CSX vs NSC
CSX Corp. and Norfolk Southern Corp., side by side — 10 fiscal years reported in USD, drawn from SEC filings.
Most recent reported year
| Metric | CSX | NSC |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $14.1B | $12.2B |
| Net income | $2.9B | $2.9B |
| Gross margin | · | · |
| Net margin | 20.5% | 23.6% |
| Return on equity | 22.5% | 19.2% |
| Diluted EPS | $1.54 | $12.75 |
| Dividend / share | $0.52 | $5.40 |
| Payout ratio | 33.6% | 42.3% |
| Free cash flow | $1.7B | $2.2B |
| Equity | · | $15.5B |
| Net debt / equity | 1.33× | 1.00× |
| Current ratio | 0.81× | 0.85× |
| Revenue CAGR 5y | 5.9% | 4.5% |
| Profit CAGR 5y | 0.9% | 7.4% |
CSX bills 1.2× the revenue of NSC, and NSC keeps more of each dollar of revenue as profit (23.6% against 20.5%).
The stronger figure of the pair is set in bold. That is arithmetic, not a recommendation — this page does not pick a winner. "·" marks a figure not available in our data.
10 years side by side
| Fiscal year | CSX | NSC |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $14.1B | $12.2B |
| FY2024 | $14.5B | $12.1B |
| FY2023 | $14.7B | $12.2B |
| FY2022 | $14.9B | $12.7B |
| FY2021 | $12.5B | $11.1B |
| FY2020 | $10.6B | $9.8B |
| FY2019 | $11.9B | $11.3B |
| FY2018 | $12.2B | $11.5B |
| FY2017 | $11.4B | $10.6B |
| FY2016 | $11.1B | $9.9B |
Bottom line
| Fiscal year | CSX | NSC |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $2.9B | $2.9B |
| FY2024 | $3.5B | $2.6B |
| FY2023 | $3.7B | $1.8B |
| FY2022 | $4.1B | $3.3B |
| FY2021 | $3.8B | $3.0B |
| FY2020 | $2.8B | $2.0B |
| FY2019 | $3.3B | $2.7B |
| FY2018 | $3.3B | $2.7B |
| FY2017 | $5.5B | $5.4B |
| FY2016 | $1.7B | $1.7B |
19 fiscal years
| Fiscal year | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | +$1,912,000,000 | CSX |
| FY2024 | +$2,417,000,000 | CSX |
| FY2023 | +$2,501,000,000 | CSX |
| FY2022 | +$2,108,000,000 | CSX |
| FY2021 | +$1,380,000,000 | CSX |
| FY2020 | +$794,000,000 | CSX |
| FY2019 | +$641,000,000 | CSX |
| FY2018 | +$792,000,000 | CSX |
| FY2017 | +$857,000,000 | CSX |
| FY2016 | +$1,181,000,000 | CSX |
| FY2015 | +$1,300,000,000 | CSX |
| FY2014 | +$1,045,000,000 | CSX |
| FY2013 | +$781,000,000 | CSX |
| FY2012 | +$723,000,000 | CSX |
| FY2011 | +$623,000,000 | CSX |
| FY2010 | +$1,120,000,000 | CSX |
| FY2009 | +$1,072,000,000 | CSX |
| FY2008 | +$594,000,000 | CSX |
| FY2007 | +$598,000,000 | CSX |
CSX has reported the higher revenue in every one of these 19 fiscal years. The gap has widened since the earliest year compared.
19 of 19 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
19 fiscal years
| Fiscal year | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | −3.1 pp | NSC |
| FY2024 | +2.2 pp | CSX |
| FY2023 | +10.0 pp | CSX |
| FY2022 | +2.0 pp | CSX |
| FY2021 | +3.2 pp | CSX |
| FY2020 | +5.6 pp | CSX |
| FY2019 | +3.8 pp | CSX |
| FY2018 | +3.7 pp | CSX |
| FY2017 | −3.3 pp | NSC |
| FY2016 | −1.4 pp | NSC |
| FY2015 | +1.9 pp | CSX |
| FY2014 | −2.0 pp | NSC |
| FY2013 | −1.5 pp | NSC |
| FY2012 | −0.0 pp | NSC |
| FY2011 | −1.4 pp | NSC |
| FY2010 | −1.0 pp | NSC |
| FY2009 | −0.3 pp | NSC |
| FY2008 | −4.1 pp | NSC |
| FY2007 | −2.2 pp | NSC |
The higher net margin has changed hands between CSX and NSC over this period.
19 of 19 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
Standard deviation, each side
CSX's net margin has been more volatile than NSC's over the 19 comparable fiscal years — 8.6 percentage points of standard deviation against 8.3.
19 of 19 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
Year by year
The lead in net margin changed hands between CSX and NSC over these 19 fiscal years — CSX led in 8 and NSC in 11.
19 of 19 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
Standard deviation, each side
CSX's return on equity has been more volatile than NSC's over the 19 comparable fiscal years — 6.9 percentage points of standard deviation against 5.7.
19 of 19 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
Year by year
The lead in return on equity changed hands between CSX and NSC over these 19 fiscal years — CSX led in 18 and NSC in 1.
19 of 19 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.