of +0.36% and a Zacks Rank #3 at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Highlights of CNI’s Q4 Results
Earnings of $1.49 per share (C$2.03) outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 4.2% and increased 14.6% year over year. Revenues amounted to $3.20 billion (C$4.46 billion), which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.5% and rose 2.8% year over year.
Revenue ton-miles (RTMs or a measure of volumes) increased 4% year over year. Carloads rose 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Freight revenues per RTM fell 0.85% year over year. Operating expenses for fourth-quarter 2025 were flat at $2.73 billion year over year due to prudent cost-cutting efforts.
Other Stocks to Consider
Here are a few other stocks from the broader Zacks Transportation sector that investors may consider, as our model shows that these also have the right combination of elements to beat on earnings this reporting cycle.
Allegiant Travel Company ALGT has an Earnings ESP of +1.10% and a Zacks Rank #3 at present and is scheduled to report first-quarter 2026 results on April 30, after market close.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for first-quarter earnings has been revised upward by 10.8% over the past 60 days to $3.40 per share. ALGT has an encouraging earnings surprise history, as its earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the preceding four quarters and missed once in the remaining one, delivering an average beat of 23.6%.
Expeditors EXPD has an Earnings ESP of +1.25% and a Zacks Rank #3 at present and is scheduled to report first-quarter 2026 results on May 5.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for first-quarter earnings has been flat at $1.33 per share over the past 60 days. EXPD has an encouraging earnings surprise history as its earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in the preceding four quarters, with an average beat of 10.1%.
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Canadian National Railway Company (CNI): Free Stock Analysis Report
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).