Norfolk Southern Corporation (NSC)

FairStock Score: 47/100 — MIXED

Key Financials

AI Analysis

AI-generated, general educational analysis — not personal investment advice.

I look for a durable franchise purchased at a sensible price. Norfolk Southern moves essential freight—agriculture, chemicals, consumer goods, lumber, paper—over a U.S. rail network that would be enormously expensive to replicate. That is a real moat. The financials are mixed. In fiscal Q2 2026, the quarter ended 2026-06-30, revenue was $3.5B and net income was $734.0M, or diluted EPS $3.26. Yet in fiscal Q2 2025, net income was $768.0M and diluted EPS $3.41, so profit slipped even as revenue rose. Full-year fiscal 2025 showed net income of $2.9B and diluted EPS of $12.75, up from $2.6B and $11.57 in fiscal 2024 and $1.8B and $8.02 in fiscal 2023. FairStock classifies it as a slow grower: profit grew 7.4% a year and revenue 4.5% over five years. The balance sheet uses leverage: debt-to-equity is 1.06, while return on capital employed is 5.95% and return on equity is 16.98%. The Piotroski score is 7/9 and Altman Z is 2.08. Valuation looks full. At the 2026-10-13 close of $321.14, the FairStock P/E is 27.40, P/B is 4.44, FCF yield is 2.3%, and the Graham Number is $138.14, implying a negative margin of safety of -132.47%. The FairStock Score is 48/100. This is a good railroad, but the price already assumes better days.

In plain English: Norfolk Southern runs freight trains carrying crops, chemicals, wood, paper, food and other goods across the United States. The business is profitable and has a wide rail network, but it carries a lot of debt and profit fell in the most recent quarter even though revenue rose. At the recent share price, the stock looks expensive compared with the company's profits, assets, and cash generation.

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Data as of 2026-10-13 close · note generated 2026-10-15 · model deepseek-flash

Sources (SEC EDGAR): fiscal Q2 2026 10-Q (period ended 2026-06-30) · fiscal Q1 2026 10-Q (period ended 2026-03-31) · fiscal Q3 2025 10-Q (period ended 2025-09-30) · fiscal Q2 2025 10-Q (period ended 2025-06-30) · FY2025 10-K (period ended 2025-12-31) · FY2024 10-K (period ended 2024-12-31) · FY2023 10-K (period ended 2023-12-31)

Fundamentals from company filings and market-data providers; prices are end-of-day, not real-time. AI-generated analysis is general and educational — not personal investment advice. Scoring methodology · Score test · Disclaimer