Norfolk Southern
NSC NYSE· Rail Transportation
Last close · Oct 27, 2026
$339.74
KIRA · Stoqly’s AI analyst, in plain words
- Norfolk Southern had $12.2B of revenue in fiscal 2025, up 0.5% on the year before. Over five years, revenue changed +4.5% a year on average.
- Its operating margin was 35.8%, up 2.2 pts: of every 100 in sales, about 36 is left after running the business.
- Norfolk Southern made $2.9B of net profit in fiscal 2025. From fiscal 2016 to 2025, diluted EPS grew 9.5% a year.
- Free cash flow was $2.2B in fiscal 2025, 17.7% of revenue.
- Norfolk Southern returned $1.7B to shareholders in fiscal 2025, 81% of free cash flow. The diluted share count fell 0.5%.
- Norfolk Southern owes $15.6B more than it holds in cash, about 2.7 years of operating profit.
Market cap
$76.5B
P/E
28.5x
Revenue
$12.2B
Net income
$2.9B
Free cash flow
$2.2B
Operating margin
35.8%
Norfolk Southern in 30 seconds · fiscal 2025
Are sales growing?
+0.5%
Only a little. Sales grew 0.5% last year.
Does it make a profit?
23.6%
Yes. It keeps 23.6% of every sale as profit.
Does profit turn into cash?
17.7%
Yes. 17.7% of sales ends up as free cash.
Is debt under control?
2.7x
Keep an eye on it. Repaying its debt would take 2.7 years of operating profit.
How healthy are the accounts?
6 / 8
Mixed. It passes 6 of 8 health tests.
How is the share priced?
28.5x
One share costs 28.5 times its yearly profit per share. Typical for its sector: 26.0x.
What Norfolk Southern does
Norfolk Southern owns a major freight railroad, Norfolk Southern Railway. It hauls raw materials, parts and finished goods mainly across the Southeast, East and Midwest, and to the rest of the country through connections with other railroads. It also moves freight to and from several Atlantic and Gulf Coast ports. At the end of 2025 it ran about 19,100 route miles of track in 22 states and the District of Columbia. Railway operating revenue was $12.2 billion in 2025. Merchandise freight, such as farm and forest products, chemicals, metals, construction materials and cars and car parts, brought in 63%. Intermodal freight, which moves in shipping containers and trailers, brought in 25%. Coal brought in 12%. It sets most prices through private contracts or exempt quotes, which the federal Surface Transportation Board does not regulate. Its main rail competitor is CSX, and it also competes with trucks and barges.
Biggest risks, in its own words
- The pending merger with Union Pacific may be delayed or not completed, which could bring added costs and lost revenue.
- Government actions and liabilities that followed the Eastern Ohio derailment incident.
- Environmental liability and fines if it cannot comply with environmental laws, including for contamination.
- Higher insurance costs, or losing insurance for some losses, including those from terrorism.
- Fiscal year ends
- December 31, 2025
- Latest annual report
- 10-K · Feb 9, 2026
- Legal name
- NORFOLK SOUTHERN CORP
- CIK
- 0000702165
Norfolk Southern · NSC
Results and finances
The last 5 fiscal years. Amounts in USD.
| Fiscal year | FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sales and profit | |||||
| Revenue | $11.1B | $12.7B | $12.2B | $12.1B | $12.2B |
| Revenue growth | 13.8% | 14.4% | −4.6% | −0.3% | 0.5% |
| Operating margin | 39.9% | 37.7% | 23.5% | 33.6% | 35.8% |
| Net income | $3.0B | $3.3B | $1.8B | $2.6B | $2.9B |
| Net margin | 27.0% | 25.7% | 15.0% | 21.6% | 23.6% |
| Diluted EPS | $12.11 | $13.88 | $8.02 | $11.57 | $12.75 |
| Cash | |||||
| Cash from operations | $4.3B | $4.2B | $3.2B | $4.1B | $4.4B |
| Capital expenditure | $1.5B | $1.9B | $2.3B | $2.4B | $2.2B |
| Free cash flow | $2.8B | $2.3B | $852M | $1.7B | $2.2B |
| FCF margin | 25.0% | 17.8% | 7.0% | 13.8% | 17.7% |
| Dividends paid | $1.0B | $1.2B | $1.2B | $1.2B | $1.2B |
| Share buybacks | $3.4B | $3.1B | $622M | $0.0M | $534M |
| Share count change | −3.3% | −5.0% | −3.5% | −0.4% | −0.5% |
| Debt and strength | |||||
| Cash and short-term investments | $839M | $456M | $1.6B | $1.6B | $1.5B |
| Debt incl. finance leases | $13.8B | $15.2B | $17.2B | $17.2B | $17.1B |
| Shareholders' equity | $13.6B | $12.7B | $12.8B | $14.3B | $15.5B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 2.3x | 2.4x | 3.8x | 2.9x | 2.7x |
| Current ratio | 0.9x | 0.8x | 1.2x | 0.9x | 0.9x |
| Interest coverage | 6.9x | 7.0x | 4.0x | 5.0x | 5.5x |
| Returns and quality | |||||
| Return on capital | 13.0% | 14.1% | 8.0% | 11.0% | 11.2% |
| Return on equity | 21.1% | 24.8% | 14.3% | 19.4% | 19.3% |
| Piotroski F-score | 6 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 6 |
| Altman Z'' | 2.3 | 2.1 | 1.9 | 2.0 | 2.1 |
Insiders bought, 12 months
$0.5M
2 insiders
Insiders sold, 12 months
$0.3M
1 insider
Of sales under plans
0%
$0.0M
How to read these numbers
- Revenue:
- Total sales reported in the income statement.
- Operating margin:
- Operating income as a share of revenue.
- Net income:
- Profit after all expenses, interest and tax.
- Free cash flow:
- Cash from operations minus capital spending.
- Net debt / EBITDA:
- Years of EBITDA needed to pay off net debt. Below zero means more cash than debt.
- Return on capital:
- After-tax operating income as a share of the money invested in the business: debt plus equity, minus cash.
Norfolk Southern · NSC
Charts and comparison
Ten years at a glance, and how it stacks up against similar companies.
Revenue
Net income
Margins, % of revenue
Cash vs debt (incl. leases)
Free cash flow
Dividends and buybacks
Similar companies
Each company’s latest fiscal year. Fiscal years end in different months, so periods don’t line up exactly.
| Company | Market cap | Growth | Op. margin | FCF margin | ROIC | P/E | F-score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Norfolk Southern NSC | $76.5B | 0.5% | 35.8% | 17.7% | 11.2% | 28.5x | 6 |
| CSX CSX | $96.9B | −3.1% | 32.1% | 12.1% | 11.3% | 27.2x | 4 |
| Union Pacific UNP | $178.3B | 1.1% | 40.2% | 22.4% | 15.9% | 23.4x | 7 |
| Jacobs Solutions J | $17.6B | 4.6% | 7.2% | 5.1% | 10.1% | 52.0x | 7 |
| J.B. Hunt JBHT | $21.9B | −0.7% | 7.2% | 7.9% | 13.1% | 32.7x | 6 |
Price compared with profit (P/E)
How many times its yearly profit per share one share costs. Higher means investors pay more for each unit of profit.
KIRA
At $339.74 a share, the company is worth $76.5B: 28.5 times its earnings of the last four quarters.
Norfolk Southern grew sales faster than 2 of its 4 similar companies. Its P/E is higher than 2 of 4.
Source: SEC EDGAR XBRL filings (CIK 0000702165). Data updated October 22, 2026. For information only — not investment advice. Check the original filings before relying on any figure.