Skip to content
StockMarketAgent
Direct answer
CSX trades against a final fair-value range of $21.30-$52.53, with the midpoint set by the accepted valuation synthesis rather than earlier draft model outputs. Fair value range: low $21.3, high $52.5, with mid-point at $34.5.
Stock analysis

CSX fair value $21–$53

By StockMarketAgent.AI team· supervised by
Analyzed: 2026-05-20Next update: 2026-08-20Methodology v2.4Data cut-off: Quality gate: passSources: all material sources passed deterministic freshness/provenance gatesReview: automatedArchetype: Turnaround
View archive
Last price
$46.08
▼ -11.57 (-25.11%)
Fair value
$35
$21–$53
Rating
Sell
confidence 82/100
Upside
-25.1%
upside to fair value
Margin of Safety
$29.33
MoS level · 15%
Market Cap
$85.6B
P/E fwd 21.4

§1 Executive summary

  • Composite fair value $35 with high case $53.
  • Implied downside of 25.1% to fair value.
  • Moat 9/10 · confidence 82/100 · Turnaround.
  • Currently screens above fair value, so patience matters more than entry speed.
Fair value
$35
Margin of safety
-33.5%
Confidence
82/100
Moat
9/10

Educational analysis only — not financial advice. Always do your own due diligence.

$46.08Price
Low $21.30
Mid $34.51
High $52.53

CSX trades against a final fair-value range of $21.30-$52.53, with the midpoint set by the accepted valuation synthesis rather than earlier draft model outputs.

  • 20,000-mile Eastern US rail network
    20,000-mile Eastern US rail network rights-of-way
  • Network effects from 30+ intermodal
    Network effects from 30+ intermodal terminal connections
  • Cycle upside
    Sustained industrial production growth >3% and recovering intermodal demand.

§2 Bear case

A combined 10% volume contraction in industrial carloads paired with a 25% surge in diesel fuel prices would expand the operating ratio to ~70%. Under this scenario, mandatory capital expendituresCapital expendituresCash spent on acquiring or upgrading property, plant, and equipment. Splits into maintenance capex (sustaining current capacity) and growth capex (expanding capacity). of $2.9B would consume nearly 100% of operating cash flowOperating cash flowCash generated from the company's core operations after working-capital changes but before capital expenditures. The first line of the cash-flow statement., threatening capital returns and debt covenants.

Ways this thesis can break

Accelerated Coal Decarbonization

30%· Medium

A rapid utility pivot away from coal removes 15%+ of high-margin carload volume, causing structural deleveraging of fixed network costs and permanent margin compression.

FV impact
-35%
Trigger
12-36 months

Capex Trap / Normalization Failure

40%· High

Capital intensity remains at ~20% of revenue through FY2027 as turnaround efforts fail to yield operational gains, leaving free cash flow suppressed indefinitely.

FV impact
-25%
Trigger
18-24 months

Regulatory Pricing Intervention

20%· Medium

The Surface Transportation Board mandates restrictive rate caps for captive shippers to fight industrial inflation, stripping the company of its core pricing power.

FV impact
-40%
Trigger
24-48 months
Early-warning signals to monitor
MetricCurrentTrigger threshold
Operating Ratio (OR) exceeding 65% for two consecutive quarters.MonitorDeterioration versus the report thesis
Capex-to-Revenue ratio remaining above 18% into FY2027.MonitorDeterioration versus the report thesis
Net Debt / EBITDA ratio climbing toward 4.0x.MonitorDeterioration versus the report thesis
Intermodal carload growth trailing trucking sector volumes by >300bps.MonitorDeterioration versus the report thesis
Free Cash Flow to Net Income ratio dropping below 0.4x.MonitorDeterioration versus the report thesis

§3 Financial history

Income statement — last six periods
Line itemT−0T−1T−2T−3CAGR
Period2022-12-312023-12-312024-12-312025-12-31Trend
Revenue$14.85B$14.66B$14.54B$14.09B-1.7%
Gross profit$5.72B$5.50B$5.35B$4.69B-6.4%
Operating income$5.80B$5.53B$5.40B$4.72B-6.6%
Net income$4.11B$3.67B$3.47B$2.89B-11.1%
EPS (diluted)$1.95$1.85$1.79$1.54-7.6%
EBITDA$7.59B$7.25B$7.05B$6.29B-6.1%
R&D—————
SG&A$-79.0M$-29.0M$-50.0M$-33.0M—

Quality scores

OCF / Net income
1.6×
>1 indicates high earnings quality
Accounting quality gate
Fail
Sector-adjusted gate
ROIC
11.2%
Return on invested capital
§3

Numbers analysis

Cash flow

Cash-flow quality is reflected in the OCFOperating cash flowCash generated from the company's core operations after working-capital changes but before capital expenditures. The first line of the cash-flow statement. / net incomeNet IncomeNet Income is an income-statement line item used to reconcile revenue to operating profit, pre-tax income, net income, or per-share earnings. It should be compared across periods and against peer disclosure conventions., accounting-quality, and ROICROICReturn on invested capital. Operating profit (after tax) divided by invested capital. The single best gauge of capital-efficiency. Spread over WACC = economic value created. rows above.

Capital allocation

Capital allocation should be evaluated against reinvestment needs, balance-sheet strength, and shareholder returns.

Individual subscribers — §4 onwards11 more sections

Read the full analysis — 11 more sections.

Competitive moat, industry cycle, peer comparison, intrinsic valuation, sensitivity, scenarios, earnings decision tree, position management, investor perspectives, scorecard, and final recommendation.

Full report for every covered ticker
24 months of rating archive
Watchlist briefings + rating-change alerts
PDF + DOCX export in any language
Start free trial
Cancel anytime.
CASH FLOW FAQ

CSX cash flow questions

  1. Free cash flow for CSX (CSX) is computed as operating cash flow minus capital expenditure. We report both the absolute level and the FCF margin against revenue, with five years of trajectory.

FAQ

CSX — frequently asked questions

  1. Based on our latest analysis, CSX looks meaningfully overvalued. The current price is $46.1 versus a composite fair-value midpoint of $34.5 (range $21.3–$52.5), which implies roughly 25.1% downside to the midpoint.

Related coverage

Names readers of CSX also follow

Same archetype: turnaround