Yahoo Finance GATX Surpasses Q1 Earnings Estimates, Reaffirms 2024 EPS View
GATX Corporation’s (GATX) first-quarter 2024 earnings per share (EPS) of $2.01 outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.72. However, the bottom line declined 8.6% year over year. Revenues of $379.9 million improved 12.1% year over year.
Lease revenues of $333.3 million grew 10.3% year over year. Revenues from other sources rose 15.5% to $33.4 million.
Total expenses (on a reported basis) rose 8% to $265.9 million.
GATX Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
GATX Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | GATX Corporation Quote
Profits in the Rail North America segment profit decreased to $90.3 million from $95.2 million a year ago. Lower segment profit was backed by lower gains on asset dispositions and higher interest expense, partially offset by higher lease revenues.
The renewal lease rate change of GATX’s Lease Price Index (LPI) was 33.0% in the reported quarter compared with the year-ago quarter’s 28.3%. The average lease renewal term for cars included in LPI was 64 months compared with 55 months a year ago.
Rail North America’s wholly owned fleet totaled approximately 111,400 cars at March 2024-end. Fleet utilization was 99.4% at the end of the first quarter compared with 99.3% at the end of the prior-year quarter.
In the Rail International segment, segment profit was $28.8 million in the first quarter of 2024, compared with $23.5 million in the year-ago quarter. The uptick was driven by more railcars on lease.
GATX Rail Europe’s fleet totaled more than 29,300 railcars at the first-quarter end. Fleet utilization was 95.3% in the reported quarter compared with 98.5% at the end of the first quarter of 2023.
The Engine Leasing unit (earlier known as Portfolio Management) reported a segment profit of $25.7 million in the first quarter of 2024 compared with $28.3 million in the year-ago quarter. The first-quarter segment profit included a favorable impact of $0.6 million from Tax Adjustments and Other Items.
As of Dec 31, 2023, GATX had sold all its marine assets, including the Specialized Gas Vessels, and has renamed its Portfolio Management business segment to Engine Leasing to reflect the prospective operations of this business segment.
As of Mar 31, 2024, GATX had cash and cash equivalents of $479.1 million compared with $450.7 million at the end of December 2023.
GATX continues to anticipate full-year 2024 EPS in the range of $7.30-$7.70.The Zacks Consensus Estimate of $7.53 lies within the guidance.
Currently, GATX carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Performances of Other Transportation Companies
Delta Air Lines DAL reported first-quarter 2024 earnings (excluding 39 cents from non-recurring items) of 45 cents per share, which comfortably beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 36 cents. Earnings increased 80% on a year-over-year basis.
Revenues of $13.75 billion surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $12.84 billion and increased 7.75% on a year-over-year basis, driven by strong air-travel demand. Adjusted operating revenues (excluding third-party refinery sales) came in at $12.56 billion, up 6% year over year.
United Airlines Holdings, Inc. UAL reported first-quarter 2024 loss per share (excluding 23 cents from non-recurring items) of 15 cents, which was narrower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate loss of 53 cents. In the year-ago reported quarter, UAL reported a loss of 63 cents per share.
Operating revenues of $12,539 million beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $12,428.4 million. The top line increased 9.7% year over year due to upbeat air-travel demand. This was driven by a 10.1% rise in passenger revenues (accounting for 90.2% of the top line) to $11,313 million. Almost 39,325 passengers traveled on UAL flights in the first quarter, up 6.8% year over year.
J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc.’s JBHT first-quarter 2024 earnings of $1.22 per share missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.53 and declined 35.5% year over year.
JBHT’s total operating revenues of $2,944 million missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3,117.1 million and fell 8.8% year over year. Total operating revenues, excluding fuel surcharge revenue, fell 7% year over year. The downfall was owing to a 9% decrease in segment gross revenue per load in both Intermodal (JBI) and Truckload (JBT), 22% fewer loads in Integrated Capacity Solution (ICS), and a modest decline in average trucks and productivity in Dedicated Contract Services (DCS). Revenue declines in JBI, ICS, JBT and DCS were partially offset by Final Mile Services (FMS) revenue growth of 2%, primarily driven by new contracts implemented over the past year.
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