J.B. Hunt vs Norfolk Southern
Add, change or remove companies; up to four.
KIRA’s take AI analyst
I put J.B. Hunt and Norfolk Southern side by side, using each one’s latest annual report. Here is what stands out:
- Norfolk Southern is the larger business, with $12.2B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $12.0B for J.B. Hunt.
- Norfolk Southern grew revenue faster (0.5%, against −0.7%).
- Norfolk Southern kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (35.8% operating margin, against 7.2%).
- Norfolk Southern turned more of its sales into free cash flow (17.7% FCF margin, against 7.9%).
- J.B. Hunt earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (13.1%, against 11.2%).
- Investors pay more for each dollar of J.B. Hunt’s earnings: a P/E of 31.6x against 28.0x for Norfolk Southern.
Who comes out ahead
Of the 10 measures where higher (or lower) is clearly better, how many each company leads.
J.B. Hunt
JBHT
4/10
5-year growthReturn on capitalNet debt / EBITDAShare count change
Norfolk Southern
NSC
5/10
Revenue growthOperating marginNet marginFCF marginReturn on equity
Side by side
Best in the row
| Latest fiscal year | JBHT FY25 | NSC FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $21.2B | $75.2B |
| Revenue | $12.0B | $12.2B |
| Free cash flow | $948M | $2.2B |
| Net income | $598M | $2.9B |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | −0.7% | 0.5% |
| 5-year growth | 4.5% | 4.5% |
| Share count change | −4.9% | −0.5% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | — | — |
| Operating margin | 7.2% | 35.8% |
| Net margin | 5.0% | 23.6% |
| FCF margin | 7.9% | 17.7% |
| Return on capital | 13.1% | 11.2% |
| Return on equity | 15.8% | 19.3% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | $1.4B | $15.6B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 0.9x | 2.7x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $1.1B | $1.7B |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 31.6x | 28.0x |
| Piotroski F-score | 6 | 6 |
Ten years
Revenue
Operating margin
Free cash flow
Return on capital
Each company's latest fiscal year; fiscal years end in different months. The best value in each row is highlighted where higher (or lower) is clearly better. Not investment advice.