Exceptional Order Intake and Increasing Market Share Drive Sequential Backlog Growth of 121%
Aftermarket Revenue Growth of 13% Year over Year; Second Aftermarket Acquisition Completed Following Quarter End
Operating Cash Flow of $12.1 Million and Free Cash Flow of $11.3 Million, Up 43% Year over Year
CHICAGO, Aug. 03, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- FreightCar America, Inc. (NASDAQ: RAIL) (“FreightCar America” or the “Company”), a diversified manufacturer and supplier of railroad freight cars, railcar parts and components, today reported results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2026.
Second Quarter 2026 Highlights
- Revenues of $113.1 million, compared to $118.6 million in the second quarter of 2025, with railcar deliveries of 927 units compared to 939 units in the prior year period
- Aftermarket revenues grew 13% year over year, reflecting continued organic growth in parts and components and the contribution from our recent acquisition
- Gross margin of 5.5% with gross profit of $6.2 million, inclusive of $2.2 million of workforce realignment costs, compared to gross margin of 15.0% with gross profit of $17.8 million in the second quarter of 2025
- Recorded a $24.9 million non-cash loss related to share price appreciation accounting on the warrant liability, resulting in a net loss of $30.1 million, or $(0.94) per diluted share, and adjusted net loss of $0.8 million, or $(0.02) per diluted share, compared to adjusted net income of $3.8 million, or $0.11 per diluted share, in the prior year period
- Holder exercised outstanding warrants during the quarter, reducing the warrant liability to $14.0 million at June 30, 2026 from $119.4 million at March 31, 2026 and resulting in positive stockholders’ equity of $36.2 million
- Adjusted EBITDA of $1.2 million, representing a margin of 1.0%, compared to $9.3 million and a margin of 7.8% in the second quarter of 2025
- Ended the quarter with a backlog of 3,972 units valued at $344 million, reflecting a diversified mix of new railcar builds, conversions and retrofits
“Our second-quarter results reflect two different realities,” said Nick Randall, President and Chief Executive Officer of FreightCar America. “Commercially, we delivered one of the strongest order quarters in our recent history, with backlog value increasing 121% sequentially and our share of industry new-railcar orders reaching approximately 45%. Operationally, the production ramp began later than planned due to customer delivery timing, reducing fixed-cost absorption and shifting a portion of expected 2026 deliveries into early 2027.”
Randall continued, “We realigned our Castaños operating footprint to the productivity improvements achieved over the past two years, while preserving the installed capacity and critical capabilities required to scale. As a result, we expect to generate approximately $12 million of annualized structural savings, with benefits beginning in the third quarter. Combined with 13% growth in aftermarket revenue and the addition of our second acquisition following quarter-end, we enter the second half with a substantially larger backlog, a lower cost base and a broader presence across the railcar lifecycle.”
Fiscal Year 2026 Outlook
The Company has updated its outlook for fiscal year 2026 as follows:
Updated Fiscal 2026OutlookYear-over-Year
Change at Midpoint
of RangeRailcar Deliveries3,500 – 3,900 railcars(10.3)%Revenue$410 - $460 million(13.2)%Adjusted EBITDA1$36 - $44 million(2.9)%
1. The Company does not provide a reconciliation of forward-looking Adjusted EBITDA guidance due to the inherent difficulty in forecasting and quantifying adjustments necessary to calculate such non-GAAP measure without unreasonable effort. Material changes to such adjustments, including warrant liability and non-core operating items, could affect future GAAP results.
Mike Riordan, Chief Financial Officer of FreightCar America, added, “Free cash flow rose 43% year over year to $11.3 million, while we maintained solid balance sheet flexibility. We also closed our second aftermarket acquisition in under a year, an immediately accretive addition to our business as we continue to execute on our capital allocation priorities. While our updated full-year outlook reflects the shift in new railcar delivery timing, our lower cost structure and robust order intake support stronger results in the back half. Our long-term growth trajectory and value we are building for the years ahead remain firmly on track.”
Second Quarter 2026 Conference Call & Webcast Information
The Company will host a conference call and live webcast on Tuesday, August 4, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. (Eastern Time) to discuss its second quarter 2026 financial results. FreightCar America invites shareholders and other interested parties to listen to its financial results conference call. Teleconference details are as follows:
- August 4, 2026
- 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time
- Phone: 1-877-407-0789 or 1-201-689-8562
- Webcast access: FreightCar America Second Quarter 2026 Earnings Conference Call - 1769392
An audio replay of the conference call will be available beginning at 3:00 p.m. (Eastern Time) on Tuesday, August 4, 2026, until 11:59 p.m. (Eastern Time) on Tuesday, August 18, 2026. To access the replay, please dial (844) 512-2921 or (412) 317-6671. The replay passcode is 13761654. An archived version of the webcast will also be available on the FreightCar America Investor Relations website.
About FreightCar America
FreightCar America, headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, is a leading designer, producer and supplier of railroad freight cars, railcar parts and components. We also specialize in railcar repairs, complete railcar rebody services and railcar conversions that repurpose idled rail assets back into revenue service. Since 1901, our customers have trusted us to build quality railcars that are critical to economic growth and instrumental to the North American supply chain. To learn more about FreightCar America, visit www.freightcaramerica.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains statements relating to our expected financial performance, financial condition, and/or future business prospects, events and/or plans that are “forward-looking statements” as defined under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements represent our estimates and assumptions only as of the date of this press release. Our actual results may differ materially from the results described in or anticipated by our forward-looking statements due to certain risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties relate to, among other things, the cyclical nature of our business; adverse geopolitical, economic and market conditions, including inflation; material disruption in the movement of rail traffic for deliveries; fluctuating costs of raw materials, including steel and aluminum; delays in the delivery of raw materials; our ability to maintain relationships with our suppliers of railcar components; our reliance upon a small number of customers that represent a large percentage of our sales; the variable purchase patterns of our customers and the timing of completion; delivery and customer acceptance of orders; the highly competitive nature of our industry; the risk of lack of acceptance of our new railcar offerings; potential unexpected changes in laws, rules, and regulatory requirements, including tariffs and trade barriers (including recent United States tariffs imposed or threatened to be imposed on China, Canada, Mexico and other countries and any retaliatory actions taken by such countries); and other competitive factors. The factors listed above are not exhaustive. New factors emerge from time to time that may cause our business not to develop as we expect, and it is not possible for us to predict all of them. We expressly disclaim any duty to provide updates to any forward-looking statements made in this press release, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
This press release includes measures not derived in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”), such as EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted net income (loss), Adjusted EPS, and Free cash flow. These non-GAAP measures should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for any measure derived in accordance with GAAP and may also be inconsistent with similar measures presented by other companies. Reconciliations of these measures to the applicable most closely comparable GAAP measures, and reasons for the Company’s use of these measures, are presented in the attached pages.
Investor Contact:[email protected]Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets
(In thousands, except for share data)
(Unaudited) June 30,
2026 December 31,
2025 Assets Current assets Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash equivalents $62,978 $64,295 Accounts receivable, net 13,215 12,443 VAT receivable 6,665 6,097 Inventories, net 57,831 68,295 Prepaid expenses and other current assets 10,226 8,875 Total current assets 150,915 160,005 Property, plant and equipment, net 28,384 30,969 Right of use asset lease 39,381 40,281 Intangibles, net 4,491 4,877 Deferred income taxes 52,053 52,970 Other long-term assets 872 947 Total assets $276,096 $290,049 Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity (Deficit) Current liabilities Accounts and contractual payables $63,177 $55,671 Accrued payroll and other employee costs 5,803 9,110 Accrued warranty 1,989 2,050 Deferred revenue 3,046 539 Current portion of long-term debt 2,875 9,728 Lease liability, current 1,990 1,888 Other current liabilities 4,390 6,611 Total current liabilities 83,270 85,597 Long-term debt, net of current portion 97,850 97,514 Warrant liability 13,977 168,529 Accrued pension costs 1,292 1,256 Lease liability, long-term 42,205 43,233 Other long-term liabilities 1,301 1,333 Total liabilities 239,895 397,462 Stockholders’ equity (deficit) Common stock 358 221 Additional paid-in capital 204,519 72,557 Accumulated other comprehensive income 2,293 2,324 Accumulated deficit (170,969) (182,515)Total stockholders’ equity (deficit) 36,201 (107,413)Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity (deficit) $276,096 $290,049
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations
(In thousands, except for share and per share data)
(Unaudited) Three Months Ended Six Months Ended June 30, June 30, 2026 2025 2026 2025 Revenues $113,138 $118,623 $177,446 $214,913 Cost of sales 106,967 100,802 160,465 182,698 Gross profit 6,171 17,821 16,981 32,215 Selling, general and administrative expenses 10,467 10,114 21,871 20,637 Operating (loss) income (4,296) 7,707 (4,890) 11,578 Interest expense (3,045) (4,382) (6,421) (8,718)(Loss) Gain in fair market value of warrant liability (24,889) (47,630) 24,215 5,258 Other (expense) income (218) 3,296 (24) 3,157 (Loss) income before income taxes (32,448) (41,009) 12,880 11,275 Income tax (benefit) provision (2,345) (52,688) 1,334 (50,852)Net (loss) income $(30,103) $11,679 $11,546 $62,127 Net (loss) earnings per common share - basic $(0.94) $0.36 $0.35 $1.89 Net (loss) earnings per common share - diluted $(0.94) $0.34 $0.32 $1.79 Weighted average common shares outstanding – basic 31,939,312 31,793,746 31,933,492 31,727,903 Weighted average common shares outstanding – diluted 31,939,312 33,398,330 35,549,254 33,603,627
Condensed Consolidated Segment Information
(In thousands)
(Unaudited)
Three Months Ended Three Months Ended June 30, 2026 June 30, 2025 Manufacturing Aftermarket Total Manufacturing Aftermarket Total Revenues $104,282 $8,856 $113,138 $110,757 $7,866 $118,623 Cost of sales 101,000 5,967 95,831 4,971 Segment gross profit $3,282 $2,889 $6,171 $14,926 $2,895 $17,821 Other segment items (1) 599 946 402 510 Segment income $2,683 $1,943 $4,626 $14,524 $2,385 $16,909
(1) Other segment items in Manufacturing and Aftermarket segments include selling, general and administrative expenses.
Six Months Ended Six Months Ended June 30, 2026 June 30, 2025 Manufacturing Aftermarket Total Manufacturing Aftermarket Total Revenues $157,238 $20,208 $177,446 $200,932 $13,981 $214,913 Cost of sales 146,637 13,828 173,896 8,802 Segment gross profit $10,601 $6,380 $16,981 $27,036 $5,179 $32,215 Other segment items(1) 963 1,895 759 1,076 Segment income $9,638 $4,485 $14,123 $26,277 $4,103 $30,380(1) Other segment items in Manufacturing and Aftermarket segments include selling, general and administrative expenses.
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
(In thousands)
(Unaudited)
Six Months Ended June 30, 2026 2025 Cash flows from operating activities Net income $11,546 $62,127 Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash flows provided by operating activities: Depreciation and amortization 3,709 3,046 Non-cash lease expense on right of use assets 900 1,572 (Gain) on change in fair market value for Warrant liability (24,215) (5,258)Stock-based compensation recognized 2,072 2,701 Deferred income taxes 917 (52,647)Other non-cash items, net 865 5,690 Changes in operating assets and liabilities: Accounts receivable (773) (3,698)VAT receivable (550) (2,397)Inventories 10,333 (32,807)Accounts and contractual payables 8,326 41,164 Income taxes payable, net (1,286) (665)Customer deposits — 17,611 Other assets and liabilities (4,078) (15,117)Net cash flows provided by operating activities 7,766 21,322 Cash flows from investing activities Acquisitions (434) — Purchase of property, plant and equipment (883) (938)Proceeds from sale of assets held for sale, net of selling costs — 585 Net cash flows used in investing activities (1,317) (353)Cash flows from financing activities Deferred financing costs — (1,336)Borrowings on revolving line of credit 8,000 — Repayments on revolving line of credit (8,000) — Repayments on term loan (7,330) (1,438)Employee stock settlement (436) (487)Financing lease payments — (805)Net cash flows used in financing activities (7,766) (4,066)Net (decrease) increase in cash and cash equivalents (1,317) 16,903 Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash equivalents at beginning of period 64,295 44,450 Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash equivalents at end of period $62,978 $61,353 Supplemental cash flow information Interest paid $5,729 $4,047 Income taxes paid $1,381 $3,018 Change in unpaid construction in process $(120) $295 Exercise of warrants $130,337 $—
Reconciliation of (Loss) income before taxes to EBITDA(1) and Adjusted EBITDA(2)
(In thousands)
(Unaudited)
Three Months Ended
June 30, Six Months Ended
June 30, 2026 2025 2026 2025 (Loss) income before income taxes $(32,448) $(41,009) $12,880 $11,275 Depreciation & Amortization 1,845 1,550 3,709 3,046 Interest Expense, net 3,045 4,382 6,421 8,718 EBITDA (27,558) (35,077) 23,010 23,039 Change in Fair Value of Warrant(a) 24,889 47,630 (24,215) (5,258)Productivity Initiatives(b) 2,202 - 2,202 - Professional Services(c) 63 - 872 - Acquisition & Integration Costs(d) 361 - 361 - Lease payments in Interest(e) - (768) - (1,639)Stock Based Compensation 991 761 2,073 2,701 Other, net 217 (3,296) 24 (3,157)Adjusted EBITDA $1,165 $9,250 $4,327 $15,686
(1) EBITDA represents earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. We believe EBITDA is useful to investors in evaluating our operating performance compared to that of other companies in our industry. In addition, our management uses EBITDA to evaluate our operating performance. The calculation of EBITDA eliminates the effects of financing, income taxes and the accounting effects of capital spending. These items may vary for different companies for reasons unrelated to the overall performance of the company’s business. EBITDA is not a financial measure presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Accordingly, when analyzing our operating performance, investors should not consider EBITDA in isolation or as a substitute for net income or other statements of operations or statements of cash flow data prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Our calculation of EBITDA is not necessarily comparable to that of other similar titled measures reported by other companies.
(2) Adjusted EBITDA represents EBITDA before the following charges:
a) This adjustment removes the non-cash (income) expense associated with the change in fair market value of the Company’s warrant liability.
b) During the second quarter of 2026, the Company incurred workforce realignment costs as a result of sustained productivity gains in its Manufacturing segment.
c) During 2026, the Company incurred certain professional services expenses associated with governance items.
d) During 2026, the Company incurred costs related to the acquisition and integration of businesses in its Aftermarket segment.
e) Represents lease payments recorded within Interest expense due to certain leases previously classified as financing prior to December 2025.
We believe that Adjusted EBITDA is useful to investors evaluating our operating performance compared to that of other companies in our industry because it eliminates the impact of certain non-cash charges and other special items that affect the comparability of results in past quarters. Adjusted EBITDA is not a financial measure presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Accordingly, when analyzing our operating performance, investors should not consider Adjusted EBITDA in isolation or as a substitute for net income or other statements of operations or statements of cash flow data prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Our calculation of Adjusted EBITDA is not necessarily comparable to that of other similarly titled measures reported by other companies.
Reconciliation of Net (Loss) income and Adjusted net income (loss)(1)
(Unaudited)
Three Months Ended
June 30, Six Months Ended
June 30, 2026 2025 2026 2025 Net (loss) income $(30,103) $11,679 $11,546 $62,127 Change in Fair Value of Warrant (a) 24,889 47,630 (24,215) (5,258)Productivity Initiatives (b) 2,202 - 2,202 - Professional Services (c) 63 - 872 - Acquisition & Integration Costs (d) 361 - 361 - Stock Based Compensation 991 761 2,073 2,701 Release of Valuation Allowance (e) - (51,872) - (51,872)Other, net 217 (3,296) 24 (3,157)Total non-GAAP adjustments 28,723 (6,777) (18,683) (57,586)Income tax impact on non-GAAP adjustments (f) 559 (1,060) 5,839 905 Adjusted net (loss) income $(821) $3,842 $(1,298) $5,446
(1) Adjusted net (loss) income represents net (loss) income before the following charges:
(a) This adjustment removes the non-cash (income) expense associated with the change in fair market value of the Company’s warrant liability.
(b) During the second quarter of 2026, the Company incurred workforce realignment costs as a result of sustained productivity gains in its Manufacturing segment.
(c) During 2026, the Company incurred certain professional services expenses associated with governance items.
(d) During 2026, the Company incurred costs related to the acquisition and integration of businesses in its Aftermarket segment.
(e) During the second quarter of 2025, the Company released the majority of the valuation allowance in the United States on federal and state deferred tax assets.
(f) Income tax impact on non-GAAP adjustments represents the tax impact of the presented adjustments on the Company’s income tax provision calculation.
We believe that Adjusted net income is useful to investors evaluating our operating performance compared to that of other companies in our industry because it eliminates the impact of certain non-cash charges and other special items that affect the comparability of results in past quarters. Adjusted net income is not a financial measure presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Accordingly, when analyzing our operating performance, investors should not consider Adjusted net income in isolation or as a substitute for net income or other statements of operations or statements of cash flow data prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Our calculation of Adjusted net income is not necessarily comparable to that of other similarly titled measures reported by other companies.
Reconciliation of Diluted EPS and Adjusted EPS(1)
(Unaudited)
Three Months Ended
June 30, Six Months Ended
June 30, 2026 2025 2026 2025 Diluted EPS $(0.94) $0.34 $0.32 $1.79 Change in Fair Value of Warrant(a) $0.78 $1.43 $(0.68) $(0.16)Productivity Initiatives(b) 0.07 - 0.06 - Professional Services(c) - - 0.02 - Acquisition & Integration Costs(d) 0.01 - 0.01 - Stock Based Compensation 0.03 0.02 0.06 0.08 Release of Valuation Allowance(e) - (1.55) - (1.54)Other, net 0.01 (0.10) - (0.09)Total non-GAAP adjustments pre-tax per-share 0.90 (0.20) (0.53) (1.71)Income tax impact on non-GAAP adjustments per share(f) 0.02 (0.03) 0.16 0.03 Adjusted EPS $(0.02) $0.11 $(0.05) $0.11
(1) Adjusted EPS represents diluted EPS before the following charges:
(a) This adjustment removes the non-cash (income) expense associated with the change in fair market value of the Company’s warrant liability.
(b) During the second quarter of 2026, the Company incurred workforce realignment costs as a result of sustained productivity gains in its Manufacturing segment.
(c) During 2026, the Company incurred certain professional services expenses associated with governance items.
(d) During 2026, the Company incurred costs related to the acquisition and integration of businesses in its Aftermarket segment.
(e) During the second quarter of 2025, the Company released the majority of the valuation allowance in the United States on federal and state deferred tax assets.
(f) Income tax impact on non-GAAP adjustments per share represents the tax impact of the presented adjustments on the Company’s income tax provision calculation.
We believe that Adjusted EPS is useful to investors evaluating our operating performance compared to that of other companies in our industry because it eliminates the impact of certain non-cash charges and other special items that affect the comparability of results in past quarters. Adjusted EPS is not a financial measure presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Accordingly, when analyzing our operating performance, investors should not consider Adjusted EPS in isolation or as a substitute for net income or other statements of operations or statements of cash flow data prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Our calculation of Adjusted EPS is not necessarily comparable to that of other similarly titled measures reported by other companies.
Reconciliation of Cash flows provided by operating activities and Free cash flow(1)
(Unaudited)
Three Months Ended
June 30, Six Months Ended
June 30, 2026 2025 2026 2025 Cash flows provided by operating activities$12,084 $8,528 $7,766 $21,322 Purchase of property, plant and equipment (736) (608) (883) (938)Free cash flow 11,348 7,920 6,883 20,384
(1) Free cash flow represents the amount of Cash flows provided by operating activities less capital expenditures.
We believe that Free cash flow is useful to investors evaluating our operating performance compared to that of other companies in our industry because these metrics provide key insights into the potential for growth and ability to generate returns for investors. Free cash flow is not a financial measure presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Accordingly, when analyzing our operating performance, investors should not consider Free cash flow in isolation or as a substitute for Cash flows from operating activities or other statements of operations or statements of cash flow data prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Our calculation of Free cash flow is not necessarily comparable to that of other similarly titled measures reported by other companies.