Canadian National Railway Co vs Norfolk Southern Corp

Canadian National Railway Co (CNI) is overvalued and Norfolk Southern Corp (NSC) is overvalued.

Both trade above our estimate of their intrinsic value. CNI is the closer of the two: -43%, against -98% for NSC.

Values as of the 22 Sept 2026 close.

Canadian National Railway Co (CNI)

Discounting its cash flows at 9.1% (average of 3 methods) values the shares at $83.52; the price of $119.52 is 43% above that value, and 75% of that value comes from beyond year five.

Leak Score 59/100 on 3 of 12 signals

Norfolk Southern Corp (NSC)

Discounting its cash flows at 9.9% (average of 3 methods) values the shares at $158.46; the price of $314.00 is 98% above that value, and 72% of that value comes from beyond year five.

Leak Score 40/100 on 10 of 12 signals

MetricCNINSC
VerdictOvervaluedOvervalued
Price$119.52$314.00
Intrinsic value$83.52$158.46
Margin of safety-43%-98%
Leak Score59/100 (3/12)40/100 (10/12)
Market cap$72.3B$70.5B
Revenue growth, 5 years3.8%4.5%
Operating margin37.5%32.1%
Net margin26.9%21.0%
Return on equity22.2%17.0%
Debt to equity1.031.02
P/E21.2x26.8x
Forward P/E18.6x21.9x
P/B4.7x4.3x
Dividend yield2.2%1.7%

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