CSX Earnings Preview: Revenue Growth Will Be Heavily Reliant On Volumes

We will be keeping an eye on CSX's operating ratio (operating expenses are expressed as a percentage of revenues), which increased considerably in the first quarter, followed by a marginal increase in the second quarter. Though it did improve slightly in the third quarter, the operating ratio for the nine months ended September 26 remained 100 basis points higher than the previous year. A high operating ratio is not favorable for the railroad's bottom line.