NSC NYSE Rail Transportation Financials FY2016–FY2025
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.
Hi! I read Norfolk Southern’s latest annual report (fiscal 2025). Here is what stands out:
Good So-so Weak
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?
27.7x
One share costs 27.7 times its yearly profit per share. Typical for its sector: 26.0x.
Rules of thumb on reported numbers. A starting point, not a recommendation.
Is it selling more, and how much does it keep?
In plain words: Every quarter, companies publish how much they sold and earned. These are the days Norfolk Southern did it, and the next one. Share prices often move a lot on those days.
Next results
January 28, 2027
Thursday · in 95 days
Estimated from the same quarter last year. It will be replaced by the announced date once there is one.
See who else reports that week →| Date | Results for | Time | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 22, 2026 | Q3 '26 | Before the market opens | 8-K ↗ |
| Jul 23, 2026 | Q2 '26 | Before the market opens | 8-K ↗ |
| Apr 24, 2026 | Q1 '26 | Before the market opens | 8-K ↗ |
| Jan 29, 2026 | Q4 '25 | Before the market opens | 8-K ↗ |
| Oct 23, 2025 | Q3 '25 | After the market closes | 8-K ↗ |
| Jul 29, 2025 | Q2 '25 | Before the market opens | 8-K ↗ |
| Apr 23, 2025 | Q1 '25 | Before the market opens | 8-K ↗ |
| Jan 29, 2025 | Q4 '24 | Before the market opens | 8-K ↗ |
From SEC filings: the results press release (8-K) or, without one, the quarterly or annual report.
KIRA · 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.
In plain words: Revenue is all the money customers paid. The margins show how many cents of each dollar of sales are left over at each step: after making the product (gross), after running the business (operating) and after everything, tax included (net).
Revenue
Revenue
Margins, % of revenue
Margins, % of revenue
KIRA · Norfolk Southern made $2.9B of net profit in fiscal 2025. From fiscal 2016 to 2025, diluted EPS grew 9.5% a year.
Loss periods are shown in red.
In plain words: Net income is the profit left after every cost and tax. Earnings per share (EPS) splits that profit across every share, so it shows what one share earned.
Net income
Net income
Diluted EPS
Diluted EPS
How much cash comes in, and where does it go?
KIRA · Free cash flow was $2.2B in fiscal 2025, 17.7% of revenue.
Cash from operations minus capital spending.
In plain words: Profit on paper is not the same as cash in the bank. Free cash flow is the cash left after paying to run and maintain the business: the money it can hand back to shareholders, save or invest.
Free cash flow
Free cash flow
Cash from operations vs capital spending
Cash from operations vs capital spending
KIRA · Norfolk Southern returned $1.7B to shareholders in fiscal 2025, 81% of free cash flow. The diluted share count fell 0.5%.
In plain words: Companies hand cash back in two ways: dividends (cash paid to shareholders) and buybacks (buying back their own shares, so each remaining share owns a bigger slice).
Dividends and buybacks
Dividends and buybacks
Diluted shares outstanding (annual)
KIRA · In the last 12 months, insiders bought $1.3M and sold $0.3M of shares on the open market.
Open-market purchases and sales by officers, directors and 10% owners, from Form 4 filings. “Plan” marks trades under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan.
In plain words: Insiders are the people who run or own a big part of the company. Buying with their own money can signal confidence; selling often has personal reasons, like taxes or diversifying.
Bought, 12 months
$1.3M
3 insiders
Sold, 12 months
$0.3M
1 insider
Of sales under plans
0%
$0.0M
| Date | Insider | Trade | Shares | Price | Value | Filing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 5, 2025 | William Clyburn Jr.Director | Bought | 204 | $294.79 | $0.1M | Form 4 |
| Nov 19, 2025 | Anil BhattEVP & Cido | Sold | 900 | $281.60 | $0.3M | Form 4 |
| Nov 5, 2025 | Sameh FahmyDirector | Bought | 1,650 | $282.97 | $0.5M | Form 4 |
| Oct 27, 2025 | Richard H AndersonDirector | Bought | 2,600 | $281.86 | $0.7M | Form 4 |
Can it carry its debts, and how well does it use its money?
KIRA · Norfolk Southern owes $15.6B more than it holds in cash, about 2.7 years of operating profit.
Cash, debt and the ratios that show how comfortably Norfolk Southern can carry it.
In plain words: What the company owns and what it owes. More cash than debt is a cushion for bad times; a lot of debt leaves less room when business slows down.
Cash vs debt (incl. leases)
| Fiscal year end | FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 2.3x | 2.4x | 3.8x | 2.9x | 2.7x |
| Debt / equity | 1.0x | 1.2x | 1.3x | 1.2x | 1.1x |
| Interest coverage | 6.9x | 7.0x | 4.0x | 5.0x | 5.5x |
| Current ratio | 0.9x | 0.8x | 1.2x | 0.9x | 0.9x |
| Quick ratio | 0.9x | 0.8x | 1.2x | 0.9x | 0.9x |
| Total assets | $38.5B | $38.9B | $41.7B | $43.7B | $45.2B |
| Total liabilities | $24.9B | $26.2B | $28.9B | $29.4B | $29.7B |
| Shareholders' equity | $13.6B | $12.7B | $12.8B | $14.3B | $15.5B |
| Net debt (− = net cash) | $13.0B | $14.7B | $15.6B | $15.6B | $15.6B |
KIRA · Its return on capital was 11.2%: every 100 invested in the business earned about 11 in a year.
After-tax operating income as a share of the money invested in the business: debt plus equity, minus cash.
In plain words: How much profit the business makes on the money put into it. A higher percentage means each dollar invested works harder.
Return on capital, equity and assets (annual)
KIRA · Norfolk Southern passes 6 of 8 financial health tests (Piotroski F-score).
Nine pass/fail tests of profitability, funding and efficiency. 8–9 is strong, 0–2 weak.
In plain words: Nine yes/no tests of financial health, one point each. A green tick is a pass: 7 to 9 points is solid, 0 to 3 is weak.
| Test | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Net income is positive | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Cash from operations is positive | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Return on assets rose | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Cash from operations exceeds net income | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Debt fell relative to assets | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Current ratio rose | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ |
| Share count didn't rise | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Gross margin rose | — | — | — |
| Revenue rose relative to assets | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ |
| F-score | 5 / 8 | 6 / 8 | 6 / 8 |
| Accruals ratio | −3.4% | −3.4% | −3.4% |
| Altman Z'' | 1.86 | 1.99 | 2.07 |
What does the share cost, and how does it compare?
KIRA · At $329.99 a share, the company is worth $74.3B: 27.7 times its earnings of the last four quarters.
Change the assumptions and see what they imply per share. These are models, not forecasts or price targets — the answer depends entirely on what you put in.
In plain words: Move the sliders to try your own guesses about growth. The result is what one share would be worth if those guesses came true. Different guesses give very different answers.
Value per share
—
Adds net cash of −$15.6B and divides by 225.3M diluted shares. Ten years of cash flows plus a terminal value, discounted to today.
Value per share
—
Reference multiples: today 27.7x · peers 29.1x · sector 26.0x.
KIRA · Norfolk Southern grew sales faster than 2 of its 4 similar companies. Its P/E is higher than 2 of 4.
Each company’s latest fiscal year. Fiscal years end in different months, so periods don’t line up exactly.
In plain words: The same numbers for similar companies, so you can tell whether a figure is high or low for this kind of business.
| Company | Market cap | Growth | Op. margin | FCF margin | ROIC | P/E | F-score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Norfolk Southern NSC | $74.3B | 0.5% | 35.8% | 17.7% | 11.2% | 27.7x | 6 | |
| CSX CSX | $94.1B | −3.1% | 32.1% | 12.1% | 11.3% | 26.5x | 4 | Compare → |
| Union Pacific UNP | $174.1B | 1.1% | 40.2% | 22.4% | 15.9% | 22.8x | 7 | Compare → |
| Jacobs Solutions J | $17.2B | 4.6% | 7.2% | 5.1% | 10.1% | 50.9x | 7 | Compare → |
| J.B. Hunt JBHT | $21.4B | −0.7% | 7.2% | 7.9% | 13.1% | 31.8x | 6 | Compare → |
Every number, year by year.
Amounts in USD. Hover a ratio’s name for its definition.
In plain words: Every number we have, year by year. Download it as a spreadsheet if you want to dig deeper.
| Fiscal year | FY16 | FY17 | FY18 | FY19 | FY20 | FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Income statement | ||||||||||
| Revenue | $9.9B | $10.6B | $11.5B | $11.3B | $9.8B | $11.1B | $12.7B | $12.2B | $12.1B | $12.2B |
| Operating income | $3.0B | $3.5B | $4.0B | $4.0B | $3.0B | $4.4B | $4.8B | $2.9B | $4.1B | $4.4B |
| Interest expense | $563M | $550M | $557M | $604M | $625M | $646M | $692M | $722M | $807M | $792M |
| Pretax income | $2.6B | $3.1B | $3.5B | $3.5B | $2.5B | $3.9B | $4.1B | $2.3B | $3.3B | $3.7B |
| Income tax | $914M | −$2.3B | $803M | $769M | $517M | $873M | $860M | $493M | $707M | $792M |
| Net income | $1.7B | $5.4B | $2.7B | $2.7B | $2.0B | $3.0B | $3.3B | $1.8B | $2.6B | $2.9B |
| Diluted EPS | $5.62 | $18.61 | $9.51 | $10.25 | $7.84 | $12.11 | $13.88 | $8.02 | $11.57 | $12.75 |
| Diluted shares | 0.30B | 0.29B | 0.28B | 0.27B | 0.26B | 0.25B | 0.24B | 0.23B | 0.23B | 0.23B |
| Cash flow | ||||||||||
| Cash from operations | $3.0B | $3.3B | $3.7B | $3.9B | $3.6B | $4.3B | $4.2B | $3.2B | $4.1B | $4.4B |
| Capital expenditure | $1.9B | $1.7B | $2.0B | $2.0B | $1.5B | $1.5B | $1.9B | $2.3B | $2.4B | $2.2B |
| Free cash flow | $1.1B | $1.5B | $1.8B | $1.9B | $2.1B | $2.8B | $2.3B | $852M | $1.7B | $2.2B |
| Depreciation and amortization | $1.0B | $1.1B | $1.1B | $1.1B | $1.2B | $1.2B | $1.2B | $1.3B | $1.4B | $1.4B |
| Stock-based compensation | $42.0M | $45.0M | $47.0M | $53.0M | $28.0M | $54.0M | $53.0M | $40.0M | $40.0M | $63.0M |
| Acquisitions | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M |
| Share buybacks | $803M | $1.0B | $2.8B | $2.1B | $1.4B | $3.4B | $3.1B | $622M | $0.0M | $534M |
| Dividends paid | $695M | $703M | $844M | $949M | $960M | $1.0B | $1.2B | $1.2B | $1.2B | $1.2B |
| Dividends and buybacks | $1.5B | $1.7B | $3.6B | $3.0B | $2.4B | $4.4B | $4.3B | $1.8B | $1.2B | $1.7B |
| Balance sheet | ||||||||||
| Cash and short-term investments | $956M | $690M | $358M | $580M | $1.1B | $839M | $456M | $1.6B | $1.6B | $1.5B |
| Total debt | $10.2B | $9.8B | $11.1B | $12.2B | $12.7B | $13.8B | $15.2B | $17.2B | $17.2B | $17.1B |
| Finance lease liabilities | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $8.0M | $25.0M | $22.0M | $0.0M | $17.0M | $13.0M | $18.0M |
| Current assets | $2.3B | $2.1B | $1.9B | $2.1B | $2.3B | $2.2B | $2.0B | $3.3B | $3.2B | $3.2B |
| Current liabilities | $2.3B | $2.5B | $2.6B | $2.3B | $2.2B | $2.5B | $2.6B | $2.6B | $3.5B | $3.8B |
| Inventory | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M |
| Property and equipment, net | $29.8B | $30.3B | $31.1B | $31.6B | $31.3B | $31.7B | $32.2B | $33.3B | $35.8B | $36.5B |
| Total assets | $34.9B | $35.7B | $36.2B | $37.9B | $38.0B | $38.5B | $38.9B | $41.7B | $43.7B | $45.2B |
| Total liabilities | $22.5B | $19.4B | $20.9B | $22.7B | $23.2B | $24.9B | $26.2B | $28.9B | $29.4B | $29.7B |
| Shareholders' equity | $12.4B | $16.4B | $15.4B | $15.2B | $14.8B | $13.6B | $12.7B | $12.8B | $14.3B | $15.5B |
| Margins | ||||||||||
| Operating margin | 30.4% | 33.4% | 34.6% | 35.3% | 30.7% | 39.9% | 37.7% | 23.5% | 33.6% | 35.8% |
| EBITDA margin | 40.9% | 43.4% | 44.2% | 45.4% | 42.5% | 50.5% | 47.3% | 34.1% | 44.7% | 47.2% |
| Net margin | 16.9% | 51.2% | 23.3% | 24.1% | 20.6% | 27.0% | 25.7% | 15.0% | 21.6% | 23.6% |
| FCF margin | 11.6% | 14.5% | 15.5% | 16.6% | 21.9% | 25.0% | 17.8% | 7.0% | 13.8% | 17.7% |
| Returns | ||||||||||
| Return on capital | 9.1% | 14.9% | 11.8% | 11.8% | 9.0% | 13.0% | 14.1% | 8.0% | 11.0% | 11.2% |
| Return on capital employed | 9.3% | 10.7% | 11.9% | 11.5% | 8.4% | 12.4% | 13.3% | 7.6% | 10.3% | 10.7% |
| Return on equity | 13.6% | 37.6% | 16.8% | 17.8% | 13.4% | 21.1% | 24.8% | 14.3% | 19.4% | 19.3% |
| Return on assets | 4.8% | 15.3% | 7.4% | 7.3% | 5.3% | 7.9% | 8.5% | 4.5% | 6.2% | 6.5% |
| Growth | ||||||||||
| Revenue growth | −5.9% | 6.7% | 8.6% | −1.4% | −13.3% | 13.8% | 14.4% | −4.6% | −0.3% | 0.5% |
| Net income growth | 7.2% | 224.0% | −50.7% | 2.1% | −26.1% | 49.3% | 8.8% | −44.1% | 43.5% | 9.6% |
| EPS growth | 10.2% | 231.1% | −48.9% | 7.8% | −23.5% | 54.5% | 14.6% | −42.2% | 44.3% | 10.2% |
| FCF growth | 119.3% | 33.4% | 16.0% | 5.5% | 14.4% | 30.0% | −18.4% | −62.5% | 96.1% | 29.1% |
| Share count change | −2.8% | −1.9% | −3.5% | −5.2% | −3.4% | −3.3% | −5.0% | −3.5% | −0.4% | −0.5% |
| Financial health | ||||||||||
| Net debt / EBITDA | 2.3x | 2.0x | 2.1x | 2.3x | 2.8x | 2.3x | 2.4x | 3.8x | 2.9x | 2.7x |
| Debt / equity | 0.8x | 0.6x | 0.7x | 0.8x | 0.9x | 1.0x | 1.2x | 1.3x | 1.2x | 1.1x |
| Interest coverage | 5.3x | 6.4x | 7.1x | 6.6x | 4.8x | 6.9x | 7.0x | 4.0x | 5.0x | 5.5x |
| Current ratio | 1.0x | 0.8x | 0.7x | 0.9x | 1.1x | 0.9x | 0.8x | 1.2x | 0.9x | 0.9x |
| Quick ratio | 1.0x | 0.8x | 0.7x | 0.9x | 1.1x | 0.9x | 0.8x | 1.2x | 0.9x | 0.9x |
| Capital allocation | ||||||||||
| Capex / revenue | 19.1% | 16.3% | 17.0% | 17.9% | 15.3% | 13.2% | 15.3% | 19.1% | 19.6% | 18.1% |
| Stock comp / revenue | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.5% | 0.3% | 0.5% | 0.4% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.5% |
| Payouts / FCF | 130.6% | 112.1% | 204.2% | 162.7% | 112.0% | 158.6% | 188.1% | 216.8% | 73.1% | 81.1% |
| Quality scores | ||||||||||
| Piotroski F-score | 6.0 | 6.0 | 5.0 | 6.0 | 5.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 5.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 |
| Altman Z'' | 2.1 | 2.8 | 2.6 | 2.5 | 2.3 | 2.3 | 2.1 | 1.9 | 2.0 | 2.1 |
| Accruals ratio | −4.0% | 6.1% | −3.0% | −3.2% | −4.3% | −3.3% | −2.5% | −3.4% | −3.4% | −3.4% |
Source: SEC EDGAR XBRL filings (CIK 0000702165). Data updated October 22, 2026. Quarterly fourth quarters are the full year minus the first nine months. For information only — not investment advice. Check the original filings before relying on any figure.
