Norfolk Southern (NSC) Return on Assets [ROA] (2009 - 2026)
Norfolk Southern (NSC) posted Return on Assets [ROA] of 5.84% for Q2 2026, down 1.78 percentage points from 7.62% a year earlier and down 0.07 percentage points from the prior quarter.
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Analysis
Norfolk Southern (NSC) Return on Assets [ROA] (2009 - 2026) Analysis & Trends
For FY2025, Norfolk Southern's Return on Assets [ROA] came in at 6.46%, up 0.32 percentage points from FY2024.
- Annual Return on Assets [ROA] shows a five-year change of +1.16 percentage points (FY2020 to FY2025).
- In prior years, Norfolk Southern's Return on Assets [ROA] was 6.15% in FY2024 (+1.61 pp), 4.54% in FY2023 (-3.91 pp), 8.45% in FY2022 (+0.59 pp) and 7.86% in FY2021 (+2.56 pp).
- The Q2 2026 figure stands as the lowest quarterly Return on Assets [ROA] since Q3 2024.
- On a year-over-year basis, Return on Assets [ROA] increased in six of the last eight quarters, with an average year-over-year change of +0.94 percentage points.
- The strongest year-over-year quarter for Return on Assets [ROA] in the past five years was Q1 2025, with a gain of 4.21 percentage points; the weakest was Q1 2024, with a drop of 4.40 percentage points.
- According to Business Quant data, Return on Assets [ROA] for the three prior quarters was 5.91% (Q1 2026), 6.40% (Q4 2025) and 6.68% (Q3 2025).
Peer Set
Peer Comparison
| # | Company | Market Cap | Enterprise Value | Gross Profit (Qtr) | ROA (Qtr) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Union Pacific | 177.13 Bn | 169.38 Bn | - | 10.59% |
| 2 | Csx | 95.25 Bn | 90.48 Bn | - | 8.03% |
| 3 | Canadian Pacific Kansas City | 79.66 Bn | 79.37 Bn | - | 4.44% |
| 4 | United Parcel Service | 76.08 Bn | 53.01 Bn | - | 6.39% |
| 5 | Norfolk Southern | 75.89 Bn | 70.35 Bn | - | 5.89% |
| 6 | Fedex | 71.92 Bn | 37.86 Bn | - | 4.58% |
| 7 | Delta Air Lines | 52.14 Bn | 34.32 Bn | - | 3.82% |
| 8 | Old Dominion Freight Line | 39.40 Bn | 38.66 Bn | - | 19.12% |
| 9 | United Airlines Holdings | 33.14 Bn | -24.56 Bn | - | 4.21% |
| 10 | Ryanair Holdings | 28.01 Bn | 11.66 Bn | - | 9.57% |
Historic Data
Download Data
Historic Data
| Date | Value |
|---|---|
| Sep 30, 2026 | 5.89% |
| Jun 30, 2026 | 5.84% |
| Mar 31, 2026 | 5.91% |
| Dec 31, 2025 | 6.40% |
| Sep 30, 2025 | 6.68% |
| Jun 30, 2025 | 7.62% |
| Mar 31, 2025 | 7.59% |
| Dec 31, 2024 | 6.03% |
| Sep 30, 2024 | 5.63% |
| Jun 30, 2024 | 4.24% |
| Mar 31, 2024 | 3.38% |
| Dec 31, 2023 | 4.43% |
| Sep 30, 2023 | 5.23% |
| Jun 30, 2023 | 6.55% |
| Mar 31, 2023 | 7.77% |
| Dec 31, 2022 | 8.36% |
| Sep 30, 2022 | 8.24% |
| Jun 30, 2022 | 7.71% |
| Mar 31, 2022 | 7.80% |
| Dec 31, 2021 | 7.80% |
API Access
Norfolk Southern Return on Assets [ROA] 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=return-on-assets-%5Broa%5D&ticker=NSC&period=max&api_key=YOUR_API_KEYimport requests
url = "https://data.businessquant.com/historic"
params = {"slug": "return-on-assets-[roa]", "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=return-on-assets-%5Broa%5D&ticker=NSC&period=max&api_key=YOUR_API_KEY");
const data = await res.json();