CSX Corporation

CSX Corporation achieved a successful first quarter, fueled by strong pricing and volume growth in its goods and coal businesses which resulted in an all-around beat. The company harnessed the benefits of its scaled railway model to deliver improvements in customer service performance producing real concrete financial gains with sufficient resources in place. Their network is performing well. As per the management, CSX’s merchandise performance this quarter has been met with great response. While the company saw positive growth in automotive, customer production challenges hampered quarterly volumes. On the other hand, the company’s domestic shipments rose due to increased rail capacity and utility restocking demand. The outstanding performance of the quarter’s international met coal benchmarks. Solid commodity prices are anticipated to support the global coal market in the near future, resulting in positive volume growth. Furthermore, equipment and rents increased by $18 million due to increased flexibility and faster car days per load across all markets. This quarter, network and congestion-related savings were visible in rents and intermodal terminal charges. The company anticipates that sustained network performance will yield more efficiency savings throughout 2023. We give CSX Corporation a ‘Hold’ rating with a revised target price.