Norfolk Southern Corp. Q4 FY2023 results: revenue $3.1 billion, down 5.1% on the year
Norfolk Southern Corp. (NSC) reported revenue of $3.1 billion for Q4 FY2023, the quarter ended 31 December 2023, down 5.1% on the same quarter a year earlier. Net income was $527 million, down 33.3% on the year, and diluted earnings per share $2.32. The figures are the company's own, from the 10-K it filed with the SEC on 5 February 2024.
The quarter, against the one before and a year earlier
| Line | Q4 FY2023 | Q3 FY2023 | A year earlier | Change on the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 3,073 | 2,971 | n/a | n/a |
| Operating income | 808 | 756 | n/a | n/a |
| Operating margin | 26.3% | 25.4% | n/a | |
| Interest expense | 195 | 182 | n/a | n/a |
| Pre-tax income | 651 | 614 | n/a | n/a |
| Income tax | 124 | 136 | n/a | n/a |
| Effective tax rate | 19.0% | 22.1% | n/a | |
| Net income | 527 | 478 | n/a | n/a |
| Net margin | 17.1% | 16.1% | n/a | |
| Diluted EPS | $2.32 | $2.10 | n/a | n/a |
$ million except per share. Fourth quarters are the year less the first three quarters. Free cash flow is operating cash flow less capital expenditure; the effective tax rate is income tax over pre-tax income; margins are the line over revenue. Gross profit is revenue less cost of revenue, and operating income is revenue less the company's own total costs, where the statement does not print those lines. Those four are arithmetic on the filed numbers; everything else is as filed. Money is in $ million as the company files it, or in $ billion by the switch above the tables; per share figures and share counts are as they are.
Cash flow and capital returned
| Line | Q4 FY2023 | Q3 FY2023 | A year earlier | Change on the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operating cash flow | 673 | 660 | n/a | n/a |
| Capital expenditure | 853 | 548 | n/a | n/a |
| Free cash flow | -180 | 112 | n/a | n/a |
| Free cash flow margin | -5.9% | 3.8% | n/a | |
| Depreciation and amortisation | 330 | 326 | n/a | n/a |
| Share-based compensation | 8.0 | 10.0 | n/a | n/a |
| Buybacks | 119 | 200 | n/a | n/a |
| Dividends paid | 305 | 305 | n/a | n/a |
| Dividend per share | n/a | $1.35 | n/a | n/a |
| Diluted shares, weighted | 227m | 227m | n/a | n/a |
| Shares outstanding at period end | 226m | 226m | n/a | n/a |
Cash flow lines for the quarter; where the company files them year to date, the quarter is the difference between two filings.
Balance sheet at quarter end
| Line | Q4 FY2023 | Q3 FY2023 | A year earlier | Change on the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total assets | 41,652 | 40,739 | n/a | n/a |
| Cash and equivalents | 1,568 | 1,506 | n/a | n/a |
| Receivables | 1,147 | 1,210 | n/a | n/a |
| Long-term debt including finance leases | 17,175 | 16,179 | n/a | n/a |
| Operating lease liabilities | 287 | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Shareholders' equity | 12,781 | 12,615 | n/a | n/a |
Quarterly results, the last 12 quarters
| Q3 FY2023 | Q4 FY2023 * | Q1 FY2024 | Q2 FY2024 | Q3 FY2024 | Q4 FY2024 * | Q1 FY2025 | Q2 FY2025 | Q3 FY2025 | Q4 FY2025 * | Q1 FY2026 | Q2 FY2026 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 2,971 | 3,073 | 3,004 | 3,044 | 3,051 | 3,024 | 2,993 | 3,110 | 3,103 | 2,974 | 2,998 | 3,465 |
| Operating income | 756 | 808 | 213 | 1,131 | 1,596 | 1,131 | 1,146 | 1,175 | 1,098 | 937 | 877 | 1,124 |
| Operating margin | 25% | 26% | 7% | 37% | 52% | 37% | 38% | 38% | 35% | 32% | 29% | 32% |
| Interest expense | 182 | 195 | 201 | 204 | 203 | 199 | 199 | 201 | 197 | 195 | 197 | 197 |
| Pre-tax income | 614 | 651 | 30.0 | 944 | 1,427 | 928 | 978 | 998 | 924 | 765 | 715 | 959 |
| Tax rate | 22% | 19% | -77% | 22% | 23% | 21% | 23% | 23% | 23% | 16% | 23% | 23% |
| Net income | 478 | 527 | 53.0 | 737 | 1,099 | 733 | 750 | 768 | 711 | 644 | 547 | 734 |
| Net margin | 16% | 17% | 2% | 24% | 36% | 24% | 25% | 25% | 23% | 22% | 18% | 21% |
| Diluted EPS | $2.10 | $2.32 | $0.23 | $3.25 | $4.85 | $3.24 | $3.31 | $3.41 | $3.16 | $2.87 | $2.43 | $3.26 |
| Operating cash flow | 660 | 673 | 839 | 1,036 | 1,226 | 951 | 950 | 1,077 | 1,271 | 1,063 | 344 | 1,054 |
| Capital expenditure | 548 | 853 | 557 | 568 | 581 | 675 | 449 | 475 | 551 | 729 | 382 | 439 |
| Free cash flow | 112 | -180 | 282 | 468 | 645 | 276 | 501 | 602 | 720 | 334 | -38.0 | 615 |
| Buybacks | 200 | 119 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 248 | 208 | 78.0 | 0.0 | 5.0 | 0.0 |
| Dividends paid | 305 | 305 | 305 | 305 | 305 | 306 | 306 | 303 | 303 | 303 | 303 | 303 |
| Shares outstanding | 226m | 226m | 226m | 226m | 226m | 226m | 225m | 225m | 224m | 224m | 225m | 225m |
| Filing | 10-Q | 10-K | 10-Q | 10-Q | 10-Q | 10-K | 10-Q | 10-Q | 10-Q | 10-K | 10-Q | 10-Q |
* The fourth quarter is the full year less the first three quarters, because the company files the year and not the quarter on its own. Money is in $ million as the company files it, or in $ billion by the switch above the tables; per share figures and the share count are as they are. Free cash flow is operating cash flow less capital expenditure; the effective tax rate is income tax over pre-tax income; margins are the line over revenue. Gross profit is revenue less cost of revenue, and operating income is revenue less the company's own total costs, where the statement does not print those lines. Cash flow lines filed year to date are the difference between two filings. Shares outstanding are at the period end where the balance sheet tags them, otherwise the count on the filing's cover page. A derived fourth-quarter EPS is left blank when a split in the year makes the arithmetic meaningless.
Source
10-K for the period ended 31 December 2023, filed 5 February 2024, accession 0000702165-24-000005: the filing on EDGAR. All of Norfolk Southern Corp.'s filings: EDGAR company page.
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