Union Pacific (UNP) Misses on Q4 Earnings

Union Pacific Corporation UNP reported fourth-quarter 2017 earnings per share (excluding $7.72 from non-recurring items) of $1.53 per share, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.54. Earnings, however, increased 10.1% on a year-over-year basis.

How Was the Estimate Revision Trend?

Investors should note that the earnings estimate revisions for Union Pacific depicted a stable picture prior to the earnings release. The stock had seen the Zacks Consensus Estimate for fourth-quarter earnings being stagnant over the last 30 days.

Prior to the earnings miss in the fourth-quarter, the company delivered positive surprises in each of the last four quarters. The average earnings beat was 4.4%.

Revenues Better Than Expected

Union Pacific recorded operating revenues of $5,450 million, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $5,409.3 million. Moreover, revenues increased 5.5% year over year.

Key Statistics: Adjusted operating ratio (defined as operating expenses as a percentage of revenues) came in at 62.6%, reflecting an increase of 0.6 points. During the quarter, the company bought back 9.2 million shares for $1.1 billion.

Stock Price: The earnings miss disappointed investors. Shares of the company were down in pre-market trading at the time of writing.

Zacks Rank: Currently, Union Pacific carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) which is subject to change following the earnings announcement. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Check back later for our full write up on this Union Pacific earnings report later!

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