NSC vs UNP
Norfolk Southern Corp. and Union Pacific Corp., side by side — 10 fiscal years reported in USD, drawn from SEC filings.
Most recent reported year
| Metric | NSC | UNP |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $12.2B | $24.5B |
| Net income | $2.9B | $7.1B |
| Gross margin | · | · |
| Net margin | 23.6% | 29.1% |
| Return on equity | 19.2% | 40.4% |
| Diluted EPS | $12.75 | $11.98 |
| Dividend / share | $5.40 | $5.44 |
| Payout ratio | 42.3% | 45.3% |
| Free cash flow | $2.2B | $5.5B |
| Equity | $15.5B | $18.5B |
| Net debt / equity | 1.00× | 1.65× |
| Current ratio | 0.85× | 0.91× |
| Revenue CAGR 5y | 4.5% | 4.6% |
| Profit CAGR 5y | 7.4% | 5.9% |
UNP bills 2.0× the revenue of NSC, and keeps more of each dollar of revenue as profit (29.1% against 23.6%).
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 | NSC | UNP |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $12.2B | $24.5B |
| FY2024 | $12.1B | $24.2B |
| FY2023 | $12.2B | $24.1B |
| FY2022 | $12.7B | $24.9B |
| FY2021 | $11.1B | $21.8B |
| FY2020 | $9.8B | $19.5B |
| FY2019 | $11.3B | $21.7B |
| FY2018 | $11.5B | $22.8B |
| FY2017 | $10.6B | $21.2B |
| FY2016 | $9.9B | $19.9B |
Bottom line
| Fiscal year | NSC | UNP |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $2.9B | $7.1B |
| FY2024 | $2.6B | $6.7B |
| FY2023 | $1.8B | $6.4B |
| FY2022 | $3.3B | $7.0B |
| FY2021 | $3.0B | $6.5B |
| FY2020 | $2.0B | $5.3B |
| FY2019 | $2.7B | $5.9B |
| FY2018 | $2.7B | $6.0B |
| FY2017 | $5.4B | $10.7B |
| FY2016 | $1.7B | $4.2B |
19 fiscal years
| Fiscal year | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | −$12,330,000,000 | UNP |
| FY2024 | −$12,127,000,000 | UNP |
| FY2023 | −$11,963,000,000 | UNP |
| FY2022 | −$12,130,000,000 | UNP |
| FY2021 | −$10,662,000,000 | UNP |
| FY2020 | −$9,744,000,000 | UNP |
| FY2019 | −$10,412,000,000 | UNP |
| FY2018 | −$11,374,000,000 | UNP |
| FY2017 | −$10,689,000,000 | UNP |
| FY2016 | −$10,053,000,000 | UNP |
| FY2015 | −$11,302,000,000 | UNP |
| FY2014 | −$12,364,000,000 | UNP |
| FY2013 | −$10,718,000,000 | UNP |
| FY2012 | −$9,886,000,000 | UNP |
| FY2011 | −$8,385,000,000 | UNP |
| FY2010 | −$7,449,000,000 | UNP |
| FY2009 | −$6,174,000,000 | UNP |
| FY2008 | −$7,309,000,000 | UNP |
| FY2007 | −$6,851,000,000 | UNP |
UNP 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 | −5.5 pp | UNP |
| FY2024 | −6.2 pp | UNP |
| FY2023 | −11.4 pp | UNP |
| FY2022 | −2.5 pp | UNP |
| FY2021 | −2.9 pp | UNP |
| FY2020 | −6.8 pp | UNP |
| FY2019 | −3.2 pp | UNP |
| FY2018 | −2.9 pp | UNP |
| FY2017 | +0.8 pp | NSC |
| FY2016 | −4.4 pp | UNP |
| FY2015 | −7.1 pp | UNP |
| FY2014 | −4.4 pp | UNP |
| FY2013 | −3.0 pp | UNP |
| FY2012 | −3.0 pp | UNP |
| FY2011 | +0.3 pp | NSC |
| FY2010 | −0.7 pp | UNP |
| FY2009 | −0.4 pp | UNP |
| FY2008 | +3.1 pp | NSC |
| FY2007 | +4.1 pp | NSC |
The higher net margin has changed hands between NSC and UNP over this period.
19 of 19 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
Standard deviation, each side
UNP's net margin has been more volatile than NSC's over the 19 comparable fiscal years — 8.5 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 NSC and UNP over these 19 fiscal years — NSC led in 4 and UNP in 15.
19 of 19 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
Standard deviation, each side
UNP's return on equity has been more volatile than NSC's over the 19 comparable fiscal years — 12.7 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 NSC and UNP over these 19 fiscal years — NSC led in 3 and UNP in 16.
19 of 19 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.