Latest Ratios: P/E Ratio 25.2x · EV/EBITDA 16.3x · ROE 19.2%. (1996–2025 historical series)
Price-based multiples — how expensive the stock is relative to earnings, sales, book value, and cash flow
| Metric | TTM | FY 2025 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | FY 2017 | FY 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Market Cap | $72.3B | $64.9B | $53.1B | $53.8B | $58.1B | $73.9B | $61.0B | $51.6B | $41.9B | $42.1B | $32.0B |
| Enterprise Value | $87.8B | $80.5B | $69.0B | $69.8B | $73.2B | $87.3B | $73.0B | $63.7B | $52.7B | $51.2B | $41.2B |
| P/E Ratio → | 25.25 | 22.64 | 20.29 | 29.47 | 17.75 | 24.58 | 30.31 | 18.94 | 15.72 | 7.79 | 19.23 |
| P/S Ratio | 5.94 | 5.33 | 4.38 | 4.42 | 4.56 | 6.63 | 6.23 | 4.56 | 3.66 | 3.99 | 3.24 |
| P/B Ratio | 4.65 | 4.17 | 3.71 | 4.21 | 4.56 | 5.41 | 4.12 | 3.40 | 2.73 | 2.57 | 2.58 |
| P/FCF | 33.51 | 30.09 | 31.80 | 64.76 | 25.53 | 26.52 | 28.45 | 27.53 | 23.61 | 27.49 | 27.89 |
| P/OCF | 16.58 | 14.88 | 13.11 | 16.91 | 13.75 | 17.36 | 16.76 | 13.25 | 11.25 | 12.93 | 10.54 |
P/E links to full P/E history page with 30-year chart
Enterprise-value multiples — capital-structure-neutral measures of total business value
| Metric | TTM | FY 2025 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | FY 2017 | FY 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EV / Revenue | — | 6.61 | 5.69 | 5.74 | 5.74 | 7.83 | 7.45 | 5.64 | 4.60 | 4.85 | 4.17 |
| EV / EBITDA | 16.26 | 14.90 | 13.48 | 16.99 | 12.29 | 15.74 | 16.03 | 12.66 | 10.41 | 11.19 | 9.98 |
| EV / EBIT | 21.92 | 18.05 | 16.68 | 22.93 | 15.18 | 19.29 | 23.13 | 15.56 | 13.09 | 13.92 | 13.09 |
| EV / FCF | — | 37.30 | 41.28 | 84.04 | 32.19 | 31.34 | 34.05 | 34.02 | 29.68 | 33.47 | 35.96 |
Margins and return-on-capital ratios measuring operating efficiency
Full margin charts and quarterly trend are on the Earnings History page
| Metric | TTM | FY 2025 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | FY 2017 | FY 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gross Margin | 42.4% | 42.4% | 31.0% | 23.1% | 37.1% | 39.2% | 34.7% | 34.5% | 34.6% | 33.4% | 31.0% |
| Operating Margin | 32.9% | 32.9% | 31.0% | 23.1% | 37.1% | 39.2% | 34.7% | 34.5% | 34.6% | 33.4% | 31.0% |
| Net Profit Margin | 23.6% | 23.6% | 21.6% | 15.0% | 25.7% | 27.0% | 20.6% | 24.1% | 23.3% | 51.2% | 16.9% |
| Metric | TTM | FY 2025 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | FY 2017 | FY 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ROE | 19.2% | 19.2% | 19.4% | 14.3% | 24.8% | 21.1% | 13.4% | 17.8% | 16.8% | 37.6% | 13.6% |
| ROA | 6.5% | 6.5% | 6.1% | 4.5% | 8.5% | 7.9% | 5.3% | 7.3% | 7.4% | 15.3% | 4.8% |
| ROIC | 9.8% | 9.8% | 9.6% | 7.4% | 12.9% | 12.2% | 9.4% | 10.9% | 11.5% | 11.2% | 10.7% |
| ROCE | 9.8% | 9.8% | 9.5% | 7.5% | 13.1% | 12.2% | 9.5% | 11.2% | 11.9% | 10.7% | 9.5% |
Solvency and debt-coverage ratios — lower is generally safer
| Metric | TTM | FY 2025 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | FY 2017 | FY 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Debt / Equity | 1.10 | 1.10 | 1.22 | 1.37 | 1.22 | 1.04 | 0.89 | 0.84 | 0.73 | 0.60 | 0.82 |
| Debt / EBITDA | 3.16 | 3.16 | 3.42 | 4.28 | 2.62 | 2.57 | 2.88 | 2.53 | 2.20 | 2.15 | 2.47 |
| Net Debt / Equity | — | 1.00 | 1.11 | 1.25 | 1.19 | 0.98 | 0.81 | 0.80 | 0.70 | 0.56 | 0.75 |
| Net Debt / EBITDA | 2.88 | 2.88 | 3.09 | 3.90 | 2.54 | 2.42 | 2.64 | 2.42 | 2.13 | 2.00 | 2.24 |
| Debt / FCF | — | 7.21 | 9.48 | 19.28 | 6.66 | 4.82 | 5.60 | 6.49 | 6.08 | 5.98 | 8.07 |
| Interest Coverage | 5.63 | 5.63 | 5.13 | 4.21 | 6.97 | 7.00 | 5.05 | 6.78 | 7.23 | 6.69 | 5.54 |
Short-term solvency ratios and asset-utilisation metrics
| Metric | TTM | FY 2025 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | FY 2017 | FY 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current Ratio | 0.85 | 0.85 | 0.90 | 1.24 | 0.76 | 0.86 | 1.07 | 0.90 | 0.72 | 0.84 | 0.98 |
| Quick Ratio | 0.85 | 0.85 | 0.82 | 1.14 | 0.66 | 0.77 | 0.97 | 0.80 | 0.64 | 0.76 | 0.87 |
| Cash Ratio | 0.41 | 0.41 | 0.46 | 0.60 | 0.17 | 0.33 | 0.52 | 0.25 | 0.14 | 0.27 | 0.41 |
| Asset Turnover | — | 0.27 | 0.28 | 0.29 | 0.33 | 0.29 | 0.26 | 0.30 | 0.32 | 0.30 | 0.28 |
| Inventory Turnover | — | — | 30.18 | 35.41 | 31.67 | 31.09 | 28.92 | 30.34 | 36.23 | 31.66 | 26.53 |
| Days Sales Outstanding | — | 29.61 | 32.19 | 34.44 | 32.88 | 31.97 | 31.62 | 29.73 | 32.14 | 33.04 | 34.88 |
Earnings, FCF, buyback, and dividend yields — total returns to shareholders
Full dividend history and growth charts are on the Dividend History page
| Metric | TTM | FY 2025 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | FY 2017 | FY 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dividend Yield | 1.7% | 1.9% | 2.3% | 2.3% | 2.0% | 1.4% | 1.6% | 1.8% | 2.0% | 1.7% | 2.2% |
| Payout Ratio | 42.3% | 42.3% | 46.6% | 67.0% | 35.7% | 34.2% | 47.7% | 34.9% | 31.7% | 13.0% | 41.7% |
| Metric | TTM | FY 2025 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | FY 2017 | FY 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Earnings Yield | 4.0% | 4.4% | 4.9% | 3.4% | 5.6% | 4.1% | 3.3% | 5.3% | 6.4% | 12.8% | 5.2% |
| FCF Yield | 3.0% | 3.3% | 3.1% | 1.5% | 3.9% | 3.8% | 3.5% | 3.6% | 4.2% | 3.6% | 3.6% |
| Buyback Yield | 0.7% | 0.8% | 0.0% | 1.2% | 5.4% | 4.6% | 2.4% | 4.1% | 6.6% | 2.4% | 2.5% |
| Total Shareholder Yield | 2.4% | 2.7% | 2.3% | 3.4% | 7.4% | 6.0% | 3.9% | 5.9% | 8.7% | 4.1% | 4.7% |
| Shares Outstanding | — | $225M | $226M | $227M | $236M | $248M | $257M | $266M | $280M | $290M | $296M |
Operational and Regulatory Volatility
According to current market data, NSC trades at a 24.53x trailing P/E, which appears elevated relative to its historical performance and suggests that investors are pricing in a significant recovery in operational efficiency that has yet to be fully realized in the company's recent quarterly earnings reports.
The current forward P/E of 25.73 implies a market expectation for earnings growth that may be difficult to achieve given the persistent volume volatility and high capital intensity of the rail industry. When compared to peers like Union Pacific, the valuation premium warrants caution, as it assumes a rapid stabilization of margins that remains sensitive to ongoing regulatory and safety-related cost pressures.
Based on reported figures, NSC's ROIC has struggled to exceed 3.1% over the last ten quarters, a level that remains significantly below the company's cost of capital and highlights the difficulty of generating efficient returns on its massive, fixed-asset base in the current operating environment.
The persistent gap between ROIC and the broader industry benchmarks suggests that the company's capital allocation is currently focused on network maintenance rather than high-return growth initiatives. Investors should monitor whether future capital expenditure programs can improve asset utilization, as current returns appear insufficient to drive long-term shareholder value creation.
As evidenced by the erratic cash conversion cycle data, NSC's working capital management appears inconsistent, with the company's DPO fluctuating wildly between 42 and 185 days, suggesting that supplier leverage is being used as a temporary lever to manage liquidity during periods of operational stress.
The lack of a stable CCC trend indicates that the company's internal processes for managing payables and receivables are frequently disrupted by external operational events. This volatility in working capital efficiency may mask underlying issues in network fluidity, as management appears to prioritize short-term cash preservation over standardized operational cycles.
According to recent balance sheet snapshots, NSC maintains a current ratio consistently below 1.0, with a 2026Q1 reading of 0.91, which indicates a reliance on ongoing operational cash flow to meet short-term obligations rather than maintaining a robust cash cushion for unforeseen network disruptions.
While the company's debt-to-equity ratio has improved to 1.08, the thin liquidity position leaves little room for error should a major operational or regulatory event occur. This structure suggests that the company is operating with minimal financial slack, making it highly vulnerable to any sudden contraction in revenue or unexpected spikes in maintenance costs.
The Operating Ratio is the most commonly misapplied metric for NSC, as it frequently obscures the true economic cost of maintaining the rail network by failing to account for the timing of significant legal, environmental, and casualty-related reserves that impact actual cash-generating capacity.
Investors should instead focus on Free Cash Flow margins, which provide a more accurate picture of the cash available for dividends and debt reduction after accounting for the heavy capital expenditure required to keep the network operational. Relying solely on the Operating Ratio may lead to an overestimation of the company's underlying profitability during periods where non-recurring charges are excluded from adjusted metrics.
Includes 30+ ratios · 30 years · Updated daily
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Quick answers to the most common questions about buying NSC stock.
Norfolk Southern Corporation's current P/E ratio is 25.2x. The historical average is 18.2x. This places it at the 87th percentile of its historical range.
Norfolk Southern Corporation's current EV/EBITDA is 16.3x. This enterprise value multiple compares the company's total value (equity + debt - cash) to its EBITDA. The historical average is 10.6x.
Norfolk Southern Corporation's return on equity (ROE) is 19.2%. The historical average is 15.1%.
Based on historical data, Norfolk Southern Corporation is trading at a P/E of 25.2x. This is at the 87th percentile of its historical P/E range. Compare with industry peers and growth rates for a complete picture.
Norfolk Southern Corporation's current dividend yield is 1.68% with a payout ratio of 42.3%.
Norfolk Southern Corporation has 42.4% gross margin and 32.9% operating margin. Operating margin above 20% indicates strong pricing power and cost efficiency.
Norfolk Southern Corporation's Debt/EBITDA ratio is 3.2x, indicating high leverage. A ratio between 2-4x is manageable but warrants monitoring.