Railroad giant Burlington Northern (NYSE:BNI) steamed on down the track to an impressive second quarter. Revenues increased 17%, and earnings chugged ahead 24%.
Burlington is living a life of luxury. Volume was at a record high. The company is able to use that strength to get a 2% price increase. It has reported three consecutive quarters of double-digit earnings growth. Amtrak this is not.
Compare those results with the nation's largest railroad. Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP), the railroad of service woes, reported a 45% decrease in net income last quarter. The company managed a 5% gain in revenue but admitted that demand exceeded supply. If you need a case study of business being too good, and killing earnings, Union Pacific is the poster child.
Union Pacific, to relieve pressure, is using United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) for parcels. Its inability to move as much coal as customers want is a reason why coal companies such as Arch Coal (NYSE:ACI) have not filled electric company stockpiles (which are at multiyear lows).
Burlington Northern, by contrast, is sharing its wealth with its shareholders. The company increased the dividend 13%. The stock now yields an impressive 2.2%.
Burlington Northern also looks good when compared with its competitors. Operating margins, at 19%, far exceed the 11.2% at CSX (NYSE:CSX) and are approaching the 20% margins at Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC).
Analysts are expecting Burlington Northern to earn $2.49 this year -- a multiple of 14 times earnings. That's cheap, especially considering the company is expected to log another year of double-digit earnings growth next year.
Fool contributor W.D. Crotty, sadly, owns stock in Union Pacific.
