UNP vs NSC vs CSANY Stock Comparison

Union Pacific, Norfolk Southern and Cosan 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
7 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
1 win
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.

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

Percentile Scorecard

UNPNSCCSANY

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

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

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

Risk

MeasureUNPNSCCSANYSPY
Volatility, 1Y 22.6%20.9%59.6% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 21.7%20.2%53.3% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.150.181.44 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.460.78-0.15 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -32.9%-38.0%-88.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -5.7%-6.6%-24.2% -2.5%
52-week high $310.62$352.99$5.45 $779.14
52-week low $216.37$278.19$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.

MultipleUNPNSCCSANY
P/E now vs peer median 22.8xmedian 16.0x 27.6xmedian 16.0x -1.6xmedian 13.1x
P/S now vs peer median 6.6xmedian 1.0x 5.7xmedian 1.0x 0.5xmedian 2.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 15.4xmedian 8.7x 16.2xmedian 8.7x 1.2xmedian 5.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median 26.0xmedian 11.5x 45.0xmedian 11.5x 4.1xmedian 11.1x
P/B now vs peer median 7.9xmedian 1.2x 4.4xmedian 1.2x 0.7xmedian 1.5x
PEG now vs peer median 3.23median 0.82 3.07median 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 monthsUNPNSCCSANY
Revenue $26.36B $12.96B $7.59B
Gross profit – – $2.62B
Operating income $10.57B $4.09B $1.96B
Net income $7.62B $2.68B -$1.37B
Free cash flow $6.69B $1.65B $1.01B
EPS (diluted) $12.81 $11.92 $-2.68
Cash & equivalents $2.21B $1.60B $2.58B
Total debt $123.11B $67.41B $4.35B
Shares (diluted) 594.50M 225.20M 617.57M
Enterprise value $168.45B $69.50B -$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
MetricUNPNSCCSANY
P/E 22.8x 27.6x -1.6x
P/FCF 26.0x 45.0x 4.1x
P/Operating cash flow 16.5x 19.6x 1.6x
P/S 6.6x 5.7x 0.5x
P/B 7.9x 4.4x 0.7x
P/Tangible book 7.9x 4.4x 4.0x
EV/EBITDA 15.4x 16.2x 1.2x
EV/EBIT 19.1x 21.8x 1.6x
EV/Revenue 7.6x 6.9x 0.4x
EV/FCF 30.1x 54.1x 3.2x
EV/Operating cash flow 19.1x 23.6x 1.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 3.23 3.07 0.02

Growth

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

Profitability

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

Financial Health

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

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricUNPNSCCSANY
Dividend yield 1.9% 1.6% –
Net buyback yield 0.0% 0.0% -1.8%
Shareholder yield 1.9% 1.7% -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.

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

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersUNPNSCCSANY
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.

UNPNSCCSANY
UNP 1.00 0.94 0.06
NSC 0.94 1.00 0.07
CSANY 0.06 0.07 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, UNP, NSC and CSANY?

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

Which stock is cheaper, UNP, NSC and CSANY?

Union Pacific (UNP) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Union Pacific (UNP) 23.1x, Norfolk Southern (NSC) 28.0x, Cosan (CSANY) -0.8x). On next year's consensus earnings, Union Pacific (UNP) is cheapest (Union Pacific (UNP) 21.2x, 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?

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

Which company is more profitable?

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

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Union Pacific (UNP) returned the most: Union Pacific (UNP) +33.1%, Norfolk Southern (NSC) +16.2%, Cosan (CSANY) -9.2%. Over five years, Union Pacific (UNP) compounded fastest (Union Pacific (UNP) +4.3%/yr, Norfolk Southern (NSC) +2.9%/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: Union Pacific (UNP) 0.00%, Norfolk Southern (NSC) 0.02%, 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 (Union Pacific (UNP) 22.6%, Norfolk Southern (NSC) 20.9%, Cosan (CSANY) 59.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, UNP, NSC 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.