Norfolk Southern beats on Q3 earnings as rail demand firms

Revenue came in at $3.50 billion, with per-share profit ahead of forecasts by $0.11

Norfolk Southern reported third-quarter earnings of $3.62 a share, beating expectations by $0.11, on revenue of $3.50 billion.

President and Chief Executive Officer Mark George said demand for rail service picked up as a tighter trucking market underscored rail's competitive advantages. He said the company kept a tight rein on costs even as fuel expenses rose.

The report follows Union Pacific's own quarterly results a day earlier, in which that railroad also beat on earnings, matched revenue forecasts at $7.20 billion, and held its 2026 outlook steady. Union Pacific pointed to the Surface Transportation Board's pending review of its proposed merger with Norfolk Southern.

Norfolk Southern's beat, paired with George's framing of trucking weakness as a tailwind for rail, comes a day after Union Pacific posted in-line results and reaffirmed its targets ahead of that same regulatory review. With both railroads showing earnings strength and cost discipline independent of the deal, regulators now have two companies demonstrating standalone financial health rather than merger dependency, a pattern that supports the operational case Union Pacific Chief Executive Jim Vena has made publicly for the $85 billion combination, even as the timeline for the regulatory process itself remains unchanged.