Norfolk Southern(NSC) ZACKS·2025-01-29 15:16Group 1: Earnings Performance - Norfolk Southern reported quarterly earnings of $3.04 per share, exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.95 per share, and up from $2.83 per share a year ago, representing an earnings surprise of 3.05% [1] - The company posted revenues of $3.02 billion for the quarter ended December 2024, slightly missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.16%, and down from $3.07 billion year-over-year [2] Group 2: Stock Performance and Outlook - Norfolk Southern shares have increased approximately 7.5% since the beginning of the year, outperforming the S&P 500's gain of 3.2% [3] - The current consensus EPS estimate for the upcoming quarter is $2.91 on revenues of $3.04 billion, and for the current fiscal year, it is $13.21 on revenues of $12.58 billion [7] Group 3: Industry Context - The Transportation - Rail industry, to which Norfolk Southern belongs, is currently ranked in the bottom 42% of over 250 Zacks industries, indicating potential challenges ahead [8] - Another company in the same industry, Canadian National, is expected to report a year-over-year earnings decline of 7.4% for the quarter ended December 2024, with revenues anticipated to be down 6.4% from the previous year [9][10]