Norfolk Southern (NSC)
Industrials · Freight Rail Transportation
A major freight railroad operating 19,100 route miles across the Southeast, East, and Midwest, generating $12.2B in annual revenue with 22% net margins.
What Norfolk Southern does
Norfolk Southern Corporation owns and operates Norfolk Southern Railway, a major freight railroad serving the Southeast, East, and Midwest regions of the United States. The company transports raw materials, intermediate products, and finished goods via approximately 19,100 route miles of track across 22 states and the District of Columbia. NSR also operates an extensive intermodal network in the eastern half of the U.S. and handles overseas freight through Atlantic and Gulf Coast ports. The company generates revenue from three primary commodity groups: merchandise (including agriculture, forest, consumer products, automotive, and chemicals), intermodal services, and coal transportation.
Themes: ["Freight logistics","Supply chain infrastructure","Industrial commodity transport","Intermodal shipping","Infrastructure investment","North American transportation networks"]
Fundamentals
- Price$323.77 as of 2026-07-09 close
- Market cap$72.1B as of 2026-07-10
- 1-year return+24.5% as of 2026-07-09 close
- P/E27.02 as of 2026-07-10
- Net margin+21.9% as of 2026-07-10
- Gross margin+49.3% as of 2026-07-10
- ROE+17.4% as of 2026-07-10
- Debt / equity1.08 as of 2026-07-10
- Revenue growth (YoY)+0.6% as of 2026-07-10
- Revenue CAGR (3y)-1.5% SEC XBRL
- Beta1.28 as of 2026-07-10
Dividend: yield +1.7%; 5-year non-decreasing per-share dividend streak (SEC XBRL).
Key risks (from latest filing)
["Regulatory uncertainty: Pending merger with Union Pacific subject to U.S. Surface Transportation Board approval, with $2.5 billion termination fee exposure if deal fails","Commodity price and volume volatility: Revenue tied to coal, agriculture, automotive, and manufacturing sectors; economic slowdown or modal shift away from rail impacts volumes and pricing power","Operating cost pressures: Significant exposure to fuel, labor, and capital-intensive infrastructure maintenance; Q1 2026 net income declined 27% YoY despite flat revenue, driven by merger expenses and increased operating costs"]
Competitors & peers
Fundamentals: Finnhub, as of 2026-07-10. Filings: SEC EDGAR. Prices are delayed daily-close data.
Last updated 2026-07-09.
Informational only — NOT financial advice. All figures are delayed daily-close data from SEC EDGAR & Finnhub, shown with their as-of date.