Sifting through countless of stocks in the Ground Transportation industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in Union Pacific Corporation or Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how Union Pacific Corporation and Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Union Pacific Corporation and Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited

Union Pacific Corporation, through its subsidiary, Union Pacific Railroad Company, operates in the railroad business in the United States. It offers transportation services for grain and grain products, fertilizers, food and refrigerated products, and coal and renewables to grain processors, animal feeders, and ethanol and renewable biofuel producers; and construction products, industrial chemicals, plastics, forest products, specialized products, metals and ores, petroleum, liquid petroleum gases, soda ash, and sand, as well as finished automobiles, automotive parts, and merchandise in intermodal containers. The company was founded in 1862 and is headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska.

Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited, together with its subsidiaries, owns and operates a transcontinental freight railway in Canada, the United States, and Mexico. The transports bulk commodities, including grain, coal, potash, fertilizers, and sulphur; merchandise freight consists of industrial and consumer products, such as forest products, energy, chemicals and plastics, metals, minerals, consumer products, and automotive; and intermodal traffic comprising retail goods in overseas containers. The company also provides rail and intermodal transportation services through a network of approximately 20,000 miles serving business centers. The company was formerly known as Canadian Pacific Railway Limited and changed its name to Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited in April 2023. Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited was founded in 1881 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.

Latest Ground Transportation and Union Pacific Corporation, Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited Stock News

As of May 20, 2026, Union Pacific Corporation had a $157.8 billion market capitalization, compared to the Ground Transportation median of $5.2 million. Union Pacific Corporation’s stock is up 14.5% in 2026, down 1.7% in the previous five trading days and up 15.82% in the past year.

Currently, Union Pacific Corporation’s price-earnings ratio is 21.9. Union Pacific Corporation’s trailing 12-month revenue is $24.7 billion with a 29.2% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 3.2%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $12.573 per share for the current fiscal year. Union Pacific Corporation currently has a 2.1% dividend yield.

As of May 20, 2026, Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited had a $76.6 billion market cap, putting it in the 96th percentile of all stocks. Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited’s stock is up 18.1% in 2026, up 0.1% in the previous five trading days and up 5.8% in the past year.

Currently, Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited’s price-earnings ratio is 26.9. Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited’s trailing 12-month revenue is $10.7 billion with a 27.2% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 0.4%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $3.728 per share for the current fiscal year. Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited currently has a 1.2% dividend yield.

How We Compare Union Pacific Corporation and Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at Union Pacific Corporation and Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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Union Pacific Corporation and Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited’s Quality Grades

Company	Ticker	Quality
Union Pacific Corporation	UNP	A
Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited	CP	C

Like the Value Grade, AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the percentile rank of key metrics. Specifically, the Quality Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and the F-Score.

The score is variable, meaning it can consider all eight measures or, should any of the eight measures not be valid, the remaining measures that are valid. To be assigned a Quality Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) measure and corresponding ranking for at least four of the eight quality measures.

The Quality Score is used to assess the underlying “quality” of a particular stock. A higher-quality stock possesses traits associated with upside potential and reduced downside risk. Backtesting of the Quality Grade shows that stocks with higher grades, on average, outperformed stocks with lower grades over the period of 1998 through 2019.

Stocks receive better grades (higher scores) for having higher scores for the quality subcomponents and worse grades (lower scores) for lower scores for the subcomponents.

Union Pacific Corporation has a Quality Score of 93, which is Very Strong. Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited has a Quality Score of 58, which is Average.

The Quality Grade Winner: Union Pacific Corporation

As you can clearly see from the Quality Grade breakdown above, Union Pacific Corporation has a better overall quality grade than Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited. For investors who are looking for companies with higher quality than others in the same industry, Union Pacific Corporation could be a good stock to add to their portfolios. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Union Pacific Corporation and Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited’s Momentum Grades

Company	Ticker	Momentum
Union Pacific Corporation	UNP	C
Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited	CP	C

Momentum grades help to uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming. Momentum is based on the price change of a stock over a specified period relative to all other stocks.

Typically, AAII looks at the weighted relative strength over the trailing four quarters. The weighted four-quarter relative strength rank is the relative price change for each of the past four quarters. The most recent quarterly price change is given a weight of 40% and each of the three previous quarters are given a weighting of 20%.

Union Pacific Corporation has a Momentum Score of 54, which is Average. Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited has a Momentum Score of 48, which is Average.

The Momentum Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Union Pacific Corporation or Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited has a strong enough Momentum Grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolios. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if Union Pacific Corporation or Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited is the better investment when it comes to momentum.

Union Pacific Corporation and Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited’s Estimate Revisions Grades

Company	Ticker	Earnings Estimate
Union Pacific Corporation	UNP	C
Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited	CP	D

Earnings estimate revisions scores consider the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, positive surprises beget further positive surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

Estimate revisions offer an indication of what analysts are thinking about the short-term prospects of a firm. Estimate revisions are based on the statistical significance of a firm’s last two quarterly earnings surprises and the percentage change in its consensus estimate for the current fiscal year over the past month and past three months.

Union Pacific Corporation has a Earnings Estimate Score of 53, which is Neutral. Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited has a Earnings Estimate Score of 28, which is Negative.

The Earnings Estimate Revisions Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Union Pacific Corporation or Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited has an Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade that could be considered a “winner.” Investors considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolios. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if Union Pacific Corporation or Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited is the better investment when it comes to estimate revisions.

Other Union Pacific Corporation and Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited Grades

In addition to Quality, Momentum and Estimate Revisions, A+ Investor also provides grades for Value and Growth.

Growth investing builds on the idea that stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth outperform those of slower-growth companies. AAII measures growth through consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations.

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection. Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether Union Pacific Corporation and Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, Union Pacific Corporation or Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited Stock?

Overall, Union Pacific Corporation stock has a Momentum Score of 54, Estimate Revisions Score of 53 and Quality Score of 93.

Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited stock has a Momentum Score of 48, Estimate Revisions Score of 28 and Quality Score of 58.

Comparing Union Pacific Corporation and Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.