Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE: NSC) reported third-quarter 2026 results on October 22, 2026. Revenue was $3.5 billion, which the company's release described as a quarterly record, up $423 million, or 14%, from the third quarter of 2025. Income from railway operations was $1.2 billion, up $52 million, or 5%. Diluted earnings per share was $3.37, up $0.21, or 7%, from a year earlier.
The operating ratio — the share of revenue consumed by operating expenses, where a lower figure indicates greater efficiency — was 67.4% for the quarter, compared with 64.6% in the third quarter of 2025. The company said volume increased 3% year over year.
Norfolk Southern also reported adjusted results that it said exclude merger-related expenses and the effects of the Eastern Ohio incident. On that adjusted basis, income from railway operations was $1.2 billion, up 7% from a year earlier, with an adjusted operating ratio of 65.4%.
Adjusted diluted earnings per share was $3.62, up 10% from the third quarter of 2025.
CEO Mark George said: "Norfolk Southern delivered another quarter of solid execution, with record revenues, and strong earnings growth."
The release described Norfolk Southern's network as spanning 22 states and moving approximately 7 million carloads annually, operating what it called the most extensive intermodal network in the eastern United States, and said rail transport helps its customers avoid approximately 15 million tons of carbon emissions each year.