GATX's Q2 Earnings & Revenues Surpass Estimates, Rise Y/Y
GATX Corporation’s GATX second-quarter 2019 earnings (excluding 8 cents from non-recurring items) of $1.78 per share topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.32. Moreover, the bottom line improved significantly year over year. Results were aided by higher revenues.
Revenues came in at $359.4 million, marginally outpacing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $358.9 million. The top line also inched up 2.8% year over year, mainly owing to higher Marine operating revenues and other revenues. Total expenses increased 3.1% to $277.1 million in the reported quarter.
GATX, carrying a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), still anticipates 2019 earnings in the range of $4.85-$5.15 per share. The Zacks Consensus Estimate is currently pegged at $5.01, slightly above the mid-point ($5) of the guided range. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
GATX Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
GATX Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | GATX Corporation Quote
Segment-Wise Results
Profits at the Rail North America segment increased to $85.8 million from $64.2 million a year ago. The improvement was mainly owing to higher gains on asset dispositions in the quarter under review. The renewal lease rate change of the company’s Lease Price Index (LPI) was 2.8% in the reported quarter compared with 16.1% a year ago. Additionally, average lease renewal term for cars included in the LPI was 53 months compared with 41 months in the year-earlier quarter.
In fact, Rail North America’s wholly-owned fleet had approximately 119,500 railcars at the end of the second quarter. Fleet utilization came in at 99.5% compared with 98.9% at the end of the year-ago quarter.
At the Rail International segment, profits surged 66.4% year over year to $21.3 million. Segmental profits benefited from additional railcars on lease.
Moreover, GATX Rail Europe’s fleet totaled approximately 24,000 railcars at the end of second-quarter 2019. Fleet utilization was 98.9% compared with 97.8% at the end of second-quarter 2018.
At the Portfolio Management unit, profits rose 4.4% to $11.9 million, driven by impressive performance of the Rolls-Royce and Partners Finance affiliates. Also, the American Steamship segment's profit soared 51.3% to $12.1 million in the quarter under review.
Upcoming Releases
Investors interested in the Zacks Transportation sector are keenly awaiting second-quarter 2019 earnings reports from key players, such as United Parcel Service UPS, SkyWest SKYW and American Airlines Group AAL. While UPS will report second-quarter earnings on Jul 24, SkyWest and American Airlines will announce the same on Jul 31 and Jul 25, respectively.
Breakout Biotech Stocks with Triple-Digit Profit Potential
The biotech sector is projected to surge beyond $775 billion by 2024 as scientists develop treatments for thousands of diseases. They’re also finding ways to edit the human genome to literally erase our vulnerability to these diseases.
Zacks has just released Century of Biology: 7 Biotech Stocks to Buy Right Now to help investors profit from 7 stocks poised for outperformance. Our recent biotech recommendations have produced gains of +98%, +119% and +164% in as little as 1 month. The stocks in this report could perform even better.
See these 7 breakthrough stocks now>>
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
SkyWest, Inc. (SKYW) : Free Stock Analysis Report
American Airlines Group Inc. (AAL) : Free Stock Analysis Report
GATX Corporation (GATX) : Free Stock Analysis Report
United Parcel Service, Inc. (UPS) : Free Stock Analysis Report
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
Zacks Investment Research
