NSC
NORFOLK SOUTHERN CORPNORFOLK SOUTHERN CORP reported revenue of $12.18B in its most recent fiscal year, up 0.5% on the year before. It kept 23.6% of that as net income, and generated $2.16B of free cash flow. Figures below are compared against other companies classified under Railroads, Line-Haul Operating.
Grades vs. industry
Growth
| Metric | Company | Industry median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
Revenue growth (YoY) Latest fiscal year revenue vs. the year before. | 0.5% | — | — |
Revenue growth (3y) Annualized revenue growth over three fiscal years. | -1.5% | — | — |
Revenue growth (5y) Annualized revenue growth over five fiscal years. | 4.5% | — | — |
EPS growth (YoY) Diluted EPS vs. the prior fiscal year. | 10.2% | — | — |
EPS growth (3y) Annualized diluted EPS growth over three fiscal years. | -2.8% | — | — |
EPS growth (5y) Annualized diluted EPS growth over five fiscal years. | 10.2% | — | — |
Free cash flow growth (YoY) Operating cash flow less capital expenditure, vs. prior year. | 29.1% | — | — |
Free cash flow growth (3y) Annualized free cash flow growth over three fiscal years. | -1.7% | — | — |
top third of peersmiddle thirdbottom third. Rank 1 is always best — for debt and payout ratios that means the lowest figure, not the highest.
“Not reported” means the company did not tag this figure in its filing, not that the value is zero. Rankings are hidden where fewer than 5 classified peers reported the metric, and compare against a broad industry code rather than close competitors.
Profitability
| Metric | Company | Industry median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
Gross margin Gross profit as a share of revenue. Often unreported. | Not reported | — | — |
Operating margin Operating income as a share of revenue. | 35.8% | — | — |
Net margin Net income as a share of revenue. | 23.6% | — | — |
Free cash flow margin Free cash flow as a share of revenue. | 17.7% | — | — |
Return on equity Net income divided by shareholder equity. | 18.5% | — | — |
Return on assets Net income divided by total assets. | 6.4% | — | — |
Return on invested capital After-tax operating profit over debt plus equity less cash. | 11.0% | — | — |
top third of peersmiddle thirdbottom third. Rank 1 is always best — for debt and payout ratios that means the lowest figure, not the highest.
“Not reported” means the company did not tag this figure in its filing, not that the value is zero. Rankings are hidden where fewer than 5 classified peers reported the metric, and compare against a broad industry code rather than close competitors.
Financial health
| Metric | Company | Industry median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
Debt to equity Total debt divided by shareholder equity. | 1.10x | — | — |
Current ratio Current assets over current liabilities. | 0.85x | — | — |
Quick ratio Current assets excluding inventory, over current liabilities. | 0.85x | — | — |
Interest coverage Operating income divided by interest expense. | 5.50x | — | — |
Net debt to EBITDA Net debt over derived EBITDA. EBITDA is not a GAAP tag; it is computed. | 2.71x | — | — |
top third of peersmiddle thirdbottom third. Rank 1 is always best — for debt and payout ratios that means the lowest figure, not the highest.
“Not reported” means the company did not tag this figure in its filing, not that the value is zero. Rankings are hidden where fewer than 5 classified peers reported the metric, and compare against a broad industry code rather than close competitors.
Debt figures can be understated where a filer splits borrowings across XBRL tags this site does not match.
Dividend coverage
Measures how much of earnings and free cash flow the dividend consumes, against industry peers. A low grade means the dividend is less covered than peers' — not that a cut is expected. Long-established payers often score low here by design.
| Metric | Company | Industry median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
Dividend payout ratio Dividends paid as a share of net income. | 42.3% | — | — |
Dividend / free cash flow Dividends paid as a share of free cash flow. The stricter test. | 56.3% | — | — |
Dividend growth (5y) Annualized growth in dividends per share over five years. | 7.5% | — | — |
top third of peersmiddle thirdbottom third. Rank 1 is always best — for debt and payout ratios that means the lowest figure, not the highest.
“Not reported” means the company did not tag this figure in its filing, not that the value is zero. Rankings are hidden where fewer than 5 classified peers reported the metric, and compare against a broad industry code rather than close competitors.
Dividend record
What the dividend has actually done, not a prediction of what it will do. Changes are checked against total dollars paid so that stock splits are not mistaken for cuts.
Dividend history is limited to what companies have filed in machine-readable form, which generally begins around 2009. A company may have paid or raised its dividend for far longer than shown here.
Insider activity
Trades reported by officers, directors and 10% shareholders on SEC Form 4. None of the last 20 reported transactions were open-market purchases — grants, option exercises and sales make up the majority of insider filings at most companies.
| Date | Insider | Transaction | Shares | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 8, 2026 | Huffard John C Jr Director | Inherited | 333 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Sep 30, 2026 | ANDERSON RICHARD H Director | Grant or award(derivative) | 178 | $309.00 | $55.0K |
| Sep 30, 2026 | Huffard John C Jr Director | Grant or award(derivative) | 172 | $309.00 | $53.0K |
| Sep 13, 2026 | George Mark R President & CEO | Withheld for tax | 1,035 | $323.30 | $334.6K |
| Sep 13, 2026 | George Mark R President & CEO | Option exercise | 2,653 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Sep 13, 2026 | George Mark R President & CEO | Option exercise(derivative) | 2,653 | — | — |
| Aug 20, 2026 | Donadio Marcela E Director | Grant or award(derivative) | 34 | $347.90 | $11.8K |
| Aug 20, 2026 | Jones Christopher T Director | Grant or award(derivative) | 20 | $347.90 | $7.1K |
| Aug 20, 2026 | Huffard John C Jr Director | Grant or award(derivative) | 20 | $347.90 | $7.1K |
| Aug 20, 2026 | Huffard John C Jr Director | Grant or award(derivative) | 12 | $346.62 | $4.2K |
| Aug 20, 2026 | Davidson Phillip S Director | Grant or award(derivative) | 10 | $347.90 | $3.4K |
| Aug 20, 2026 | ANDERSON RICHARD H Director | Grant or award(derivative) | 9 | $347.90 | $3.2K |
| Aug 20, 2026 | DeBiase Francesca A. Director | Grant or award(derivative) | 8 | $347.90 | $2.9K |
| Aug 20, 2026 | Heitkamp Mary Kathryn Director | Grant or award(derivative) | 7 | $347.90 | $2.5K |
| Aug 20, 2026 | Clyburn William Jr. Director | Grant or award(derivative) | 7 | $347.90 | $2.5K |
| Aug 20, 2026 | Fahmy Sameh Director | Grant or award(derivative) | 7 | $347.90 | $2.5K |
| Aug 20, 2026 | ANDERSON RICHARD H Director | Grant or award(derivative) | 7 | $346.62 | $2.4K |
| Aug 20, 2026 | Ryerkerk Lori Director | Grant or award(derivative) | 3 | $347.90 | $972.78 |
| Aug 20, 2026 | LAMPHERE GILBERT H Director | Grant or award(derivative) | 2 | $347.90 | $846.91 |
| Jul 27, 2026 | Barr Brian Chief Operating Officer | Grant or award(derivative) | 1,456 | — | — |
A dash under price or value means none was reported, which is normal for grants and gifts — it does not mean the shares were free. Option exercises and awards are compensation arriving on a schedule, not a judgement about the stock.
Annual financials
| Fiscal year | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $12.18B | $12.12B | $12.16B | $12.74B | $11.14B | $9.79B | $11.30B | $11.46B | $10.55B | $9.89B |
| Operating income | $4.36B | $4.07B | $2.85B | $4.81B | $4.45B | $3.00B | $3.99B | $3.96B | $3.52B | $3.01B |
| Net income | $2.87B | $2.62B | $1.83B | $3.27B | $3.00B | $2.01B | $2.72B | $2.67B | $5.40B | $1.67B |
| EPS (diluted) | $12.75 | $11.57 | $8.02 | $13.88 | $12.11 | $7.84 | $10.25 | $9.51 | $18.61 | $5.62 |
| Operating cash flow | $4.36B | $4.05B | $3.18B | $4.22B | $4.25B | $3.64B | $3.89B | $3.73B | $3.25B | $3.03B |
| Capital expenditure | $2.20B | $2.38B | $2.33B | $1.95B | $1.47B | $1.49B | $2.02B | $1.95B | $1.72B | $1.89B |
| Free cash flow | $2.16B | $1.67B | $852.00M | $2.27B | $2.79B | $2.14B | $1.87B | $1.77B | $1.53B | $1.15B |
| Total assets | $45.24B | $43.68B | $41.65B | $38.88B | $38.49B | $37.96B | $37.92B | $36.24B | $35.71B | $34.89B |
| Shareholder equity | $15.55B | $14.31B | $12.78B | $12.73B | $13.64B | $14.79B | $15.18B | $15.36B | $16.36B | $12.41B |
| Total debt | $17.09B | $17.21B | $17.18B | $15.18B | $13.84B | $12.10B | $11.88B | $11.14B | $9.84B | $10.21B |
| Cash | $1.53B | $1.64B | $1.57B | $456.00M | $839.00M | $1.11B | $580.00M | $358.00M | $690.00M | $956.00M |
| Dividends per share | $5.40 | $5.40 | $5.40 | $4.96 | $4.16 | $3.76 | $3.60 | $3.04 | $2.44 | $2.36 |
A dash means the figure was not tagged in that year’s filing. It does not mean zero. Figures reflect the most recent filing covering each period, so restated years show their restated values.
Source
Figures come from NORFOLK SOUTHERN CORP’s filings with the SEC, as submitted in XBRL. The most recent annual figures are from a 10-K filed Feb 9, 2026. View filings on EDGAR.