Norfolk Southern (NSC) Return on Equity [ROE] (2009 - 2026)
Norfolk Southern's Return on Equity [ROE] came in at 16.28% for Q3 2026, down 3.52 percentage points from 19.79% a year earlier and down 0.17 percentage points from the prior quarter.
Powered by 
Analysis
Norfolk Southern (NSC) Return on Equity [ROE] (2009 - 2026) Analysis & Trends
For FY2025, Norfolk Southern's Return on Equity [ROE] was 19.25%, down 0.11 percentage points from FY2024.
- Return on Equity [ROE] carries a five-year change of +5.82 percentage points (FY2020 to FY2025).
- Going back by year, Return on Equity [ROE] was 19.36% in FY2024 (+5.04 pp), 14.32% in FY2023 (-10.48 pp), 24.80% in FY2022 (+3.66 pp) and 21.14% in FY2021 (+7.71 pp).
- The Q3 2026 figure represents the lowest quarterly Return on Equity [ROE] since Q2 2024.
- Year-over-year, Return on Equity [ROE] has declined for three consecutive quarters, with an average year-over-year change of +1.35 percentage points over the last eight quarters.
- The fastest year-over-year change in Return on Equity [ROE] over five years came in Q1 2025 (a gain of 11.86 percentage points), and the weakest in Q1 2024 (a drop of 12.66 percentage points).
- Business Quant data shows NSC's Return on Equity [ROE] at 16.45% (Q2 2026), 17.03% (Q1 2026) and 18.72% (Q4 2025) in the three quarters before Q3 2026.
Peer Set
Peer Comparison
| # | Company | Market Cap | Enterprise Value | Gross Profit (Qtr) | ROE (Qtr) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Union Pacific | 178.63 Bn | 170.88 Bn | - | 35.69% |
| 2 | Csx | 94.16 Bn | 89.39 Bn | - | 25.37% |
| 3 | United Parcel Service | 83.47 Bn | 60.32 Bn | 22.04 Bn | 29.36% |
| 4 | Canadian Pacific Kansas City | 81.54 Bn | 81.26 Bn | 57.15 Mn | 8.38% |
| 5 | Fedex | 75.60 Bn | 41.80 Bn | 18.84 Bn | 14.43% |
| 6 | Norfolk Southern | 73.66 Bn | 68.13 Bn | - | 16.28% |
| 7 | Delta Air Lines | 60.67 Bn | 42.86 Bn | - | 15.25% |
| 8 | United Airlines Holdings | 39.17 Bn | -18.53 Bn | - | 20.76% |
| 9 | Old Dominion Freight Line | 34.72 Bn | 33.56 Bn | 1.56 Bn | 25.21% |
| 10 | Ryanair Holdings | 31.95 Bn | 16.22 Bn | - | 15.53% |
Historic Data
Download Data
Historic Data
| Date | Value |
|---|---|
| Sep 30, 2026 | 16.28% |
| Jun 30, 2026 | 16.45% |
| Mar 31, 2026 | 17.03% |
| Dec 31, 2025 | 18.72% |
| Sep 30, 2025 | 19.79% |
| Jun 30, 2025 | 22.87% |
| Mar 31, 2025 | 23.04% |
| Dec 31, 2024 | 18.67% |
| Sep 30, 2024 | 18.05% |
| Jun 30, 2024 | 14.07% |
| Mar 31, 2024 | 11.17% |
| Dec 31, 2023 | 14.39% |
| Sep 30, 2023 | 16.55% |
| Jun 30, 2023 | 20.26% |
| Mar 31, 2023 | 23.83% |
| Dec 31, 2022 | 25.39% |
| Sep 30, 2022 | 24.75% |
| Jun 30, 2022 | 22.81% |
| Mar 31, 2022 | 22.40% |
| Dec 31, 2021 | 21.83% |
API Access
Norfolk Southern Return on Equity [ROE] 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-equity-%5Broe%5D&ticker=NSC&period=max&api_key=YOUR_API_KEYimport requests
url = "https://data.businessquant.com/historic"
params = {"slug": "return-on-equity-[roe]", "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-equity-%5Broe%5D&ticker=NSC&period=max&api_key=YOUR_API_KEY");
const data = await res.json();