What Happened?

Shares of rail transportation company Greenbrier (NYSE: GBX) jumped 19% in the afternoon session after the company posted much stronger-than-expected results for its fiscal third quarter and raised its profitability guidance for the full year. The railcar manufacturer reported quarterly earnings of $1.86 per share, handily beating analyst estimates of 98 cents. Sales also beat by a decent margin. The company achieved an aggregate gross margin of 18%, marking the seventh consecutive quarter it has met or exceeded its mid-teens target. Buoyed by the strong performance, Greenbrier raised its full-year guidance for both gross margin and operating margin. The company also highlighted new railcar orders for 3,900 units, valued at over $500 million, and a robust backlog of 18,900 units worth $2.5 billion. Additionally, the board declared its 45th consecutive quarterly dividend and noted ongoing share repurchases.

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What The Market Is Telling Us

Greenbrier’s shares are somewhat volatile and have had 10 moves greater than 5% over the last year. But moves this big are rare even for Greenbrier and indicate this news significantly impacted the market’s perception of the business.

Greenbrier is down 7.8% since the beginning of the year, and at $56.40 per share, it is trading 20.2% below its 52-week high of $70.70 from January 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Greenbrier’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $2,553.

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