NSC vs UNP vs CSANY Stock Comparison

Norfolk Southern, Union Pacific and Cosan Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
NSC Norfolk Southern Corp
$329.85 +4.7% 1M +16.2% 1Y
Market cap
$75.04B
P/E
28.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$12.96B
Div. yield
0.02%
Railroads Industrials
1 win
UNP Union Pacific Corp
$292.89 +6.3% 1M +33.1% 1Y
Market cap
$176.20B
P/E
23.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$26.36B
Div. yield
–
Railroads Industrials
7 wins
CSANY Cosan S.A.
$4.13 +39.5% 1M -9.2% 1Y
Market cap
$1.38B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$7.59B
Div. yield
–
Integrated Oil and Gas Energy
3 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Union Pacific leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Union Pacific 7, Cosan 3, Norfolk Southern 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionNSCUNPCSANYLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $75.04B $176.20B $1.38B UNP
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 28.0x 23.1x -0.8x UNP
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 27.3x 21.2x — UNP
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +6.0% +7.4% -0.9% UNP
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 20.7% 28.9% -21.9% UNP
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 9.7% 15.7% 129.2% CSANY
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.7x 2.1x -0.3x CSANY
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.02% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +16.2% +33.1% -9.2% UNP
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +2.9%/yr +4.3%/yr -22.6%/yr UNP
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 20.9% 22.6% 59.6% NSC
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 35/100 45/100 48/100 CSANY

Percentile Scorecard

NSCUNPCSANY

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

AxisNSCUNPCSANY
Valuation 10 #123 of 136 16 #114 of 136 95 #6 of 99
Growth 46 #67 of 122 60 #49 of 122 14 #84 of 97
Profitability 67 #40 of 119 88 #15 of 119 46 #52 of 96
Financial Health 30 #103 of 147 38 #92 of 147 65 #36 of 102
Shareholder Returns 21 #67 of 84 24 #64 of 84 20 #61 of 76
Overall 35 45 48
  • NSC ranked among 150 companies in Transportation
  • UNP 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

PeriodNSCUNPCSANYSPY
1 month +4.7%+6.3%+39.5% -1.0%
3 months -5.9%-4.8%+37.7% +2.9%
6 months +3.2%+9.0%+1.2% +6.4%
Year to date +14.2%+26.6%+4.6% +11.4%
1 year +16.2%+33.1%-9.2% +13.1%
3 years +68.1%+42.6%-68.2% +79.4%
3 years, per year +18.9%+12.6%-31.7% +21.5%
5 years +15.1%+23.3%-72.3% +67.7%
5 years, per year +2.9%+4.3%-22.6% +10.9%
10 years +255.0%+224.1%— +255.2%
10 years, per year +13.5%+12.5%— +13.5%

Risk

MeasureNSCUNPCSANYSPY
Volatility, 1Y 20.9%22.6%59.6% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 20.2%21.7%53.3% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.180.151.44 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.781.46-0.15 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -38.0%-32.9%-88.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -6.6%-5.7%-24.2% -2.5%
52-week high $352.99$310.62$5.45 $779.14
52-week low $278.19$216.37$2.40 $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.

MultipleNSCUNPCSANY
P/E now vs peer median 27.6xmedian 16.0x 22.8xmedian 16.0x -1.6xmedian 13.1x
P/S now vs peer median 5.7xmedian 1.0x 6.6xmedian 1.0x 0.5xmedian 2.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 16.2xmedian 8.7x 15.4xmedian 8.7x 1.2xmedian 5.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median 45.0xmedian 11.5x 26.0xmedian 11.5x 4.1xmedian 11.1x
P/B now vs peer median 4.4xmedian 1.2x 7.9xmedian 1.2x 0.7xmedian 1.5x
PEG now vs peer median 3.07median 0.82 3.23median 0.82 0.02median 2.24

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 monthsNSCUNPCSANY
Revenue $12.96B $26.36B $7.59B
Gross profit – – $2.62B
Operating income $4.09B $10.57B $1.96B
Net income $2.68B $7.62B -$1.37B
Free cash flow $1.65B $6.69B $1.01B
EPS (diluted) $11.92 $12.81 $-2.68
Cash & equivalents $1.60B $2.21B $2.58B
Total debt $67.41B $123.11B $4.35B
Shares (diluted) 225.20M 594.50M 617.57M
Enterprise value $69.50B $168.45B -$9.66B

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
MetricNSCUNPCSANY
P/E 27.6x 22.8x -1.6x
P/FCF 45.0x 26.0x 4.1x
P/Operating cash flow 19.6x 16.5x 1.6x
P/S 5.7x 6.6x 0.5x
P/B 4.4x 7.9x 0.7x
P/Tangible book 4.4x 7.9x 4.0x
EV/EBITDA 16.2x 15.4x 1.2x
EV/EBIT 21.8x 19.1x 1.6x
EV/Revenue 6.9x 7.6x 0.4x
EV/FCF 54.1x 30.1x 3.2x
EV/Operating cash flow 23.6x 19.1x 1.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 3.07 3.23 0.02

Growth

14 metrics
MetricNSCUNPCSANY
Revenue growth (1Y) 6.0% 7.4% -0.9%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 1.7% 3.0% -20.2%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – 4.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – -10.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) -10.2% 6.0% 52.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 8.2% 5.2% -8.8%
Net income growth (1Y) -9.4% 8.0% 19.5%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 8.7% 6.2% -61.8%
EPS growth (1Y) -9.6% 7.8% -169.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 9.0% 7.1% -74.8%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -11.0% 8.2% -18.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 4.6% 8.3% -11.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -21.5% 11.3% -69.1%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 13.0% 12.0% -43.2%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricNSCUNPCSANY
Gross margin – – 34.5%
EBITDA margin 42.5% 49.7% 35.6%
Operating margin 31.5% 40.1% 25.9%
Pretax margin 26.4% 37.6% -15.0%
Net margin 20.7% 28.9% -21.9%
FCF margin 12.7% 25.4% 13.3%
Operating cash flow margin 29.2% 39.9% 33.1%
Return on equity 16.3% 35.7% -26.1%
Return on assets 5.9% 10.6% -6.3%
Return on invested capital 9.7% 15.7% 129.2%
Return on capital employed 9.8% 15.9% 8.5%
Asset turnover 0.3x 0.4x 0.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.4x 1.4x -1.8x
Stock comp / revenue – – 0.2%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricNSCUNPCSANY
Debt / assets 36.2% 41.8% 6.9%
Debt / equity 1.0x 1.4x 0.3x
Net debt / EBITDA 2.7x 2.1x -0.3x
Debt / FCF 10.1x 4.5x 1.7x
Liabilities / assets 63.6% 69.7% 74.8%
Equity / assets 36.4% 30.3% 25.2%
Interest coverage 5.2x 8.3x 1.3x
Current ratio 0.9x 1.2x –
Quick ratio 0.8x 0.9x 3.4x
Cash ratio 0.4x 0.6x 2.4x
Altman Z-score 2.53 4.33 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricNSCUNPCSANY
Dividend yield 1.6% 1.9% –
Net buyback yield 0.0% 0.0% -1.8%
Shareholder yield 1.7% 1.9% -1.8%
Payout ratio (earnings) 45.2% – –
Payout ratio (FCF) 73.6% – –
Dividend growth (1Y) -0.4% – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 0.2% – –

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.

ConsensusNSCUNPCSANY
Forward P/E 27.3xFY2026 21.2xFY2026 –
EPS, next fiscal year $12.07FY2026 $13.83FY2026 $-0.09FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -3.4%FY2026 +18.6%FY2026 –
EPS growth, the year after +24.5% -1.4% –
Revenue, next fiscal year $13.99BFY2026 $27.79BFY2026 $15.38BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +14.9%FY2026 +13.4%FY2026 +96.4%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +2.0% +4.4% +6.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersNSCUNPCSANY
Held by institutions 75.9% 89.0% –
Institutions holding 1,862 2,888 –
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.5% +2.4% –
Institutions buying 750 1,447 –
Institutions selling 631 985 –
Buyers to sellers 1.19 1.47 –

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.

NSCUNPCSANY
NSC 1.00 0.94 0.07
UNP 0.94 1.00 0.06
CSANY 0.07 0.06 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, NSC, UNP and CSANY?

Union Pacific (UNP) is the largest by market capitalisation: Norfolk Southern (NSC) $75.04B, Union Pacific (UNP) $176.20B, Cosan (CSANY) $1.38B.

Which stock is cheaper, NSC, UNP and CSANY?

Union Pacific (UNP) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Norfolk Southern (NSC) 28.0x, Union Pacific (UNP) 23.1x, Cosan (CSANY) -0.8x). On next year's consensus earnings, Union Pacific (UNP) is cheapest (Norfolk Southern (NSC) 27.3x, Union Pacific (UNP) 21.2x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Union Pacific (UNP) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Norfolk Southern (NSC) +6.0%, Union Pacific (UNP) +7.4%, Cosan (CSANY) -0.9%.

Which company is more profitable?

Union Pacific (UNP) has the highest net margin (Norfolk Southern (NSC) 20.7%, Union Pacific (UNP) 28.9%, Cosan (CSANY) -21.9%). On return on invested capital, Cosan (CSANY) leads (Norfolk Southern (NSC) 9.7%, Union Pacific (UNP) 15.7%, Cosan (CSANY) 129.2%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Union Pacific (UNP) returned the most: Norfolk Southern (NSC) +16.2%, Union Pacific (UNP) +33.1%, Cosan (CSANY) -9.2%. Over five years, Union Pacific (UNP) compounded fastest (Norfolk Southern (NSC) +2.9%/yr, Union Pacific (UNP) +4.3%/yr, Cosan (CSANY) -22.6%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Norfolk Southern (NSC) 0.02%, Union Pacific (UNP) 0.00%, Cosan (CSANY) 0.00%. Union Pacific (UNP) and 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%, Union Pacific (UNP) 22.6%, Cosan (CSANY) 59.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, NSC, UNP 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, Union Pacific (UNP) leads on 7. 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.