"Wabtec Surpasses Q3 Earnings Expectations, Raises Year-End Guidance; Shares Climb 3%"

PITTSBURGH - Wabtec Corporation (NYSE:WAB) reported third-quarter earnings that exceeded analysts' expectations, leading to a 0.3% rise in early trading. The rail equipment manufacturer announced adjusted earnings of $2.00 per share, surpassing the consensus estimate of $1.89. Quarterly revenue came in at $2.66 billion, slightly below the anticipated $2.67 billion.

The Freight segment spearheaded the company's robust performance, with sales increasing by 2.6% year-over-year to $1.93 billion. The Transit segment followed suit with a 9.6% rise in sales, reaching $733 million. Overall, Wabtec's total sales grew 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year.

Rafael Santana, Wabtec's President and CEO, stated, "The Wabtec team once again delivered a strong quarter, as evidenced by continued growth in sales, margin, earnings, and operating cash flow."

Encouraged by the solid results, Wabtec raised its 2024 adjusted earnings guidance to a range of $7.45 to $7.65 per share. The midpoint of this new range represents a 27.5% increase compared to 2023. The company maintained its revenue forecast for the year at between $10.25 billion and $10.55 billion.

Wabtec's order backlog remained robust at $22.23 billion as of September 30, marking a 3.5% increase from the same period last year. According to management, this provides strong visibility for future growth.

During the quarter, the company generated $542 million in cash from operations and returned $634 million to shareholders through share repurchases and dividends.