Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE: UNP) early Thursday posted market-beating first quarter earnings results, with a big increase in coal shipments leading the way higher.

Written by StockNews.com

The Omaha-based railroad operator reported Q1:

• earnings per share (EPS) of $1.32, which was $0.09 better than the Wall Street consensus estimate of $1.23,
• revenues rose 6.3% from last year to $5.13 billion, also beating analysts’ view for $5.03 billion
• operating ratio was flat at 65.1% from the year-ago period, with rising fuel prices cutting into the important metric by around 1.3 percentage points.
• The company noted the following year-over-year freight revenue changes in its various segments:
  • Automotive – down 1%
  • Chemicals – up 1%
  • Intermodal – up 3%
  • Agricultural Products – up 7%
  • Industrial Products – up 9%
  • Coal – up 25%

Lance Fritz, Union Pacific chairman, president and chief executive officer, commented...[as follows]:

“This is a very solid start to the year, especially given the weather challenges we encountered on the Western part of our network earlier in the quarter.

In keeping with our strategic value tracks, our engaged employees worked safely and productively under very difficult circumstances during the quarter. As a result, operations were restored quickly as we continued to focus on providing an excellent customer experience.”

...Year-to-date, UNP has gained 9.51%, versus a 7.26% rise in the benchmark S&P 500 index during the same period.

UNP currently has a StockNews.com POWR Rating of A (Strong Buy), and is ranked #1 of 15 stocks in the Railroads category.