Norfolk Southern Corporation (NSC) — Cash Flow Quality Index
Norfolk Southern Corporation (NSC) has a Cash Flow Quality Index of 1.65x as of December 2025. Operating cash flow of $1.06 Billion exceeds net income of $644.00 Million, indicating high earnings quality where cash backs reported profits. Explore NSC cash flow to debt ratio to assess how comfortably operating cash covers total debt obligations.
Cash Flow Quality Index
Operating Cash Flow
Net Income
Data as of
Norfolk Southern Corporation Cash Flow Quality Index (1989–2025)
Historical Cash Flow Quality Index for Norfolk Southern Corporation across 37 annual periods. Values consistently above 1.0x indicate high-quality earnings. For the full cash flow conversion analysis, see NSC operating cash flow.
Annual Cash Flow Quality Index for Norfolk Southern Corporation (1989–2025)
Year-by-year earnings quality comparison for Norfolk Southern Corporation.
| Year | Quality Index | Operating CF (USD) | Net Income | YoY Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1.52x | $4.36 Billion | $2.87 Billion | ▼ -1.8% |
| 2024 | 1.55x | $4.05 Billion | $2.62 Billion | ▼ -11.2% |
| 2023 | 1.74x | $3.18 Billion | $1.83 Billion | ▲ +34.8% |
| 2022 | 1.29x | $4.22 Billion | $3.27 Billion | ▼ -8.8% |
| 2021 | 1.42x | $4.25 Billion | $3.00 Billion | ▼ -21.6% |
| 2020 | 1.81x | $3.64 Billion | $2.01 Billion | ▲ +26.4% |
| 2019 | 1.43x | $3.89 Billion | $2.72 Billion | ▲ +2.3% |
| 2018 | 1.40x | $3.73 Billion | $2.67 Billion | ▲ +132.2% |
| 2017 | 0.60x | $3.25 Billion | $5.40 Billion | ▼ -66.9% |
| 2016 | 1.82x | $3.03 Billion | $1.67 Billion | ▼ -1.6% |
| 2015 | 1.85x | $2.88 Billion | $1.56 Billion | ▲ +29.7% |
| 2014 | 1.43x | $2.85 Billion | $2.00 Billion | ▼ -11.5% |
| 2013 | 1.61x | $3.08 Billion | $1.91 Billion | ▼ -8.0% |
| 2012 | 1.75x | $3.06 Billion | $1.75 Billion | ▲ +4.0% |
| 2011 | 1.68x | $3.23 Billion | $1.92 Billion | ▼ -7.2% |
| 2010 | 1.81x | $2.71 Billion | $1.50 Billion | ▲ +0.9% |
| 2009 | 1.80x | $1.86 Billion | $1.03 Billion | ▲ +13.7% |
| 2008 | 1.58x | $2.71 Billion | $1.72 Billion | ▼ -0.7% |
| 2007 | 1.59x | $2.33 Billion | $1.46 Billion | ▲ +7.0% |
| 2006 | 1.49x | $2.21 Billion | $1.48 Billion | ▼ -9.4% |
| 2005 | 1.64x | $2.10 Billion | $1.28 Billion | ▼ -8.7% |
| 2004 | 1.80x | $1.66 Billion | $923.00 Million | ▼ -10.4% |
| 2003 | 2.01x | $1.05 Billion | $525.00 Million | ▲ +15.0% |
| 2002 | 1.75x | $803.00 Million | $460.00 Million | ▼ -3.4% |
| 2001 | 1.81x | $654.00 Million | $362.00 Million | ▼ -76.8% |
| 2000 | 7.80x | $1.34 Billion | $172.00 Million | ▲ +249.9% |
| 1999 | 2.23x | $533.00 Million | $239.00 Million | ▲ +31.6% |
| 1998 | 1.70x | $890.00 Million | $525.00 Million | ▲ +3.0% |
| 1997 | 1.65x | $1.15 Billion | $699.00 Million | ▲ +5.2% |
| 1996 | 1.56x | $1.20 Billion | $770.40 Million | ▼ -9.9% |
| 1995 | 1.74x | $1.24 Billion | $712.70 Million | ▲ +1.3% |
| 1994 | 1.71x | $1.14 Billion | $667.80 Million | ▲ +7.5% |
| 1993 | 1.59x | $874.60 Million | $548.70 Million | ▼ -7.2% |
| 1992 | 1.72x | $958.20 Million | $557.70 Million | ▼ -93.3% |
| 1991 | 25.67x | $762.40 Million | $29.70 Million | ▲ +1335.1% |
| 1990 | 1.79x | $994.70 Million | $556.10 Million | ▼ -2.1% |
| 1989 | 1.83x | $1.11 Billion | $606.20 Million | — |