Norfolk Southern (NSC) Operating Margin (2009 - 2026)
Norfolk Southern's Operating Margin was 32.61% in Q3 2026, down 2.77 percentage points from 35.39% a year earlier but up 0.18 percentage points from the prior quarter.
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Analysis
Norfolk Southern (NSC) Operating Margin (2009 - 2026) Analysis & Trends
On a trailing twelve-month basis, Norfolk Southern's Operating Margin was 31.54% through Sep 30, 2026, down 5.67 percentage points year-over-year; for FY2025, it was 35.76%, up 2.18 percentage points from FY2024.
- Operating Margin shows a five-year change of +5.10 percentage points (FY2020 to FY2025).
- In earlier years, Operating Margin was 33.58% in FY2024 (+10.13 pp), 23.45% in FY2023 (-14.28 pp), 37.73% in FY2022 (-2.18 pp) and 39.91% in FY2021 (+9.24 pp).
- Quarterly Operating Margin has moved between 7.09% (Q1 2024) and 52.31% (Q3 2024) over five years.
- Compared with a year earlier, Operating Margin has declined for five straight quarters, with an average year-over-year change of +0.37 percentage points over the last eight quarters.
- The best year-over-year quarter for Operating Margin over five years was Q1 2025 (a gain of 31.20 percentage points); the worst was Q2 2023 (a drop of 19.78 percentage points).
- Per Business Quant data, NSC's Operating Margin in the three quarters before Q3 2026 was 32.44% (Q2 2026), 29.25% (Q1 2026) and 31.51% (Q4 2025).
Peer Set
Peer Comparison
| # | Company | Market Cap | Enterprise Value | Gross Profit (Qtr) | Operating Margin (Qtr) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Union Pacific | 176.01 Bn | 168.25 Bn | - | 40.89% |
| 2 | Csx | 93.62 Bn | 88.85 Bn | - | 39.08% |
| 3 | United Parcel Service | 92.85 Bn | 69.67 Bn | - | 7.63% |
| 4 | Canadian Pacific Kansas City | 82.31 Bn | 81.35 Bn | - | 35.25% |
| 5 | Fedex | 74.59 Bn | 40.78 Bn | - | 6.20% |
| 6 | Norfolk Southern | 72.94 Bn | 67.40 Bn | - | 32.61% |
| 7 | Delta Air Lines | 59.87 Bn | 42.05 Bn | - | 7.20% |
| 8 | United Airlines Holdings | 39.08 Bn | -18.61 Bn | - | 8.09% |
| 9 | Old Dominion Freight Line | 34.91 Bn | 33.76 Bn | - | 28.46% |
| 10 | Ryanair Holdings | 32.51 Bn | -871.89 Mn | - | - |
Historic Data
Download Data
Historic Data
| Date | Value |
|---|---|
| Sep 30, 2026 | 32.61% |
| Jun 30, 2026 | 32.44% |
| Mar 31, 2026 | 29.25% |
| Dec 31, 2025 | 31.51% |
| Sep 30, 2025 | 35.39% |
| Jun 30, 2025 | 37.78% |
| Mar 31, 2025 | 38.29% |
| Dec 31, 2024 | 37.40% |
| Sep 30, 2024 | 52.31% |
| Jun 30, 2024 | 37.16% |
| Mar 31, 2024 | 7.09% |
| Dec 31, 2023 | 26.29% |
| Sep 30, 2023 | 25.45% |
| Jun 30, 2023 | 19.33% |
| Mar 31, 2023 | 22.70% |
| Dec 31, 2022 | 36.48% |
| Sep 30, 2022 | 38.05% |
| Jun 30, 2022 | 39.11% |
| Mar 31, 2022 | 37.22% |
| Dec 31, 2021 | 39.59% |
API Access
Norfolk Southern Operating Margin API
Pull this series into your own models, spreadsheets and apps with the Business Quant
Historical Metrics API. The request below matches the chart above — change the
frequency, period or values and it follows. Swap YOUR_API_KEY for your own key.
https://data.businessquant.com/historic?slug=operating-margin&ticker=NSC&period=max&api_key=YOUR_API_KEYimport requests
url = "https://data.businessquant.com/historic"
params = {"slug": "operating-margin", "ticker": "NSC", "period": "max", "api_key": "YOUR_API_KEY"}
data = requests.get(url, params=params).json()const res = await fetch("https://data.businessquant.com/historic?slug=operating-margin&ticker=NSC&period=max&api_key=YOUR_API_KEY");
const data = await res.json();