The Andersons, Inc. ANDE posted earnings of 76 cents per share in second-quarter 2018, up 41% from the adjusted earnings of 54 cents reported in the year-ago quarter. Earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 8 cents handily.Including one-time items, the company reported a loss of 94 cents in the prior-year quarter. The company did not have any adjustment in this quarter.Operational UpdateRevenues in the reported quarter dipped around 8% year over year to $911 million. The reported figure also missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1,346 million. The downside resulted from the adoption of new revenue-recognition rules that changed the treatment of a significant amount of Grain Group's sales transactions.The Andersons, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise The Andersons, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | The Andersons, Inc. QuoteCost of sales fell 9% to $821 million from $906 million posted in the prior-year quarter. Gross profit improved 3% year over year to $90.5 million. Gross margin expanded 120 basis points to 10% in the quarter.Operating, administrative and general expenses were down 14% year over year to $60 million. Andersons reported an operating income of $30.6 million in the second quarter compared to $18.3 million recorded in the year-earlier quarter.Segment PerformanceThe Grain Group: Revenues declined 25% year over year to $366 million from $488 million generated in the year-ago quarter. The segment reported an operating income of $9.9 million compared with $6.9 million recorded in the comparable quarter last year.The Ethanol Group: Revenues jumped 7% year over year to $201 million. The segment reported an operating profit of $6.1 million, a 31% year-over-year increase from $4.7 million recorded in the year-ago quarter.The Plant Nutrient Group: The segment reported revenues of $303 million, up around 14.5% year over year. It reported an operating profit of $15.1 million compared to a loss of $25.8 million in second-quarter 2017.The Rail Group: Revenues in this segment went up 8.6% year over year to $41.4 million. Operating income declined significantly to $0.9 million from $5.9 million recorded in the prior-year quarter.Financial PerformanceAndersons reported cash and cash equivalents of $58.6 million at the end of the second quarter, up from $18.9 million reported at the end of the prior-year quarter. The company’s long-term debt was $436 million as of Jun 30, 2018, compared with $354 million as of Jun 30, 2017.Share Price PerformanceIn the past year, Andersons has outperformed its industry with respect to price performance. The stock has gained around 22%, while the industry has depreciated around 53%.Zacks Rank & Key PicksAndersons currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).Better-ranked stocks in the same sector include Celanese Corporation CE, Huntsman Corporation HUN and KMG Chemicals, Inc. KMG. All three stocks sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.Celanese has a long-term earnings growth rate of 10%. The stock has gained around 20% in a year’s time.Huntsman Corporation has a long-term earnings growth rate of 8.5%. The company’s shares have been up 28% during the past year.KMG Chemicals has a long-term earnings growth rate of 28.5%. Its shares have surged 40% in the past year.The Hottest Tech Mega-Trend of AllLast year, it generated $8 billion in global revenues. By 2020, it's predicted to blast through the roof to $47 billion. Famed investor Mark Cuban says it will produce "the world's first trillionaires," but that should still leave plenty of money for regular investors who make the right trades early.See Zacks' 3 Best Stocks to Play This Trend >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Celanese Corporation (CE): Free Stock Analysis Report Huntsman Corporation (HUN): Free Stock Analysis Report KMG Chemicals, Inc. (KMG): Free Stock Analysis Report The Andersons, Inc. (ANDE): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research