A month has gone by since the last earnings report for Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB). Shares have lost about 5.3% in that time frame, underperforming the S&P 500.
But investors have to be wondering, will the recent negative trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is Wabtec due for a breakout? Well, first let's take a quick look at its most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the recent catalysts for Wabtec before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late.
Wabtec Q1 Earnings Beat Estimates
Quarterly earnings per share of $2.71 beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.55 and improved 18.9% year over year due to higher sales and non-operational benefits primarily related to currency fluctuation and timing of tax expense. Revenues of $2.95 billion outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.93 billion and grew 13% year over year, owing to higher sales in the Freight and Transit segments, which include the acquisitions of Inspection Technologies, Frauscher Sensor Technologies and Dellner Couplers.
WAB’s Segmental Highlights
Freight segment’s net sales of $2.11 billion grew 11.3% year over year. The upside was aided by growth in Equipment sales (up 52.5% driven by higher locomotive deliveries), Digital sales (up 75.7% owing to the acquisitions of Inspection Technologies & Frauscher Sensor Technology) and Components sales. Freight segment’s adjusted operating margin grew to 26% from 25.7% in the year-ago quarter. Adjusted operating margin benefited from gross margin improvements, which were partially offset by higher operating expenses as a percentage of revenue.
In the Transit segment, net sales grew 17.8% year over year to $835 million, owing to the acquisition of Dellner, higher original equipment and aftermarket sales and favorable foreign currency exchange. The segmental adjusted operating margin grew 2 points to 16.6% owing to improved gross margins, which were partially offset by higher operating expenses as a percent of revenue.
Total operating expenses in the reported quarter increased by $118 million from the year-ago quarter to $544 million. Operating ratio (operating expenses as a percentage of net sales) improved to 18.4% from 16.3% a year ago.
Wabtec exited the first quarter with cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash of $531 million compared with $789 million at 2024-end. Long-term debt was $4.71 billion compared with $4.29 billion at the prior-quarter end.
During the reported quarter, Wabtec repurchased shares worth $242 million and paid $53 million in the form of dividend payments.
Impressive Outlook
Wabtec raised its 2026 adjusted earnings per share guidance to the range of $10.25 to $10.65 from the prior guidance of $10.05-$10.45 range. Wabtec continues to expect sales in the range of $12.19-$12.49 billion. The guidance includes the impact from the recent acquisition of Dellner Couplers, which was closed on Feb. 10, 2026. The tax rate is still expected to be roughly 24.5%.
How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?
In the past month, investors have witnessed a flat trend in estimates revision.
VGM Scores
Currently, Wabtec has a average Growth Score of C, a score with the same score on the momentum front. Charting a somewhat similar path, the stock was allocated a grade of D on the value side, putting it in the bottom 40% for this investment strategy.
Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of D. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in.
Outlook
Wabtec has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). We expect an above average return from the stock in the next few months.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).