Key facts
- CN's net income rose 6% to C$1.209 billion and diluted earnings per share rose 9% to C$2.00.
- Higher fuel surcharge revenue supplied C$343 million of the C$606 million revenue gain, CN said.
- CN's operating ratio rose 2.3 points to 63.7%, including a C$118 million IT impairment.
- CN repurchased about 3.9 million shares for C$676 million and declared a C$0.9150 quarterly dividend.
- CN said Ghislain Houle will retire as CFO effective February 1, 2027, with Jamie Lockwood to succeed him.
Canadian National Railway reported third-quarter 2026 revenue of C$4.77 billion, up 15% from a year earlier, for the three months ended September 30, 2026. Net income rose 6% to C$1.209 billion and diluted earnings per share rose 9% to C$2.00, the company said in results reported on October 30.
Higher fuel surcharge revenue supplied C$343 million of the C$606 million revenue gain, the company said. CN paid an average of C$6.09 per U.S. gallon of fuel, compared with C$3.82 a year earlier, and fuel expense rose 58% to C$662 million.
Grain and fertilizers revenue rose 19% to C$923 million and automotive revenue rose 31% to C$284 million. Carloads were essentially unchanged at 1.364 million against 1.368 million a year earlier, while revenue ton-miles rose 4% to 59.383 billion.
Operating expenses rose 19% to C$3.041 billion, including a C$118 million impairment after CN decided to discontinue certain components of its dispatching and back-office information technology projects before completion. The operating ratio increased 2.3 points to 63.7%; excluding that item and C$14 million in advisory costs linked to the Surface Transportation Board review of the proposed Union Pacific–Norfolk Southern merger, the adjusted operating ratio improved 0.4 points to 61.0%.
CN repurchased about 3.9 million shares during the quarter for C$676 million and will pay a quarterly dividend of C$0.9150 per share on December 30 to shareholders of record on December 9. The company said it still assumes low single-digit growth in revenue ton-miles for 2026 and expects adjusted diluted earnings per share to grow in the mid-to-high single-digit range, now tracking toward the upper end.
CN also announced that Ghislain Houle, executive vice president and chief financial officer, will retire effective February 1, 2027, and that Jamie Lockwood, vice president of investor relations and special projects, has been selected to succeed him. Houle will remain as a strategic advisor until March 31, 2027.