Union Pacific Picks New CEO
Shares rise as freight-railroad operator appoints hedge fund’s pick The CEO appointment comes as Union Pacific posted second-quarter results that missed estimates. Photo: BING GUAN/REUTERS By Ben Glickman July 26, 2023 9:14 am ET Union Pacific named veteran rail executive Jim Vena chief executive, after a major shareholder called for current CEO Lance Fritz’s removal. Vena, who previously served as the freight-railroad operator’s chief operating officer from 2019 to 2020, will become CEO effective Aug. 14, the company said Wednesday. Shares jumped 8.6% to $233.99 in premarket trading. Soroban Capital Partners, a New York hedge fund, urged the company’s board to remove Fritz in February, arguing the company had underpe
The CEO appointment comes as Union Pacific posted second-quarter results that missed estimates.
Photo: BING GUAN/REUTERS
Union Pacific named veteran rail executive Jim Vena chief executive, after a major shareholder called for current CEO Lance Fritz’s removal.
Vena, who previously served as the freight-railroad operator’s chief operating officer from 2019 to 2020, will become CEO effective Aug. 14, the company said Wednesday.
Shares jumped 8.6% to $233.99 in premarket trading.
Soroban Capital Partners, a New York hedge fund, urged the company’s board to remove Fritz in February, arguing the company had underperformed under his leadership. Shortly after, the company announced the search for a successor.
Soroban pushed for Vena to succeed Fritz, who has held the role since 2015. In a letter to shareholders, Soroban said Union Pacific’s stock could double in two years if Vena is appointed, considering his experience in the industry.
Jim Vena previously served as Union Pacific’ chief operating officer from 2019 to 2020.
Photo: Union Pacific/PR Newswire
Vena previously worked for more than 40 years at Canadian National Railway.
The appointment comes as Union Pacific posted second-quarter results that missed estimates. The Omaha, Neb.-based company said Wednesday that its profit declined to $1.57 billion, or $2.57 a share, from $1.84 billion, or $2.93 a share, in the year-ago quarter. Analysts polled by FactSet expected per-share earnings of $2.76.
The company’s revenue, meanwhile, fell 5% to $5.96 billion, as the company carried lower freight volumes and saw less income from its fuel surcharge.
Fritz said in a statement that softer consumer markets and inflation ate into the company’s results in the quarter.
The company expects those challenging conditions to continue: Union Pacific said it anticipates that its consumer-related volumes will lag through the rest of 2023.
Write to Ben Glickman at [email protected]
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