NSC
Norfolk Southern Corporation
NSC's fundamentals are mixed, but it looks expensive: trading at 28x earnings, above its usual 23x. Analysts expect earnings growth.
NSC Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Stable | |
| Stable |
NSC's revenue and profitability are currently healthy, and its cash flow and balance sheet are stable.
NSC PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 18x | $216 | -35% |
| Fair | 22x | $268 | -20% |
| Forward | 23x | $333 | — |
| Current | 28x | $333 | — |
| Expensive | 30x | $362 | +8.7% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
NSC's PE is in its expensive range at 28x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 23x next year's earnings, in its fair range.
NSC Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for NSC, with profitability improving.
NSC Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $14.19 | +19% |
| Q3 2026 | $11.93 | -9.1% |
| Q2 2026 | $11.72 | -21% |
| Q1 2026 | $11.87 | -19% |
| Q4 2025 | $12.75 | +10% |
| Q3 2025 | $13.12 | +23% |
| Q2 2025 | $14.81 | +87% |
| Q1 2025 | $14.65 | +136% |
| Q4 2024 | $11.57 | +44% |
NSC earned $11.93 per share over the past year, down 9.1% from the year before.
NSC Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $3.5B | +14% |
| Q2 2026 | $3.5B | +11% |
| Q1 2026 | $3B | +0.2% |
| Q4 2025 | $3B | -1.7% |
| Q3 2025 | $3.1B | +1.7% |
| Q2 2025 | $3.1B | +2.2% |
| Q1 2025 | $3B | -0.4% |
| Q4 2024 | $3B | -1.6% |
NSC's revenue has picked up after three years of holding roughly level: $3.5B last quarter, up 14% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 33% | -2.8 points |
| Q2 2026 | 32% | -5.3 points |
| Q1 2026 | 29% | -9 points |
| Q4 2025 | 32% | -5.9 points |
| Q3 2025 | 35% | -17 points |
| Q2 2025 | 38% | +0.6 points |
| Q1 2025 | 38% | +31 points |
| Q4 2024 | 37% | +11 points |
NSC's operating margin was 33% last quarter, down 2.8 points from the same quarter a year ago.
NSC Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $736M | +2.2% |
| Q2 2026 | $615M | +2.2% |
| Q1 2026 | -$38M | -108% |
| Q4 2025 | $334M | +21% |
| Q3 2025 | $720M | +12% |
| Q2 2025 | $602M | +29% |
| Q1 2025 | $501M | +78% |
| Q4 2024 | $276M | +$456M |
NSC still generates free cash flow, though less than at its 2022 peak: $1.6B over the past year.
NSC Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.1% | +200K shares |
| 1 year | +0.2% | +500K shares |
| 3 years | -0.8% | -1.8M shares |
| 5 years | -8.6% | -21.2M shares |
| Available history | -15% | -40.4M shares |
NSC has 225M diluted shares, about the same as a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | — |
| Q2 2026 | — |
| Q1 2026 | $5M |
| Q4 2025 | — |
| Q3 2025 | $78M |
| Q2 2025 | $208M |
| Q1 2025 | $248M |
| Q4 2024 | — |
NSC has spent almost nothing on buybacks in the past year.
NSC Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 2.7x | Moderate |
| Q2 2026 | 2.9x | Moderate |
| Q1 2026 | 2.9x | Moderate |
| Q4 2025 | 2.7x | Moderate |
| Q3 2025 | 2.6x | Moderate |
| Q2 2025 | 2.5x | Moderate |
| Q1 2025 | 2.6x | Moderate |
| Q4 2024 | 2.9x | Moderate |
NSC's net debt is about 2.7 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), about the same as a year ago.
NSC Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 54.6 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 52.4 | Neutral |
NSC's weekly RSI is 55 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 52 (neutral).
NSC PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | NSC | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 28x | 24x | 16% above |
| PE % | 77 | 58 | 19 pts above |
NSC is trading at 28x earnings, a 16% premium to the Industrials sector's median of 24x.
NSC Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $325.1 | 2.5% above |
| 20 week MA | $330.5 | 0.8% above |
| 50 week MA | $312.9 | 6.5% above |
| 100 week MA | $285.5 | 17% above |
| 200 week MA | $257.8 | 29% above |
NSC is in an uptrend: it's above all five of its weekly moving averages, and 29% above its 200-week average.
NSC Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $195.2 | $234.4 | +20% |
| 2021 | $234.4 | $287.5 | +23% |
| 2022 | $287.5 | $247.5 | -14% |
| 2023 | $247.5 | $236.4 | -4.5% |
| 2024 | $236.4 | $235.3 | -0.5% |
| 2025 | $235.3 | $291.0 | +24% |
| 2026 YTD | $291.0 | $333.2 | +15% |
NSC has finished lower in three of the last six years. It's up 15% so far in 2026.