Wabtec Q3 earnings climb 34% as freight and transit sales grow, full-year outlook raised

Wabtec (NYSE: WAB) reported higher third-quarter revenue and earnings Wednesday and raised its full-year adjusted EPS guidance to $10.85 to $11.05, up from a prior outlook of an 18.2% to 21.5% increase. Operating income rose 27% to $625 million on an 8% revenue gain to $3.12 billion, while earnings per share climbed 34% to $2.42. The company attributed the results to portfolio momentum, disciplined execution and strategic actions. Freight segment revenue grew 6.9%, with digital intelligence revenue up 24.2% on the Frauscher Sensor Technologies acquisition. Wabtec won $633 million in locomotive and modernization orders from two unnamed Class I railroads, and its Freight 12-month backlog rose 7.5% to $6.54 billion. Transit revenue increased 11.3% to $883 million, driven by the Dellner Couplers acquisition, lifting that segment's backlog 12.2% to $2.45 billion. CEO Rafael Santana said North American freight traffic growth has prompted railroads to reactivate stored locomotives, boosting parts orders, though it has not yet translated into new locomotive orders.