Norfolk Southern (NSC) Return on Invested Capital [ROIC] (2009 - 2026)
Norfolk Southern's Return on Invested Capital [ROIC] came in at 9.67% for Q3 2026, down 1.26 percentage points from 10.94% a year earlier but up 0.05 percentage points from the prior quarter.
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Analysis
Norfolk Southern (NSC) Return on Invested Capital [ROIC] (2009 - 2026) Analysis & Trends
For FY2025, Norfolk Southern's Return on Invested Capital [ROIC] was 10.65%, up 0.21 percentage points from FY2024.
- Return on Invested Capital [ROIC] carries a five-year change of +1.94 percentage points (FY2020 to FY2025).
- Going back by year, Return on Invested Capital [ROIC] was 10.43% in FY2024 (+2.67 pp), 7.76% in FY2023 (-5.99 pp), 13.75% in FY2022 (+1.21 pp) and 12.54% in FY2021 (+3.83 pp).
- The five-year range for quarterly Return on Invested Capital [ROIC] is 6.30% (Q1 2024) to 13.60% (Q4 2022).
- Year-over-year, Return on Invested Capital [ROIC] has declined for three consecutive quarters, with an average year-over-year change of +1.05 percentage points over the last eight quarters.
- The fastest year-over-year change in Return on Invested Capital [ROIC] over five years came in Q1 2025 (a gain of 5.98 percentage points), and the weakest in Q1 2024 (a drop of 6.39 percentage points).
- Business Quant data shows NSC's Return on Invested Capital [ROIC] at 9.62% (Q2 2026), 9.79% (Q1 2026) and 10.53% (Q4 2025) in the three quarters before Q3 2026.
Peer Set
Peer Comparison
| # | Company | Market Cap | Enterprise Value | Gross Profit (Qtr) | ROIC (Qtr) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Union Pacific | 174.04 Bn | 166.29 Bn | - | 15.71% |
| 2 | Csx | 93.63 Bn | 88.85 Bn | - | 12.59% |
| 3 | Canadian Pacific Kansas City | 78.71 Bn | 78.42 Bn | - | 5.98% |
| 4 | United Parcel Service | 75.71 Bn | 52.63 Bn | - | 12.85% |
| 5 | Norfolk Southern | 74.09 Bn | 68.55 Bn | - | 9.67% |
| 6 | Fedex | 70.69 Bn | 36.64 Bn | - | 7.44% |
| 7 | Delta Air Lines | 50.49 Bn | 32.68 Bn | - | 10.82% |
| 8 | Old Dominion Freight Line | 37.91 Bn | 37.17 Bn | - | 24.14% |
| 9 | United Airlines Holdings | 31.82 Bn | -25.88 Bn | - | 8.90% |
| 10 | Ryanair Holdings | 27.42 Bn | 11.06 Bn | - | 16.90% |
Historic Data
Download Data
Historic Data
| Date | Value |
|---|---|
| Sep 30, 2026 | 9.67% |
| Jun 30, 2026 | 9.62% |
| Mar 31, 2026 | 9.79% |
| Dec 31, 2025 | 10.53% |
| Sep 30, 2025 | 10.94% |
| Jun 30, 2025 | 12.22% |
| Mar 31, 2025 | 12.28% |
| Dec 31, 2024 | 10.26% |
| Sep 30, 2024 | 9.64% |
| Jun 30, 2024 | 7.68% |
| Mar 31, 2024 | 6.30% |
| Dec 31, 2023 | 7.59% |
| Sep 30, 2023 | 8.74% |
| Jun 30, 2023 | 10.87% |
| Mar 31, 2023 | 12.69% |
| Dec 31, 2022 | 13.60% |
| Sep 30, 2022 | 13.43% |
| Jun 30, 2022 | 12.50% |
| Mar 31, 2022 | 12.53% |
| Dec 31, 2021 | 12.49% |
API Access
Norfolk Southern Return on Invested Capital [ROIC] 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-invested-capital-%5Broic%5D&ticker=NSC&period=max&api_key=YOUR_API_KEYimport requests
url = "https://data.businessquant.com/historic"
params = {"slug": "return-on-invested-capital-[roic]", "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-invested-capital-%5Broic%5D&ticker=NSC&period=max&api_key=YOUR_API_KEY");
const data = await res.json();