Greenbrier CEO Fights Tank Car Duty Petitions On Her Final Earnings Call As Comstock Promises 'Newfound Urgency'
Lorie Tekorius said a competitor's petitions seek duties on tank cars, as Greenbrier guided to $2.8 billion to $3.2 billion in revenue.
Greenbrier, which builds freight railcars and runs a lease fleet, is fighting a competitor's petitions seeking duties on certain tank cars, CEO Lorie Tekorius said on the company's fourth-quarter earnings call Monday, her last in the role. The company also guided to fiscal 2027 revenue of $2.8 billion to $3.2 billion and earnings per share of $2.75 to $3.75.
A trade fight over Mexican-built tank cars
Tekorius said a competitor filed the petitions earlier this month. She said Greenbrier is also appealing to the Court of International Trade a September ruling in which U.S. Customs and Border Protection affirmed its determination on freight rail couplers on finished railcars.
Greenbrier builds tank cars in Arkansas and employs more than 2,000 people in the U.S., Tekorius said, and the USMCA trade pact benefits most of its products.
Pressed by a Goldman Sachs analyst on whether Greenbrier has paid tariffs on tank cars, Tekorius said the company is working with Customs on how to navigate the process. "The system is not set up to do that," she said.
She predicted customers will be "really vocal" about whether builders of tank cars in Mexico have done anything untoward. "I'll probably get the stink eye from someone in the room," she said, adding that this is not Greenbrier's intent and that the company prefers robust pricing to dumping.
Brian Comstock, Executive Vice President and President, Americas, called it "an industry issue." If the duties go through, he said, tank car prices rise and the increase is passed to customers, but it "shouldn't" hurt Greenbrier's financial performance long-term. He said the trade matters are weighing on tank car demand, with orders expected to resume as certainty emerges.
Comstock's urgency and the lease push
Asked what he would change, Comstock said he and Tekorius have worked together for 30 years. He promised continuity, with "a newfound urgency" on business-unit performance, costs and overhead, and "leaning in hard" on leasing growth.
The lease business is the one he singled out. Recurring revenue reached $175 million in fiscal 2026, up from $113 million when the company set its goal of doubling it. The owned lease fleet grew by roughly 4,000 railcars, or 23%, to about 21,000, with utilization at 98%. Greenbrier projects it will reach 22,000 to 23,000 cars in fiscal 2027.
Orders improve, outlook shifts to industry deliveries
Fourth-quarter orders were 3,400 railcars worth about $600 million, the highest order value of the year, and backlog rose to 14,000 railcars valued at $2.1 billion. For the year, Greenbrier delivered 15,400 railcars on revenue of $2.5 billion and core earnings per share of $2.60. Fourth-quarter revenue was $591 million, and earnings per share were $0.27, or $0.39 excluding rationalization costs.
Chief Financial Officer Michael Donfris said Greenbrier will now give an outlook for North American industry deliveries, 26,000 to 28,000 in fiscal 2027, rather than its own delivery counts. Guidance also includes operating margin of 7% to 7.5% and capital spending of $225 million to $275 million, about 70% of it for the lease fleet.
Greenbrier ended the year with liquidity of $962 million. The board declared a quarterly dividend of 34 cents, the 50th consecutive.
Greenbrier's coupler appeal now goes to the Court of International Trade, while the tank car petitions are still pending.
Sources
- Greenbrier anticipates $2.8B-$3.2B revenue and $2.75-$3.75 EPS in fiscal 2027 as leasing expands (NYSE:GBX) | Seeking Alpha — seekingalpha.com
- Greenbrier (NYSE:GBX) reports sales below analyst estimates in Q3 CY2026 earnings — Yahoo Finance
- Greenbrier Non-GAAP EPS of $0.39 misses by $0.41, revenue of $591M misses by $14.1M (NYSE:GBX) — seekingalpha.com
- Greenbrier: Fiscal Q4 Earnings Snapshot | The Seattle Times — Associated Press
- Greenbrier Announces Fourth Quarter Financial Results — prnewswire.com
