Norfolk Southern Corporation (NSC)
Pretax margin
| Dec 31, 2023 | Sep 30, 2023 | Jun 30, 2023 | Mar 31, 2023 | Dec 31, 2022 | Sep 30, 2022 | Jun 30, 2022 | Mar 31, 2022 | Dec 31, 2021 | Sep 30, 2021 | Jun 30, 2021 | Mar 31, 2021 | Dec 31, 2020 | Sep 30, 2020 | Jun 30, 2020 | Mar 31, 2020 | Dec 31, 2019 | Sep 30, 2019 | Jun 30, 2019 | Mar 31, 2019 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Earnings before tax but after interest (EBT) (ttm) | US$ in thousands | 2,320,000 | 2,707,000 | 3,186,000 | 3,810,000 | 4,130,000 | 4,077,000 | 3,970,000 | 3,924,000 | 3,878,000 | 3,760,000 | 3,498,000 | 2,960,000 | 2,530,000 | 2,491,000 | 2,635,000 | 3,066,000 | 3,491,000 | 3,593,000 | 3,633,000 | 3,623,000 |
| Revenue (ttm) | US$ in thousands | 11,434,000 | 11,616,000 | 11,993,000 | 12,263,000 | 12,053,000 | 11,680,000 | 11,202,000 | 10,760,000 | 10,496,000 | 10,382,000 | 10,045,000 | 9,336,000 | 9,324,000 | 9,441,000 | 9,781,000 | 10,624,000 | 10,844,000 | 11,050,000 | 11,164,000 | 11,159,000 |
| Pretax margin | 20.29% | 23.30% | 26.57% | 31.07% | 34.27% | 34.91% | 35.44% | 36.47% | 36.95% | 36.22% | 34.82% | 31.71% | 27.13% | 26.38% | 26.94% | 28.86% | 32.19% | 32.52% | 32.54% | 32.47% |
December 31, 2023 calculation
Pretax margin = EBT (ttm) ÷ Revenue (ttm)
= $2,320,000K ÷ $11,434,000K
= 20.29%
Norfolk Southern Corp.'s pretax margin has shown a declining trend over the past eight quarters, falling from 34.37% in Q1 2022 to 19.09% in Q4 2023. The company's profitability before accounting for taxes has been on a downward trajectory, indicating potential challenges in managing costs or generating revenues efficiently. The decreasing pretax margin suggests a need for Norfolk Southern Corp. to closely monitor and address its cost structure and revenue generation strategies to improve profitability in the future.
Peer comparison
Dec 31, 2023
Company name
Symbol
Pretax margin
Norfolk Southern Corporation
NSC
20.29%
CSX Corporation
CSX
35.23%
Union Pacific Corporation
UNP
35.50%