Canadian Pacific Kansas City earnings: third quarter 2026

Canadian Pacific Kansas City, the railway that runs from Canada through the United States to Mexico, moved more freight at better prices this summer. Sales rose 15% to 4.2 billion Canadian dollars. A 53% jump in fuel prices ate into what each dollar of sales left over. A one-off Canadian back-tax charge of 94 million dollars kept reported profit flat. The company's own adjusted earnings per share, which leaves that charge and costs from its Kansas City Southern purchase out, rose 16%. It gave no figures for the rest of the year, saying only that it is on track. ¹

Against what analysts expected

Analysts had expected about 94 US cents of earnings per US-listed share for the quarter, according to Nasdaq's earnings calendar. Since the results, analysts' forecasts for this year's earnings have been cut at least 13 more times with no new raises, and their average forecast for the year fell by 1.0%; forecasts for next year have also been cut far more often than raised. ¹²

The strong points

• Sales rose 15% to 4.2 billion Canadian dollars, as the railway moved more freight and earned more for each load, with grain and container traffic leading. ¹
• The company's own adjusted earnings per share rose 16% to 1.28 Canadian dollars; the reported figure rose only 3% because of a one-off back-tax charge and costs from its Kansas City Southern purchase. ¹
• The cash left after running the railway and investing in it more than doubled to 937 million Canadian dollars, though partly because it spent about 29% less on track and equipment. ¹

The weak points

• Fuel cost rose 61% to 667 million Canadian dollars, far faster than sales. ¹
• The share of sales spent on running the railway rose to 64.8% from 63.5%, so each dollar of sales left less profit. ¹
• Short-term borrowing rose, and long-term debt due within a year climbed to 3.6 billion Canadian dollars. ¹

What the company expects

• The company gave no figures for the full year, saying only that it is on track and will meet its commitments for 2026. ¹
• Management says growth is continuing in grain, containers and general freight, and that it is confident about the long term, while noting economic headwinds in the quarter. ¹

Our verdict on the quarter

A strong report. Freight volumes, prices and the company's adjusted profit per share all grew solidly, held back by higher fuel costs and with no change shown to its plans for the year.

The results as published

• The results release itself
• The filing it came with (SEC)
• The previous results, for what it forecast then

Notes

1. Canadian Pacific Kansas City's results release, 28 October 2026: sec.gov. ↩
2. Nasdaq's earnings calendar, 4 November 2026. ↩