Norfolk Southern (NSC) Return on Capital Employed (2009 - 2026)

Norfolk Southern (NSC) has 18 years of Return on Capital Employed data on file, last reported at 9.77% in Q1 2026.

• Return on Capital Employed for Q1 2026 came in at 9.77%, down 265.0% year-over-year; the trailing twelve-month figure through Mar 2026 was 9.77% (down 265.0% YoY), and the FY2025 annual result was 10.71%, up 30.0% from the prior year.
• Return on Capital Employed slipped to 9.77% in Q1 2026 per NSC's latest filing, from 10.59% in the prior quarter.
• Over five years, Return on Capital Employed peaked at 13.19% in Q4 2022 and troughed at 6.12% in Q1 2024.
• A 5-year average of 10.58% and a median of 10.59% in 2025 frame the typical range for Return on Capital Employed.
• The sharpest annual moves came in 2024 and 2025: Return on Capital Employed plunged 613 bps in 2024, then surged 630 bps in 2025.
• A 5-year view of Return on Capital Employed shows it stood at 13.19% in 2022, then tumbled by 44 bps to 7.39% in 2023, then surged by 38 bps to 10.2% in 2024, then grew by 4 bps to 10.59% in 2025, then declined by 8 bps to 9.77% in 2026.
• Business Quant data shows NSC's Return on Capital Employed at 9.77% in Q1 2026, 10.59% in Q4 2025, and 11.14% in Q3 2025.