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Signal Ledger valuation · UNP

Union Pacific Corp

What the shares are worth today on our research (cited consensus, company plans and peers, since management sets no usable targets): every line valued at the end of FY2030, net debt rolled forward, then discounted back to Sep 30, 2026.

Signal Ledger valuation$190.02−36% vs $298.09
Business value at FY2030
$149B
FY2030 revenue
$30B
FY2030 EPS · P/E
$15.62 · 15×
Discount rate (WACC · equity)
7.91% · 8.70%

How this is built. EPS/OR targets do not provide a dated revenue target; FY2030 uses fuel-normalized mid-cycle 4% revenue growth and rule 7 margin expansion. Each input below shows its basis: consensus, company plan, peer or rule.

Researched Oct 23, 2026 from SEC filing 0000100885-26-000321 · price $298.09 at research time · Valuation methodology

Latest quarter in this research: Q3 2026

Reported Oct 22, 2026 for the quarter to Sep 30, 2026 (company release ↗). This valuation already reflects these results (researched Oct 23, 2026).

Revenue$7.20B
Operating income$2.94B40.9% margin
Net income$2.08B
Diluted EPS$3.49
SegmentRevenuevs a year agoOperating incomeMargin
Union Pacific Railroad$7.20B+15%$2.94B40.9%
  • Reported operating ratio 59.1%; adjusted operating ratio 58.8%.
  • Revenue carloads +6%; freight revenue excluding fuel surcharge +6%.
  • FY2026 capital plan raised to $3.5B; high-single-digit reported EPS growth outlook affirmed.

What each business is worth

BusinessModelFY2030 revenueValue todayPer share2030 multipleValue from beyond FY2030
Union Pacific RailroadCapacity (capex follows demand)$30B$140B$235.859.2× EBITDA62%
All businesses$30B$140B$235.85

Union Pacific Railroad: does new capacity pay?

Each $1 of equipment earns 23.6% EBITDA a year against a 11.9% break-even. Every $1 of new annual revenue is worth $2.00 today after paying for its equipment.

From 2030 back to today

  1. Enterprise value at end of FY2030$149B
  2. Less net debt at FY2030$6.3B
  3. Equity value at FY2030$143B
  4. ÷ (1 + 8.70%)^4.3 years at the cost of equity$100B
  5. + dividends paid on the way, discounted$12B

This reconciliation checks the published Signal Ledger valuation against the net-debt path. The difference is 0.7%, inside our 5% tolerance.

From businesses to one share

  1. All businesses, valued today$140B
  2. − borrowings$30B
  3. − finance leases$0.1B
  4. + cash and short-term investments$3.1B
  5. ÷ diluted shares0.594B
  6. Signal Ledger valuation$190.02

Year by year to FY2030

Fiscal yearRevenueEBITDACapexFree cash flowNet debt at year end
FY2026part already reported$28B$14B$3.5B$8.2B$25B
FY2027$29B$15B$5.1B$7B$23B
FY2028$29B$15B$3.3B$9.2B$17B
FY2029$29B$16B$3.4B$9.5B$12B
FY2030$30B$16B$4.1B$9.2B$6.3B

What must be true

  • Union Pacific Railroad grows revenue from $28.3B in FY2026 to $29.8B in FY2030 (1.1×).
  • Union Pacific Railroad raises its EBITDA margin from 50.2% to 54.2%.
  • The company spends $19.3B of capital expenditure through FY2030.
  • Net debt peaks at $27.2B in FY2025 and stays financeable.
  • Union Pacific Railroad earns 23.6% EBITDA a year on each dollar of equipment, above the 11.9% it needs to cover depreciation and the cost of capital.

What the price implies

To reach $298.09 at our discount rate, Union Pacific Corp would need about $53.1B of FY2030 sales (growth of about 17.1% a year from FY2026) with 54.2% EBITDA margin — versus $29.8B and 54.2% EBITDA margin in our research.

At the research price of $298.09 (2026-10-23), the price asks more than our assumptions overall. These are operating requirements at that price, not additional valuations or forecasts.

If sales and margins changed together

Each row matches the same research price at our unchanged discount rate, by scaling every operating line's margin by one common factor. Sales cover margin and capacity lines only; other valuation lines stay fixed. Margins are revenue-weighted within each metric, before separately modeled corporate costs and eliminations. The conclusion uses the row at our research margins when sales alone can match the price, otherwise the solved row needing the least sales growth; this is a trade-off between growth and profitability, not a forecast.

FY2030 sales factorFY2030 salesFY2026–30 CAGRRequired FY2030 marginRequirement
1.50×$44.7B12.2%
58.5% EBITDA
Within margin guardrails
1.78×At research margins$53.1B17.1%
54.2% EBITDA
Within margin guardrails
2.00×$59.6B20.5%
51.7% EBITDA
Within margin guardrails
3.00×$89.5B33.4%
44.5% EBITDA
Within margin guardrails

CAGR uses $28.3B of same-scope FY2026 sales from the published model or its sourced research base, over four fiscal years. “Within margin guardrails” checks numeric limits only, not commercial plausibility. Each line and year must stay at or below 50.0% GAAP EBIT and 100% EBITDA, or our research margin where that is higher; capacity EBIT uses the engine's equipment depreciation. Unsolved margins are not extrapolated.

Implied discount rate
6.0%

The WACC that makes model value equal the price, shifting WACC and cost of equity by the same amount. Model: 7.9% WACC · 8.7% cost of equity.

All-business FY2030 sales factor
1.78×

FY2030 revenue would need to reach $53.1B (model: $29.8B) across the margin and capacity businesses. FY1 stays fixed; the sales change ramps to FY2030 and stays at that factor thereafter.

If only one business changed

Businesses with margin or capacity revenue paths, ordered by value today. Revenue and margin are separate alternatives; these requirements are not added together.

Union Pacific Railroad

Revenue alone
FY2030 revenue would need to reach $50B (model: $29.8B).
Margin alone

FY2030 EBITDA margin would need to reach 71.3% (model: 54.2%).

Mechanical requirements, not forecasts. The separate sales-only and single-business factors are searched from 0.1× to 6×; an unsolved comparison means this business alone cannot get there within those bounds. Single-business revenue changes apply from FY2 onward; margin changes scale the full EBIT or EBITDA margin path. Mixed groups show revenue-weighted EBIT and EBITDA margins separately. Requirements above 100% are not feasible margins. Joint rows instead search non-negative uniform margin factors only up to the EBIT/EBITDA guardrails; the entire margin path scales, including post-FY2030 convergence. Sales and margins change together only in that table. The rate search runs from the largest terminal growth rate plus 0.5 percentage points to 30% WACC.

The discount rate

Cost of equity
8.70%

r_f 3.87% (5-year average 10-year Treasury yield 3.87% (spot 5.13% on 2026-10-21)) + β 0.97 after Blume adjustment × 5%, rounded to 0.01% (1bp)

WACC
7.91%

methodology §4.5: market-weighted WACC, not rounded

10-year Treasury · model / spot
3.87% · 5.13%

The model uses the recorded 5-year average Treasury yield. The spot yield is shown for context.

Every input, with its source

Show 19 inputs · reported, guidance and rule-based
InputValueBasisWhy
Revenue FY2026Union Pacific Railroad$28.3BReportedtarget (methodology §4.2), growth 15.3% sec.gov ↗
Revenue FY2030Union Pacific Railroad$29.8BGuidancetarget (methodology §4.2), growth 1.4% sec.gov ↗
EBITDA margin FY2030Union Pacific Railroad54.2%Rulelinear path to 54.2% by FY2030 (§4.3 E2: 4.0000 points = 4pp × clamp((CAGR − 1.5%) / 2%, 0, 1); revenue CAGR 4.0% to FY2030; no cited expansion evidence) sec.gov ↗
Equipment per $1 of revenue (k)Union Pacific Railroad2.3Rulemethodology §4.4: in-service equipment + FY1 capex over FY2 revenue = 2.25 sec.gov ↗
Equipment lifeUnion Pacific Railroad19 yearsReportedserver life 18 years + 1 for long-lived assets sec.gov ↗
Capex FY2026Union Pacific Railroad$3.5BGuidanceOctober 22 updated FY2026 capital plan $3.5B supersedes July $3.3B. × 1 pool share sec.gov ↗
Terminal growthUnion Pacific Railroad2.0%Rulemethodology §4.2 terminal growth for a mature line Valuation methodology §4.2 · Read methodology ↗
YTD revenue through 2026-09-30Union Pacific Railroad$20.278000BReportedNine-month consolidated operating revenues, one railroad reporting segment; not Q3 alone. sec.gov ↗
YTD GAAP operating profit through 2026-09-30Union Pacific Railroad$8.164000BReportedNine-month GAAP operating income; retains merger and other operating expenses, excludes below-EBIT other income. sec.gov ↗
YTD D&A through 2026-09-30Union Pacific Railroad$1.914000BReportedNine-month depreciation from both operating statement and cash-flow reconciliation; no acquired amortization. sec.gov ↗
YTD capex through 2026-09-30Union Pacific Railroad$2.834000BReportedNine-month cash capital investments; replaces 3.5B annual budget × 3/4 = 2.625B, not the announced annual capital plan. sec.gov ↗
WACCDiscount rates7.91%Rulemethodology §4.5: market-weighted WACC, not rounded FRED DGS10 2021-10-20..2026-10-21
Cost of equityDiscount rates8.70%Ruler_f 3.87% (5-year average 10-year Treasury yield 3.87% (spot 5.13% on 2026-10-21)) + β 0.97 after Blume adjustment × 5%, rounded to 0.01% (1bp) 60 monthly returns vs SPY, 2021-09..2026-09 (adjusted closes)
Tax rateDiscount rates23.0%RuleNormalized effective tax assumption from reported/guided rate; see notes. sec.gov ↗
Cash and short-term investmentsBalance sheet$3.1BReportedcash, cash equivalents and short-term investments us-gaap:CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue + us-gaap:HeldToMaturitySecuritiesCurrent · 0000100885-26-000321 (filed 2026-10-22)
BorrowingsBalance sheet$30.3BReportedborrowings due within a year plus long-term borrowings; finance leases already included in combined debt tags removed and deducted separately us-gaap:CommercialPaper + us-gaap:LongTermDebtAndCapitalLeaseObligationsCurrent · 0000100885-26-000321 + us-gaap:LongTermDebtAndCapitalLeaseObligations · 0000100885-26-000321
Finance leasesBalance sheet$68MReportedfinance lease liabilities (capex-like; deducted once) finance lease carrying amount explicitly excluded from contractual debt obligations (dated filing footnote; not undiscounted lease payments) · 0000100885-26-000321 (filed 2026-10-22)
SharesBalance sheet0.594BReportedshares outstanding as of 2026-10-16 cover page of 10-Q 0000100885-26-000321
Dividends per yearShareholders$3.3BReportedLastfourpaid: three*$1.38 plusSeptember 2026$1.42=5.56. × 0.594B shares investor.unionpacific.com ↗

Research notes

  • share-count comparison: 0.5945B quarter 2026-07-01..2026-09-30 · 0000100885-26-000321; point-in-time denominator retained
  • Union Pacific Railroad: 3 quarter(s) of FY2026 already reported; counted as actuals
  • Union Pacific Railroad: dated YTD inputs through 2026-09-30; omitted metrics retain estimates, company capital-pool amounts allocated once
  • cost of equity 8.70% (β 0.97 after Blume adjustment), WACC 7.9%
  • Union Pacific Railroad: k 2.3 (calibrated 2.25), life 19 years

Signal Ledger research built from cited consensus, company plans and peer economics because management sets no usable targets — not a forecast and not investment advice. The research desk (GPT-6.1 (Codex)) gathers filings, guidance and targets; deterministic code applies the samepublished rules to every company and checks the result. Inputs may contain errors; follow the source links before relying on them. Read our valuation methodology →