NSC vs BRK-B vs BIPH Stock Comparison

Norfolk Southern, Berkshire Hathaway and Brookfield Infrastructure Partners Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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NSC Norfolk Southern Corp
$342.19 +9.2% 1M +22.4% 1Y
Market cap
$76.56B
P/E
28.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$12.96B
Div. yield
0.02%
Railroads Industrials
3 wins
BRK-B Berkshire Hathaway Inc
$541.90 +7.9% 1M +13.9% 1Y
Market cap
$783.09M
P/E
0.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$384.69B
Div. yield
–
Property and Casualty Insurance Financial Services
4 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Brookfield Infrastructure Partners 5, Berkshire Hathaway 4, Norfolk Southern 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionNSCBRK-BBIPHLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $76.56B $783.09M $9.48B NSC
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 28.5x 0.0x -25.3x BRK-B
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 28.0x — 25.6x BIPH
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +6.0% +3.9% +16.4% BIPH
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 20.7% 22.3% -1.5% BRK-B
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 9.7% -10.4% 6.6% NSC
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.7x 2.4x 6.1x BRK-B
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.02% 0.00% 0.18% BIPH
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +22.4% +13.9% -12.6% NSC
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +3.2%/yr +13.6%/yr -10.2%/yr BRK-B
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 21.0% 14.6% 13.9% BIPH
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 33/100 28/100 48/100 BIPH

Percentile Scorecard

NSCBRK-BBIPH

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisNSCBRK-BBIPH
Valuation 9 #124 of 136 15 #101 of 119 67 #46 of 136
Growth 43 #70 of 121 30 #80 of 114 87 #17 of 121
Profitability 63 #42 of 112 30 #75 of 106 40 #68 of 112
Financial Health 30 #98 of 140 55 #47 of 104 14 #121 of 140
Shareholder Returns 19 #65 of 80 8 #97 of 105 32 #55 of 80
Overall 33 28 48
  • NSC ranked among 150 companies in Transportation
  • BRK-B ranked among 126 companies in Insurance
  • BIPH ranked among 150 companies in Transportation

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodNSCBRK-BBIPHSPY
1 month +9.2%+7.9%-1.2% +0.7%
3 months +2.5%+6.3%-5.7% +3.7%
6 months +8.3%+14.4%-8.1% +7.1%
Year to date +18.5%+7.8%-7.2% +12.8%
1 year +22.4%+13.9%-12.6% +11.9%
3 years +82.4%+60.6%+2.6% +85.2%
3 years, per year +22.2%+17.1%+0.9% +22.8%
5 years +16.8%+88.8%-41.5% +67.6%
5 years, per year +3.2%+13.6%-10.2% +10.9%
10 years +270.9%+276.3%— +262.0%
10 years, per year +14.0%+14.2%— +13.7%

Risk

MeasureNSCBRK-BBIPHSPY
Volatility, 1Y 21.0%14.6%13.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 20.3%14.2%15.8% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.19-0.020.09 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.070.95-0.90 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -38.0%-26.6%-43.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -3.1%-1.2%-12.6% -1.2%
52-week high $352.99$548.72$17.28 $779.14
52-week low $278.19$465.40$15.00 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleNSCBRK-BBIPH
P/E now vs peer median 28.6xmedian 16.5x 0.0xmedian 10.7x -25.5xmedian 16.5x
P/S now vs peer median 5.9xmedian 0.9x 3.0xmedian 1.4x 0.4xmedian 0.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 16.7xmedian 8.8x -9.6xmedian 7.5x 7.0xmedian 8.8x
P/FCF now vs peer median 46.7xmedian 11.9x 48.2xmedian 8.5x -12.1xmedian 11.9x
P/B now vs peer median 4.6xmedian 1.2x 1.6xmedian 1.5x 0.3xmedian 1.2x
PEG now vs peer median 3.19median 0.84 —median 0.60 —median 0.84

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsNSCBRK-BBIPH
Revenue $12.96B $384.69B $25.06B
Gross profit – $215.64B $6.65B
Operating income $4.09B -$111.18B $6.20B
Net income $2.68B $86.08B $2.39B
Free cash flow $1.65B $24.22B -$792.00M
EPS (diluted) $11.92 – –
Cash & equivalents $1.60B $40.61B $3.09B
Total debt $16.61B $128.60B $67.76B
Shares (diluted) 225.20M – –
Enterprise value $71.02B -$1.42T -$4.09B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricNSCBRK-BBIPH
P/E 28.6x 0.0x -25.5x
P/FCF 46.7x 48.2x -12.1x
P/Operating cash flow 20.3x 25.0x 1.5x
P/S 5.9x 3.0x 0.4x
P/B 4.6x 1.6x 0.3x
P/Tangible book 4.6x 1.6x 0.5x
EV/EBITDA 16.7x -9.6x 7.0x
EV/EBIT 22.5x -8.4x 11.9x
EV/Revenue 7.1x 2.4x 2.9x
EV/FCF 55.8x 38.5x -93.2x
EV/Operating cash flow 24.3x 20.0x 11.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 3.19 – –

Growth

14 metrics
MetricNSCBRK-BBIPH
Revenue growth (1Y) 6.0% 3.9% 16.4%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 1.7% 4.9% 16.6%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 2.1% 16.9%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 1.0% 48.1%
Operating income growth (1Y) -10.2% -4.9% 17.8%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 8.2% -8.5% 28.4%
Net income growth (1Y) -9.4% 35.9% 63.4%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 8.7% -0.5% 15.0%
EPS growth (1Y) -9.6% – –
EPS CAGR (3Y) 9.0% – –
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -11.0% 70.1% 30.9%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 4.6% 2.6% 26.0%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -21.5% 194.4% 72.5%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 13.0% -2.5% 8.5%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricNSCBRK-BBIPH
Gross margin – 56.1% 26.5%
EBITDA margin 42.5% -25.3% 41.9%
Operating margin 31.5% -28.9% 24.8%
Pretax margin 26.4% 29.2% 11.8%
Net margin 20.7% 22.3% -1.5%
FCF margin 12.7% 6.3% -3.2%
Operating cash flow margin 29.2% 12.1% 25.1%
Return on equity 16.3% 11.6% 7.2%
Return on assets 5.9% 6.8% 1.9%
Return on invested capital 9.7% -10.4% 6.6%
Return on capital employed 9.8% – 5.6%
Asset turnover 0.3x 0.3x 0.2x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.4x 0.5x 2.6x
Stock comp / revenue – – –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricNSCBRK-BBIPH
Debt / assets 36.2% 10.2% 55.6%
Debt / equity 1.0x 0.2x 2.1x
Net debt / EBITDA 2.7x 2.4x 6.1x
Debt / FCF 10.1x 5.3x -85.6x
Liabilities / assets 63.6% 40.6% 73.3%
Equity / assets 36.4% 59.4% 26.7%
Interest coverage 5.2x -21.4x 1.1x
Current ratio 0.9x – 0.9x
Quick ratio 0.8x – 0.7x
Cash ratio 0.4x – 0.3x
Altman Z-score 2.58 – –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricNSCBRK-BBIPH
Dividend yield 1.6% – 0.0%
Net buyback yield 0.0% 0.4% –
Shareholder yield 1.6% 0.4% 0.0%
Payout ratio (earnings) 45.2% – 71.4%
Payout ratio (FCF) 73.6% – -215.5%
Dividend growth (1Y) -0.4% – 10.5%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 0.2% – 40.3%

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusNSCBRK-BBIPH
Forward P/E 28.0xFY2026 – 25.6xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $12.23FY2026 – $0.59FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -2.1%FY2026 – -34.4%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +24.4% – +88.1%
Revenue, next fiscal year $14.12BFY2026 – $17.63BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +15.9%FY2026 – -23.7%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +2.7% – -44.6%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersNSCBRK-BBIPH
Held by institutions 75.9% 65.8% –
Institutions holding 1,865 4,925 –
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.5% +1.8% –
Institutions buying 752 2,237 –
Institutions selling 632 1,989 –
Buyers to sellers 1.19 1.12 –

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

NSCBRK-BBIPH
NSC 1.00 0.22 -0.02
BRK-B 0.22 1.00 -0.15
BIPH -0.02 -0.15 1.00

Add a Peer

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, NSC, BRK-B and BIPH?

Norfolk Southern (NSC) is the largest by market capitalisation: Norfolk Southern (NSC) $76.56B, Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B) $783.09M, Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (BIPH) $9.48B.

Which stock is cheaper, NSC, BRK-B and BIPH?

Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Norfolk Southern (NSC) 28.5x, Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B) 0.0x, Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (BIPH) -25.3x). On next year's consensus earnings, Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (BIPH) is cheapest (Norfolk Southern (NSC) 28.0x, Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (BIPH) 25.6x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (BIPH) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Norfolk Southern (NSC) +6.0%, Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B) +3.9%, Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (BIPH) +16.4%.

Which company is more profitable?

Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B) has the highest net margin (Norfolk Southern (NSC) 20.7%, Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B) 22.3%, Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (BIPH) -1.5%). On return on invested capital, Norfolk Southern (NSC) leads (Norfolk Southern (NSC) 9.7%, Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B) -10.4%, Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (BIPH) 6.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Norfolk Southern (NSC) returned the most: Norfolk Southern (NSC) +22.4%, Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B) +13.9%, Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (BIPH) -12.6%. Over five years, Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B) compounded fastest (Norfolk Southern (NSC) +3.2%/yr, Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B) +13.6%/yr, Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (BIPH) -10.2%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (BIPH) has the highest dividend yield: Norfolk Southern (NSC) 0.02%, Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B) 0.00%, Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (BIPH) 0.18%. Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (BIPH) has been the steadiest (Norfolk Southern (NSC) 21.0%, Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B) 14.6%, Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (BIPH) 13.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, NSC, BRK-B and BIPH?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (BIPH) leads on 5. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.