Norfolk Southern Corp (NSC) 2Q26: Solid 2Q with a 5% adj. EBIT beat, FY26 market outlook is a bit better

Research evidence excerpt

Norfolk Southern Corp (NSC) 2Q26: Solid 2Q with a 5% adj. EBIT beat, FY26 market outlook is a bit better

a rate

of growth expected in future earnings one year from now.

RISKS

Norfolk Southern Corp

Risks to our target price for NSC include: changes in government regulation or rule making at the US Surface Transportation

Board; changes in governmental clean air regulations and their impact on the coal markets; a slowdown in US or Global economic

recovery; geopolitical disturbances that limit global trade flows; ability to recruit, train and staff employees as volume driven growth

requires resourcing; inflation in global steel prices; strikes or work stoppages at the company's largely unionized workforce; risks

attendant to the company's common carrier obligations and the transportation of hazardous materials. NSC is also a party to a class

action suit involving fuel surcharges, and any settlement or adverse ruling from that case is not currently reflected in our estimates.

NSC could outperform relative to our estimates should regulation of onshore drilling negatively impact natural gas production,

the rate of economic recovery in the US accelerates dramatically, or if there is a disruption in the global supply of metallurgical

coal. The most likely sources of underperformance relative to our estimates is a major collapse in export coal demand or a fall of

in eastern moves of crude oil by rail.

RATINGS DEFINITIONS, BENCHMARKS AND DISTRIBUTION

EQUITY RATINGS DEFINITIONS

Bernstein brand

The Bernstein brand rates stocks based on forecasts of relative performance for the next 12 months versus the S&P 500 for

stocks listed on the U.S. and Canadian exchanges, versus the Bloomberg Europe Developed Markets Large and Mid Cap Price