Orin
UNPNYSE·Railroads

Union Pacific Corporation UNP

Market cap $163.0BP/E 22.3× trailingGross margin 45.5%Reports Thu 22 Oct, before the open
$274.39
−1.14 (−0.41%)live 09:30 ET
52-wk $215.53 – $315.99
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Orin's take
0.62conviction · moderate
Refreshed 14 Aug · take v5. A new filing or a print queues the next refresh.

Union Pacific's FY2025 EPS grew 7.9% to $11.97 with operating income of $9.84B, and the stock trades at a 16.7% P/E discount to the peer median of 28.9x, but revenue growth of just 1.1% to $24.51B and a declining FCF from $5.89B to $5.50B limit the upside. The pending NSC merger filing with the STB introduces a binary catalyst, while smart money scores have cooled from 0.23 in Q3 2025 to 0.05 in Q1 2026 and the MACD histogram has turned negative at -0.90.

With the stock already 17% above its 200-day MA at $297.79, the risk/reward is balanced pending merger clarity and volume reacceleration.

What could go wrong

  • Merger regulatory block. The STB could reject or heavily condition the NSC merger, removing a key catalyst and potentially reversing the stock's recent premium.
  • Volume stagnation. Revenue grew only 1.1% in FY2025 to $24.51B; if freight demand remains soft due to tariff tensions and supply-chain disruptions, EPS growth may decelerate.
  • Smart money exodus. Smart money score declined from 0.2265 in Q3 2025 to 0.047 in Q1 2026, suggesting institutional conviction is fading even as fund count rose to 68.
  • FCF compression from rising capex. Capex increased to $3.79B in FY2025 from $3.45B, reducing FCF to $5.50B; further capex escalation could pressure shareholder returns given $31.8B in total debt.

What would change my mind

STB merger approval. STB clears the UNP-NSC merger with manageable conditions, unlocking synergy potential and network expansionbullish
Volume reacceleration. Quarterly revenue growth exceeds 3% YoY, indicating freight demand recovery and pricing powerbullish
Operating margin compression. Operating income declines YoY or operating margin falls below 40%, signaling cost discipline is slippingbearish

Where this comes from: FMP fundamentals FY2025 vs FY2024 · FMP fundamentals FY2024 vs FY2025 · peer_relative composite · FMP fundamentals FY2024 vs FY2025. Orin's read on UNP; not advice.

Twelve months actual closes to 2026-09-23 · actual filings

Sept 25Nov 25Jan 26Mar 26May 26Jul 26

50-day average 200-day average · volume below

Largest holders · 13F Q2 2026

Money flow
FilerPositionOf fund
Vanguard Capital Management$10.5B0.2% of fund
State Street$7.6B0.2% of fund
Capital World Investors$7.4B0.9% of fund
Capital Research Global Investors$4.7B0.6% of fund
Geode Capital Management$4.4B0.2% of fund
Jpmorgan Chase &$4.3B0.2% of fund

174 filers · quarter ended Q2 2026 · positions, not flows

Insiders, last 24 months: 209 Form 4 filings, net $56.5M. Of the 50 on hand, 0 were open-market purchases and 3 sales— the rest are grants, option exercises and tax withholding.

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Where it trades

vs its own 5y · Industrials
MetricNowOwn medianSector
P/E22.3×20.5×44.5×
EV/EBITDA14.5×13.6×
P/S6.44×5.71×
P/B7.9×10.1×

Its P/E sits 60th percentile of its own last 5 years (+0.35σ from its own mean).

What the price assumes

13.1%

free-cash-flow growth every year for 10 years, discounted at 10%, is what today’s price implies — starting from $5.5B of trailing free cash flow. It is an assumption the market is making, not a forecast Orin is making.

What Wall Street published

47 firms · 2026-09-23
Consensus target

$333

$294$363 · +22% against today's price

How they rate it
  • 29 buy or overweight
  • 17 hold
  • 1 underweight or sell

The analysts’ consensus and their own ratings, not Orin’s. A target is a twelve-month opinion published by the firm that wrote it.

Against the companies it is compared to

median P/E 27.1× of 8 peers
CompanyMarket capP/EEV/EBITDAGrossNetROE
UNPUnion Pacific Corporation$164B22.3×14.5×45.5%28.8%39%
ADPAutomatic Data Processing, Inc.$105B24.0×16.8×48.2%20.1%70%
CSXCSX Corporation$87B27.3×15.8×54.9%22.2%24%
DEDeere & Company$192B39.3×22.2×35.7%10.2%18%
ETNEaton Corporation plc$170B44.5×29.6×35.9%12.8%20%
HONHoneywell International Inc.$67B8.2×7.4×36.6%22.7%42%
LMTLockheed Martin Corporation$121B19.3×14.0×11.8%8.2%86%
NSCNorfolk Southern Corporation$71B26.9×15.9×53.7%21.0%17%
PHParker-Hannifin Corporation$122B33.6×22.5×37.7%17.0%25%

The median is of the 8 peers listed above and nothing else — check it against the column. This company trades 17.7% below it. The peer set is the vendor’s, so a company can appear here that a person would not have chosen.

What it has traded at

P/E by fiscal year
FY14 20.6×FY25 19.3×

What its sector has traded at

Industrials
FY14 173.5×FY26 32.7×

Two scales, drawn separately on purpose: a sector median and one company’s multiple are not the same number and putting them on one axis invites a comparison neither series supports.

Discounted cash flow

not recomputed since
ModelFair valueAgainstComputed
Standard DCF$182$268.74 · −32%2026-06-10
Levered DCF$144$268.74 · −47%2026-06-10

The vendor’s intrinsic-value models. Treat them as a low-growth anchor — for a fast grower the market routinely pays well above a DCF. These were computed against the price in the “against” column, not today’s.

Every estimate on one scale

price $274.39
52-week range$216 – $316
Analyst targets$294 – $363
Standard DCF$182 as of 2026-06-10, when it was $268.74
Levered DCF$144 as of 2026-06-10, when it was $268.74
At own 5y-median P/E (21×)$254
At 5y P/E range (18–25×)$228 – $312
At sector P/E (45×)$551

The vertical rule is the current price. Ranges and point estimates are the backend’s, published as they were calculated; an arrow means the estimate sits beyond this scale, and its number is on the right.