Shares of Trinity Industries TRN have gained 3.4% since the company released second-quarter 2021 earnings report on Jul 22. Better-than-expected earnings per share were mainly responsible for the stock price appreciation.

Let’s delve deeper.

The company’s earnings (excluding 3 cents from non-recurring items) of 15 cents per share surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 9 cents. The bottom line surged 66.7% year over year on lower costs.

The picture with respect to revenues was, however, uninspiring. Total revenues of $371.5 million fell short of the the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $425.3 million and declined 27% year over year. Lower deliveries in the Rail Products Group and change in presentation of railcar sales hurt the top line in the quarter.

The Railcar Leasing and Management Services Group generated revenues of $185.1 million, up 1.3% year over year. Lease and management operating profit declined to $70 million from $78.5 million a year ago. This downside was caused by higher fleet management operating costs, and lower lease rates and fleet utilization.

Revenues in the Rail Products Group (before eliminations) totaled $261.8 million, down 35.4% from the prior-year quarter’s number. The downside was due to lower deliveries, pricing pressures, shift in the mix of railcars sold as well as reduced railcar modification services. Segmental operating profit was $3.2 million compared with segmental operating profit of $7.9 million a year ago.

Revenues in the All Other Group (primarily includes results of highway products business) were $78.2 million, up 12.1% year over year on increased demand for highway products. Segmental operating profit came in at $12.8 million compared with $7.3 million in the year-ago quarter.

In the first half of 2021, Trinity rewarded its shareholders with $375 million through dividend payouts and share repurchases. Free cash flow generated during the period was $359 million.

The currently Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) company exited the June quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $91 million compared with $132 million at 2020 end. You can see  the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Debt totaled $5.28 billion as of Jun 30, 2021 compared with $5.02 billion at the end of 2020.

Sectorial Snapshots

Let’s take a look at some of the other recently released earnings reports from companies within the Zacks Transportation sector.

Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings KNX reported second-quarter 2021 earnings (excluding 6 cents from non-recurring items) of 98 cents per share, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 87 cents. Total revenues of $1,315.7 million also outperformed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1,300.8 million.

United Parcel Service UPS reported second-quarter 2021 earnings (excluding a penny from non-recurring items) of $3.06 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.75. Quarterly revenues of $23,424 million also outperformed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $23,085.4 million.

Ryanair Holdings RYAAY incurred a loss of $1.46 per share in the first quarter of fiscal 2022 (ended Jun 30, 2021), narrower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of $1.50. Quarterly revenues of $446.4 million fell short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $459 million.

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