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Norfolk Southern
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Latest analysis
Updated Oct 22, 2026
Norfolk Southern Q3 2026: 14% revenue growth and record productivity drive 10% EPS lift, but fuel headwinds force $200M OpEx guide raise and $200M CapEx increase.
Norfolk Southern delivered its strongest quarterly revenue performance in recent history, with 14% total revenue growth and an all-time record revenue-less-fuel result, driven by 3% volume growth across all three business segments and favorable truck-to-rail conversion dynamics. Fuel price inflation — running approximately $700 million above plan for the full year — was the dominant earnings headwind, compressing the adjusted operating ratio by an estimated 250 basis points versus internal expectations. Management raised the 2026 CapEx guide to $2.1 billion from $1.9 billion to capture accelerating volume growth, while reaffirming that current truck-to-rail conversion tailwinds are largely temporary absent structural industry change — a signal that the pending Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger application is now central to the company's long-term volume thesis.
Tone: bullishRevenue
$12.2B
NSC 10-K · FY 2025
Employees
19,300
Revenue FY2024
$12.1B
Founded
1980
Profile
NSC 10-K Item 1 · Feb 9, 2026Norfolk Southern Corporation is an Atlanta-based holding company that owns Norfolk Southern Railway Company, one of the largest freight railroads in the eastern United States. The company transports raw materials, intermediate products, and finished goods across 22 states and the District of Columbia, and offers the most extensive intermodal network in the eastern half of the U.S. In July 2025, Norfolk Southern entered into a definitive merger agreement to be acquired by Union Pacific Corporation in a stock-and-cash transaction, subject to STB regulatory approval.
Read filing description ↓ Collapse description ↑
Norfolk Southern Corporation (Norfolk Southern) is an Atlanta, Georgia-based company that owns a major freight railroad, Norfolk Southern Railway Company (NSR). We were incorporated on July 23, 1980, under the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Our common stock (Common Stock) is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the symbol 'NSC.' We are primarily engaged in the rail transportation of raw materials, intermediate products, and finished goods primarily in the Southeast, East, and Midwest and, via interchange with rail carriers, to and from the rest of the United States (U.S.). We also transport overseas freight through several Atlantic and Gulf Coast ports. We offer the most extensive intermodal network in the eastern half of the U.S. At December 31, 2025, we operated approximately 19,100 route miles in 22 states and the District of Columbia. Our system reaches many manufacturing plants, electric generating facilities, mines, distribution centers, transload facilities, and other businesses located in our service area. Our three commodity groups are merchandise, intermodal, and coal. In 2025, merchandise carloads accounted for 63% of total railway operating revenues, intermodal accounted for 25%, and coal accounted for 12%. Our coal franchise supports the electric generation market, directly serving 18 coal-fired power plants, as well as the export, domestic metallurgical, and industrial markets.
Primary products
- Merchandise rail transportation
- Intermodal rail transportation
- Coal rail transportation
Business segments
End markets
Geographies
Named customers
Named competitors
“Our primary rail competitor is CSX Corporation (CSX); both we and CSX operate throughout much of the same territory.” Competitive position, as stated in the filing
Revenue commentary · FY 2025
Railway operating revenues were essentially flat year-over-year, increasing modestly from $12,123 million in 2024 to $12,180 million in 2025, per the Consolidated Statements of Income.
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