NSCNorfolk Southern
Is the business good?
A genuinely good business: earnings fully cash-backed (1.2×) and margins widening.
Operating profit is fully backed by cash. Conversion is improving vs a year ago.
Operating profit is falling even as sales grow, costs are outrunning the top line.
Margin-driven, fat margins on slower asset turns. ROE 18% = margin × turnover × leverage.
Unless marked, from derived.
Against the whole market›
Percentile against every name Ryufin tracks. Higher is better; the tick marks the middle of the market. Context, not one of the checks above.
Where this answer is blind. The F-score rewards improvement, so an already-elite company can score mid-pack.
How good a business is NSC?
Norfolk Southern earns 10% on the capital it employs against a 9.0% cost of capital, so the business is worth more the bigger it gets.
Return on invested capital · cost of capital 9.0% · 1.0 points above what the capital costs: growth creates value
- Operating margin
- 32%
Operating margin · Railroads median 33% · 12 months to Q2 2026
- Cash conversion
- 1.18×
Cash conversion · 1.08× a year ago · operating cash flow covers the operating profit after tax
- Share count, year on year
- −0.09%
Share count, year on year · flat: no meaningful dilution
| Year | Operating margin |
|---|---|
| FY2020 | 31% |
| FY2021 | 40% |
| FY2022 | 38% |
| FY2023 | 23% |
| FY2024 | 34% |
| FY2025 | 36% |
Details›
- Operating margin12 months to Q2 2026
- 32%
- Net margin12 months to Q2 2026
- 21%
- Free cash flow margin
- 13%
- Revenue, trailing twelve months
- $12.5B
- Free cash flow, trailing twelve months
- $1.63B
- Net income, trailing twelve months
- $2.64B
- Return on invested capitaloperating profit after tax ÷ debt + equity − cash
- 10%
Margins, capital and share counts from the statements as filed with the SEC; cash conversion is operating cash flow over operating profit after tax.
Industrials
Ranks #165 of 400 by RyuScore