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Norfolk Southern Q4 Earnings Top Estimates, Increase Year Over Year
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Key Takeaways
NSC reported Q4 EPS of $3.22, beating estimates and improving 5.9% year over year.
Q4 revenues of $2.97 billion missed estimates and decreased 2% year over year on 4% lower volumes.
Merchandise sales rose 2%, while coal and intermodal segments posted year-over-year declines.
Norfolk Southern Corporation (NSC - Free Report) fourth-quarter 2025 earnings (excluding 35 cents from non-recurring items) of $3.22 per share beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.78 and increased 5.9% year over year.
Railway operating revenues were $2.97 billion in the quarter under review, lagging the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.00 billion. The top line fell 1.6% year over year on a volume decline of 4% year over year. Total revenue per unit rose 2% year over year.
Income from railway operations fell 17% year over year to $937 million. Railway operating expenses inched up 8% on a year-over-year basis to $2.04 billion.
Norfolk Southern Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
NSC’s president and chief executive officer, Mark George, stated, “In the face of a volatile and challenging macro-economic backdrop, our team focused on the controllables – delivering outsized productivity savings in excess of $215 million that accompanies our safety and service improvements. As we move through 2026, the demand environment remains unclear, but we are steadfastly focused on prioritizing the safety of our employees and communities, delivering consistent customer service, and driving further productivity gains to contain our costs in any volume environment.”
Q4 Segmental Performance
Merchandise revenues increased 2% year over year to $1.88 billion. Revenue per unit increased 1% year over year.
Intermodal’s revenues fell 6% year over year to $747 million. While segmental volumes decreased 7%, revenue per unit inched up 1% year over year.
Coal revenues were $347 million, down 11% year over year. Coal volumes grew 1% year over year. Revenue per unit declined 12% year over year in the reported quarter.
Liquidity
Norfolk Southern, currently carrying a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell), exited the fourth quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $1.53 billion compared with $1.41 billion at the end of the prior quarter. NSC had a long-term debt of $16.5 billion at the fourth-quarter end, flat sequentially.
Delta Air Lines (DAL - Free Report) reported fourth-quarter 2025 earnings (excluding 31 cents from non-recurring items) of $1.55 per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.53. Earnings decreased 16.22% on a year-over-year basis due to high labor costs.
Revenues in the December-end quarter were $16 billion, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $15.63 billion and increasing 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Adjusted operating revenues (excluding third-party refinery sales) increased 1.2% year over year to $14.6 billion. Revenue growth was impacted by about 2 points due to the government shutdown, mainly in the domestic segment, consistent with the company's disclosure last month.
J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (JBHT - Free Report) reported fourth-quarter 2025 earnings of $1.90 per share, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.81 and improved 24.2% year over year.
Total operating revenues of $3.09 billion lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.12 billion and were down 1.6% year over year. JBHT’s fourth-quarter revenue performance was hurt by a 2% and 4% decline in revenue per load excluding fuel surcharge revenue in Intermodal (JBI) and Truckload (JBT), respectively, a 1% decrease in average trucks in Dedicated Contract Services (DCS), and a 7% and 2% decline in load volume in Integrated Capacity Solutions (ICS) and JBI, respectively. The decrease in revenue, excluding fuel surcharge revenue, was partially offset by a 15% increase in volume in JBT, a 1% uptick in productivity, excluding fuel surcharge revenue, in DCS, and an increase in revenue per load in ICS. Total operating revenue, excluding fuel surcharge revenue, decreased 2% year over year.
United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (UAL - Free Report) reported solid fourth-quarter 2025 results wherein the company’s earnings and revenues beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate.
UAL's fourth-quarter 2025 adjusted earnings per share (excluding 9 cents from non-recurring items) of $3.10 surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.98 but declined 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. The reported figure lies within the guided range of $3.00-$3.50.
Operating revenues of $15.4 billion outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate marginally by 0.1% and increased 4.8% year over year. Passenger revenues (which accounted for 90.4% of the top line) increased 4.9% year over year to $13.9 billion. UAL flights transported 45,679 passengers in the fourth quarter, up 3% year over year.
Cargo revenues fell 6% year over year to $490 million. Revenues from other sources rose 9.1% year over year to $981 million.
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Norfolk Southern Q4 Earnings Top Estimates, Increase Year Over Year
Key Takeaways
Norfolk Southern Corporation (NSC - Free Report) fourth-quarter 2025 earnings (excluding 35 cents from non-recurring items) of $3.22 per share beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.78 and increased 5.9% year over year.
Railway operating revenues were $2.97 billion in the quarter under review, lagging the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.00 billion. The top line fell 1.6% year over year on a volume decline of 4% year over year. Total revenue per unit rose 2% year over year.
Income from railway operations fell 17% year over year to $937 million. Railway operating expenses inched up 8% on a year-over-year basis to $2.04 billion.
Norfolk Southern Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Norfolk Southern Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Norfolk Southern Corporation Quote
NSC’s president and chief executive officer, Mark George, stated, “In the face of a volatile and challenging macro-economic backdrop, our team focused on the controllables – delivering outsized productivity savings in excess of $215 million that accompanies our safety and service improvements. As we move through 2026, the demand environment remains unclear, but we are steadfastly focused on prioritizing the safety of our employees and communities, delivering consistent customer service, and driving further productivity gains to contain our costs in any volume environment.”
Q4 Segmental Performance
Merchandise revenues increased 2% year over year to $1.88 billion. Revenue per unit increased 1% year over year.
Intermodal’s revenues fell 6% year over year to $747 million. While segmental volumes decreased 7%, revenue per unit inched up 1% year over year.
Coal revenues were $347 million, down 11% year over year. Coal volumes grew 1% year over year. Revenue per unit declined 12% year over year in the reported quarter.
Liquidity
Norfolk Southern, currently carrying a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell), exited the fourth quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $1.53 billion compared with $1.41 billion at the end of the prior quarter. NSC had a long-term debt of $16.5 billion at the fourth-quarter end, flat sequentially.
You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Q4 Performances of Other Transportation Companies
Delta Air Lines (DAL - Free Report) reported fourth-quarter 2025 earnings (excluding 31 cents from non-recurring items) of $1.55 per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.53. Earnings decreased 16.22% on a year-over-year basis due to high labor costs.
Revenues in the December-end quarter were $16 billion, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $15.63 billion and increasing 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Adjusted operating revenues (excluding third-party refinery sales) increased 1.2% year over year to $14.6 billion. Revenue growth was impacted by about 2 points due to the government shutdown, mainly in the domestic segment, consistent with the company's disclosure last month.
J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (JBHT - Free Report) reported fourth-quarter 2025 earnings of $1.90 per share, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.81 and improved 24.2% year over year.
Total operating revenues of $3.09 billion lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.12 billion and were down 1.6% year over year. JBHT’s fourth-quarter revenue performance was hurt by a 2% and 4% decline in revenue per load excluding fuel surcharge revenue in Intermodal (JBI) and Truckload (JBT), respectively, a 1% decrease in average trucks in Dedicated Contract Services (DCS), and a 7% and 2% decline in load volume in Integrated Capacity Solutions (ICS) and JBI, respectively. The decrease in revenue, excluding fuel surcharge revenue, was partially offset by a 15% increase in volume in JBT, a 1% uptick in productivity, excluding fuel surcharge revenue, in DCS, and an increase in revenue per load in ICS. Total operating revenue, excluding fuel surcharge revenue, decreased 2% year over year.
United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (UAL - Free Report) reported solid fourth-quarter 2025 results wherein the company’s earnings and revenues beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate.
UAL's fourth-quarter 2025 adjusted earnings per share (excluding 9 cents from non-recurring items) of $3.10 surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.98 but declined 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. The reported figure lies within the guided range of $3.00-$3.50.
Operating revenues of $15.4 billion outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate marginally by 0.1% and increased 4.8% year over year. Passenger revenues (which accounted for 90.4% of the top line) increased 4.9% year over year to $13.9 billion. UAL flights transported 45,679 passengers in the fourth quarter, up 3% year over year.
Cargo revenues fell 6% year over year to $490 million. Revenues from other sources rose 9.1% year over year to $981 million.