Kansas City Southern 2020 Q4 Earnings Results

Kansas City Southern (NYSE:KSU), founded in 1887, is a transportation company operating both domestically and internationally. Its rail operations connect major commercial and industrial areas in central America with key industrial cities in Mexico. Its rail network comprises nearly 6,700 miles of track spread across the U.S. and Mexico.

KSU stock fell to a low of around $93 in March 2020 due to the negative effects of the Covid-19 on its operations. However, the stock recovered its lost value in the subsequent months and started trading above pre-pandemic price levels by the end of July. KSU share price rose nearly 10 percent on July 31 following multiple reports that Blackstone Group (BX) is looking to acquire the company for $20 billion. However, it reportedly refused the offer in September. Nevertheless, KSU share price rose about 40 percent during 2020.

Moreover, the company recently announced its financial results for the fourth quarter. It reported earnings of $166.3 million, or $1.80 per share for the three months ended December 31, higher than $127.2 million, or $1.30 per share in the comparable period of 2019. Revenue for the quarter slipped 5 percent on a year-over-year basis to $693.4 million.

Speaking on the results, CEO Patrick Ottensmeyer said in a statement that “despite several significant challenges in the fourth quarter, including continued impacts from the pandemic, weather events and an extended outage from illegal protests on segments of our network in Mexico, KCS delivered strong fourth quarter results.”

The company also reinstated its outlook for the year. KSU expects its revenue to grow in the range of 11 to 14 percent in 2021. KSU shares slightly moved down in the mid-day trading Monday. At 12:04 p.m. ET, the stock fell 1.33 percent to $214.69.