Exhibit 99.1

Greenbrier Reports First Quarter Results

~ Posts EPS of $0.54 ~

~ Orders for 5,400 units valued at $560 million ~

~ Affirms FY 2019 guidance ~

Lake Oswego, Oregon, January 9, 2019 – The Greenbrier Companies, Inc. (NYSE: GBX) today reported financial results for its first fiscal quarter ended November 30, 2018.

First Quarter Highlights

William A. Furman, Chairman and CEO, said, “Greenbrier’s performance in the first quarter of fiscal 2019 exceeded expectations and demonstrates the ability of our people to execute the Company’s business plan. Order activity was strong in the first quarter and comprised of a broad range of railcar types including double-stack intermodal units, tank cars and heavy-duty flat cars. Importantly, 20% of all new railcar orders were received from markets outside North America. We are confident in achieving our guidance for the year with approximately 90% of Greenbrier’s fiscal 2019 production plan now booked with firm orders.”

Furman concluded, “Greenbrier continues to see opportunities internationally, and expects international growth to continue from Europe and Brazil as the year progresses, with activity in the nations of the Gulf Cooperation Council and Eurasia growing over time. A thoughtful approach to capital deployment emphasizes growth at scale designed to both reinforce the Company’s position in core North American markets and expand in international railcar markets. Developing a pipeline of talent to strengthen Greenbrier’s workforce is another key strategic objective in fiscal 2019. Greenbrier will continue to invest in its business and people, a strategic approach that serves the Company, our shareholders and our employees well.”

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Business Outlook

With 90% of fiscal 2019 production in backlog, and based on current business trends, Greenbrier affirms:

As noted in the “Safe Harbor” statement, there are risks to achieving this guidance. Certain orders and backlog in this release are subject to customary documentation and completion of terms.

Financial Summary

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Segment Summary

Conference Call

Greenbrier will host a teleconference to discuss its first quarter 2019 results. In conjunction with this news release, Greenbrier has posted a supplemental earnings presentation to our website. Teleconference details are as follows:

Please access the site 10 minutes prior to the start time.

About Greenbrier

Greenbrier—headquartered in Lake Oswego, Oregon—is a leading international supplier of equipment and services to global freight transportation markets. Greenbrier designs, builds and markets freight railcars and marine barges in North America. Greenbrier Europe is an end-to-end freight railcar manufacturing, engineering and repair business with operations in Poland, Romania and Turkey that serves customers across Europe and in the nations of the Gulf Cooperation Council. Greenbrier builds freight railcars and rail castings in Brazil through two separate strategic partnerships. We are a leading provider of freight railcar wheel services, parts, repair, refurbishment and retrofitting services in North America through our wheels, repair & parts business unit. Greenbrier offers railcar management, regulatory compliance services and leasing services to railroads and related transportation industries in North America. Through unconsolidated joint ventures, we produce industrial and rail castings, tank heads and other components. Greenbrier owns a lease fleet of over 9,600 railcars and performs management services for 358,000 railcars. Learn more about Greenbrier at www.gbrx.com.

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“SAFE HARBOR” STATEMENT UNDER THE PRIVATE SECURITIES LITIGATION REFORM ACT OF 1995: This press release may contain forward-looking statements, including any statements that are not purely statements of historical fact. Greenbrier uses words such as “affirms,’ “anticipates,” “believes,” “forecast,” “potential,” “goal,” “contemplates,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “projects,” “hopes,” “seeks,” “estimates,” “strategy,” “could,” “would,” “should,” “likely,” “will,” “may,” “can,” “designed to,” “future,” “foreseeable future” and similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results contemplated by the forward-looking statements. Factors that might cause such a difference include, but are not limited to, reported backlog and awards that are not indicative of Greenbrier’s financial results; uncertainty or changes in the credit markets and financial services industry; high levels of indebtedness and compliance with the terms of Greenbrier’s indebtedness; write-downs of goodwill, intangibles and other assets in future periods; sufficient availability of borrowing capacity; fluctuations in demand for newly manufactured railcars or failure to obtain orders as anticipated in developing forecasts; loss of one or more significant customers; customer payment defaults or related issues; policies and priorities of the federal government regarding international trade, taxation and infrastructure; sovereign risk to contracts, exchange rates or property rights; actual future costs and the availability of materials and a trained workforce; failure to design or manufacture new products or technologies or to achieve certification or market acceptance of new products or technologies; steel or specialty component price fluctuations and availability and scrap surcharges; changes in product mix and the mix between segments; labor disputes, energy shortages or operating difficulties that might disrupt manufacturing operations or the flow of cargo; production difficulties and product delivery delays as a result of, among other matters, costs or inefficiencies associated with expansion, start-up, or changing of production lines or changes in production rates, changing technologies, transfer of production between facilities or non-performance of alliance partners, subcontractors or suppliers; ability to obtain suitable contracts for the sale of leased equipment and risks related to car hire and residual values; integration of current or future acquisitions and establishment of joint ventures; succession planning; discovery of defects in railcars or services resulting in increased warranty costs or litigation; physical damage or product or service liability claims that exceed Greenbrier’s insurance coverage; train derailments or other accidents or claims that could subject Greenbrier to legal claims; actions or inactions by various regulatory agencies including potential environmental remediation obligations or changing tank car or other railcar or railroad regulation; and issues arising from investigations of whistleblower complaints; all as may be discussed in more detail under the headings “Risk Factors” and “Forward Looking Statements” in Greenbrier’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2018, and Greenbrier’s other reports on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which reflect management’s opinions only as of the date hereof. Except as otherwise required by law, Greenbrier does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements.

Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted net earnings attributable to Greenbrier and Adjusted diluted EPS are not financial measures under generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). These metrics are performance measurement tools commonly used by rail supply companies and Greenbrier. You should not consider these metrics in isolation or as a substitute for other financial statement data determined in accordance with GAAP. In addition, because these metrics are not a measure of financial performance under GAAP and are susceptible to varying calculations, the measures presented may differ from and may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies.

We define Adjusted EBITDA as Net earnings before Interest and foreign exchange, Income tax expense (benefit), Depreciation and amortization and excluding the impact associated with items we do not believe are indicative of our core business or which affect comparability. We believe the presentation of Adjusted EBITDA provides useful information as it excludes the impact of financing, foreign exchange, income taxes and the accounting effects of capital spending. These items may vary for different companies for reasons unrelated to the overall operating performance of a company’s core business. We believe this assists in comparing our performance across reporting periods.

Adjusted net earnings attributable to Greenbrier and Adjusted diluted EPS excludes the impact associated with items we do not believe are indicative of our core business or which affect comparability. We believe this assists in comparing our performance across reporting periods.

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THE GREENBRIER COMPANIES, INC.

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(In thousands, unaudited)

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THE GREENBRIER COMPANIES, INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME

(In thousands, except per share amounts, unaudited)

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THE GREENBRIER COMPANIES, INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(In thousands, unaudited)

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THE GREENBRIER COMPANIES, INC.

SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION

(In thousands, except per share amounts, unaudited)

Operating Results by Quarter for 2018 are as follows:

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THE GREENBRIER COMPANIES, INC.

SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION

(In thousands, unaudited)

Segment Information

Three months ended November 30, 2018:

Three months ended August 31, 2018:

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THE GREENBRIER COMPANIES, INC.

SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION

(In thousands, excluding backlog and delivery units, unaudited)

Reconciliation of Net earnings to Adjusted EBITDA

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THE GREENBRIER COMPANIES, INC.

SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION

(In thousands, except per share amounts, unaudited)

Reconciliation of common shares outstanding, adjusted net earnings attributable to Greenbrier and adjusted diluted earnings per share

The shares used in the computation of the Company’s basic and diluted earnings per common share are reconciled as follows:

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