Wabtec Gears Up to Report Q1 Earnings: Here's What to Expect

Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies WAB, operating as Wabtec Corporation, is scheduled to report first-quarter 2025 results on April 23, before market open.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for WAB’s soon-to-be-reported quarter’s earnings has been revised upward by 1.01% in the past 60 days to $2.01 per share. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues is pegged at $2.60 billion, which indicates growth of 4% from the year-ago levels. The top line is likely to reflect strength across the Freight and Transit segments.

Wabtec has an impressive earnings surprise history, having surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the trailing four quarters and missing once. The average beat is 9.2%.

Wabtec Price and EPS Surprise

Wabtec price-eps-surprise | Wabtec Quote

We expect Wabtec's performance in the to-be-reported quarter to be boosted by an uptick in total revenues. Our estimate for Freight revenues is pegged at $1.87 billion, which implies 2.6% growth from the prior-year figures. Meanwhile, model estimates for Transit revenues are pegged at $703.4 million,indicating 4.5% growth from the prior-year figures. The Freight segment is likely to deliver strong performance, driven by increased demand for both services and components. Meanwhile, the Transit segment may have benefited from robust sales in both the aftermarket and original equipment manufacturing channels.

On the contrary, the rise in operating expenses, coupled with ongoing supply chain and tariff-related disruptions, is likely to have weighed on the company’s bottom-line performance in the upcoming earnings report.

What Our Model Says About WAB

Our proven model does not conclusively predict an earnings beat for Wabtec this time. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat, which is not the case here.

Wabtec has an Earnings ESP of -2.19% and a Zacks Rank #2 at present. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Highlights of WAB’s Q4 Results

WAB reported fourth-quarter 2024 earnings per share (excluding 45 cents from non-recurring items) of $1.68, which fell short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.73. The bottom line improved 9.1% year over year due to higher sales and operating margin expansion.

Revenues of $2.58 billion fell short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.59 billion. The top line grew 2.3% year over year due to higher sales in the Transit segment.

Stocks to Consider

Here are a few stocks from the broader Zacks Transportation sector that investors may consider, as our model shows that these have the right combination of elements to beat on earnings this reporting cycle. (See the Zacks Earnings Calendar to stay ahead of market-making news.)

C.H. Robinson (CHRW) has an Earnings ESP of +1.37% and a Zacks Rank #3 at present. CHRW is scheduled to report first-quarter 2025 earnings on April 30. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for first-quarter 2025 earnings has been revised 18.6% upward over the past year. CHRW’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the preceding four quarters, the average beat being 21.7%. 

Expeditors International of Washington (EXPD) has an Earnings ESP of +3.76% and a Zacks Rank #2 at present. EXPD is scheduled to report first-quarter 2025 earnings on May 6.  

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for first-quarter 2025 earnings has been revised 11.11% upward over the past year. EXPD’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the preceding four quarters, the average beat being 11.6%.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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