Eastern Railroad Discussion > CSX Earnings call and discussion October 17, 8.30am

Senior executives of CSX will discuss the company's quarterly earnings results, and provide a business outlook for the upcoming months.

The questions from analysts can be interesting, and the discussion materials are often chock full of info, comparisons, etc. The charts show what management wants shown. I like to compare a company's presentation this quarter with what they said a year ago, and which comparisons they make, or choose not to make.

The charts and investor materials may be downloaded from the CSX investor site when earnings are released.

I wonder about the ability of CSX to handle grain shipments with power in storage. The fields have bare spots from flooding this spring, but the rest of the crop looks very healthy and lush here in the Midwest.

I also wonder when CSX will decide that it really loves doing business. The nitty gritty business of pulling and spotting cars, that is.

When I walk into a Sears store, I see a company not trying to sell anything very well. Lots of empty space. They would rather sell a warrantee or some gimmick than an actual item. I get the same vibe out on the railroad.

Posted from Android



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/19/17 09:53 by NYC6001.

Sears/Kmart is going out of business next year, or at the very lest, do a RadioShack. CSX does not plan to.

joemvcnj Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Sears/Kmart is going out of business next year, or
> at the very lest, do a RadioShack. CSX does not
> plan to.

Even Sears had to start it's downhill slide sometime; one wonders if this is CSX's time to start that downhill journey to oblivion...

I've said many times here that it seems Harrison wants to preside over a long term going out of business sale, all the while milking the property for every dime along the way.

EHH is an asset stripper. But I don't know if he trying to liquidate the company.

What I find interesting with their new color-coded Regions, they don't conform to former railroads, except the Yellow northern Region, which is more or less New York Central. Maybe that will be first to get sold off, to say CP.

joemvcnj Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Sears/Kmart is going out of business next year, or
> at the very lest, do a RadioShack. CSX does not
> plan to.

That was not my point. CSX is obviously not going out of business or breaking up. That is not possible in a practical or regulatory way. Any major move like that would come under the jurisdiction of the STB, which believes in preserving the current duopoly.

For most RR customers, even trucks are not an alternative. You can't realistically ship 10,000 tons of grain or coal 1000 miles by truck, for instance. That is why RR companies have a legal obligation to provide reasonable service, in return for some of the legal protections and powers they enjoy.

If Sears crumbles, we just buy our shirts and tools at the next store. Not analogous to railroading.

Posted from Android

joemvcnj Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> EHH is an asset stripper. But I don't know if he
> trying to liquidate the company.
>
> What I find interesting with their new color-coded
> Regions, they don't conform to former railroads,
> except the Yellow northern Region, which is more
> or less New York Central. Maybe that will be first
> to get sold off, to say CP.

Not liquidate in the traditional sense, but cut it to the bone, milk it dry and then leave the corpse for somebody else to pick up the pieces.

junctiontower Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> joemvcnj Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > EHH is an asset stripper. But I don't know if
> he
> > trying to liquidate the company.
> >
> > What I find interesting with their new
> color-coded
> > Regions, they don't conform to former
> railroads,
> > except the Yellow northern Region, which is
> more
> > or less New York Central. Maybe that will be
> first
> > to get sold off, to say CP.
>
> Not liquidate in the traditional sense, but cut it
> to the bone, milk it dry and then leave the corpse
> for somebody else to pick up the pieces.

Did that happen at BN, CN, or CP?

He never had a high enough position at BN to do anything like that. He tried to merge off CN into BNSF, and I think if he had stayed at CP longer, that's exactly what we would have gotten.

Bleed CSX to the point the railroad is barely holding on. Then Union Pacific (or Burlington Northern Santa Fe) comes along to the rescue of CSX. EHH gets the "credit" of creating the first truely transcontinental railroad in the United States of America. First EHH/CSX would have to go through a plethora of regulatory agencies and procedures. Of coarse speculation, but it does cause one to wonder, is that his "angle"? Transcontinental goals? Look what this guy has tried to do with Canadian Pacific/Norfolk Southern, Burlington Northern Santa Fe/Canadian National. Now CSX/UP or BNSF? Is that the plan?? Who knows.

SantaFeRuss

A buyout of CSX by somebody / anybody would be one of the few exit strategies allowed under the agreement. Both EHH and Mantle Ridge are locked in for five years, and can't sell their stock / cash out their options. So, for now, PUMP and DUMP isn't a tool they can use.