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what it is
FreightCar America builds freight railcars, sells parts, leases cars, and fixes older cars when shippers need them back on the tracks.
how it gets paid
Last year Freightcar America made $501M in revenue. new railcar manufacturing was the main engine at $391M, or 78% of sales.
why growth slowed
Revenue fell 10.2% last year. The number that matters is 15.0% gross margin.
what just happened
The quarter was a contradiction: revenue jumped to $375M, but the last reported earnings result was still a miss at -$0.23.
At a glance
C+ balance sheet — struggling to keep the lights on
25/100 earnings predictability — expect surprises
4.5x trailing p/e — the market's not buying it — or you found a deal
-$3.12 fy2024 eps est
$559M fy2024 rev est
xvary composite: 28/100 — weak
What they do
FreightCar America builds freight railcars, sells parts, leases cars, and fixes older cars when shippers need them back on the tracks.
This is a scale and specialization business. FreightCar America made about $501 million of trailing revenue with 2,030 employees, and that footprint matters when your customer needs hundreds of cars built or rebuilt fast. Backlog is not listed here, but the edge is plain: if you need coal cars, gondolas, flat cars, or intermodal cars, you do not call a garage. You call one of the few companies already set up to do it.
How they make money
$501M
annual revenue · their business grew -10.2% last year
new railcar manufacturing
$391M
used railcar sales
$35M
railcar leasing
$30M
major railcar rebuilds
$30M
parts and other
$15M
The products that matter
manufactures new freight cars
New Railcar Manufacturing
4,000–4,500 cars delivered in 2025
this is still the core engine. 4,000–4,500 cars delivered at a 12.2% segment margin tells you the business works when factories stay busy.
12.2% margin
sells parts and repair services
Aftermarket Parts & Services
$~100M estimated revenue
this segment is about one-fifth of sales at roughly $~100M. it matters because customers keep repairing cars even when they stop ordering as many new ones.
~20% of sales
leases freight cars
Railcar Leasing
no segment figure shown here
the appeal is steadier revenue, but the inputs here are thin. that makes this a supporting piece of the story, not the reason you own the stock.
data thin
Key numbers
$148M
long-term debt
That is almost the whole market cap. Plain English: lenders have a claim nearly as large as what public investors say the company is worth.
$501M
annual revenue
This is the current size of the business after a 10.2% decline, so you are buying a shrinking top line until management proves otherwise.
7.1%
operating margin
Operating margin → profit after running the business → so what: a small cost shock can wipe out a lot of earnings.
1.9
beta
Beta → how violently a stock moves versus the market → so what: if the market drops 10%, this kind of stock often drops a lot more.
Financial health
C+
strength
- balance sheet grade C+ — weak — may struggle to fund operations
- risk rank 5 — safer than 5% of stocks
- price stability 5 / 100
- long-term debt $148M (48% of capital)
C+ — balance sheet grade and long-term debt are flagged. this stock carries more risk than average.
Total return vs. market
Return history isn't available for RAIL right now.
source: institutional data · return history unavailable
What just happened
missed estimates
The quarter was a contradiction: revenue jumped to $375M, but the last reported earnings result was still a miss at -$0.23.
EDGAR-backed quarterly revenue was $375 million, up 134% vs. prior year, with gross margin at 15.0%. But Yahoo Finance shows the last earnings result at -$0.23, which tells you this name can print huge sales without delivering clean, steady profits.
$375M
revenue
-$0.23
eps
15.0%
gross margin
the number that mattered
The number that matters is 15.0% gross margin, because margin → money left after building the product → so what: volume without margin is just a louder factory.
source: company earnings report, 2026
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What could go wrong
the main risk is simple: a weak railcar market lasts longer than management wants. this company needs enough volume to keep factories productive and debt boring.
high
railcar demand stays stuck near ~31,000 deliveries
that would put pressure on the $500M–$550M guide fast. this is still a business where new-build activity drives the mood and most of the revenue.
the first hit lands on manufacturing, which is roughly ~80% of sales.
high
gross margin slips below the low-teens
2025 gross margin was 13.4%, and manufacturing margin was 12.2%. when a factory business loses volume, the cost base does not shrink nearly as fast as revenue.
earnings can fall harder than sales. that is the part small-cap cyclicals rarely say politely.
med
balance-sheet pressure stops being background noise
long-term debt is $148M against a market cap of about $158M. that is close enough that capital structure is part of the thesis whether you planned on underwriting it or not.
if the cycle weakens, financing flexibility matters more than the headline p/e.
med
aftermarket stays too small to steady the business
parts and services are only about one-fifth of revenue at roughly $~100M. if that mix does not grow, you are still mostly betting on new railcar orders.
the company stays more cyclical than the valuation screen makes it look.
$148M of long-term debt against a $158M market cap is still the cleanest way to summarize the risk picture: one bad cycle matters a lot here.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
metric
gross margin holding above the low-teens
2025 gross margin was 13.4% and manufacturing margin was 12.2%. if those start slipping, the cycle is doing more damage than the revenue line shows.
trend
industry deliveries recovering from ~31,000 cars
this is the backdrop that matters. a healthier market fixes a lot. a weak one makes every forecast look brave.
risk
debt staying manageable relative to equity value
with $148M of long-term debt and a $158M market cap, balance-sheet stress can become the story quickly if execution slips.
calendar
the next earnings update
after the march 9, 2026 report, the next print needs to answer one simple question: is the $500M–$550M guide still realistic.
Analyst rankings
earnings predictability
25 / 100
low predictability means the earnings line can move around a lot. in human-speak, analysts do not trust this business to give you a smooth quarter.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
institutional ownership data for RAIL is being compiled.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
n/a
n/a
$12
current price
n/a
target midpoint · n/a from current
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