After weak freight trends reduced earnings last year, CSX Corp. rebounded in the first quarter of 2026 and expects revenue growth to pick up the rest of the year.
The Jacksonville-based railroad company reported first-quarter revenue rose 2% to $3.48 billion and earnings jumped 25% to $807 million, or 43 cents a share.
“This represents an encouraging first step toward our goal of best-in-class performance,” CEO Steve Angel said in an April 22 conference call with analysts.
“At the same time, we recognize that we’re still early in the process, and market conditions remain uncertain,” he said.
Although earnings were higher than the first quarter of 2025, they were lower than the $880 million earned in the first quarter of 2024.
Besides an increase in revenue, CSX officials said lower costs are increasing earnings as the company’s operations become more efficient.
“Our team is responding to customer needs by expanding our service offerings, improving transit times, and converting freight from truck to rail. We’re also moving forward on a wide range of cost initiatives as we push to develop the productivity muscle required to sustain performance over the long term,” Angel said.
The cost initiatives include job cuts.
“Labor costs were 1% lower, as a 5% reduction in head count paired with a $10 million reduction in overtime expense offset inflation,” said Kevin Boone, executive vice president and chief financial officer.
CSX, which operates throughout the eastern U.S., had 22,249 employees at the end of the first quarter, down 1,165 from the previous year.
Under Angel, who replaced Joe Hinrichs as CEO in September 2025, CSX also is focusing on industrial development initiatives to increase freight traffic.
“Our team is positioning CSX rail as a compelling solution for new and expanding manufacturing facilities,” said Maryclare Kenney, senior vice president and chief commercial officer.
“Twenty-one projects went into service over the first quarter alone, which should contribute an estimated 33,000 annual carloads at full ramp. For the full year, we expect approximately 100 projects to enter service,” she said.
Kenney cited two Northeast Florida projects as examples of the program.
“We worked with Keystone Terminals, a bulk commodity terminal in Jacksonville, Florida, to develop a new rail extension enabling synthetic gypsum shipments to move on our network,” she said.
“Martin Marietta expanded a rail-served aggregate loading facility in Green Cove Springs, Florida, with new rail infrastructure. With strong demand in this market, this facility is expected to reach full ramp by the end of 2Q.”
Angel expressed optimism about revenue trends for the rest of the year, but there are concerns.
“Conflict in the Middle East and rising energy prices are creating opportunities for some of our customers, but this has also added to broader concerns about inflationary pressure and potential effects on consumer sentiment,” he said.
CSX increased its revenue growth forecast for the year from a low single-digit percentage gain to a mid-single digit increase. Fuel surcharges as costs rise would contribute to the revenue increase.
“As you know, higher fuel increases our revenue and our expenses, which can pressure reported margin,” he said.
But CSX is projecting its operating profit margin to increase by 2 to 3 percentage points, Angel said.
CSX’s earnings per share in the first quarter were 4 cents higher than the average analyst’s forecast, according to Yahoo Finance.