Greenbrier Companies (GBX) 2021 Q2 Financial Performance Review

Greenbrier Companies Inc (NYSE:GBX) was founded as a holding company in 1981 by Alan James and William Furman. Greenbrier specializes in transportation services, particularly the manufacturing of barge, railroad freight cars, and related equipment. It also provides railroad car leasing and management services. It primarily operates in North America, South America, and Europe.

The demand for railroad freight cars remained weak during the peak of the pandemic. As a result, Greenbrier stock did not gain much value last year. Greenbrier shares rose around 14 percent in 2020.

The Lake Oswego, Oregon-based company on Tuesday announced mixed financial results for its fiscal second quarter. Greenbrier reported a loss of $9 million, or 28 cents per share for the three months ended February 28, narrower than the loss of 39 cents per share estimated by analysts.

Revenue for the quarter fell more than 52 percent on a year-over-year basis to $295.62 million, missing the consensus forecast of $386.58 million. GBX shares fell nearly 5 percent in the mid-day trading Tuesday following the results.

Nevertheless, Greenbrier expects its fiscal second half to be better than the first half amid stronger activities across its business segments.

Commenting on the quarterly performance, CEO William Furman said in a statement, “Greenbrier navigated what we expect will be our most challenging quarter of the fiscal year.  Operating challenges emerged from a range of sources, including winter weather, impacting deliveries and production.  Our near-term outlook is becoming increasingly optimistic as rail fundamentals improve.  Rail loadings are up year-to-date, driven by increased traffic in grain, intermodal and other categories.  Railroad velocity has slowed by nearly two miles per hour. Railcars in storage have decreased by more than 148,000 units from the 2020 peak storage level.  Proposed environmental and other regulations in both North America and Europe should support secular demand for rail as a growing mode for freight transport. Fiscal stimulus and proposed infrastructure legislation are expected to further add to demand.”

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