Norfolk Southern (NSC) Return on Assets [ROA] (2009 - 2026)
Norfolk Southern (NSC) posted Return on Assets [ROA] of 5.89% for Q3 2026, down 0.78 percentage points from 6.68% a year earlier but up 0.05 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).
- Quarterly Return on Assets [ROA] has run from a low of 3.38% in Q1 2024 to a high of 8.36% in Q4 2022 over five years.
- On a year-over-year basis, Return on Assets [ROA] has declined in each of the last three quarters, with an average year-over-year change of +0.80 percentage points over the last eight quarters.
- 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 5.84% (Q2 2026), 5.91% (Q1 2026) and 6.40% (Q4 2025).
Peer Set
Peer Comparison
| # | Company | Market Cap | Enterprise Value | Gross Profit (Qtr) | ROA (Qtr) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Union Pacific | 178.63 Bn | 170.88 Bn | - | 10.59% |
| 2 | Csx | 94.16 Bn | 89.39 Bn | - | 8.03% |
| 3 | United Parcel Service | 83.47 Bn | 60.32 Bn | 22.04 Bn | 6.14% |
| 4 | Canadian Pacific Kansas City | 81.54 Bn | 81.26 Bn | 57.15 Mn | 4.42% |
| 5 | Fedex | 75.60 Bn | 41.80 Bn | 18.84 Bn | 4.58% |
| 6 | Norfolk Southern | 73.66 Bn | 68.13 Bn | - | 5.89% |
| 7 | Delta Air Lines | 60.67 Bn | 42.86 Bn | - | 3.92% |
| 8 | United Airlines Holdings | 39.17 Bn | -18.53 Bn | - | 4.21% |
| 9 | Old Dominion Freight Line | 34.72 Bn | 33.56 Bn | 1.56 Bn | 19.98% |
| 10 | Ryanair Holdings | 31.95 Bn | 16.22 Bn | - | 8.90% |
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();