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Side-by-side financial comparison of A. O. Smith (AOS) and Norfolk Southern (NSC), based on the latest 10-Q / 10-K filings. Click either name above to swap in a different company.
Norfolk Southern is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($3.0B vs $912.5M, roughly 3.3× A. O. Smith). Norfolk Southern runs the higher net margin — 13.7% vs 21.7%, a 7.9% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, A. O. Smith posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (0.0% vs -1.7%). Norfolk Southern produced more free cash flow last quarter ($334.0M vs $165.5M). Over the past eight quarters, Norfolk Southern's revenue compounded faster (-0.5% CAGR vs -3.4%).
A. O. SmithAOSEarnings & Financial Report
A. O. Smith Corporation is an American manufacturer of both residential and commercial water heaters and boilers, and the largest manufacturer and marketer of water heaters in North America. It also supplies water treatment and purification products in the Asian market. The company has 27 locations worldwide, including five manufacturing facilities in North America, as well as plants in Bengaluru in India, Nanjing in China and Veldhoven in The Netherlands.
The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States. Headquartered in Atlanta, the company was formed in 1982 with the merger of the Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. The company operates 19,420 route miles (31,250 km) in 22 eastern states and the District of Columbia, and has rights in Canada over the Albany to Montreal route of the Canadian Pacific Kansas City.
AOS vs NSC — Head-to-Head
Income Statement — Q4 2025 vs Q4 2025
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $912.5M | $3.0B |
| Net Profit | $125.4M | $644.0M |
| Gross Margin | 38.4% | — |
| Operating Margin | 17.9% | 31.5% |
| Net Margin | 13.7% | 21.7% |
| Revenue YoY | 0.0% | -1.7% |
| Net Profit YoY | 14.3% | -12.1% |
| EPS (diluted) | $0.89 | $2.87 |
Green = leading value per metric. Periods may differ when fiscal calendars don't align — see 8-quarter trend below.
8-Quarter Revenue & Profit Trend
Side-by-side quarterly history — bar widths are scaled to the larger of the two companies so you can eyeball the size gap and growth trajectory without doing math. Quarters aligned by calendar period (report date) so offset fiscal years line up.
| Q4 25 | $912.5M | $3.0B | ||
| Q3 25 | $942.5M | $3.1B | ||
| Q2 25 | $1.0B | $3.1B | ||
| Q1 25 | $963.9M | $3.0B | ||
| Q4 24 | $912.4M | $3.0B | ||
| Q3 24 | $902.6M | $3.1B | ||
| Q2 24 | $1.0B | $3.0B | ||
| Q1 24 | $978.8M | $3.0B |
| Q4 25 | $125.4M | $644.0M | ||
| Q3 25 | $132.0M | $711.0M | ||
| Q2 25 | $152.2M | $768.0M | ||
| Q1 25 | $136.6M | $750.0M | ||
| Q4 24 | $109.7M | $733.0M | ||
| Q3 24 | $120.1M | $1.1B | ||
| Q2 24 | $156.2M | $737.0M | ||
| Q1 24 | $147.6M | $53.0M |
| Q4 25 | 38.4% | — | ||
| Q3 25 | 38.7% | — | ||
| Q2 25 | 39.3% | — | ||
| Q1 25 | 38.9% | — | ||
| Q4 24 | 37.1% | — | ||
| Q3 24 | 37.4% | — | ||
| Q2 24 | 38.7% | — | ||
| Q1 24 | 39.3% | — |
| Q4 25 | 17.9% | 31.5% | ||
| Q3 25 | 18.6% | 35.4% | ||
| Q2 25 | 20.4% | 37.8% | ||
| Q1 25 | 19.1% | 38.3% | ||
| Q4 24 | 10.1% | 37.4% | ||
| Q3 24 | 19.5% | 52.3% | ||
| Q2 24 | 21.9% | 37.2% | ||
| Q1 24 | 22.0% | 7.1% |
| Q4 25 | 13.7% | 21.7% | ||
| Q3 25 | 14.0% | 22.9% | ||
| Q2 25 | 15.0% | 24.7% | ||
| Q1 25 | 14.2% | 25.1% | ||
| Q4 24 | 12.0% | 24.2% | ||
| Q3 24 | 13.3% | 36.0% | ||
| Q2 24 | 15.2% | 24.2% | ||
| Q1 24 | 15.1% | 1.8% |
| Q4 25 | $0.89 | $2.87 | ||
| Q3 25 | $0.94 | $3.16 | ||
| Q2 25 | $1.07 | $3.41 | ||
| Q1 25 | $0.95 | $3.31 | ||
| Q4 24 | $0.75 | $3.24 | ||
| Q3 24 | $0.82 | $4.85 | ||
| Q2 24 | $1.06 | $3.25 | ||
| Q1 24 | $1.00 | $0.23 |
Balance Sheet & Financial Strength
Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest filing — the kind of financial-strength check premium terminals charge for.
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand | $193.2M | $1.5B |
| Total DebtLower is stronger | $155.0M | $16.5B |
| Stockholders' EquityBook value | $1.9B | $15.5B |
| Total Assets | $3.1B | $45.2B |
| Debt / EquityLower = less leverage | 0.08× | 1.06× |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period so offset fiscal years match up.
| Q4 25 | $193.2M | $1.5B | ||
| Q3 25 | $172.8M | $1.4B | ||
| Q2 25 | $177.9M | $1.3B | ||
| Q1 25 | $200.2M | $1.0B | ||
| Q4 24 | $276.1M | $1.6B | ||
| Q3 24 | $255.6M | $975.0M | ||
| Q2 24 | $233.3M | $659.0M | ||
| Q1 24 | $303.1M | $652.0M |
| Q4 25 | $155.0M | $16.5B | ||
| Q3 25 | — | $16.5B | ||
| Q2 25 | — | $16.5B | ||
| Q1 25 | — | $16.7B | ||
| Q4 24 | $193.2M | $16.7B | ||
| Q3 24 | — | $16.6B | ||
| Q2 24 | — | $16.9B | ||
| Q1 24 | — | $17.2B |
| Q4 25 | $1.9B | $15.5B | ||
| Q3 25 | $1.8B | $15.1B | ||
| Q2 25 | $1.8B | $14.8B | ||
| Q1 25 | $1.9B | $14.5B | ||
| Q4 24 | $1.9B | $14.3B | ||
| Q3 24 | $1.9B | $13.8B | ||
| Q2 24 | $1.9B | $13.0B | ||
| Q1 24 | $1.9B | $12.5B |
| Q4 25 | $3.1B | $45.2B | ||
| Q3 25 | $3.2B | $44.6B | ||
| Q2 25 | $3.2B | $44.2B | ||
| Q1 25 | $3.3B | $43.8B | ||
| Q4 24 | $3.2B | $43.7B | ||
| Q3 24 | $3.2B | $43.3B | ||
| Q2 24 | $3.2B | $42.6B | ||
| Q1 24 | $3.2B | $42.1B |
| Q4 25 | 0.08× | 1.06× | ||
| Q3 25 | — | 1.09× | ||
| Q2 25 | — | 1.11× | ||
| Q1 25 | — | 1.15× | ||
| Q4 24 | 0.10× | 1.16× | ||
| Q3 24 | — | 1.21× | ||
| Q2 24 | — | 1.30× | ||
| Q1 24 | — | 1.37× |
Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency
How much cash each business actually produces after reinvestment. Net income can be massaged; cash flow is harder to fake.
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Operating Cash FlowLast quarter | $183.1M | $1.1B |
| Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex | $165.5M | $334.0M |
| FCF MarginFCF / Revenue | 18.1% | 11.2% |
| Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue; lower = less reinvestment burden | 1.9% | 24.5% |
| Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit; >1× = earnings back up with cash | 1.46× | 1.65× |
| TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters | $546.0M | $2.2B |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period so offset fiscal years match up.
| Q4 25 | $183.1M | $1.1B | ||
| Q3 25 | $255.4M | $1.3B | ||
| Q2 25 | $139.6M | $1.1B | ||
| Q1 25 | $38.7M | $950.0M | ||
| Q4 24 | $221.9M | $951.0M | ||
| Q3 24 | $195.9M | $1.2B | ||
| Q2 24 | $57.4M | $1.0B | ||
| Q1 24 | $106.6M | $839.0M |
| Q4 25 | $165.5M | $334.0M | ||
| Q3 25 | $240.6M | $720.0M | ||
| Q2 25 | $122.5M | $602.0M | ||
| Q1 25 | $17.4M | $501.0M | ||
| Q4 24 | $191.3M | $276.0M | ||
| Q3 24 | $163.4M | $645.0M | ||
| Q2 24 | $34.5M | $468.0M | ||
| Q1 24 | $84.6M | $282.0M |
| Q4 25 | 18.1% | 11.2% | ||
| Q3 25 | 25.5% | 23.2% | ||
| Q2 25 | 12.1% | 19.4% | ||
| Q1 25 | 1.8% | 16.7% | ||
| Q4 24 | 21.0% | 9.1% | ||
| Q3 24 | 18.1% | 21.1% | ||
| Q2 24 | 3.4% | 15.4% | ||
| Q1 24 | 8.6% | 9.4% |
| Q4 25 | 1.9% | 24.5% | ||
| Q3 25 | 1.6% | 17.8% | ||
| Q2 25 | 1.7% | 15.3% | ||
| Q1 25 | 2.2% | 15.0% | ||
| Q4 24 | 3.4% | 22.3% | ||
| Q3 24 | 3.6% | 19.0% | ||
| Q2 24 | 2.2% | 18.7% | ||
| Q1 24 | 2.2% | 18.5% |
| Q4 25 | 1.46× | 1.65× | ||
| Q3 25 | 1.93× | 1.79× | ||
| Q2 25 | 0.92× | 1.40× | ||
| Q1 25 | 0.28× | 1.27× | ||
| Q4 24 | 2.02× | 1.30× | ||
| Q3 24 | 1.63× | 1.12× | ||
| Q2 24 | 0.37× | 1.41× | ||
| Q1 24 | 0.72× | 15.83× |
Financial Flow Comparison
Sankey diagram of revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company. Charts shown full-width and stacked so both segment hierarchies are readable side-by-side on desktop and mobile.
Revenue Breakdown by Segment
AOS
| North America Segment | $713.7M | 78% |
| Rest Of World | $158.3M | 17% |
| Other | $40.5M | 4% |
NSC
| Railway Operating Revenues Market Group Merchandise | $1.9B | 63% |
| Metals And Construction | $404.0M | 14% |
| Railway Operating Revenues Market Group Coal | $347.0M | 12% |
| Automotive | $293.0M | 10% |
