Lorie L. Tekorius
Analyst · Greenbrier. We will refer to recurring revenue throughout our comments today. Recurring revenue is defined as leasing and management services revenue, excluding the impact of syndication transactions. With that, I will turn it over to Lorie
Thank you, Travis, and good afternoon, everyone. We appreciate you joining us today. Greenbrier delivered solid commercial, operational and financial results in the third quarter. Global macroeconomic conditions in our markets that support freight railcar lease rates and utilization, where Greenbrier is further strengthening as we serve our shipper customers. Those same conditions pressure demand for new freight rail cars, though maintenance and replacement needs continue and provide a foundation for future orders. This combination of market dynamics and a dedicated focus on operational efficiency led to sequentially improved gross margin and earnings. The improvements that have been made across Greenbrier over the last several years are yielding benefits and combined with operating discipline, cost control and commercial excellence create a more resilient earnings profile through cycles. In other words, we are demonstrating our ability to deliver higher lows across the cycle due to the strength of our business platform. Our commercial team continues to expand Greenbrier's market reach adding new customers, while strengthening relationships with longstanding partners supported by our lease origination capabilities. These proficiencies leverage our integrated go to market model across direct sales, leasing partnerships and syndication. Turning to the market, in our core North American market, railcar deliveries have averaged about 35 thousand per year since 2020. The current industry forecasts indicate less than 25 thousand new railcars for calendar 2026, which will be the lowest level recorded since 2010. And the projection for calendar 2027 shows an increase to over 34 thousand deliveries. Rail loading trends are up in several key commodity categories including grain, petroleum products, chemicals and intermodal. Although intermodal activity is uneven, as some commodities are shifting towards trucking, to navigate service related friction in the rail network. And while the uptick in freight rail modal share is uneven, we believe the longer term outlook is positive Our experience tells us it is a matter of when, not if, new railcar demand will increase. And activity coming out of a trough tends to arrive sooner and more robustly than anticipated. In Europe, wagon deliveries are expected to be around 9 thousand units for calendar 2026 and the next several years. We are utilizing our lease origination capabilities strategically in this market as well to serve our customers while managing productivity and reducing costs. Our Manufacturing segment, which includes maintenance, wheels and parts activity in North America, executed well in the third quarter. Operating efficiency, cost discipline, and solid program and maintenance work help drive the overall performance in the current macro environment. Our lease origination capabilities provide key flexibility to manage new car production and support utilization across our manufacturing footprint. In addition, our in sourcing investment is delivering broad based sustained efficiency gains that will further improve earnings power as demand grows. In Leasing and Fleet Management, we saw significant expansion of our owned lease fleet with continued high utilization. We remain focused on growing this platform and doubling our recurring revenue base by 2028 through both our own manufacturing operations and secondary market opportunities as they arise. The enterprise wide improvements that have been made at Greenbrier are supported by a strong financial foundation. A healthy and well capitalized balance sheet and ample liquidity provides flexibility to support operations, invest in the business, return capital to shareholders, and execute our strategy. As we look ahead, our focus remains squarely on operational execution, commercial discipline, capital allocation, and ongoing enhancement of through cycle performance. You can expect Greenbrier's solid results across the cycle to continue driving long term shareholder value. Finally, I want to thank our employees for their focus, commitment, and execution. Each and every 1 of their efforts demonstrates the strength of Greenbrier's culture, and the durability of the platform that we have built. And with that, I will turn the call over to Brian to discuss our operations in more detail.