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Norfolk Southern Corp. (NYSE:NSC)

This company has been moved to the archive! The financial data has not been updated since April 27, 2022.

Common-Size Income Statement
Quarterly Data

Norfolk Southern Corp., common-size consolidated income statement (quarterly data)

Microsoft Excel
3 months ended: 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 Dec 31, 2018 Sep 30, 2018 Jun 30, 2018 Mar 31, 2018 Dec 31, 2017 Sep 30, 2017 Jun 30, 2017 Mar 31, 2017
Railway operating revenues 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00
Purchased services and rents -14.99 -16.55 -15.15 -15.33 -14.89 -16.56 -19.39 -17.84 -15.35 -17.10 -14.89 -14.29 -14.93 -15.50 -15.27 -14.84 -14.76 -10.04 -14.12 -14.87 -14.64
Fuel -10.33 -7.92 -7.29 -6.72 -6.71 -5.29 -5.03 -4.03 -7.20 -8.29 -7.95 -8.68 -8.80 -9.50 -9.30 -9.39 -9.79 -8.95 -7.42 -7.21 -8.27
Cost of railway operating revenues -25.32% -24.47% -22.44% -22.04% -21.60% -21.84% -24.42% -21.87% -22.55% -25.39% -22.84% -22.97% -23.73% -25.00% -24.57% -24.22% -24.55% -19.00% -21.54% -22.07% -22.91%
Gross profit 74.68% 75.53% 77.56% 77.96% 78.40% 78.16% 75.58% 78.13% 77.45% 74.61% 77.16% 77.03% 76.27% 75.00% 75.43% 75.78% 75.45% 81.00% 78.46% 77.93% 77.09%
Compensation and benefits -21.23 -20.97 -21.35 -22.29 -23.15 -22.81 -23.06 -28.11 -23.70 -23.42 -24.01 -24.34 -25.60 -26.14 -24.60 -24.36 -27.13 -26.75 -28.28 -26.66 -28.85
Depreciation -10.36 -10.45 -10.41 -10.50 -11.06 -11.15 -11.69 -13.53 -11.12 -10.59 -10.07 -9.71 -9.96 -9.70 -9.37 -9.42 -10.01 -10.00 -9.93 -10.01 -10.06
Materials and other -5.87 -4.52 -5.96 -3.47 -5.72 -5.95 -7.30 -7.24 -6.32 -4.83 -8.03 -6.56 -6.69 -1.93 -6.85 -6.59 -7.58 -6.26 -6.14 -7.58 -8.16
Loss on asset disposal 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 -14.67 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Income from railway operations 37.22% 39.59% 39.83% 41.69% 38.46% 38.24% 33.52% 29.26% 21.64% 35.76% 35.06% 36.41% 34.01% 37.22% 34.61% 35.40% 30.73% 37.99% 34.12% 33.67% 30.02%
Other income (expense), net -0.17 0.74 0.49 1.25 0.27 1.67 1.56 2.35 0.84 0.67 0.77 0.75 1.55 0.00 1.02 1.00 0.29 0.49 0.86 1.21 0.93
Interest expense on debt -5.76 -5.79 -5.75 -5.75 -5.91 -6.22 -6.19 -7.48 -5.87 -5.65 -5.28 -5.23 -5.25 -5.11 -4.82 -4.52 -5.01 -5.02 -5.02 -5.31 -5.51
Income before income taxes 31.29% 34.54% 34.57% 37.19% 32.82% 33.70% 28.89% 24.12% 16.61% 30.78% 30.55% 31.93% 30.32% 32.11% 30.81% 31.88% 26.02% 33.46% 29.96% 29.58% 25.44%
Income taxes -7.17 -7.89 -8.17 -7.93 -7.31 -7.62 -6.19 -5.32 -2.10 -6.02 -7.43 -7.25 -6.48 -7.87 -6.99 -7.38 -5.70 115.21 -11.01 -10.73 -8.62
Net income 24.12% 26.65% 26.40% 29.26% 25.50% 26.08% 22.71% 18.80% 14.51% 24.76% 23.13% 24.68% 23.84% 24.24% 23.82% 24.50% 20.32% 148.67% 18.95% 18.85% 16.82%

Based on: 10-Q (reporting date: 2022-03-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2021-12-31), 10-Q (reporting date: 2021-09-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2021-06-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2021-03-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2020-12-31), 10-Q (reporting date: 2020-09-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2020-06-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2020-03-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2019-12-31), 10-Q (reporting date: 2019-09-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2019-06-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2019-03-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2018-12-31), 10-Q (reporting date: 2018-09-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2018-06-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2018-03-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2017-12-31), 10-Q (reporting date: 2017-09-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2017-06-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2017-03-31).

The analysis of the common-size income statement reveals a general trend of expanding operating margins and improved net profitability over the period from March 2017 to March 2022, despite intermittent volatility in fuel costs and specific non-recurring losses.

Operating Cost Dynamics
Cost of railway operating revenues remained relatively stable, generally fluctuating between 19% and 25% of revenues. Fuel expenses exhibited significant volatility, reaching a period low of 4.03% in June 2020 before climbing to a period high of 10.33% by March 2022. Purchased services and rents typically hovered between 14% and 16%, though a peak was observed in the second and third quarters of 2020, reaching 19.39%.
Efficiency in Operating Expenses
A notable downward trend is observed in compensation and benefits, which decreased from a high of 28.85% in March 2017 to approximately 21.23% by March 2022. This suggests a significant improvement in labor productivity or a structural shift in cost management. Depreciation expenses remained consistent, typically ranging between 9% and 11%, indicating a steady rate of asset amortization relative to revenue growth.
Railway Operating Income Trends
Income from railway operations showed a general upward trajectory, increasing from roughly 30% in early 2017 to peaks exceeding 41% in mid-2021. A sharp, isolated contraction occurred in March 2020, where operating income dropped to 21.64%, directly attributable to a one-time loss on asset disposal amounting to 14.67% of revenues.
Financial Costs and Tax Anomalies
Interest expenses on debt remained relatively constant, averaging between 4.5% and 7.5% of revenues. The net income figures were impacted by significant tax anomalies, most notably in December 2017, where a tax credit of 115.21% resulted in a net income spike to 148.67% of revenues. Excluding this outlier, net income margins improved from the 16% to 20% range in 2017 to a more robust 24% to 29% range by 2021 and 2022.

In summary, the organization demonstrated a capacity to enhance its operating leverage by reducing the weight of personnel costs relative to revenue, which bolstered overall profitability despite fluctuating energy prices and isolated asset impairment charges.

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