Statement of Comprehensive Income
Comprehensive income is the change in equity (net assets) of a business enterprise during a period from transactions and other events and circumstances from non-owners sources. It includes all changes in equity during a period except those resulting from investments by owners and distributions to owners.
Norfolk Southern Corp., consolidated statement of comprehensive income
US$ in millions
Based on: 10-K (reporting date: 2021-12-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2020-12-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2019-12-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2018-12-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2017-12-31).
The financial data over the five-year period reveals several key trends and fluctuations in the company’s profitability and comprehensive income components.
- Net Income
- The net income exhibits a marked decline from 5,404 million USD in 2017 to 2,666 million USD in 2018. This reduction is followed by a relatively stable period in 2019 with a value of 2,722 million USD, but the net income decreases again to 2,013 million USD in 2020, possibly reflecting external challenges during that year. By 2021, net income shows a recovery, increasing to 3,005 million USD, though it remains below the levels observed in 2017.
- Pension and Other Postretirement Benefits
- This item fluctuates significantly throughout the period, reflecting both positive and negative values. It starts positively at 114 million USD in 2017, shifts to a negative value of -111 million USD in 2018, returns to a positive 76 million USD in 2019, dips again to -105 million USD in 2020, and then rises sharply to 170 million USD in 2021. These swings suggest volatile impacts from pension accounting or actuarial adjustments.
- Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) of Equity Investees
- The values here are comparatively small but demonstrate some volatility. Beginning at 17 million USD in 2017, this component turns negative in 2018 and 2019 with -8 million and -4 million USD respectively, then shifts back to positive territory with 2 million in 2020 and increases to 22 million USD in 2021, indicating varying performance or valuation changes in equity investees.
- Other Comprehensive Income (Loss), Net of Tax
- This figure shows significant oscillation, mirroring the pension benefits’ pattern but with greater magnitude. Positive values of 131 million USD in 2017 and 72 million USD in 2019 are interspersed with substantial negative values of -119 million USD in 2018 and -103 million USD in 2020, culminating in a strong positive rebound to 192 million USD in 2021. This variability likely reflects volatile components in other comprehensive income such as unrealized gains/losses or adjustments related to pension plans.
- Comprehensive Income
- The comprehensive income parallels the net income trend but with some amplification in magnitude due to other comprehensive income items. Starting at 5,535 million USD in 2017, it declines to 2,547 million USD in 2018, then stabilizes around 2,794 million USD in 2019. A further decrease to 1,910 million USD in 2020 is evident, with a subsequent recovery to 3,197 million USD in 2021. This pattern underscores the influence of both net income fluctuations and the volatility in other comprehensive income components on the company’s overall comprehensive earnings.
Overall, the data indicates a period of financial volatility with a significant drop in profitability post-2017, a trough around 2020, and partial recovery by 2021. Additionally, components related to pensions and other comprehensive income exhibit marked variability, which contributes to the fluctuations in comprehensive income figures across years.