Why Should You Think About CSX Differently Now?
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CSX Corp. (CSX) stock is priced at 26.8 times earnings, against 22.6 for the S&P 500. Investors paying that price need to know what they are buying, and the railroad’s priorities have changed. During its April 2025 call, management called the first quarter of 2025 a difficult one for the network and said it was taking actions to stabilize operations. On its latest call, management struck a different note. So what does CSX’s management emphasize now instead?
CSX Has Moved From Network Repairs To Productivity
During its October 21, 2026 call, management made a case for productivity. Executives said progress on productivity had helped drive growth in profitability, earnings and free cash flow, and said a little over 100 initiatives are contributing to its productivity target for 2027. They also said third-quarter fuel efficiency was the best ever reported by any US railroad. The call still covered service measures, but framed the data as a progress report rather than a repair plan.
That marks a long way from 2025. In July 2025, management said that network performance had bounced back from the first quarter, but that CSX was not yet at the trip plan compliance, a measure tracking whether shipments move as planned, that it strives for. In October 2025, leadership highlighted the Howard Street Tunnel and the Blue Ridge subdivision projects. By April 2026, management spoke of those projects in the past tense: it said closures for both had hurt the network’s resilience the year before.
How Fast Is CSX Growing Now, And Why?
CSX’s revenue grew 12.0% from a year earlier in fiscal Q3 2026, following 10.1% growth in the second quarter. Management said the rise came from higher fuel surcharges, 5% volume growth and pricing gains, and that fuel accounted for about half of the increase.
The rail network accounts for nearly all of CSX. The Rail segment brought in 94.2% of revenue in fiscal 2025, a year when that segment’s revenue fell 3.1%. Over twelve months, the turnaround is clear: revenue rose 5.8% in the four quarters ending September 2026, against a 3.8% decline in the four previous quarters.
The productivity touted by management shows up in CSX’s costs. The company handled the extra volume in the third quarter while cutting non-fuel costs by 3%, management said.
Should CSX Holders Worry Less About The Network?
Mostly yes, because most of the service measures that management still reports improved in fiscal Q3 2026. On the October 21 call, executives said velocity, dwell and customer switch data all improved from the second quarter, and velocity had averaged more than 19 mph so far in October.
That improvement starts from a tight spot. On the July 2026 call, management said seasonal gaps in crew availability had created tightness in parts of the network, and dwell had risen.
Not every service measure moved the right way. Trip plan compliance improved modestly for carload traffic in the third quarter, but declined for intermodal, the business that has been winning freight from trucks. Management said conversions from the highway remain strong. In Atlanta, where volume has risen 50% over three years, management described temporary service tightness and said CSX is investing in more track. It also plans to add train and engine employees in 2027 to support a growing business. That is a plan for more volume, not more repairs. Management also said Mike Cory, who presented the operating results on earlier calls, had recently announced his retirement after a 45-year career.
Intermodal trip plan compliance is the figure to watch when CSX next reports, expected in January 2027.
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