CluenexUnion Pacific UNP
Union Pacific scores average on business quality (5.7 of 10). Here is why, in plain words, and what our sealed record shows.
Why it matters
- What Union Pacific does
Union Pacific operates a massive railroad network across the western two-thirds of the United States, moving freight like industrial goods, coal, and agricultural products for corporate shippers.
- What it does best
Union Pacific dominates western rail transport, backed by an operating margin of 40.0% that beats peers like CSX at 34.9%. This edge relies on irreplaceable right-of-way infrastructure that cannot be duplicated.
- The main risk
Carrying $31.8 billion of total debt against $1.5 billion in cash creates continuous refinancing pressure, leaving little room for error if freight volumes decline unexpectedly.
Quality, check by check
Scored against its own industry, from company filings.
Operating margin hits an elite 40.0% alongside an FCF margin of 25.6%, placing profitability in the top decile of its sector at the 99th percentile. Scale converts revenue directly into cash flow.
The network moat locks in industrial and agricultural shippers who have no practical alternative to rail transit. Its gross margin ranks in the top decile of its sector at 78.3%, protected by immense physical barriers.
Revenue growth crawled at 1.1% to $25.4 billion over the latest period. This matches a multi-year trend of flat top-line performance visible since 2022.
Total debt of $31.8 billion heavily outweighs cash of $1.5 billion, while interest coverage sits thin at 7.9x. Free cash flow reached $6.5B, showing software-like cash conversion but a softer balance sheet.
Insiders
Executives and directors, from SEC Form 4 filings we read ourselves. Open market trades only; grants, option exercises and pre-planned sales left out.
No open market buys or unplanned sales by executives or directors.
Our sealed record on UNP
Verdicts appear here 30 days after we publish them; members see today's. Each one is in the nightly ledger, fingerprinted the night it was made.
The first sealed verdicts appear here on Oct 11, 2026.
Questions
Union Pacific scores average on the Cluenex quality check (5.7 of 10), measured against its own industry. Profitability is strong, moat strong, growth slow and financial health fair.
In the last 90 days of SEC Form 4 filings: No open market buys or unplanned sales by executives or directors.
Oct 22, 2026, before the open.
See UNP today
- Today's verdict on UNP, and why
- Fair value with cautious, base and optimistic cases
- The exact price that would change the verdict
- Which stocks each signal names, the night it fires
Cite this page: Cluenex, “Union Pacific (UNP)”, https://cluenex.com/stocks/unp/, data as of Oct 10, 2026.