UNP vs BIPH vs NSC Stock Comparison

Union Pacific, Brookfield Infrastructure Partners and Norfolk Southern Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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
8 wins
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

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Union Pacific leads on 8 of the 12 questions below (Union Pacific 8, Brookfield Infrastructure Partners 4). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionUNPBIPHNSCLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $176.20B $9.62B $75.04B UNP
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 23.1x -25.7x 28.0x UNP
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 21.2x 25.7x 27.3x UNP
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +7.4% +16.4% +6.0% BIPH
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 28.9% -1.5% 20.7% UNP
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 15.7% 6.6% 9.7% UNP
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.1x 6.1x 2.7x UNP
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.18% 0.02% BIPH
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +33.1% -11.3% +16.2% UNP
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +4.3%/yr -10.1%/yr +2.9%/yr UNP
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 22.6% 13.9% 20.9% BIPH
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 45/100 48/100 35/100 BIPH

Percentile Scorecard

UNPBIPHNSC

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

AxisUNPBIPHNSC
Valuation 16 #114 of 136 65 #48 of 136 10 #123 of 136
Growth 60 #49 of 122 87 #17 of 122 46 #67 of 122
Profitability 88 #15 of 119 39 #73 of 119 67 #40 of 119
Financial Health 38 #92 of 147 13 #128 of 147 30 #103 of 147
Shareholder Returns 24 #64 of 84 35 #55 of 84 21 #67 of 84
Overall 45 48 35
  • UNP ranked among 150 companies in Transportation
  • BIPH ranked among 150 companies in Transportation
  • NSC ranked among 150 companies in Transportation

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodUNPBIPHNSCSPY
1 month +6.3%-2.0%+4.7% -1.0%
3 months -4.8%-6.4%-5.9% +2.9%
6 months +9.0%-8.2%+3.2% +6.4%
Year to date +26.6%-6.8%+14.2% +11.4%
1 year +33.1%-11.3%+16.2% +13.1%
3 years +42.6%-1.2%+68.1% +79.4%
3 years, per year +12.6%-0.4%+18.9% +21.5%
5 years +23.3%-41.1%+15.1% +67.7%
5 years, per year +4.3%-10.1%+2.9% +10.9%
10 years +224.1%—+255.0% +255.2%
10 years, per year +12.5%—+13.5% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureUNPBIPHNSCSPY
Volatility, 1Y 22.6%13.9%20.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 21.7%15.7%20.2% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.150.100.18 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.46-0.810.78 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -32.9%-43.5%-38.0% -25.4%
From 52-week high -5.7%-12.8%-6.6% -2.5%
52-week high $310.62$17.40$352.99 $779.14
52-week low $216.37$15.08$278.19 $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.

MultipleUNPBIPHNSC
P/E now vs peer median 22.8xmedian 16.0x -25.6xmedian 16.0x 27.6xmedian 16.0x
P/S now vs peer median 6.6xmedian 1.0x 0.4xmedian 1.0x 5.7xmedian 1.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 15.4xmedian 8.7x 7.0xmedian 8.7x 16.2xmedian 8.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median 26.0xmedian 11.5x -12.1xmedian 11.5x 45.0xmedian 11.5x
P/B now vs peer median 7.9xmedian 1.2x 0.3xmedian 1.2x 4.4xmedian 1.2x
PEG now vs peer median 3.23median 0.82 —median 0.82 3.07median 0.82

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 monthsUNPBIPHNSC
Revenue $26.36B $25.06B $12.96B
Gross profit – $6.65B –
Operating income $10.57B $6.20B $4.09B
Net income $7.62B $2.39B $2.68B
Free cash flow $6.69B -$792.00M $1.65B
EPS (diluted) $12.81 – $11.92
Cash & equivalents $2.21B $3.09B $1.60B
Total debt $123.11B $67.76B $67.41B
Shares (diluted) 594.50M – 225.20M
Enterprise value $168.45B -$3.95B $69.50B

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
MetricUNPBIPHNSC
P/E 22.8x -25.6x 27.6x
P/FCF 26.0x -12.1x 45.0x
P/Operating cash flow 16.5x 1.5x 19.6x
P/S 6.6x 0.4x 5.7x
P/B 7.9x 0.3x 4.4x
P/Tangible book 7.9x 0.5x 4.4x
EV/EBITDA 15.4x 7.0x 16.2x
EV/EBIT 19.1x 11.9x 21.8x
EV/Revenue 7.6x 2.9x 6.9x
EV/FCF 30.1x -93.2x 54.1x
EV/Operating cash flow 19.1x 11.7x 23.6x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 3.23 – 3.07

Growth

14 metrics
MetricUNPBIPHNSC
Revenue growth (1Y) 7.4% 16.4% 6.0%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 3.0% 16.6% 1.7%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 16.9% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 48.1% –
Operating income growth (1Y) 6.0% 17.8% -10.2%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 5.2% 28.4% 8.2%
Net income growth (1Y) 8.0% 63.4% -9.4%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 6.2% 15.0% 8.7%
EPS growth (1Y) 7.8% – -9.6%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 7.1% – 9.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 8.2% 30.9% -11.0%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 8.3% 26.0% 4.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 11.3% 72.5% -21.5%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 12.0% 8.5% 13.0%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricUNPBIPHNSC
Gross margin – 26.5% –
EBITDA margin 49.7% 41.9% 42.5%
Operating margin 40.1% 24.8% 31.5%
Pretax margin 37.6% 11.8% 26.4%
Net margin 28.9% -1.5% 20.7%
FCF margin 25.4% -3.2% 12.7%
Operating cash flow margin 39.9% 25.1% 29.2%
Return on equity 35.7% 7.2% 16.3%
Return on assets 10.6% 1.9% 5.9%
Return on invested capital 15.7% 6.6% 9.7%
Return on capital employed 15.9% 5.6% 9.8%
Asset turnover 0.4x 0.2x 0.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.4x 2.6x 1.4x
Stock comp / revenue – – –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricUNPBIPHNSC
Debt / assets 41.8% 55.6% 36.2%
Debt / equity 1.4x 2.1x 1.0x
Net debt / EBITDA 2.1x 6.1x 2.7x
Debt / FCF 4.5x -85.6x 10.1x
Liabilities / assets 69.7% 73.3% 63.6%
Equity / assets 30.3% 26.7% 36.4%
Interest coverage 8.3x 1.1x 5.2x
Current ratio 1.2x 0.9x 0.9x
Quick ratio 0.9x 0.7x 0.8x
Cash ratio 0.6x 0.3x 0.4x
Altman Z-score 4.33 – 2.53

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricUNPBIPHNSC
Dividend yield 1.9% 0.0% 1.6%
Net buyback yield 0.0% – 0.0%
Shareholder yield 1.9% 0.0% 1.7%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 71.4% 45.2%
Payout ratio (FCF) – -215.5% 73.6%
Dividend growth (1Y) – 10.5% -0.4%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 40.3% 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.

ConsensusUNPBIPHNSC
Forward P/E 21.2xFY2026 25.7xFY2026 27.3xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $13.83FY2026 $0.59FY2026 $12.07FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +18.6%FY2026 -34.4%FY2026 -3.4%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after -1.4% +88.1% +24.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $27.79BFY2026 $17.63BFY2026 $13.99BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +13.4%FY2026 -23.7%FY2026 +14.9%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +4.4% -44.6% +2.0%

Institutional Ownership

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

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.

UNPBIPHNSC
UNP 1.00 0.03 0.94
BIPH 0.03 1.00 -0.02
NSC 0.94 -0.02 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, UNP, BIPH and NSC?

Union Pacific (UNP) is the largest by market capitalisation: Union Pacific (UNP) $176.20B, Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (BIPH) $9.62B, Norfolk Southern (NSC) $75.04B.

Which stock is cheaper, UNP, BIPH and NSC?

Union Pacific (UNP) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Union Pacific (UNP) 23.1x, Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (BIPH) -25.7x, Norfolk Southern (NSC) 28.0x). On next year's consensus earnings, Union Pacific (UNP) is cheapest (Union Pacific (UNP) 21.2x, Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (BIPH) 25.7x, Norfolk Southern (NSC) 27.3x). 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: Union Pacific (UNP) +7.4%, Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (BIPH) +16.4%, Norfolk Southern (NSC) +6.0%.

Which company is more profitable?

Union Pacific (UNP) has the highest net margin (Union Pacific (UNP) 28.9%, Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (BIPH) -1.5%, Norfolk Southern (NSC) 20.7%). On return on invested capital, Union Pacific (UNP) leads (Union Pacific (UNP) 15.7%, Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (BIPH) 6.6%, Norfolk Southern (NSC) 9.7%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Union Pacific (UNP) returned the most: Union Pacific (UNP) +33.1%, Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (BIPH) -11.3%, Norfolk Southern (NSC) +16.2%. Over five years, Union Pacific (UNP) compounded fastest (Union Pacific (UNP) +4.3%/yr, Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (BIPH) -10.1%/yr, Norfolk Southern (NSC) +2.9%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (BIPH) has the highest dividend yield: Union Pacific (UNP) 0.00%, Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (BIPH) 0.18%, Norfolk Southern (NSC) 0.02%. Union Pacific (UNP) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (BIPH) has been the steadiest (Union Pacific (UNP) 22.6%, Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (BIPH) 13.9%, Norfolk Southern (NSC) 20.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, UNP, BIPH and NSC?

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 8. 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.