Investors who pushed Canadian National Railway Company shares higher on Wednesday in spite of the company’s weaker-than-expected earning could be taking a long-term view of the stock’s potential, according to one investment expert.

The company’s share price in comparison to its peers may have been one factor driving investors’ interest, Ben Nolan, managing director at Stifel Financial, told BNN Bloomberg in a TV interview on Wednesday.

“The biggest factor that's helping support the stock … is the fact that CN has been the underperformer in terms of share price among all of the other rails,” he said.

Some factors that weighed on CN this quarter were no fault of the company, Nolan explained, such as the B.C. port strike and the Nova Scotia floods.

“Most of those (events) are out of their control and most of those do have an element of catch-up that is possible over the course of the remainder of the quarter,” he said.

Future profitability is another factor that might be keeping investors optimistic on the company’s stock, Nolan added.

While CN reported net income fell by 12 per cent to $1.17 billion in the second quarter from $1.33 billion a year earlier, the commitment to future earnings was made clear.

“Our goal to accelerate sustainable, profitable growth through 2026 and beyond remains on track,” Tracy Robinson, chief executive officer and president of CN Rail, said in the earnings release.

Investors that are bullish on the stock could be holding out for the stronger results down the line, Nolan said.

“I think you still have a decent longer term outlook and given that everything else is a little more expensive there’s a willingness to look through some of the near-term issues and focus on the long-term upside,” he said.