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 Norfolk Southern Corporation or Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. 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 Norfolk Southern Corporation and Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Norfolk Southern Corporation and Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc.

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.

Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a freight transportation company in the United States and Mexico. The company operates through four segments: Truckload, LTL, Logistics, and Intermodal. The Truckload segment offers irregular route, dedicated, refrigerated, flatbed, expedited, and cross-border services. The LTL segment provides regional direct service and serves its customers' national transportation needs by utilizing key partner carriers for coverage areas outside of its network. The Logistics segment provides brokerage and other freight management services utilizing third-party transportation providers and equipment. The Intermodal segment offers transportation services, including arranging the movement of customers' freight through third-party intermodal rail services on its trailing equipment; and drayage services to transport loads between the railheads and customer locations. The company also provides repair and maintenance shop services, equipment leasing, warranty services, and insurance; and trailer parts manufacturing, warehousing, and certain driving academy activities. It serves retail, food and beverage, consumer and paper products, transportation and logistics, housing and building, automotive, and manufacturing industries. The company was incorporated in 1989 and is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona.

Latest Ground Transportation and Norfolk Southern Corporation, Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. Stock News

As of September 10, 2026, Norfolk Southern Corporation had a $72.6 billion market capitalization, compared to the Ground Transportation median of $4.5 million. Norfolk Southern Corporation’s stock is NA in 2026, NA in the previous five trading days and up 18.23% in the past year.

Currently, Norfolk Southern Corporation’s price-earnings ratio is 27.6. Norfolk Southern Corporation’s trailing 12-month revenue is $12.5 billion with a 21.0% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 11.4%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $12.965 per share for the current fiscal year. Norfolk Southern Corporation currently has a 1.7% dividend yield.

Currently, Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 261.5. Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $7.7 billion with a 0.6% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 12.6%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $2.316 per share for the current fiscal year. Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. currently has a 1.2% dividend yield.

How We Compare Norfolk Southern Corporation and Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. 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 Norfolk Southern Corporation and Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc.’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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Norfolk Southern Corporation and Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. Stock Value Grades

Company	Ticker	Value
Norfolk Southern Corporation	NSC	F
Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc.	KNX	D

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.

AAII’s A+ Investor Value Grade derives from a stock’s value score. The Value Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of the price-to-sales ratio, price-earnings ratio, enterprise-value-to-EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) ratio, shareholder yield, price-to-book-value ratio and price-to-free-cash-flow ratio. The score is variable, meaning it can consider all six ratios or, should any of the six ratios not be valid, the remaining ratios that are valid. To be assigned a Value Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) ratio and corresponding ranking for at least two of the six valuation ratios.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are a good value and so on.

Norfolk Southern Corporation has a Value Score of 19, which is Ultra Expensive. Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. has a Value Score of 38, which is Expensive.

The Value Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Norfolk Southern Corporation or Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. has a high enough value grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors who are considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolio. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if Norfolk Southern Corporation or Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. is the better investment when it comes to value.

Norfolk Southern Corporation and Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. Growth Grades

Company	Ticker	Growth
Norfolk Southern Corporation	NSC	C
Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc.	KNX	A

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.

Norfolk Southern Corporation has a Growth Score of 56, which is Average. Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. has a Growth Score of 95, which is Very Strong.

The Growth Grade Winner: Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc.

As you can clearly see from the Growth Grade breakdown above, Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. 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, Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. 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.

Norfolk Southern Corporation and Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc.’s Estimate Revisions Grades

Company	Ticker	Earnings Estimate
Norfolk Southern Corporation	NSC	C
Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc.	KNX	B

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.

Norfolk Southern Corporation has a Earnings Estimate Score of 55, which is Neutral. Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 62, which is Positive.

The Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade Winner: Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc.

As you can clearly see from the Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade breakdown above, Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. has a better Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade than Norfolk Southern Corporation. For those who are specifically looking for companies with better short-term prospects when compared to other companies in the same industry, Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. could be a good stock to invest in. However, it’s important to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Other Norfolk Southern Corporation and Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. Grades

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

Momentum grades help 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.

AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the ranking of key metrics. Specifically, the quality grade is the percentile rank of the composite 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 F-Score.

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 Norfolk Southern Corporation and Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, Norfolk Southern Corporation or Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. Stock?

Overall, Norfolk Southern Corporation stock has a Value Score of 19, Growth Score of 56 and Estimate Revisions Score of 55.

Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. stock has a Value Score of 38, Growth Score of 95 and Estimate Revisions Score of 62.

Comparing Norfolk Southern Corporation and Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc.’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.