Valuation
26% of the score
63median 56
Norfolk Southern is valued at 20.6x its operating profit, including debt: a rich multiple.
60x
50x
35x
25x
18x
12x
8x
20.6x
Full points at 8x or less, none from 60xfull points
NSCNorfolk Southern
$313.22+14% 1Y
$313.22
$268.7052 weeks$352.99
RyuScore
Seven criteria, each scored 0 to 100 on a published scale, weighted into one number.
RyuScore 62 out of 100, Above average
Today's price. Only valuation depends on it.
Above average. Norfolk Southern scores higher than 59% of the 1,794 companies Ryufin scores.
Carried by capital allocation and cycle position, held back by return on new capital and the balance sheet.
Industrials median 61 · all companies 57
How the score has moved
At each fiscal year end, from the reports and price of the time62
61
67
59
61
63
62
202020212022202320242025today
The biggest move was down 8 points from 2022 to 2023, mostly valuation.
Return on capital
18% of the score
47median 34
Over 7 years the business earned 8.4% a year after tax on the capital it uses.
2%
8%
15%
25%
8.4%
None at 2% or less, full points from 25%full points
7 years agolatest 8.6%
Return on new capital
16% of the score
44median 49
For every dollar of operating profit earned over 6 years, yearly profit grew by 2 cents. New capital earned 9.1%, and 27% of profit went back into the business.
-5%
12%
2.4%
None at minus 5 cents, full points from 12 centsfull points
Capital allocation
14% of the score
94median 64
How management spends the money: shares bought back or issued, and whether assets grow faster than the business they serve.
Share countDown 2.6% a year over 5 years: buybacks
955%
-3%
-2.6%
0 pointsfull points
Assets against salesAssets grew 3.6% a year, sales 4.5%
9212%
-2%
-0.9%
0 pointsfull points
Cycle position
12% of the score
74median 62
Today's operating margin of 32% is 0.92x its normal 35%: close to its usual level. Normal is half the 10 year median, half the last four years, so a margin that has held is not taken for a peak.
2x
1.5x
1x
0.7x
0.9x
A trough earns points, a peak costs themfull points
10 years agonow 32%
Balance sheet
8% of the score
38median 50
What the debt weighs against the profit that has to carry it.
Net debt to EBITDA2.9x a year of EBITDA
414.5x
0.5x
2.9x
0 pointsfull points
Interest coverOperating profit covers interest 5x
351.5x
12x
5.1x
0 pointsfull points
Earnings quality
6% of the score
88median 90
Whether the reported profit arrives as cash, and whether the accounts show the usual signs of stretching.
Cash against profitOperating cash flow was 1.58x profit over 3 years
1000.7x
1x
1.3x
1.6x
0 pointsfull points
AccrualsCash ran ahead of profit by 3.4% of assets
778%
0%
-8%
-3.4%
0 pointsfull points
How the RyuScore works
Each criterion earns 0 to 100 points on the scale drawn under it, and the RyuScore is their average weighted 26, 18, 16, 14, 12, 8 and 6. Scales bend in the company's favour between their ends, so an ordinary figure is never already near zero. Where a criterion cannot be measured from the filings it is taken out and the remaining weights scale up; a company needs 60% of the weight covered, and always a price, to get a score.
Built from the company's annual and quarterly filings with the SEC and today's share price. Banks, insurers and property trusts are not scored: their debt is their raw material, so these yardsticks mean something else there. Figures as of 2026-06-30, latest annual report FY2025.
On our screens:Stocks that buy back more than they dilute
Industrials
Ranks #145 of 321 by RyuScore