NSC vs CP vs CSANY Stock Comparison

Norfolk Southern, Canadian Pacific Kansas City and Cosan Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
NSC Norfolk Southern Corp
$339.81 +8.6% 1M +20.7% 1Y
Market cap
$76.33B
P/E
28.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$12.96B
Div. yield
1.59%
Railroads Industrials
4 wins
CSANY Cosan S.A.
$2.07 -27.9% 1M -54.4% 1Y
Market cap
$2.05B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$7.59B
Div. yield
–
Integrated Oil and Gas Energy
3 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Canadian Pacific Kansas City leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Canadian Pacific Kansas City 5, Norfolk Southern 4, Cosan 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionNSCCPCSANYLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $76.33B $80.12B $2.05B CP
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 28.4x 28.9x -0.8x NSC
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 27.8x 23.3x — CP
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +6.0% +4.6% -0.9% NSC
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 20.7% 25.0% -21.9% CP
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 9.7% 6.0% 129.2% CSANY
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.7x 3.1x -0.3x CSANY
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 1.59% 1.10% — NSC
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +20.7% +22.4% -54.4% CP
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +3.0%/yr +3.3%/yr -32.0%/yr CP
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 20.9% 22.7% 89.8% NSC
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 33/100 42/100 46/100 CSANY

Percentile Scorecard

NSCCPCSANY

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

AxisNSCCPCSANY
Valuation 10 #123 of 136 12 #120 of 136 89 #12 of 99
Growth 43 #69 of 121 50 #61 of 121 15 #83 of 97
Profitability 66 #40 of 115 57 #50 of 115 45 #53 of 96
Financial Health 30 #100 of 143 28 #103 of 143 66 #35 of 102
Shareholder Returns 16 #69 of 82 64 #30 of 82 17 #63 of 76
Overall 33 42 46
  • NSC ranked among 150 companies in Transportation
  • CP ranked among 150 companies in Transportation
  • CSANY ranked among 103 companies in Oil and Gas Upstream

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodNSCCPCSANYSPY
1 month +8.6%+4.9%-27.9% -0.2%
3 months +0.3%-0.6%-33.4% +3.9%
6 months +7.3%+5.1%-50.8% +8.2%
Year to date +17.7%+23.8%-47.6% +12.9%
1 year +20.7%+22.4%-54.4% +12.3%
3 years +84.1%+31.0%-83.8% +87.4%
3 years, per year +22.6%+9.4%-45.5% +23.3%
5 years +15.9%+17.8%-85.5% +67.9%
5 years, per year +3.0%+3.3%-32.0% +10.9%
10 years +272.0%+214.2%— +261.1%
10 years, per year +14.0%+12.1%— +13.7%

Risk

MeasureNSCCPCSANYSPY
Volatility, 1Y 20.9%22.7%89.8% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 20.3%21.9%106.9% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.190.461.17 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.990.99-0.61 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -38.0%-26.5%-89.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -3.7%-5.7%-62.0% -1.2%
52-week high $352.99$96.69$5.45 $779.14
52-week low $278.19$68.88$2.07 $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.

MultipleNSCCPCSANY
P/E now vs peer median 28.4xmedian 16.3x 28.9xmedian 16.3x -0.8xmedian 13.0x
P/S now vs peer median 5.9xmedian 1.0x 7.2xmedian 1.0x 0.3xmedian 2.1x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 16.6xmedian 8.7x 17.4xmedian 8.7x 0.4xmedian 5.9x
P/FCF now vs peer median 46.3xmedian 11.4x 45.6xmedian 11.4x 2.0xmedian 11.1x
P/B now vs peer median 4.6xmedian 1.2x 2.4xmedian 1.2x 0.3xmedian 1.5x
PEG now vs peer median 3.16median 0.82 -10.71median 0.82 0.01median 2.27

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 monthsNSCCPCSANY
Revenue $12.96B $11.18B $7.59B
Gross profit – – $2.62B
Operating income $4.09B $4.11B $1.96B
Net income $2.68B $2.80B -$1.37B
Free cash flow $1.65B $1.76B $1.01B
EPS (diluted) $11.92 $3.15 $-2.68
Cash & equivalents $1.60B $257.58M $2.58B
Total debt $16.61B $17.70B $4.35B
Shares (diluted) 225.20M 887.10M 617.57M
Enterprise value $70.79B $79.83B -$3.78B

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
MetricNSCCPCSANY
P/E 28.4x 28.9x -0.8x
P/FCF 46.3x 45.6x 2.0x
P/Operating cash flow 20.2x 20.1x 0.8x
P/S 5.9x 7.2x 0.3x
P/B 4.6x 2.4x 0.3x
P/Tangible book 4.6x 2.6x 2.0x
EV/EBITDA 16.6x 17.4x 0.4x
EV/EBIT 22.3x 23.7x 0.6x
EV/Revenue 7.0x 8.7x 0.2x
EV/FCF 55.5x 55.6x 1.2x
EV/Operating cash flow 24.1x 24.5x 0.5x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 3.16 -10.71 0.01

Growth

14 metrics
MetricNSCCPCSANY
Revenue growth (1Y) 6.0% 4.6% -0.9%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 1.7% 13.6% -20.2%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – 4.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – -10.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) -10.2% 5.7% 52.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 8.2% 14.1% -8.8%
Net income growth (1Y) -9.4% -6.7% 19.5%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 8.7% -4.4% -61.8%
EPS growth (1Y) -9.6% -2.7% -169.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 9.0% -2.7% -74.8%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -11.0% 1.1% -18.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 4.6% 5.1% -11.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -21.5% -3.8% -69.1%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 13.0% -3.3% -43.2%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricNSCCPCSANY
Gross margin – – 34.5%
EBITDA margin 42.5% 50.0% 35.6%
Operating margin 31.5% 36.7% 25.9%
Pretax margin 26.4% 33.4% -15.0%
Net margin 20.7% 25.0% -21.9%
FCF margin 12.7% 15.7% 13.3%
Operating cash flow margin 29.2% 35.6% 33.1%
Return on equity 16.3% 8.3% -26.1%
Return on assets 5.9% 4.4% -6.3%
Return on invested capital 9.7% 6.0% 129.2%
Return on capital employed 9.8% 7.0% 8.5%
Asset turnover 0.3x 0.2x 0.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.4x 1.4x -1.8x
Stock comp / revenue – – 0.2%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricNSCCPCSANY
Debt / assets 36.2% 28.2% 6.9%
Debt / equity 1.0x 0.5x 0.3x
Net debt / EBITDA 2.7x 3.1x -0.3x
Debt / FCF 10.1x 10.1x 1.7x
Liabilities / assets 63.6% 46.7% 74.8%
Equity / assets 36.4% 53.3% 25.2%
Interest coverage 5.2x – 1.3x
Current ratio 0.9x 0.6x –
Quick ratio 0.8x 0.5x 3.4x
Cash ratio 0.4x 0.1x 2.4x
Altman Z-score 2.57 2.31 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricNSCCPCSANY
Dividend yield 1.6% 1.1% –
Net buyback yield 0.0% 3.7% -3.5%
Shareholder yield 1.6% 4.8% -3.5%
Payout ratio (earnings) 45.2% 21.1% –
Payout ratio (FCF) 73.6% 33.7% –
Dividend growth (1Y) -0.4% 11.3% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 0.2% 3.9% –

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.

ConsensusNSCCPCSANY
Forward P/E 27.8xFY2026 23.3xFY2026 –
EPS, next fiscal year $12.23FY2026 $3.91FY2026 $-0.01FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -2.1%FY2026 +16.4%FY2026 –
EPS growth, the year after +24.4% +12.8% –
Revenue, next fiscal year $14.12BFY2026 $12.51BFY2026 $7.67BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +15.9%FY2026 +13.9%FY2026 -2.0%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +2.7% -3.3% +21.1%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersNSCCPCSANY
Held by institutions 75.9% 69.7% –
Institutions holding 1,863 973 –
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.5% +2.5% –
Institutions buying 751 439 –
Institutions selling 631 293 –
Buyers to sellers 1.19 1.50 –

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.

NSCCPCSANY
NSC 1.00 0.64 0.00
CP 0.64 1.00 0.05
CSANY 0.00 0.05 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, NSC, CP and CSANY?

Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CP) is the largest by market capitalisation: Norfolk Southern (NSC) $76.33B, Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CP) $80.12B, Cosan (CSANY) $2.05B.

Which stock is cheaper, NSC, CP and CSANY?

Norfolk Southern (NSC) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Norfolk Southern (NSC) 28.4x, Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CP) 28.9x, Cosan (CSANY) -0.8x). On next year's consensus earnings, Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CP) is cheapest (Norfolk Southern (NSC) 27.8x, Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CP) 23.3x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Norfolk Southern (NSC) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Norfolk Southern (NSC) +6.0%, Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CP) +4.6%, Cosan (CSANY) -0.9%.

Which company is more profitable?

Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CP) has the highest net margin (Norfolk Southern (NSC) 20.7%, Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CP) 25.0%, Cosan (CSANY) -21.9%). On return on invested capital, Cosan (CSANY) leads (Norfolk Southern (NSC) 9.7%, Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CP) 6.0%, Cosan (CSANY) 129.2%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CP) returned the most: Norfolk Southern (NSC) +20.7%, Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CP) +22.4%, Cosan (CSANY) -54.4%. Over five years, Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CP) compounded fastest (Norfolk Southern (NSC) +3.0%/yr, Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CP) +3.3%/yr, Cosan (CSANY) -32.0%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Norfolk Southern (NSC) has the highest dividend yield: Norfolk Southern (NSC) 1.59%, Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CP) 1.10%. Cosan (CSANY) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Norfolk Southern (NSC) has been the steadiest (Norfolk Southern (NSC) 20.9%, Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CP) 22.7%, Cosan (CSANY) 89.8%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, NSC, CP and CSANY?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CP) 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.