Operator: Please stand by. Your meeting is about to begin. Good afternoon, everyone. My name is Beau, and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to CPKC's Q3 2026 conference call. The slides accompanying today's call are available at investor.cpkcr.com. All lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise. After the speaker's remarks, there will be a question and answer session. If you would like to ask a question at that time, simply press star then the number 1 on your telephone keypad. If you would like to withdraw your question, press star 2. I would now like to introduce Mr. Chris de Bruyn, Vice President, Capital Markets, Tax, and Treasurer. Please go ahead, sir.
Chris de Bruyn: Thank you, Beau. Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining us today. Before we begin, I want to remind you this presentation contains forward-looking information. Actual results may differ. The risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could influence actual results are described on slide 2, in the press release, and in the MD&A filed with Canadian and US regulators. This presentation also contains non-GAAP measures outlined on slide 3. With me here today is Keith Creel, our President and Chief Executive Officer, Nadeem Velani, our Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, John Brooks, our Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, and Mark Redd, our Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. The formal remarks will be followed by Q&A. In the interest of time, we would appreciate if you limit your questions to one.
Chris de Bruyn: It is now my pleasure to introduce our President and CEO, Mr. Keith Creel.
Keith Creel: Thanks, Chris, and good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for joining us on the call today. First and foremost, I want to extend a heartfelt thank you to our 20,000 strong family of railroaders across the three countries that produce the results our team has the honor of discussing today. We are extremely proud of what this team has delivered during this quarter, handling strong growth, running the railroad extremely well, and continuing to create opportunities across this very unique network. Looking at the quarter on the results side, we delivered Q3 revenues of CAD 4.2 billion, volume growth of 6%, an operating ratio of 61.9% that generated 16% adjusted EPS growth. Against a pretty dynamic backdrop, I am pleased with what the team has delivered.
Keith Creel: We handled 6% more volume while continuing to improve the performance of the railroad, and more importantly, there is so much more opportunity in front of us. On the car velocity, train velocity, fuel efficiency, terminal fluidity, all showed strong improvement year-over-year in operations, and this credit belongs to Mark, his senior team, and the railroaders across our network executing our plan every day. Nick Walker, Greg Squires, Jason Ross, Brad Robertson, Baden Tidd, Tom Bourgonje continue to provide strong leadership, and I will tell you, we are fortunate to have a deep experience and talented bench of operating leaders across this network. We have invested ahead of growth. We have got the people, the locomotives, and the infrastructure aligned with our demand. We are prepared to grow, and we are becoming better railroaders each and every day. Operational excellence is a journey. It is not a destination.
Keith Creel: There is more opportunity to be mined, and rest assured, I am confident this team will continue to find it. On the commercial side, John and his team continued to convert the reach and the opportunities this network creates into new markets, new products, and profitable, sustainable growth during the quarter. We established all-time volume records in domestic intermodal, international intermodal, and U.S. grains. These outcomes reflect strong service, discipline in the market, and the unique options this network creates for our customers. We also announced a meaningful expansion of our relationship with Elk Valley Resources to move their product from the mines that we serve in southeastern British Columbia to Vancouver for global export. This expanded agreement reduces complexity, it strengthens end-to-end supply chain, and positions CPKC and EVR to grow together for years to come.
Keith Creel: Our Canada-Mexico land bridge is another powerful proof point which continues to generate value in the face of uncertainty. When we brought these two railroads together just over 3 years ago, this traffic was about CAD 100 million in annual revenue. We expect to exit this year north of CAD 600 million, and this is not growth we inherited. It is growth that we created, taking a challenge and turning that challenge into an opportunity, creating new markets enabled by this unique North American network. Importantly, we delivered 6% volume growth despite headwinds across certain markets during the quarter. That tells you something about the quality and the diversity of our growth opportunities as we remain well on track for another year of mid-single-digit volume growth. It also speaks to the alignment between our operating and commercial teams. The operating team delivers the service.
Keith Creel: The commercial team takes the service to the marketplace and creates opportunities. They have been doing it consistently since we brought these two networks together over 3 and a half years ago. The bottom line, when you combine industry-leading operations, a unique network built for growth, and a hungry, disciplined commercial team, you create a very compelling outcome. Let me leave you with this. The larger message has not changed. We have a railroad that is running extremely well, a differentiated network, a deep pipeline of growth opportunities that are in front of us. I am proud of what the team has delivered in this quarter, but rest assured, we are not satisfied. We know there is more work to do, and more importantly, opportunity to capture. The team will remain focused on execution, taking care of our customers, converting these opportunities into profitable, sustainable growth.
Keith Creel: And with that, I will turn it over to Mark to walk through the operation, John to give you some color on the markets, and Nadeem will close it up before our questions elaborating on those numbers. Over to you, Mark.
Mark Redd: Yeah. Thank you, Keith, and good afternoon. I want to begin by thanking our railroaders for another strong quarter of execution. Our network is running very well in delivering reliable service for our customers while supporting continued growth across the business. We saw strong improvement across several of our operating metrics. Train speed improved 8%, dwell improved 7%, car miles per car day increased 10%, locomotive productivity up 4%, fuel efficiency improved 3%. These results demonstrate the strength of our PSR operating model. In review of the safety results, our personal injury frequency was 1.12, which is 20% higher than last year. Our train accidents improved 60% to 0.46. While we are pleased with the train accident result, the increase of the personal injuries does not meet our standard. Safety is a never-ending journey.
Mark Redd: We will learn from every incident, reinforce the fundamentals, stay focused on what matters most, every railroader going home safe at each and every shift. Turning to labor, in the US, we reached agreements that bring employees from several separate agreements under our Mid-South agreement. This simplifies how we operate, provides greater flexibility, helps us run a more consistent, reliable service for our customers. I am also pleased to announce that we have two new collective agreements with BLET, SMART, have been ratified on the DM&E and Soo Line properties. In Canada, CPKC and the IBEW agreed to binding arbitration, ending the strike involving approximately 300 signal and communications employees. Turning to capital, we continue to make disciplined investments in safety, growth, and efficiency. We have received 170 of the Tier 4 locomotives from Wabtec. We are beginning to receive 35 more from Progress Rail.
Mark Redd: In total, we expect to bring on 300 new locomotives through 2028. We are already seeing benefits in these investments. The newer locomotives have contributed to more than 35% reduction in our service interruptions on our 100 series trains in Canada. A 10% reduction in interruptions in our Western Canadian grain fleet. We are improving fuel efficiency on both services. We are strengthening the tools of our service design team using the plan and operate the railroad. We recently moved into the new planning platform that gives the team near real-time visibility into traffic and network conditions, along with the greater control of the data and the models used to build the operating plan. This in-house tool replaces the legacy third-party application. That visibility allows us to evaluate operating scenarios faster, responding to changing traffic patterns sooner, refine the plan as conditions change. This is what disciplined PSR execution looks like.
Mark Redd: Better information, quicker decisions, and even more tighter alignment between the operating plan, our resources, and customer demand. In closing, I am proud of the way the railroad has continued to execute across the network. This railroad is running well. We are building on that strong foundation with disciplined investments in our people, capacity, equipment, and technology. Together with our PSR model, these investments are improving reliability, creating capacity, positioning us to safely handle John’s and his team’s growth. We are never satisfied and we will keep controlling what we can control, keep our foot on the gas, and continue making this railroad better every day. With that, I will turn to John.
John Brooks: All right. Thank you, Mark, and good afternoon. The CPKC team and this unique network produced another record quarter driven by strong operating and commercial execution. We delivered record Q3 freight revenues and RTMs up 15% and 6% respectively. Cents per RTM increased 9%, reflecting sustained pricing strength and higher fuel surcharge revenue. Our capacity and reliable service support new business initiatives and share gains, while disciplined pricing remains a core focus. Moving on to the next slide, I want to highlight the consistency of our industry-leading growth. We have delivered consistent RTM growth across our three-nation network with year-to-date Q3 volumes ex coal up 17% since the merger. That performance, despite a tough macro backdrop, is driven by disciplined commercial execution, self-help initiatives, and strategic share gains. Our strong service product network fluidity and available capacity provide the foundation for this growth.
John Brooks: Now, taking a closer look at our Q3 revenue performance, I will speak to the FX-adjusted results. Starting with bulk, Q3 was another record quarter for grain, with record revenue, RTMs, and carloads. Revenue increased 27% on 23% volume growth. Canadian grain volumes increased 35%, driven by a high carry out of stocks following the record harvest, growth into our Mexico market, and strong Vancouver exports. US grain volumes increased 13%, driven by strong corn demand into Mexico and exports through the PNW. Now looking ahead, we expect continued grain volume growth through the end of the year and into early 2027, supported by healthy supply and demand fundamentals combined with our diverse market reach. We are also very encouraged by new crush production coming online in both Canada and the US, including our new contract with LDC at Yorkton.
John Brooks: Potash revenues were up 8% on a 7% decline in volume, with performance reflecting the impact of Canpotex's Portland terminal maintenance during the quarter. Now looking ahead, export demand fundamentals remain healthy and Portland's maintenance is now completed. We expect a return to solid growth for the remainder of the year. To round out bulk, coal revenue declined 1% on 11% reduction in volume. The decrease continued to reflect production-related challenges at the mines. However, as expected, this volume headwind is continuing to moderate. More importantly, as Keith mentioned, I am very excited about our new five-year contract with EVR. This agreement establishes a strategic long-term partnership for CPKC and EVR, resetting to what good service looks like for our Canadian coal franchise. Moving on to merchandise, energy, chemicals, and plastics revenue increased 9% on flat RTMs.
John Brooks: Higher energy prices have shifted some of our commodity flows into shorter-haul domestic and export market, creating a headwind versus our expectations on the quarter. As energy prices moderate over time, we expect those trade flows to normalize. At the same time, I can tell you this team remains laser-focused on controlling what we can control, and that is winning new business and pursuing self-help opportunities that will only set us up well as we go to 2027. Forest Products revenue increased 9% on a 2% volume growth. We delivered solid and resilient growth in this space despite softness in housing and cross-border tariffs. Our focus on industrial development opportunities supports growth against the softer macro backdrop. The metals, minerals, and consumer products area revenue increased 13% on 8% volume growth.
John Brooks: We continue to deliver growth and record quarterly volumes in steel, aluminum, and metals, supported by good demand from industrial production and construction activity. Moving to the automotive area, revenue increased 5% on a 5% volume decline. While the quarter was significantly impacted by plant retooling and production holds, we remain confident in the long-term growth outlook for our automotive franchise. We have line of sight to return volume growth for Q4 and into 2027, supported by share opportunities and the conversion of short sea traffic to rail. Now closing with intermodal, revenue increased 21% on a 10% volume growth and all-time record performance. Domestic intermodal volumes increased 7% in the quarter. Growth was supported by strong performance across our Canadian domestic lanes, along with continued strength in our US lanes and Mexico cross-border service.
John Brooks: Our SMX product with CSX continues to build momentum with volumes up 30% sequentially. Our service reliability on both our MMX and SMX intermodal products position us well to continue to build trust with our customers and capitalize on favorable truck-to-rail conversion opportunities. In international intermodal, volumes increased 11%, driven by continued strength in shipments from the Port of Vancouver for Gemini and also CMA. Our capacity at both the port and inland terminals support reliable service and sustainable profitable growth. We are particularly excited about the recent federal funding announcement for the Port of Saint John, including significant investments in the port, water access, warehousing, and rail efficiency. This nearly CAD 500 million investment will unlock capacity to handle up to 1 million TEUs of capacity and support growth through this premier gateway for years to come. To close, the growth we are delivering is differentiated and sustainable.
John Brooks: It is supported by strong service, disciplined pricing, and an expanding pipeline of self-help opportunities that are unlocked by this unique network. We are well-positioned for a strong finish to the year, and I remain confident in our ability to carry this momentum into 2027 and beyond. With that, I'll pass it over to Nadeem.
Nadeem Velani: Okay, great. Thanks, John, and good afternoon. I'm pleased with the solid results the team delivered this quarter. Strong volume growth, disciplined pricing, and continued productivity gains drove 16% growth in core adjusted diluted EPS, despite the margin pressure from higher fuel prices. Now turning to our Q3 on slide 15, CPKC's reported operating ratio was 64.8%. Our core adjusted OR was 61.9%, up 120 basis points from last year. Diluted earnings per share was $1.04, and core adjusted diluted EPS was $1.28, up 16% versus last year. Taking a closer look at our expenses on slide 16, I will speak to the year-over-year variances on an FX-adjusted basis. Core adjusted comp and benefits expense was $708 million. The year-over-year increase was driven by higher stock-based and incentive compensation, wage inflation, and volume-related expense. These increases were partially offset by strong productivity gains, including lower overtime and workforce efficiencies.
Nadeem Velani: Looking ahead, we now expect full-year headcount to be down slightly. This, combined with mid-single-digit volume growth, continues to drive strong labor productivity and operating leverage. Fuel expense was up 56% year-over-year, driven by a 53% increase in average fuel price as well as higher volumes. The change in fuel price was a 190 basis point headwind to core adjusted OR in the quarter while providing a modest benefit to earnings. Our continued focus on fuel efficiency, supported by our locomotive investments, drove a 3% improvement in the quarter and generated CAD 21 million in savings. Materials expense was up 12% year-over-year, driven primarily by higher fuel prices on our non-locomotive fleet. Lower locomotive material costs partially offset the increase. Equipment rents were 9% lower versus prior year as improved network performance and cycle times more than offset the impact of increased volumes.
Nadeem Velani: Depreciation and amortization expense was up 4%, driven by a larger asset base. Core adjusted PS&O expense was CAD 568 million. The year-over-year increase reflected inflation, volume growth, and other operating costs, partially offset by lower casualty costs and productivity gains, including lower crew and terminal costs. Overall, I am pleased with the operating leverage we delivered in the quarter. Volume growth, disciplined pricing, and continued productivity improvements drove double-digit earnings growth despite higher fuel prices creating pressure on the operating ratio. Moving below the line on slide 17, net interest expense was CAD 239 million, or CAD 235 million excluding purchase accounting. The increase was driven primarily by interest on new debt, partially offset by debt repayments. Income tax expense was CAD 448 million, or CAD 369 million adjusted for purchase accounting and significant items. We continue to expect a full-year core adjusted effective tax rate of approximately 24.75%.
Nadeem Velani: Now turning to slide 18 and cash flow. Our earnings growth continues to translate into strong cash generation. Year-to-date net cash provided by operating activities is up 12%, while adjusted free cash flow increased 59% to CAD 2.4 billion. Year-to-date capital expenditures were CAD 2 billion, down 12% from last year, and we remain on track to deliver full-year CapEx of approximately CAD 2.65 billion, a 15% reduction versus last year. Our targeted investments over the last several years in network capacity and locomotives are delivering tangible benefits, as demonstrated by our operating productivity and fuel efficiency performance. Through the first three quarters of the year, our disciplined approach to capital management delivered over CAD 4 billion of shareholder returns through share repurchases and dividends, reflecting a balanced and opportunistic allocation of capital. Stepping back, I am pleased with the overall performance in the quarter.
Nadeem Velani: We delivered strong earnings growth and cash generation while continuing to improve productivity across the business. As we move into the Q4, we remain focused on execution, and we are very well positioned to deliver on our full-year guidance. With that, let me turn it back over to Keith.
Keith Creel: Okay. Thank you, gentlemen. Operator, if you could, let's open it up for questions.
Operator: Certainly, Mr. Creel. Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, at this time, if you do have any questions, please press star then the number 1 on your telephone keypad. If you do find your question has been addressed, you can withdraw your question by pressing star 2. As previously highlighted, please limit yourself to 1 question. We'll go first this afternoon to Steve Hansen with Raymond James.
Steve Hansen: Yeah. Good afternoon, guys. Thanks for the time. Keith, I'm hoping you can provide a little more color on this new Elk Valley agreement, your additional or higher share of the haulage, and just what kind of approach you might contemplate through the new term. It does sound like service and route simplicity played a role here. Curious if the investment announcements into Neptune also played a role recently. Thanks.
Keith Creel: Yeah. Thanks, Steve. Thanks for the question. Just in context, if you go back to the last contract, I guess, with our competitor, Canadian National. Historically, before that contract, CP originates 100% of this coal and terminated 100% of the coal, kind of from the mine to the tidewater. Now, the stuff going to the North Shore, CN acts as our agent, as they do for potash, as they do for grain. Well, this last contract, CN, and back then I guess it would've been Teck Coal, introduced an interchange at Kamloops, which you have 100% of the traffic we originate that some interchange to CN at Canadian National to go to those same locations at Tidewater in Vancouver. I think we all understand every time you introduce a handoff and/or interchange, you create complexity and an opportunity for introducing supply chain cost and/or compromising reliability.
Keith Creel: I would suggest over the period of that contract, that has happened in small or large part to a point that in our negotiations, that became a topical point. What is happening now is about half of the traffic that today interchanges to our competitor at Kamloops to go to the North Shore of Vancouver will be reclaimed back to CP origin to destination, and the interchange at Kamloops will be eliminated for that traffic. About a train and a half will flip back to CP's route, cradle to grave.
Steve Hansen: Very helpful. Thanks.
Keith Creel: Thanks, Steve.
Operator: We will go next now to Brian Ossenbeck with J.P. Morgan.
Brian Ossenbeck: Afternoon. Thanks for taking the question. Maybe just a big picture question for John. Just how are you thinking about the pricing opportunity going forward and balancing that with volume growth and of course, network resources? I would assume there is some inflation you are expecting to cover, but in terms of just the broader truckload market and all the support that we would see from the market itself, should we expect something a little bit better than usual, when we think about just kind of the run rate, maybe about mid-single digits? And of course, probably an impact from the Canadian grain being lagged with a fuel surcharge. So, would appreciate some comments on that. Thanks.
John Brooks: Yeah. So Brian, you know what? I am bullish on the pricing outlook. It has been a pretty good run, and I think you have seen our commercial team be extremely disciplined in the marketplace. That is not going to change. I will just be candid. Renewals continue to be that 3% to 4% or even more in some cases. So, I do not see that changing. We are going to stay aggressive on that front. Obviously, the fuel surcharge, where it is at in the marketplace, kind of has introduced another dynamic that we are keeping an eye on and making sure that we are competing in the markets like we need to be. But I continue to have a pretty favorable outlook to close out this year. Most of our book is already pretty much renewed, but, I got a favorable outlook as we look into the beginning of 2027.
Operator: Thank you. We will go next now to Fadi Chamoun with BMO Capital Markets.
Fadi Chamoun: Yes, good evening. You talked about the deep pipeline and growth going forward. I was hoping you can elaborate on what verticals, what do you see, share with us some thoughts on where these opportunities are as you go over the next 12, 24 months. And any kind of high level idea on how to think about RTM growth in 2027, given this kind of deep pipeline, and now you have a bit of a visibility into the grain and the coal story, I guess, going into next year. How do you see things shake out from an RTM growth next year?
John Brooks: Fadi, I don't think they're going to let me quite guide to 2027 yet, but I will give you some color. Certainly, we've had a really good bulk year this year. So those compares are going to be tougher as you look at 2027. I'll tell you, I'm still pretty bullish that we have not wrung out all the opportunity specific to this grain franchise. We continue to uncover more and more opportunities into the southern part of our network and growth into Mexico and driving efficiency there. So, despite what I do see as tougher comps in that space, I'm convinced we have some upside in there. This crush market and the development of that business, not only in Canada, but also in the US, has been pretty good, and it really diversifies our grain business. Those crushers got to crush 365 days a year.
John Brooks: They're a production facility. So that's really good business, and I think that's an area that you should look to as some upside. Keith mentioned the land bridge earlier. I spent here the last few weeks in Mexico meeting with customers, and that area only continues to build momentum. That's both carload type business, and steel products and paper products, but it's intermodal opportunities in that too. So I expect to build on that land bridge. I would suggest to you that we're also in the early innings of this domestic intermodal story. I remain bullish on our team's ability to convert truck opportunities. I've talked about, we've got a hunter group in Mexico that is keenly focused on uncovering those opportunities and converting new customers. We're working close with CSX on our SMX product. That only provides further upside.
John Brooks: We posted really good international numbers this year on some wins. But between the opportunity and the investment that's going to go in at Saint John, there's a lot of upside there. We continue to see, albeit singles and doubles, we continue to see growth at Lázaro. Who knows? The canal has had some challenges here on water levels. You could have a potential West Coast US strike with the longshoremen in 2027. We continue to be pretty bullish on Lázaro also in terms of growth. So that's a few nuggets that are out there, let alone some of the other things that we have coming down the pipeline.
Keith Creel: Yeah, John, if I could add that point about the strike in the West Coast. I think we all understand the complexity of how that might develop, and what's true now that wasn't true the last time is we have a viable, reliable route from Lázaro into the Houston markets and into the Midwest that shippers did not have a chance or an opportunity to diversify their risk relative to that strike. I would suggest that will be part of the playbook. Once you get some of that traffic on your railroad, they experience the service, they experience the reliability. It may not all stick, but from a diversification play, we've realized our experience that some of it will. I think that bodes well to our growth aspiration.
Mark Redd: Yeah. One comment I would make is just also just staying in front of John with capacity. I know we are lockstep with different things that he is doing, business he is bringing on this railroad, so we certainly got locomotives in place, resources in place for crews, and certainly better agreements that I spoke about that we can move people around in and around that southern part of the US Shreveport area, for sure.
Fadi Chamoun: Appreciate it. Thanks.
Operator: Thank you. We will go next now to Jonathan Chappell with Evercore ISI.
Jonathan Chappell: Thank you, guys. Good afternoon. John, I know they will not let you talk about the 2027 RTMs, but maybe as it relates to the Q4, you are running at about 5.5%. You spoke about a lot of favorable things in your favor right now, from auto to potash, et cetera. You also should still have some carry-out, I would think, from the grain side. How do you think about momentum for the rest of the quarter, given some of those things that seem to be shifting potentially from headwinds to tailwinds?
John Brooks: Yeah, Jonathan, gas on. We are going to push it as hard as we can. The markets are not perfect. There are ups and downs, and we have some headaches that are out there, but we are going to push it hard. To your point, as I think about the bulk areas today to close out the year, I think it looks pretty good. Domestic intermodal, our international business, I think looks pretty good. We have had a little bit of a rough go in the automotive sector here. We also had the chip issues in November, December last year. Those compares will turn for us in those months. I am super proud of my merchandise team. That is an area that has just been strapped with tariffs and issues and ups and downs, and you have seen the numbers.
John Brooks: We have continued to battle in forest products and in the merchandise sector to post some pretty good numbers there. I am not going to give you a number, but I am optimistic that we can close pretty strong.
Operator: Thank you. We will go next now to Ken Hoexter with Bank of America.
Ken Hoexter: Hey, great. Good afternoon. I know you have talked a lot about maybe capturing some of the good grain crop or I guess continuing it, but I do not think we got your expectation for next year in terms of do you expect it to be down 5%, 10% given the crop, or do you make that up? Then just your thoughts on capacity. You talked about buying locomotives and getting them on board. Where do you feel like you are in terms of this mid to upper single digit RTM growth in terms of your ability to sustain that, or should we expect a rise in CapEx into 2027? Thanks.
Keith Creel: Ken, I will let John address the commercial question. When it comes to capacity, I will just remind everyone, we made a commitment to the STB with our transaction to build out this network to handle high single digit RTM growth. We have not experienced that yet, but we have invested the capital. The infrastructure is there. We have got the locomotives, we have got the cars, we have got the terminal and the track capacity. We have got a new bridge. We are built forward for growth. There will be no issues with us adjusting our capital envelope.
Nadeem Velani: Yeah, Ken, we are going to finish the year, as I mentioned, CAD 2.65 billion this year. We might get a modest increase off of that given where the Canadian dollar is. But outside of that, we have guided long-term CAD 2.6 billion to CAD 2.8 billion range of CapEx, so you should expect that range.
John Brooks: Yeah, Ken, there is no doubt we are coming off a record crop. I think the numbers are bouncing around still a little bit. Feels like it is narrowing in on the 76 million to 78 million metric ton area. So what would that would be down, I do not know, about 8% or so. But that being said, I know there is some growing territory in southern Alberta and southern Saskatchewan that historically we have had struggles the last few years in terms of drought and that are actually producing much better results this year. So we are optimistic, actually, in our growing territory that we, in some areas, we might actually be a little ahead of last year. So we will see what that all produces as we go into the next year.
John Brooks: I would say so far, the customers are signaling sold out demand pretty much through the end of this year, and I think their early outlook on Q1 is they remain fairly bullish. So, we will see how that plays out.
Ken Hoexter: Great. Thanks, guys. Appreciate the thoughts.
John Brooks: Yeah.
Operator: We'll go next now to Walter Spracklen with RBC Capital Markets.
Walter Spracklin: Yeah, thanks very much, operator. Good afternoon, everyone. I just wanted to come back to your Elk Valley Resources agreement there, and congratulations on that. The question I have is really for how we model that now with all the moving parts that we saw this year with the outage at the mine level, and now you're recapturing half of what you lost to CN before. It just makes it really difficult to look out to next year and put a number on what we should look at next year. I know that if we just go back to last year's numbers, that brings you up 15% to 20%. Now layer on this business, are we getting in that 20% range for what you could be up year over year in the coal set?
Walter Spracklin: Just any kind of given the moving parts there, I really appreciate any guidance you can provide on that particular vertical.
John Brooks: Yeah. Walter, it is a tricky one. There is a lot of moving parts there. I think Elk Valley has been pretty transparent around some of the challenges at the mines. That being said, the performance certainly has been much better and we are watching it closely as we move through Q4 here. I think, if you look at year-over-year, their volumes overall are probably going to end up 15% plus down, in terms of tonnage. Honestly, it is kind of early in terms of what they are looking towards 2027. When we have a better handle on what 2027 looks like in terms of their total tonnage output, that will give us a better look. I apologize for skating around it a little bit. The crystal ball is still a little cloudy on our side.
John Brooks: I think the bottom line is we feel really good about where we stand with them in terms of this additional train and a half to Neptune. In addition, as you have seen, they have signed a long-term agreement with Westshore, which is right in our wheelhouse too, and we expect some good growth there. The combination of the two lines up for a good growth story. We just got to get nailed down exactly what this tonnage is going to look like for next year.
Operator: Thank you. We will go next now to Chris Wetherbee with Wells Fargo.
Chris Wetherbee: Okay. Thanks. Good afternoon, guys. I thought slide 10 was helpful in terms of putting some perspective on what you guys have been able to accomplish since you closed the deal a few years ago. I guess as you think about where you stand now and the opportunities in front of you, I know it has been a challenging, maybe a more challenging macro than you might have expected when you closed the deal, but you guys have obviously executed well through this. Do we still think about a 2 to 3-point revenue premium or volume premium for the deal? I do not know if we can talk a little bit about that, and I know the farther we get away from it, the more difficult it is probably to pull these two apart.
Chris Wetherbee: But any big picture perspectives, Keith or John, on how you guys are thinking about that as we look out to 2027, 2028?
John Brooks: I can tell you the expectation in the room is, yeah, we're going to beat by 1 to 2 points consistently. And honestly, as much as I'm proud of our success and what we've been able to produce, you said it's been in the face of a pretty tough macro environment. And who knows, I've stopped guessing on when that may turn or not turn. But at some point things will get favorable. I think that gives us a tailwind, and you can rest assured, Chris, that I think you know we're going to continue to push hard. And there's a lot of opportunities that I mentioned earlier that I still think produce or have the opportunity to produce for the next few years, sort of an outweighted RTM performance against the industry or our peers.
Operator: Thank you. We'll go next now to Benoit Poirier at Desjardins.
Benoit Poirier: Yeah. Good afternoon, everyone. So just in terms of nation-building project, we've seen quite a lot of positive news flow going forward in terms of energy mining. We also saw a latest announcement from the Strathcona Resources on crude by rail. So I was just wondering if you could provide, maybe John or Keith, an update how you see energy performing going forward, and if you would be able to quantify any potential upside from those nation-building projects longer term for CPKC. Thank you.
John Brooks: Yeah, Benoit. As I think about some of those projects, obviously we are tightly working with Major Projects Office on a number of opportunities that are out there. I think there is pretty good alignment in terms of what some redevelopment could look like in Vancouver and particularly the South Shore as it relates to energy. I think it is a little early to tell. You can probably guess what some of those projects might be, but I think it is a little early to tell on how that plays out. I tell you, I mentioned it earlier, and maybe it does not fit directly in the energy sector. We are super excited about basically the first project coming out of this Trade Diversification Corridors Fund being all centered on Saint John. I think it is a testament to that acquisition that we made a few years back of the short line.
John Brooks: It is a testament to the Irving's belief in that opportunity in the port, in DP World, and Hapag-Lloyd and Maersk and CMA, and those steamship lines that have supported that port. I can tell you it is a big part of our growth profile as you look to, let us say, 2027 to 2030.
Benoit Poirier: Okay. That is great. Thank you very much, John.
John Brooks: Yes.
Operator: We will go next now to Brandon Oglenski at Barclays.
Brandon Oglenski: Hi, good afternoon, and thanks for taking the question. I apologize in advance to everyone on the call because I am going to be that guy and ask about M&A, Keith. I think you have filed your responsive requests last month, and obviously your competitors did that as well. I know you think this should be rejected on the merits, but can you speak to what was in those requests and then maybe more specifically on the comments that we heard from Closer as well? Thank you.
Keith Creel: Thanks for the question, Brandon. First, let me say this. CPKC, in our initial filing, and you will see in our subsequent filing 18 November, we are not asking Santa Claus to visit us on Christmas, I can tell you that. We are being very strategic. We are being very pinpointed. We are being very surgical, asking for, number one, complete rejection. We do not want a condition. We do not want a concession. We do not think it is needed. We do not think UP needs it. We do not think NS needs it, in spite of this narrative that the nation needs it. To create something that represents that much risk, that much market power forever is completely unneeded and unnecessary. Not now, and I say not ever. That being said, if the STB finds a way to approving their deal, and I think you clearly understand, I do not believe the facts lead to a yes.
Keith Creel: That being said, what you are going to see in our filing, again, not a Santa Claus list, but protections over gateways that are meaningful, that to this point, the applicants have not offered. Shipper access to protect competitive alternatives, to mitigate the market power that something as colossal as UP NS would create, from perhaps an industry like chemicals. I think they would be very concerned about that. Removing restrictions on remaining independent railroads that hamper their ability to provide competition to UP NS as well, paper barriers, et cetera. Again, not a Christmas list, a reality list. We think this whole thing, if you want to talk about Christmas, maybe it looks like a bag of coal. This is not anyone trying to get a gift.
Keith Creel: Since you have asked the question, I think I might as well address, and I have tried to, and you are probably going to say I do not believe you, bite my tongue. Quite frankly, the representations that continue to be made in support of UP’s ambitions need to be dispelled. There has been quite a few references, and I would say, absolutely based on fact, misrepresentations of truth. One I will start with, this whole analogy about if it is good for Canada, it is good for the United States. They have got two transcons up there. Why shouldn’t we have one in the United States? I think maybe to quote one of the commenters, one of them does not like us to have the same thing here. Well, let us talk about what the same thing is. Scale and size matters, whether you want to admit it or not.
Keith Creel: In Canada, you put the two railroads together, it is 21,000 route miles. You look at UP's network alone, it is almost double that. You put the two networks together, 2.5 times that. You think about the populations. Think about how capital intensive it is to run a railroad, to maintain a railroad. In Canada, and I think Jim knows this because he came from Canada, there is about 40 million people today. An economy that is fed and supports 40 million people. The United States, 350. Scale matters. California, 39. Why do not we take that argument to California? I would say you could probably support two Class 1 railroads in California. Guess what? There are two Class 1 railroads in California. Size and scale matters. The other very critical component, and I would suggest that UP would not want the same.
Keith Creel: I am not going to speak for them. I am just going to assume they would not. That comes to the regulatory regime that we exist and operate in Canada, in a world where you have two railroads. That connected all the major metropolises across the country. There is something called zone switching, zone interswitching with a prescribed non-compensatory zone switch rate that is clear and transparent to every customer. If they do not like your rate from point A to point B, they can exercise a zone switch and have complete transparency to what the rates are and how they can compete and create their best outcome from a customer's point of view. That does not exist in the regulatory regime with the STB.
Keith Creel: To get into a rate case with the STB takes a prolonged period of time, takes a lot of money, and quite often, a lot of customers have said it is not worth what it requires to try to get that outcome. In Canada, FOA, you get a decision in 60 days. It is pretty quick, it is pretty swift, and it is not consequential when it comes to the money that is on the table, the money that you have to pay to get the outcome that you believe is worth fighting for. That is critically important. You cannot ignore that. To say it is the same, it is not the same. It is completely different. I think some of the other points that are completely different. If you think about the two railroads. You think about their aspirations. Let us get to this comment about union support.
Keith Creel: 50% of the unions support the merger, maybe 50% of the shingles or 50% of the organizations. I have not gone back and fact-checked that, but I know for a fact that if you get to the voting union members between those two railroads, almost 70% diametrically opposed. That is a misrepresentation. It is simply not true. Let us talk about this end to end. You know what? CPKC, they were end to end. The STB looked at their deal. They offered zero concessions. There was zero for them. There is zero for us. Again, I go back to scale and market power. We were the two smallest railroads coming together to still remain the smallest Class I rail network in North America. We have not created any concentrated market power. When it comes to enhancing competition, even to the new rules, we were truly end to end. There was zero overlap.
Keith Creel: We didn't need anyone to come in to solve an overlap problem. We were hand in glove in Kansas City. We were additive to customer options, not dilutive in any way. It's not the same. To misrepresent it as if it is, I think, is insulting. It's just not true. The single line service point, that's one where I agree. I'm an advocate. I've said this from the beginning. There are definite benefits of single line service in eliminating handoffs. I just spoke of one a few minutes ago at Kamloops, but it can't be at all costs. Contrary to some of the representations, not all shippers have 10,000 cars that when you benefit through single line service and turn those assets and allow them to reduce their capital costs, yes, that's true.
Keith Creel: What about the smaller shippers that are out there in the world, which far outnumber those 10,000 car shippers that own those assets? Again, single line benefit is true. I'm an advocate for it, but not at all costs. Not if you create something so large with so much scale and reach that creates so much market power that it takes customer options away. Again, I think the truth matters, and I think making proper representations matter. I think in the end, this regulatory body, from my experience, wants to hear the truth. That's the final point I'm going to make. This process in and of itself, to me, has been compromised by the way these applicants have behaved. We've heard about it, rumor, conjecture, secondhand comments about being said, "If you're not for us, you're against us.
Keith Creel: Don't be on the wrong side of history. Remember the Louisiana Purchase. Don't side with the losers." I got a whole list because guess what? My phone rings and people tell me when they get threatened. Customers share that. Then I read a letter accusing other railroads of being the ones that threaten. Where I come from, that's like calling the kettle black. Let's be honest about this. That's what this dispute is that you've read about last week, that the judge ruled on Friday that this video that the applicants have said is proprietary and confidential and has trade secrets or whatever the representations were, that was recorded at a shippers conference with over 900 participants. Number one, really? Number two, just share what was said.
Keith Creel: Let people make their own opinions about whether or not they were or were not threatened if they weren't in support of this transaction that should it not get approved just because they didn't support their rates for getting raised to teach them a lesson. That's why we want the video to be public. It's not confidential. It was said in a public domain, and I believe it was said with intent to chill the room. I'm kidding, but not kidding. To me, in the context of a merger that will change the landscape of this industry forever and put this country at undeniable risk from an operational standpoint and a market power standpoint, this isn't a place to be kidding. Some of these customers that I guarantee you, the STB wants to understand their concerns, the for's and the against. That's their livelihood.
Keith Creel: To suggest you are kidding in a venue like that, I don't think you just wave that off and ignore that. At a minimum, it is reckless and it is irresponsible, and it is wrong. That is akin to me, the applicants would like to make a lot of airline representations in their analogy of why this merger is necessary. So let's go to the airline industry. What if any of us were to go into an airport and made a joke and said, "There is a bomb"? I think that would be shocking. And once the dust is settled, even if we said we were kidding, before they took us away in handcuffs and put us in jail, rest assured there is no way that you can assure that someone, one of those customers, feels comfortable getting on that plane or getting on that train. How do you uncrack that egg?
Keith Creel: I don't know how you do. I really don't. So to me, this process is compromised. And again, the STB, ultimately, they are the regulator. They are the ones that have to make the decision. But I believe that the applicants have put them in a quandary. How will they ever know that they are about to make a forever decision that all the for's and the against have been properly represented? And when there has been a chill, rest assured, there are people out there are customers out there, and I know there is at least one or two that has spoken directly to me, and I would suggest there is a whole lot more than that have not had the courage to speak, nor will they speak because they are afraid of being retaliated against. Again, not a joking matter. I believe the STB has been backed into a corner.
Keith Creel: I think the applicants have placed them at a quandary. So I am not 99.99910% certain of what they might decide, but I am 100% certain they have got a tough road ahead of them to try to assess facts and application that I would argue is incomplete because of the applicant's behavior.
Brandon Oglenski: Thank you for the thorough response, Keith. I think a lot of people appreciate it. Thanks.
Operator: Thank you. We will go next now to Scott Group with Wolfe Research.
Scott Group: Hey, thanks. I guess after that, maybe I will do a near-term operating ratio question. The team, any thoughts or color on how to think about margin Q4? Just one more on Teck, if I can. If our notes are right from 5 or 6 years ago, this was a ballpark CAD 100 million to CAD 150 million revenue loss for you. Is that the right way to think about getting about half of that back? Is that fair?
Nadeem Velani: Yeah, that is a fair ballpark, Scott. Obviously, depending on what EVR's volume is for next year, that is going to play a role, but you are in the ballpark. I appreciate the OR question, Scott. First time, I appreciate it. I would say that when you think about Q4 last year, it was a different environment as far as fuel prices and so forth. So we will have a bit of a headwind year-over-year with fuel. The way volumes are started out, October has been extremely strong. We saw fuel prices hurt us a little bit, just as far as the timing of a fuel surcharge and also some crack spread pricing that impacted fuel prices. I am sure your models have fuel price impact on us a little bit less than our results came in. So I think that is where there has been a bit of a gap.
Nadeem Velani: Now, if things turn and we start seeing diesel prices, spot prices improve, certainly we will see a benefit from it. Bottom line is, I feel very comfortable we will have a sub 60 OR in Q4, given the volume environment, given, as Mark mentioned, how well the network is running. We should have a decent weather environment north of the border in Q4. So far it has been good. That always plays a role, but I feel very good about our ability to finish the year strong and have a sub 60 OR.
Scott Group: Thank you, guys.
Nadeem Velani: Thanks, Scott.
Operator: We will go next now to Konark Gupta with Scotiabank.
Konark Gupta: Thanks, and good afternoon. Can you frame expectations around cents per RTM, Nadeem, in Q4 as it relates to the fuel impact? Then broadly, for you, John, maybe similarly, are you seeing any dislocations in your price sensitive markets due to fuel or fuel driven inflation?
John Brooks: Konark, just so I understand, are you saying sensitive markets relative to the somewhat extreme fuel surcharge inflation that we are seeing?
Konark Gupta: Yeah. You compared trucks in some markets and also there is some price sensitivity in some pockets in your end markets.
John Brooks: Yeah. No, I think I mentioned it earlier. We are seeing it in certain areas and whether it just be difference in mechanisms across the rail industry as a whole, different in how mechanisms roll on, roll off against our truck competitors and frankly, all modes of transportation. It is a pretty significant piece of revenue that is on there right now. Frankly, I will tell you, customers are looking month to month, I think, in some instances, on how to ship and how to manage that or looking at other market alternatives in terms of how they might be able to get goods. So I do believe that is a real issue that I think we are all facing right now as we manage some of these markets.
Nadeem Velani: Konark, I assume year over year cent per RTM, kind of high single digit increase year over year. So RTMs as of yesterday are up a little over 6%, high single digits cent per RTM improvement year over year, you get pretty significant revenue growth. That is how we are tracking so far.
Konark Gupta: Okay, great. Appreciate the color, guys. Thank you.
Nadeem Velani: Thanks, Konark.
Operator: Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, that's all the time we have for questions this afternoon. Mr. Creel, I'd like to turn things back to you, sir, for any closing comments.
Keith Creel: Okay, once again, thanks for your time this afternoon. I hope you take away from this call that this company is enjoying some strong operating momentum. Mark, thank you and the team for that. As long as we continue to operate safely and efficiently against this backdrop of overall favorable demand environment, you can expect us to close this year strong and carry that momentum into 2027. We look forward to talking to you and sharing our results on the next call. Happy holidays, happy Thanksgiving, and Merry Christmas for our US colleagues. Feliz Navidad for our Mexican colleagues, and Merry Christmas, of course, for our Canadian as well. Thank you.
Operator: Thank you very much, Mr. Creel. Again, ladies and gentlemen, this brings us to the end of today's meeting. We do appreciate your time and participation. You may now disconnect.
