Canadian National Railway Company
CNICanadian National Railway Company's three tracks disagree. Price, valuation and the earnings engine each tell a different story — the next quarter or two settles it.
The sharpest disagreement: the price moved +35.1% in a year while annual EPS moved +8.0% — the difference is re-rating, and re-rating has to be repaid with earnings.
The price is in a confirmed uptrend (11 weeks in). Underneath, the last four quarters read deteriorating — profit −0.9% year on year, and 140% of the last 3 years' profit arrived as cash. What settles it: whether earnings grow into a price that has already moved.
Price story Before the numbers, the tape. A stock price moves through four repeating seasons: a flat base (stage 1), an advance (2), a top (3), a decline (4). Where the price sits in that cycle frames everything below.
Canadian National Railway Company trades at $130, in a confirmed uptrend and 11 weeks into that stage. That is +21.5% against its own 200-day average. It sits at 100% of a 52-week range of $93 to $130. On relative strength it has been ahead of the S&P 500 on a trailing-13-week view for 9 straight weeks.
Today the stock is in a confirmed uptrend — week 11 of stage 2. At $130 it trades +21.5% versus its 200-day average and sits at 100% of its 52-week range ($93–$130).
Against the market, two honest reads. Cumulative: over the last 10.1 years the stock moved +116% while the S&P 500 moved +248% — behind the index over the full window. Recent form: on a trailing-13-week view the stock has been ahead for 9 straight weeks — the ribbon below is that same metric, week by week.
What would end the trend, mechanically: two Friday closes in a row below the 200-day line. That is the exit rule — no debates.
→ The trend is one thing; the bill is another. Are you paying up for it? Next: how the P/E reads against its own history.
Valuation P/E is the price of $1 of annual profit: how many dollars the market pays for each dollar the company earns in a year.
Canadian National Railway Company trades at 23.3× P/E, against too little history to rank. This places the multiple against the stock’s own record, and says nothing about what the business is worth.
Today's P/E of 23.3× is against too little history to rank. This is a comparison against the stock's own history — not a claim about what it is worth.
🚨 Why the multiple sits where it does: over the past year annual EPS moved +8.0% against a +35.1% price move — the price outran earnings, pushing the multiple UP its own range.
The price move, decomposed: over 3y, of the +2.4%/yr price move, ~−0.9%/yr came from earnings growth and ~+3.3 pp from the multiple (expanding). The split is the honest approximate (price return minus earnings growth); it makes the rally itself visible instead of hiding it behind the percentile.
Put together: the multiple is unremarkable against its own past, so the story rests on the earnings line underneath it, not the multiple.
→ Cheap or dear rides on the earnings. Are they actually growing? Next: the fundamental stage — where the business sits in its arc, and how growth has compounded.
Stage: Improving Every business sits somewhere on a fundamental arc, and this page names the spot before anything else. The last twelve quarters of revenue, profit and EPS growth — plus the return the business earns on its capital — are read as curves: Deteriorating (the curves are falling), Turning around (a trough has just formed and the last few quarters lift off it), Improving (the climb off the trough is sustained), Consistent (steadily positive with healthy returns), Topping out (still high but decelerating from the peak). When the curves genuinely disagree the read is Mixed; too little history is No read. CAGR (compound annual growth rate) is the smooth yearly pace that turns the starting value into the latest one — the fairest way to compare growth across different time spans. Read the columns together: if the 1-year number towers over the 10-year, recent growth is running hotter than the long-run trend. A dash means that window is not held, or the base year was a loss (where a growth rate is not meaningful).
Canadian National Railway Company reads as improving on its fundamental arc. Improving — profit growth bottomed 4 quarters ago at −18.3% and has held its recovery at +4.7%, ROCE holding at 12.1%. The read is built from 12 quarters across 4 curves, on full evidence.
Why it matters: a sustained climb off the trough is the setup this page is built to catch — the question moves to what you pay for it.
| 1yr | 3yr | 5yr | 10yr | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | +1.5% | +0.4% | — | — |
| Profit | +6.1% | −2.7% | — | — |
| EPS | +8.0% | +0.6% | — | — |
| Stock price | +35.1% | +2.4% | +3.6% | +7.4% |
→ The stage names the trajectory. Next: the revenue line that produces it, quarter by quarter.
4-Factor Sector Score
55.3/100 — rank 4 of 10 in Railroads · 59% evidence confidence
Canadian National Railway Company scores 55.3 out of 100 against the 10 companies it is compared with in Railroads, ranking 4. Fill the missing evidence before acting; the ranking is deliberately pulled toward neutral.
The four contributions add to the total exactly: 16.4 + 13.7 + 10.2 + 15 = 55.3. This is the SAME number shown on the sector comparison — it is computed once, for the whole peer set, and read here.
What would change it: The read weakens if profit growth turns negative or margin improvement reverses while sector-relative strength deteriorates.
Revenue Revenue is the top line: everything the company billed its customers in the period.
Canadian National Railway Company reported $4.4 B of revenue in the Mar 26 quarter, −0.5% year on year. Over 4 years it has compounded at 4.5% a year. The last full year, FY25, came in at $17.3 B. The last four reported quarters add to $17.3 B.
Canadian National Railway Company reported $4.4 B of revenue in the Mar 26 quarter, −0.5% year on year. Over 4 years it has compounded at 4.5% a year. The last full year, FY25, came in at $17.3 B. The last four reported quarters add to $17.3 B.
FY25 revenue came in at $17.3 B (+1.5% on the year), capping 4 years at 4.5% compound. The latest quarter (Mar 26) printed $4.4 B, −0.5% year on year.
Pace check: the last four quarters averaged +0.5% growth against the decade's 4.5% — the current year is running slower than its own long-run rate.
Acceleration check: trailing-twelve-month revenue grew +0.5% over the last 4 quarters against +1.5%/yr over the last 8 — stabilising; TTM profit +4.7% vs −7.5%/yr — accelerating.
→ Revenue slipped — did margins hold as it scaled? Next: 35.4% this quarter (−1.2 pp YoY).
Operating margin Operating margin is what is left of every $100 of sales after running the business, before interest and tax. It is the cleanest read on pricing power and cost control.
Canadian National Railway Company's operating margin is 35.4% in the Mar 26 quarter, −1.2 percentage points against the same quarter a year ago. Across 5 fiscal years the operating margin has ranged 36.7% to 40.0%. The current quarter is running below every full year in that window.
Canadian National Railway Company's operating margin is 35.4% in the Mar 26 quarter, −1.2 percentage points against the same quarter a year ago. Across 5 fiscal years the operating margin has ranged 36.7% to 40.0%. The current quarter is running below every full year in that window.
The latest quarter's operating margin is 35.4%, −1.2 pp against the same quarter a year ago. Across 5 fiscal years the operating margin has ranged 36.7%–40.0%.
🚨 Why the margin moved: operating margin went −1.2 pp year on year while gross margin went −0.2 pp — the loss came mostly below the gross line: operating leverage, with costs spread over a bigger revenue base.
→ Margins slipped — did that reach the bottom line? Next: profit −0.9% in the latest quarter.
Net profit Net profit is what survives every cost, interest and tax — the number EPS, dividends and book value all grow from.
Canadian National Railway Company earned $1.1 B of net profit in the Mar 26 quarter, −0.9% year on year. Full-year FY25 profit was $4.7 B. The 4-year compound rate is −0.9%. That is 26.3% of the quarter's revenue. The same quarter a year earlier earned $1.2 B.
Canadian National Railway Company earned $1.1 B of net profit in the Mar 26 quarter, −0.9% year on year. Full-year FY25 profit was $4.7 B. The 4-year compound rate is −0.9%. That is 26.3% of the quarter's revenue. The same quarter a year earlier earned $1.2 B.
Mar 26 profit was $1.1 B, −0.9% year on year. On the full year, FY25 printed $4.7 B (+6.1%), and the 4-year compound rate is −0.9%.
🚨 Why profit moved: revenue contributed −0.5% and the margin −1.2 pp — the quarter was revenue-led, with the margin roughly flat.
Pace comparison, last four quarters: profit +4.7% vs revenue +0.5%. Profit is growing faster than sales — fixed costs are being spread over a bigger base, and each extra dollar of revenue drops more to the bottom line.
→ Profit rose — but did the cash follow? Next: 140% of the last 3 years' profit arrived as cash.
Cash flow — the router The P&L says what was earned; the cash-flow statement says what actually arrived. Operating cash flow (CFO) against profit is the cleanest lie detector in the accounts.
Over the last 3 fiscal years 140% of Canadian National Railway Company's reported profit arrived as operating cash — the cash follows the profit. In FY25 that was $7.0 B of operating cash against $4.7 B of profit. After $3.7 B of capital spending, $3.4 B was left as free cash.
FY25: operating cash of $7.0 B against reported profit of $4.7 B, leaving free cash of $3.4 B after $3.7 B of capital spending. Across the last 3 fiscal years the conversion rate is 140% of profit.
Cash-flow readings here are annual — that is the resolution our series carries, so this section moves once a year.
Why: conversion is measured cleanly, but the working-capital day-counts behind it sit below what we hold — the move is shown without inventing its driver.
Router verdict: the visible cash user is investment — the next section checks what the spending is buying.
→ So follow the cash to where it goes. Next: $10.0 B of building over 3 years.
Where the cash goes Working capital is the cash tied up between paying suppliers and getting paid: debtor days (customers owe), inventory days (stock waits), and the cash conversion cycle (the whole loop, in days of sales).
Canadian National Railway Company does not report the debtor, inventory and payable day-counts a cash cycle is built from, so this section reads the investment side instead. Capital spending ran $10.0 B over the last 3 years. Averaged over those years that is 19.3% of FY25 revenue a year.
Working-capital day-counts are not in our numbers for this stock, so this section reads the investment side — where the cash is being put to work.
On the investment side: capital spending of $10.0 B over the last 3 fiscal years.
The synthesis: the cash is going into capacity, not disappearing into the cycle — the question becomes whether the new capacity earns.
→ Does all this activity actually earn its cost of capital? Next: ROE is 22% and the ROIC − WACC spread is +3.7 pp.
Return on equity Return on equity (ROE) is the profit the business earns on its shareholders’ money. With the full capital-employed split not in our numbers, ROE is the cleanest long ladder we can draw here.
Canadian National Railway Company earns a ROE of 22% in FY25. That is up from a trough of 21% in FY24. Return on invested capital clears the cost of that capital by +3.7 percentage points, so growth here adds value rather than only size. The wiring behind it is 27.3% net margin on 0.30× asset turns.
FY25 ROE is 22%, recovered from a FY24 trough of 21% — the full ladder below shows the fall and the climb, undoctored.
Why the return is what it is — the wiring (FY25): 27.3% net margin × 0.30× asset turns × 2.71× balance-sheet leverage ≈ 22.2% on equity. Margin is doing the heavy lifting; leverage is a meaningful part of the equation.
The capstone test — ROIC − WACC: 12.3% − 8.6% = a +3.7 pp spread. The 8.6% is an estimate of this company's own cost of capital — read the sign and the size of the spread, not the decimals. Positive but thin — value creation with little room for error.
→ Returns like these — is the balance sheet borrowing to make them? Next: debt-to-equity is 1.04.
Dividend A dividend is cash paid out per share. Dividend per share is the declared amount for the period; the trailing twelve-month total is the four most recent quarters added together.
Canadian National Railway Company paid $3.58 per share over the last four reported quarters, up 3.1% on a year ago. The most recent declaration was $0.92 for Mar 26. Against the current price of $130 that is a trailing yield of 2.76%, measured on dividends already paid rather than on a forecast.
Canadian National Railway Company paid $3.58 per share over the last four reported quarters, up 3.1% on a year ago. The most recent declaration was $0.92 for Mar 26. Against the current price of $130 that is a trailing yield of 2.76%, measured on dividends already paid rather than on a forecast.
Canadian National Railway Company paid $3.58 per share across the last four reported quarters, most recently $0.92 for Mar 26. That is up 3.1% against the same quarter a year earlier. Against the current price of $130 the trailing twelve months work out to 2.76% — trailing dividends measured against today's price, not a forward estimate.
→ A payout is cash leaving the business. Next: what the balance sheet looks like behind it.
Debt Debt-to-equity says how much of the business is funded by borrowings. Low is the safe corner; the trend matters as much as the level.
Canadian National Railway Company carries total debt of $22.6 B against shareholder equity of $21.9 B as of Jun 26, a debt-to-equity of 1.03. On the annual view that ratio went from 0.56 in FY21 to 1.00 in FY25. Read the returns elsewhere on this page with that leverage in mind.
Jun 26: total debt of $22.6 B against shareholder equity of $21.9 B — a debt-to-equity of 1.03. On the annual view, debt-to-equity went from 0.56 (FY21) to 1.00 (FY25). Read the returns on this page with that leverage in mind.
→ Who owns this, and are they adding or leaving? Next: short interest is 0.5% of the float.
Ownership There is no quarter-by-quarter holder register to read here, so we read the crowd through short interest — the slice of tradable shares currently sold short, positioned for a fall.
0.5% of Canadian National Railway Company's tradable float is currently sold short — the crowd is not positioned against this stock. At typical trading volumes those positions would take about 2.0 days to buy back. There is no quarter-by-quarter holder register to read for this filer, so the crowd is read through short interest instead.
The latest reading: 0.5% of the float is sold short, and at typical trading volumes it would take about 2.0 days to buy those positions back. The crowd is not positioned against this stock. This is a single point-in-time reading — we do not yet hold its history, so we show no trend chart.
Why it sits there: who is doing the shorting, and why, does not travel with the number — the level is shown without inventing its story.
→ One last check: does the safety math agree? Next: the balance-sheet safety line.
Safety line The Z-score estimates how far a company sits from balance-sheet distress — above roughly 3 is safe, below roughly 1.8 is the danger zone. It was built for manufacturers, so it is not applied to banks and lenders.
Canadian National Railway Company: the Z-score reads 2.49. A Z-score above roughly 3 reads as safe and below roughly 1.8 as the distress zone, so this sits in the grey band between the two. It is a distance-to-distress estimate from the balance sheet, not a forecast of failure.
Why it matters: a Z-score of 2.49 sits in the grey band — neither clearly safe nor clearly distressed.
The safety line in one sentence: the Z-score reads 2.49.
| Company | P/E | Mkt cap | Revenue | EPS | ROCE | Stage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canadian National Railway Company this page | 23.3× | $78B | Improving | |||
| Union Pacific Corporation | 24.2× | $175B | Mixed | |||
| CSX Corporation | 29.9× | $94B | Deteriorating | |||
| Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited | 27.9× | $82B | Mixed | |||
| Norfolk Southern Corporation | 28.9× | $76B | Topping out | |||
| Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation | 40.5× | $52B | Mixed | |||
| Trinity Industries, Inc. | 12.0× | $3B | Mixed | |||
| The Greenbrier Companies, Inc. | 15.4× | $2B | Deteriorating | |||
| L.B. Foster Company | 41.2× | $0B | No read | |||
| FreightCar America, Inc. | 10.7× | $0B | No read |
Frequently asked questions
What is Canadian National Railway Company's stock price today?
Canadian National Railway Company trades at $130, +35.1% over the past year. The company is valued at $78.0 B. The stock sits at 100% of its 52-week range of $93–$130, +21.5% versus its 200-day average. On the tape, the price is in a confirmed uptrend, 11 weeks in. — as of 29 July 2026.
What were Canadian National Railway Company's latest quarterly results?
Canadian National Railway Company reported revenue of $4.4 B and net profit of $1.1 B for the Mar 26 quarter. Revenue fell 0.5% and profit fell 0.9% year on year. Earnings per share were $1.87. The operating margin was 35.4%, 1.2 pp lower than a year earlier. — as of 29 July 2026.
What is Canadian National Railway Company's revenue?
Canadian National Railway Company reported revenue of $4.4 B in the Mar 26 quarter, −0.5% year on year. For the full FY25 fiscal year, revenue was $17.3 B (+1.5%). Over the last 4 years revenue compounded at 4.5% a year. — as of 29 July 2026.
What is Canadian National Railway Company's profit?
Canadian National Railway Company earned $1.1 B of net profit in the Mar 26 quarter, −0.9% year on year. Full-year FY25 profit was $4.7 B. The operating margin ran 35.4% in the latest quarter. — as of 29 July 2026.
What is Canadian National Railway Company's market cap?
Canadian National Railway Company's market capitalisation is $78.0 B at a stock price of $130. Market cap is the share price multiplied by shares outstanding, so it is restated whenever the price moves. — as of 29 July 2026.
Does Canadian National Railway Company pay a dividend?
Yes — Canadian National Railway Company declared $0.92 per share for Mar 26, and $3.58 per share across the last four reported quarters. The latest quarter is up 3.1% on the same quarter a year earlier. — as of 29 July 2026.
What is Canadian National Railway Company's dividend per share?
Canadian National Railway Company's most recently declared dividend is $0.92 per share for Mar 26, giving $3.58 per share over the trailing twelve months. Each figure is the amount declared for that quarter as reported, added across four quarters for the trailing total. — as of 29 July 2026.
What is Canadian National Railway Company's dividend yield?
Canadian National Railway Company's trailing dividend yield is 2.76%: $3.58 declared per share across the last four reported quarters, against a share price of $130. Each quarter’s figure is the amount declared for that quarter as reported, added across four quarters and divided by the latest close. — as of 29 July 2026.
Is Canadian National Railway Company growing?
Not right now — Canadian National Railway Company's latest numbers are shrinking: latest-quarter revenue −0.5% year on year, profit −0.9%, and the margin −1.2 pp at 35.4%. The 4-year compound rates are 4.5% (revenue) and −0.9% (profit). The earnings engine currently reads: deteriorating — as of 29 July 2026.
How is Canadian National Railway Company performing?
Canadian National Railway Company is in a confirmed uptrend, 11 weeks in. Its latest quarter's revenue fell 0.5% and profit fell 0.9% year on year. Against the S&P 500 it has been ahead on a trailing-13-week view for 9 weeks. This describes what the data did, not a rating. — as of 29 July 2026.
What stage is Canadian National Railway Company in?
Improving — profit growth bottomed 4 quarters ago at −18.3% and has held its recovery at +4.7%, ROCE holding at 12.1%. The read comes from the last 12 quarters of growth (revenue growth +0.5% latest, profit growth +4.7% latest, eps growth +6.4% latest) plus the ROCE curve, classified by deterministic rules — a trajectory read, not a buy or sell call — as of 29 July 2026.
Is Canadian National Railway Company in an uptrend?
Yes — the price is in a confirmed uptrend (week 11 of stage 2), trading +21.5% versus its 200-day average and at 100% of its 52-week range. Price stages cycle base → advance → top → decline, and the stage names where this stock sits in that cycle — as of 29 July 2026.
Is Canadian National Railway Company beating the market?
On recent form, yes — Canadian National Railway Company has been ahead of the S&P 500 on a trailing-13-week view for 9 straight weeks, the same metric the week-by-week ribbon on this page draws. Separately, on the cumulative view: over the last 10.1 years the stock moved +116% against the S&P 500's +248% — behind the index over the full window. — as of 29 July 2026.
Will Canadian National Railway Company's stock price go up?
This page publishes no price forecast for Canadian National Railway Company. What it measures instead: the stock price is $130, the price is in a confirmed uptrend 11 weeks in. Direction is not something this site claims to know. — as of 29 July 2026.
Is the market betting against Canadian National Railway Company?
No — short interest is 0.5% of Canadian National Railway Company's tradable float, about 2.0 days to cover at typical volumes. That is a low reading: the crowd is not positioned against this stock. With no quarter-by-quarter holder register here, short interest is the cleanest crowd read we hold — as of 29 July 2026.
Does Canadian National Railway Company have too much debt?
It carries real leverage — Canadian National Railway Company's debt-to-equity is 1.04. A year-by-year borrowings ladder is not in our numbers for this stock, so the latest reading is the cleanest hold. Read the returns on this page with that leverage in mind — as of 29 July 2026.
What is Canadian National Railway Company's capex?
Canadian National Railway Company spent $10.0 B on capital expenditure over the last 3 fiscal years, a figure derived from the change in fixed assets plus depreciation. In FY25 alone that was $3.7 B. — as of 29 July 2026.
What is Canadian National Railway Company's cash flow?
Canadian National Railway Company generated $7.0 B of operating cash flow in FY25 and $3.4 B of free cash flow after $3.7 B of capital spending. Reported profit that year was $4.7 B, so operating cash ran ahead of profit. — as of 29 July 2026.
Is Canadian National Railway Company's profit real cash?
Yes — over the last 3 fiscal years, 140% of Canadian National Railway Company's reported profit arrived as operating cash. In FY25, operating cash was $7.0 B against reported profit of $4.7 B. The cash then goes mostly into building capacity. Cash-flow resolution is annual — as of 29 July 2026.
How financially safe is Canadian National Railway Company?
On the balance sheet, the Z-score reads 2.49 — above roughly 3 is safe, below roughly 1.8 is the distress zone. That is in the grey band — neither clearly safe nor clearly distressed. — as of 29 July 2026.
Where is Canadian National Railway Company in its business cycle?
Canadian National Railway Company's FY25 operating margin was 38.1%, against a 5-year band of 36.7%–40.0%: mid-band by its own history — neither the peak that precedes mean-reversion nor the trough that precedes recovery. The latest quarter ran 35.4%. Profitability versus a company's own long band is the cleanest cycle clock this page holds — as of 29 July 2026.
What could break the Canadian National Railway Company story?
The sharpest disagreement: the price moved +35.1% in a year while annual EPS moved +8.0% — the difference is re-rating, and re-rating has to be repaid with earnings. Mechanically, two Friday closes in a row below the 200-day average would end the price trend — that is the exit rule this page tracks — as of 29 July 2026.
Is Canadian National Railway Company a stock worth studying right now?
This is not investment advice. The machine read: Canadian National Railway Company's three tracks disagree. Price, valuation and the earnings engine each tell a different story — the next quarter or two settles it. The sharpest open question: whether earnings grow into a price that has already moved. Every number on this page is drawn deterministically from the raw series, with no forecasts and no price opinions — as of 29 July 2026.