Union Pacific (UNP) Reports Q4 Earnings: What Key Metrics Have to Say

Core Insights - Union Pacific (UNP) reported a revenue of $6.12 billion for Q4 2024, reflecting a year-over-year decline of 0.6% and an EPS of $2.91, up from $2.71 a year ago, with a surprise of +4.68% against the consensus EPS estimate of $2.78 [1] Financial Performance - Revenue fell short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $6.15 billion, resulting in a surprise of -0.43% [1] - The operating ratio was reported at 58.7%, better than the six-analyst average estimate of 60.3% [4] - Freight revenues from bulk were $1.86 billion, slightly above the average estimate of $1.84 billion, but represented a year-over-year decline of 3.8% [4] - Operating revenues from freight were $5.79 billion, close to the average estimate of $5.80 billion, showing a year-over-year change of -0.2% [4] Revenue Breakdown - Revenue carloads for bulk were reported at 500 thousand, exceeding the four-analyst average estimate of 491.64 thousand [4] - Average revenue per car for industrial products was $3,771, slightly below the average estimate of $3,793.21 [4] - Average revenue per car for bulk was $3,723, marginally above the average estimate of $3,705.11 [4] - Freight revenues from industrial products were $2.09 billion, slightly below the average estimate of $2.12 billion, with a year-over-year change of +0.7% [4] - Freight revenues from premium services were $1.83 billion, compared to the average estimate of $1.85 billion, reflecting a year-over-year increase of +2.7% [4] - Freight revenues from forest products were $324 million, above the average estimate of $318.71 million, with a year-over-year decline of 3.3% [4] - Freight revenues from energy & specialized markets were $679 million, below the average estimate of $708.71 million, showing a year-over-year increase of +2.1% [4] - Freight revenues from intermodal services were $1.25 billion, exceeding the three-analyst average estimate of $1.21 billion, with a year-over-year change of +5.7% [4] Stock Performance - Union Pacific shares have returned +2.6% over the past month, compared to the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +2.7% change [3] - The stock currently holds a Zacks Rank 3 (Hold), indicating expected performance in line with the broader market in the near term [3]