CPKC’s second quarter kept the integration story on track, with revenue up 3 percent to 3.7 billion dollars, revenue ton miles up 7 percent, reported operating ratio improving 110 basis points to 63.7 percent, and diluted EPS at 1.33 dollars, while average terminal dwell ticked up to 10.2 hours and train speed held at 19.3 mph. The mix shows resilience, but intermodal service quality remains the near term swing factor. See the company’s second quarter results for the full operating table and non GAAP reconciliations.
Expand Cross Border Lanes, Protect Yield
From a demand lens, management is leaning into north south corridors where single line reach is hard to replicate, including the Southeast Mexico Express launched with CSX that adds an east west Class I option between Mexico, Texas, and the U.S. Southeast. The service targets autos, intermodal, and carload, aiming to compress transit times and add capacity on lanes with secular reshoring tailwinds. This matters. CPKC and CSX detailed the offer in a July 21, 2025 joint release, and the positioning fits CPKC’s stated multi year growth plan. One sentence says enough here. The new lane is about optionality. See the Southeast Mexico Express announcement for scope and customer use cases.
“We are executing our strategy by capitalizing on a range of opportunities unique to our three nation network,” said Keith Creel.
Fund Capex, Keep Balance Sheet Flexible
On capital deployment, management still plans about 2.9 billion dollars of 2025 capital programs, paired with guidance framed around mid single digit RTM growth and 10 to 14 percent growth in core adjusted diluted EPS, which was trimmed earlier in 2025 given tariff and trade policy uncertainty and a stronger U.S. dollar. That is a clear signal to prioritize network reliability projects while guarding downside with pricing and productivity.
The company reiterated these planning assumptions in its first quarter outlook update. Liquidity looks deliberately diversified. As at June 30, 2025, CPKC had 250 million U.S. dollars outstanding on a 1.5 billion U.S. commercial paper program, backed by a 2.2 billion U.S. revolving credit facility, at a 4.69 percent weighted average rate, a structure that lowers average cost while preserving term optionality. It is not complex. It is standard and scale appropriate.
Manage Port Bottlenecks, Monitor Dwell
Port side, Vancouver remains the key sensitivity for intermodal schedule integrity and car cycle times, even as the federal port authority reports record trade moving through the gateway in 2024 and sustained strength into 2025. In that context, CPKC’s network stats show average terminal dwell up year over year in Q2, so ongoing recovery in west coast rail production and terminal handoffs will matter for service metrics and incremental margin.
One line, watch the docks. The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority underscored the system’s role plainly in March:
“The Port of Vancouver continues to drive Canadian prosperity,” said President and CEO Peter Xotta, linking performance to national trade flows.
See the port’s annual statistics release for recent volume context. For rail operations, the company’s Q2 performance table lists dwell, speed, and train length, which are the right yardsticks for near term service normalization.
Investor takeaways are straightforward. Throughput is growing, cross border lanes are scaling, funding flexibility is intact, and congestion at Vancouver is the near term risk that will influence intermodal yields, car velocity, and operating ratio execution into year end. Grain strength helps, but intermodal discipline will decide the spread. For information only.
