“We will purchase $1.5 billion of shares and invest roughly $3.4 billion of capital and our capital allocation strategy is unchanged.”

In context

“shareholders have received $3.2 billion through dividends and share repurchases, including third quarter repurchases of $738 million. Finally, our adjusted debt-to-EBITDA ratio finished the quarter at 2.7x, as we maintain a strong balance sheet and remain A rated by our three credit rating agencies. So wrapping up on Slide 7, with just over two months left in the year, the majority of 2024 story has been written and it's been a good one. We are executing on the fundamentals of railroading, which is critical to achieving the full financial potential of this franchise. We are affirming our prior 2024 guidance, most importantly that we will continue to improve profitability through our strategy of safety, service and operational excellence. Pricing dollars will exceed our inflation dollars. We will purchase $1.5 billion of shares and invest roughly $3.4 billion of capital and our capital allocation strategy is unchanged. We also are going to put a slightly finer point on how we expect to close the year. At this time, we'd expect fourth quarter results to closely mirror the third quarter, while improving on a year-over-year basis. This level of performance will mark our fifth consecutive quarter of year-over-year gains, again demonstrating the positive results of our strategy. Throughout the year, we've shown our ability to pivot and flex to handle the various challenges of railroading, from weather of all types to the significant West Coast traffic spike, and we navigated them successfully, improving service, while maintaining cost discipline. We continue to generate strong pricing and productivity, positioning us well to finish 2024 with momentum and on a path to achieve the long-term targets we laid out”