NEW YORK -- Railroad operator Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. will report second-quarter earnings after the bell Thursday, revealing how much the floods in the Midwest and soaring fuel costs cut into its bottom line.
Last month, the nation's second-largest railroad reduced its second-quarter earnings prediction, citing those two factors. But analysts say strong pricing and operational efficiencies may allow the company to beat Wall Street's expectations as it did in the first quarter of this year.
The railroad operator now expects to report quarterly earnings of about $1.30 per share. In April, the company had forecast second-quarter earnings per share percentage growth in the "high teens" over 2007 earnings of $1.20 per share. That implied earnings per share of about $1.40 to $1.43.
Analysts polled by Thomson Financial forecast second-quarter earnings of $1.30 per share.
Earlier Thursday, the largest U.S. rail, Union Pacific Corp., reported a second-quarter profit that rose 19 percent from a year earlier and beat Wall Street's expectations.
(The preceding appeared on the Web site news.ino.com on July 24, 2008.)