FreightCar America (RAIL): Earnings Miss But Guidance Holds Steady

FreightCar America, Inc. (NASDAQ:RAIL) is one of the best railroad stocks to buy according to analysts. On March 9, FreightCar America, Inc. (NASDAQ:RAIL) announced its Q4 and full‑year 2025 results. Quarterly revenue reached $125.6 million, which means it failed to reach the $160.6 million that analysts expected by a 21.8% margin. Management said during the earnings call that the miss was possible because the quarter’s deliveries included more converted railcars with lower average selling prices compared with the newly manufactured railcars of Q4 FY2024.

FreightCar America (RAIL): Earnings Miss but Guidance Holds Steady

EPS for the quarter was $0.16, which also fell short of the $0.17 consensus estimate. For this, management attributed the miss to a higher effective tax rate and the absence of a prior‑year tax‑valuation‑allowance benefit.

The full year revenue totaled $501.0 million, a 10.4% year over year decline. Management said the underperformance reflects fewer railcar deliveries (4,125 vs 4,362) and a shift toward lower‑price conversion builds. But EPS rose to $1.09 compared with a loss of $3.12 in FY2024. This was aided by a $51.9 million release of a deferred‑tax valuation allowance and an improved gross margin, which was 14.6% for FY2025 and 12.0% for FY2024.

For FY2026, the company issued guidance of 4,000-4,500 railcar deliveries, $500-$550 million in revenue, and $41-$50 million of adjusted EBITDA.

FreightCar America, Inc. (NASDAQ:RAIL) is a US railcar manufacturing company. It designs and builds freight railcars such as coal cars, covered hoppers, flat cars, and intermodal equipment, with production facilities in the Midwest.

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