Shares of Norfolk Southern Corp. NSC edged up 0.2% in premarket trading Wednesday, after the railroad operator reported first-quarter adjusted profit and revenue that topped expectations, as strength in the company’s merchandise and coal business offset weakness in intermodal. Net income fell to $466 million, or $2.04 a share, from $703 million, or $2.93 a share, in the year-ago period.
Net income fell to $466 million, or $2.04 a share, from $703 million, or $2.93 a share, in the year-ago period. Excluding nonrecurring items, such as an initial $387 million charge resulting from the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, adjusted earnings per share rose to $3.32 from $2.93 and beat the FactSet consensus of $3.15. Revenue grew 7.4% to $3.13 billion, just above the FactSet consensus of $3.10 billion, as merchandise revenue increased 12.3% to $1.