Norfolk Southern Earnings Perspective: Return On Invested Capital

According to Benzinga Pro, during Q3, Norfolk Southern NSC earned $958.00 million, a 16.97% increase from the preceding quarter. Norfolk Southern also posted a total of $3.34 billion in sales, a 2.86% increase since Q2. In Q2, Norfolk Southern earned $819.00 million, and total sales reached $3.25 billion.

What Is Return On Invested Capital?

Return on Invested Capital is a measure of yearly pre-tax profit relative to capital invested by a business. Changes in earnings and sales indicate shifts in a company's ROIC. A higher ROIC is generally representative of successful growth of a company and is a sign of higher earnings per share in the future. A low or negative ROIC suggests the opposite. In Q3, Norfolk Southern posted an ROIC of 4.73%.

Keep in mind, while ROIC is a good measure of a company's recent performance, it is not a highly reliable predictor of a company's earnings or sales in the near future.

ROIC is a powerful metric for comparing the effectiveness of capital allocation for similar companies. A relatively high ROIC shows Norfolk Southern is potentially operating at a higher level of efficiency than other companies in its industry. If the company is generating high profits with its current level of invested capital, some of that money can be reinvested in more capital which will generally lead to higher returns and, ultimately, earnings per share (EPS) growth.

For Norfolk Southern, the positive return on invested capital ratio of 4.73% suggests that management is allocating their capital effectively. Effective capital allocation is a positive indicator that a company will achieve more durable success and favorable long-term returns.

Upcoming Earnings Estimate

Norfolk Southern reported Q3 earnings per share at $3.8/share, which beat analyst predictions of $3.64/share.

This article was generated by Benzinga's automated content engine and reviewed by an editor.