AP

Union Pacific Q2 profit jumps 59% as volume grows 22%

Jul 21, 2021, 6:13 PM | Updated: Jul 22, 2021, 8:47 am

FILE - In this Sept. 13, 2019, file photo the logo for Union Pacific appears above a trading post o...

FILE - In this Sept. 13, 2019, file photo the logo for Union Pacific appears above a trading post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Union Pacific’s second-quarter profit jumped 59% as the railroad hauled 22% more cargo than a year ago when shipments fell to the lowest levels of the coronavirus pandemic. The Omaha, Nebraska-based railroad said Thursday, July 22, 2021, that it earned $1.8 billion, or $2.72 per share during the quarter. That’s up from $1.13 billion, or $1.67 per share, a year ago. The results surpassed Wall Street expectations. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)

(AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Union Pacific’s second-quarter profit jumped 59% as the railroad hauled 22% more cargo than a year ago when shipments fell to the lowest levels of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Omaha, Nebraska-based railroad said Thursday that it earned $1.8 billion, or $2.72 per share, during the quarter. That’s up from $1.13 billion, or $1.67 per share, a year ago.

The results surpassed Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of six analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $2.55 per share.

Union Pacific CEO Lance Fritz said the railroad delivered strong results despite the ongoing congestion issues in West Coast ports and at the key rail hub of Chicago as demand for imported products surged. Some of those problems are likely to linger through the rest of the year because of a shortage of trucks to haul shipping containers out of the ports and rail terminals.

Recently, Union Pacific temporarily stopped hauling shipping containers from West Coast ports to Chicago to help alleviate the congestion in that city.

The number of shipments Union Pacific handled during the quarter was up in every category of freight. A year ago, restrictions related to the pandemic caused more than a 20% drop in shipping volume across all major railroads.

Union Pacific said it now expects shipping volume to grow 7% overall this year as the economy continues to recover from the pandemic. That’s up slightly from its previous prediction of 6% volume growth.

Edward Jones analyst Jeff Windau said Union Pacific has handled the surge in volumes efficiently so far without hiring many new workers, and it has been able to deliver strong profits in the process by increasing prices while handling more freight.

The railroad said its revenue grew 30% to $5.5 billion in the period, which also topped Street forecasts. Three analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $5.38 billion.

Union Pacific shares have increased slightly more than 4% since the beginning of the year, while the S&P 500 index has increased 16%. The stock has climbed 22% in the last 12 months. It’s shares increased more than 2% in early trading Thursday after the earnings report was released.

Union Pacific is one of the nation’s largest railroads, and it operates 32,400 miles (52,000 kilometers) of track in 23 Western states.

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Elements of this story were generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on UNP at https://www.zacks.com/ap/UNP

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