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

About CSX Corporation and Norfolk Southern Corporation

CSX Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides rail-based freight transportation services in the United States and Canada. It operates through two segments: rail and trucking. The company offers rail services; and transportation of intermodal containers and trailers, as well as other transportation services, such as rail-to-truck transfers and bulk commodity operations. It also transports chemicals, agricultural and food products, minerals, automotive, forest products, fertilizers, and metals and equipment; and coal, coke, and iron ore to electricity-generating power plants, steel manufacturers, and industrial plants, as well as exports coal to deep-water port facilities. In addition, the company provides intermodal services through a network of approximately 30 terminals transporting manufactured consumer goods in containers; and drayage services, including the pickup and delivery of intermodal shipments. It serves the automotive industry with distribution centers and storage locations, as well as connects non-rail served customers through transferring products, such as plastics and ethanol from rail to trucks. The company operates approximately 20,000 route mile rail network, which serves various population centers in 26 states east of the Mississippi River, the District of Columbia, and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec, as well as owns 3400 locomotives. It serves production and distribution facilities through track connections. CSX Corporation was incorporated in 1978 and is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida.

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 CSX Corporation, Norfolk Southern Corporation Stock News

As of June 18, 2026, CSX Corporation had a $84.8 billion market capitalization, compared to the Ground Transportation median of $5.9 million. CSX Corporation’s stock is up 27.3% in 2026, down 2.6% in the previous five trading days and up 42.06% in the past year.

Currently, CSX Corporation’s price-earnings ratio is 28.0. CSX Corporation’s trailing 12-month revenue is $14.2 billion with a 21.6% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 1.7%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $1.912 per share for the current fiscal year. CSX Corporation currently has a 1.2% dividend yield.

As of June 18, 2026, Norfolk Southern Corporation had a $67.4 billion market cap, putting it in the 95th percentile of all stocks. Norfolk Southern Corporation’s stock is up 5.6% in 2026, down 1.8% in the previous five trading days and up 19.83% in the past year.

Currently, Norfolk Southern Corporation’s price-earnings ratio is 25.3. 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 $12.159 per share for the current fiscal year. Norfolk Southern Corporation currently has a 1.8% dividend yield.

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

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CSX Corporation and Norfolk Southern Corporation Stock Value Grades

Company	Ticker	Value
CSX Corporation	CSX	D
Norfolk Southern Corporation	NSC	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.

CSX Corporation has a Value Score of 21, which is Expensive. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a Value Score of 22, which is Expensive.

The Value Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither CSX Corporation or Norfolk Southern Corporation 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 CSX Corporation or Norfolk Southern Corporation is the better investment when it comes to value.

CSX Corporation and Norfolk Southern Corporation’s Momentum Grades

Company	Ticker	Momentum
CSX Corporation	CSX	B
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%.

CSX Corporation has a Momentum Score of 68, which is Strong. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a Momentum Score of 51, which is Average.

The Momentum Grade Winner: CSX Corporation

As you can clearly see from the Momentum Grade breakdown above, CSX Corporation is considered to have stronger momentum compared to Norfolk Southern Corporation. For those specifically looking for companies that have stronger momentum compared to other companies in the same industry, CSX Corporation could be a good stock to invest in. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

CSX Corporation and Norfolk Southern Corporation’s Estimate Revisions Grades

Company	Ticker	Earnings Estimate
CSX Corporation	CSX	B
Norfolk Southern Corporation	NSC	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.

CSX Corporation has a Earnings Estimate Score of 61, which is Positive. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a Earnings Estimate Score of 67, which is Positive.

The Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade Winner: It’s a Tie!

Looking at the Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade breakdown above, both CSX Corporation and Norfolk Southern Corporation have a grade of B. For those focusing solely on a company’s estimate revisions, other financial metrics will need to be evaluated to determine whether CSX Corporation or Norfolk Southern Corporation is a better fit.

Other CSX Corporation and Norfolk Southern Corporation Grades

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

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.

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 CSX 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, CSX Corporation or Norfolk Southern Corporation Stock?

Overall, CSX Corporation stock has a Value Score of 21, Momentum Score of 68 and Estimate Revisions Score of 61.

Norfolk Southern Corporation stock has a Value Score of 22, Momentum Score of 51 and Estimate Revisions Score of 67.

Comparing CSX 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.