Norfolk Southern vs Union Pacific
Union Pacific reported revenue of $24.5 billion in fiscal 2025, 2.0 times Norfolk Southern's $12.2 billion in fiscal 2025. Norfolk Southern's revenue grew 0.5% in its latest year, and Union Pacific's grew 1.1%. Norfolk Southern had an operating margin of 35.8%, against 40.2% at Union Pacific. Free cash flow was $2.2 billion at Norfolk Southern and $5.5 billion at Union Pacific.
Side by side
| Norfolk Southern | Union Pacific | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest fiscal year | FY2025, Dec 31, 2025 | FY2025, Dec 31, 2025 |
| Revenue | $12.2B | $24.5B |
| Revenue growth | 0.5% | 1.1% |
| Revenue growth a year, last 5 years | 4.5% | 4.6% |
| Gross margin | — | — |
| Operating margin | 35.8% | 40.2% |
| Net margin | 23.6% | 29.1% |
| Free cash flow | $2.2B | $5.5B |
| Free cash flow margin | 17.7% | 22.4% |
| Return on capital | 11.2% | 15.9% |
| Net debt to EBITDA | 2.7x | 2.5x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $1.7B | $5.9B |
| Change in diluted share count | −0.5% | −2.1% |
| Last close | $333.99 | $296.97 |
| P/E at the last close | 28.0× | 23.1× |
| Insider trades, last 12 months | bought $1.3 million, sold $253,440 | sold $9.3 million |
| Piotroski F-score | 6 of 8 | 7 of 8 |
Amounts in each company's own currency, US$ unless marked (a foreign company may report in another), each company's latest fiscal year from its 10-K, or 20-F or 40-F for a foreign company. Growth rates compare with the year before; the five-year rate is the average a year. Free cash flow is cash from operations minus capital spending; return on capital is after-tax operating income over the money invested in the business; P/E is the last close over the latest earnings per share. Banks are measured differently (return on equity, efficiency ratio), so some rows apply to one company only.
Ten years
Revenue
US$ billions, fiscal years
Norfolk SouthernUnion Pacific
Operating margin
Percent of revenue
Norfolk SouthernUnion Pacific
Free cash flow
US$ billions. Cash from operations minus capital expenditure.
Norfolk SouthernUnion Pacific
Source: the companies' Form 10-K filings, from SEC EDGAR, and the last close. For information only, not investment advice: the figures describe results, not which company is the better investment. The Filing Desk is not affiliated with either company. Full figures on the Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific pages.