Where it trades today
trading 45% of the way up its 52-week range
How the price has moved
What to weigh before acting
What Matters Now
- Order-book quality, backlog conversion, and operating leverage usually tell you more than a single quarter of revenue growth.
- NSC trades at 26.8x earnings, well above the industrials average of 18.5x, so the market is already pricing in above-consensus execution.
- Recent realized volatility sits near 16.9%, below the sector norm of 22.0%, which supports a steadier role inside a diversified portfolio.
- NSC remains in a bearish short-term trend and sits 12.4% below its high, which raises the bar for any thesis that depends on fast multiple expansion.
Portfolio Use Case
- NSC is more useful for investors comparing conviction names inside industrials than for someone looking for a passive “set and forget” holding.
- This name works better as a satellite or higher-conviction growth position because it can amplify market swings in both directions.
- This page is most useful for deciding whether the stock deserves a permanent slot in the portfolio or just a place on the watchlist.
What Would Change the View
- A reset in earnings expectations or a faster peer catch-up could compress the premium valuation currently embedded in NSC.
- A recovery in price alone would not be enough to improve the view; the thesis needs confirmation from improving business or valuation signals.
- The view would need revisiting if peers such as CAT, HON start winning the marginal flow or posting cleaner operating momentum.
Methodology
- Price, market cap, beta, yield, and liquidity fields for NSC come from Yahoo Finance quote and summary data.
- 30-day volatility is calculated from recent daily returns and annualized using a 252-trading-day convention.
- Sector context uses stored benchmark averages for Industrials so each page compares the ticker against a stable peer baseline rather than against the whole market.
- Peer comparisons use the Portfolio Terminal coverage set and highlight nearby listed alternatives such as CAT, HON.
Sources
- Yahoo Finance quote dataopen →
Live quote, valuation, beta, yield, and volume fields used for NSC. Last refresh: Sep 18, 2026, 10:56 PM.
- Portfolio Terminal methodologyopen →
Explains how analytics, refresh cadence, and portfolio interpretation work across the product.
- Peer set and coverage context
Comparative context for this page is anchored around nearby tracked names such as CAT, HON.
What Norfolk Southern does
Norfolk Southern Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the rail transportation of raw materials, intermediate products, and finished goods in the United States. The company transports agriculture, forest, and consumer products comprising soybeans, wheat, corn, fertilizers, livestock and poultry feed, food products, food oils, flour, sweeteners, ethanol, lumber and wood products, pulp board and paper products, wood fibers, wood pulp, beverages, and canned goods; chemicals, including sulfur and related chemicals, petroleum products comprising crude oil, chlorine and bleaching compounds, plastics, rubber, industrial chemicals, chemical wastes, sand, and natural gas liquids;…
What analysts expect
NSC carries a hold consensus from 18 analysts, with an average price target of $365.28 versus $314.16 today (+16.3%). Targets are estimates and can move quickly after earnings.
Consensus aggregated by Yahoo Finance. Targets are estimates, not forecasts.
How the business is doing
NSC generated $12.54B in trailing revenue (11.4% year over year), with a 21.0% net margin, and $1.38B of free cash flow, against $16.08B of net debt.
The numbers, year by year
| Fiscal year | Revenue | Gross profit | Operating income | Net income | EPS | Free cash flow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $12.18B | $4.43B | $4.57B | $2.87B | $12.80 | $2.16B |
| 2024 | $12.12B | $4.54B | $4.88B | $2.62B | $11.59 | $1.67B |
| 2023 | $12.16B | $4.43B | $4.33B | $1.83B | $8.10 | $852.00M |
| 2022 | $12.74B | $5.24B | $5.21B | $3.27B | $14.34 | $2.27B |
When it reports next
Estimates aggregated by Yahoo Finance. Dates move and estimates change until the report lands.
How it sits in industrials
Manufacturing, aerospace, defense, and infrastructure companies.
The companies it competes with
NSC beside the industrials names it is usually measured against.
What the chart is saying
Norfolk Southern trades at $314.16, 12.4% below its 52-week high. With a beta of 1.27, it shows more sensitivity to what the wider market does.
Questions people ask about it
Is NSC a good buy right now?
Norfolk Southern trades at 26.8x earnings. This is near market average. Current risk level is Medium based on 16.9% volatility.
Does NSC pay dividends?
Yes, Norfolk Southern offers a dividend yield of 1.69%. That is roughly $5.31 per share a year.
How volatile is NSC?
With 30-day annualized volatility of 16.9% and beta of 1.27, NSC is classified as Medium risk. Expect larger swings than the broader market during volatile periods.
What is the analyst price target for NSC?
The average analyst price target for Norfolk Southern (NSC) is $365.28 based on 18 analyst estimates, about 16.3% above the current price of $314.16. The published range runs from $297.00 to $414.00.
How much revenue does NSC generate?
Norfolk Southern reported $12.54B in trailing twelve-month revenue. Revenue growth is running at 11.4% year over year. Net margin sits at 21.0%. Figures are aggregated from company filings by Yahoo Finance and refresh on an hourly cadence.