Wabtec, a manufacturer of locomotive parts, forecasted a 2026 profit that was above Wall Street expectations on Wednesday as higher locomotive deliveries drove a'strong demand' for its products.

According to LSEG, the?Pittsburgh-based?company's?expected 2026 adjusted profits per share will range between $10.05 and $10.45. The midpoint is higher than analysts’ estimates of $10.23.

The midpoint is above the estimated $11.9 billion.

Wabtec's freight division saw net sales increase by 18.3% in the fourth quarter compared to a year ago. The digital unit's?sales jumped nearly 74.4% due to the acquisition of Evident’s Inspection Technologies division and Frauscher Sensor Technology which specializes on train detection and wayside objects control solutions.

Wabtec has also benefited from a robust demand in the United States and abroad for its digital products as railroads increase their investment to upgrade their networks. The company signed a $1.2 billion deal with Union Pacific earlier this month to modernize its AC4400 locomotives.

Wabtec’s adjusted 'profit per share' rose from $1.68 to $2.1 in the fourth quarter. This is up from $1.68 a year ago. Analysts expected an average profit of $2.08 per share. Analysts had expected $2.86 billion in revenue for the fourth quarter, but instead received $2.97 billion. Reporting by Parth Chaudna, Editing by Jonathan Ananda

(source: Reuters)