Topic: How To Invest

The Successful Investor Hotline – Friday, January 26, 2024

Article Excerpt

CANADIAN NATIONAL RAILWAY CO., $166.65, Toronto symbol CNR, remains a buy. CN operates Canada’s largest railway. Its 30,250-kilometre network stretches across the country. It also travels down through the U.S. Midwest, connecting Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. The company’s revenue in the fourth quarter of 2023 fell 1.6%, to $4.47 billion from $4.54 billion a year earlier. Even so, that beat the consensus forecast of $4.37 billion. Lower shipments of grain and intermodal containers (which travel by rail, ship and truck) offset higher volumes of potash, natural gas liquids and refined petroleum products. Earnings before one-time items in the quarter also declined 8.1%, to $1.31 billion from $1.42 billion. The company spent $1.11 billion on share buybacks in the quarter, so earnings per share fell at a slower rate of 3.8%, to $2.02 from $2.10. That also topped the consensus estimate of $1.99. CN’s operating ratio in the quarter worsened to 59.3% from 57.9% a year earlier, as higher employee wages offset lower fuel costs…