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 Norfolk Southern Corporation 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 Norfolk Southern Corporation compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Union Pacific Corporation and Norfolk Southern Corporation

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.

Norfolk Southern Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the rail transportation of raw materials, intermediate products, and finished goods in the United States. The company transports agriculture, forest, and consumer products comprising soybeans, wheat, corn, fertilizers, livestock and poultry feed, food products, food oils, flour, sweeteners, ethanol, lumber and wood products, pulp board and paper products, wood fibers, wood pulp, beverages, and canned goods; chemicals, including sulfur and related chemicals, petroleum products comprising crude oil, chlorine and bleaching compounds, plastics, rubber, industrial chemicals, chemical wastes, sand, and natural gas liquids; metals and construction materials, such as steel, aluminum products, machinery, scrap metals, cement, aggregates, minerals, clay, transportation equipment, and military-related products; and automotive, including finished motor vehicles and automotive parts, as well as coal. It also transports overseas freight through various Atlantic and Gulf Coast ports; and operates an intermodal network. Norfolk Southern Corporation was incorporated in 1980 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.

Latest Ground Transportation and Union Pacific Corporation, Norfolk Southern Corporation 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 1.6% 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, Norfolk Southern Corporation had a $70.0 billion market cap, putting it in the 95th percentile of all stocks. Norfolk Southern Corporation’s stock is up 7.7% in 2026, down 2.1% in the previous five trading days and up 27.92% in the past year.

Currently, Norfolk Southern Corporation’s price-earnings ratio is 26.3. Norfolk Southern Corporation’s trailing 12-month revenue is $12.2 billion with a 21.9% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 0.2%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $12.140 per share for the current fiscal year. Norfolk Southern Corporation currently has a 1.7% dividend yield.

How We Compare Union Pacific Corporation and Norfolk Southern Corporation 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 Norfolk Southern Corporation’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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Union Pacific Corporation and Norfolk Southern Corporation Growth Grades

Company	Ticker	Growth
Union Pacific Corporation	UNP	B
Norfolk Southern Corporation	NSC	C

The foundation of growth investing is seeking out stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth that is expected to continue into the future.

In order to compute the growth score and assign it a letter grade, the percentile ranks for each of three components‐consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations‐must be determined. These three rank figures are added together, and the sum is ranked against the entire stock universe to arrive at a company’s Growth Score to create an equal distribution of grades.

The companies in the bottom 20% of the stock universe receive Growth Grades of F, considered to be very weak, while those in the top 20% receive A grades, which are considered very strong.

Union Pacific Corporation has a Growth Score of 73, which is Strong. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a Growth Score of 56, which is Average.

The Growth Grade Winner: Union Pacific Corporation

As you can clearly see from the Growth Grade breakdown above, Union Pacific Corporation has a more attractive growth grade than Norfolk Southern Corporation. For investors who focus solely on how a company is growing relative to other companies in the same industry, Union Pacific Corporation could be a good stock to add to their portfolio. 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 Norfolk Southern Corporation’s Quality Grades

Company	Ticker	Quality
Union Pacific Corporation	UNP	A
Norfolk Southern Corporation	NSC	B

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. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a Quality Score of 68, which is Strong.

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 Norfolk Southern Corporation. 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 Norfolk Southern Corporation’s Momentum Grades

Company	Ticker	Momentum
Union Pacific Corporation	UNP	C
Norfolk Southern Corporation	NSC	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. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a Momentum Score of 59, which is Average.

The Momentum Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Union Pacific Corporation or Norfolk Southern Corporation 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 Norfolk Southern Corporation is the better investment when it comes to momentum.

Other Union Pacific Corporation and Norfolk Southern Corporation Grades

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

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

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 Norfolk Southern Corporation 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 Norfolk Southern Corporation Stock?

Overall, Union Pacific Corporation stock has a Growth Score of 73, Momentum Score of 54 and Quality Score of 93.

Norfolk Southern Corporation stock has a Growth Score of 56, Momentum Score of 59 and Quality Score of 68.

Comparing Union Pacific Corporation and Norfolk Southern Corporation’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.