Canadian National Railway Company (CNI) AI Stock Analysis

Canadian National Railway Company, founded in 1919 and based in Montreal, Canada, provides rail and related transportation services across 20,000 route miles of track in Canada and the United States. Its services include equipment, custom brokerage, transloading, distribution, real estate, and private car storage. The company also delivers intermodal services, comprehensive trucking solutions like door-to-door delivery and specialized transport, and end-to-end supply chain services. It serves various markets, including automotive, coal, fertilizers, forest products, grain, metals, minerals, petroleum, chemicals, and consumer goods.

Between FY2020 and FY2025, revenue achieved a five-year compound annual growth rate of 4.6%. Annual revenue increased from $14.48B in FY2021 to $17.11B in FY2022, fell 1.6% to $16.83B in FY2023, and reached $17.29B in FY2025. Net income was $4.72B in FY2025, supported by an operating margin of 38.1% and a gross margin of 44.9%. In the trailing twelve months, revenue reached $17.76B with an operating margin of 40.3% and EPS of $5.64. For the quarter ended June 30, 2026, revenue increased 11.3% year-over-year, while earnings grew 10.2%.

As of June 30, 2026, the company held $294.1M in cash and short-term investments against total debt of $22.63B, leaving net debt at $22.33B. Its current ratio stood at 0.87, and the debt-to-equity ratio was 1.03 based on $21.91B in shareholders' equity. In FY2025, operating cash flow reached $7.04B and free cash flow was $3.39B. Capital expenditures totaled $3.66B, while the company directed $2.12B to share buybacks and $2.21B to dividend payments.

CNI trades at a trailing P/E of 21.6x, below the 24.8x median of its US-listed Industrials peers, while its forward P/E of 18.9x sits above the peer median of 17.2x. The enterprise value of $88.29B reflects an EV to EBITDA multiple of 13.4x, compared to 13.9x for the peer median. Its price-to-sales ratio is 4.1x versus the peer median of 1.5x. Over the past year, CNI generated a 31.8% return, outperforming the S&P 500 (SPY) return of 16.8%, but its five-year return of 10.4% lagged the benchmark return of 83.0%.

Canadian National Railway offers a forward dividend yield of 2.12% with an annualized payout of $2.58 per share. The company has paid dividends for 31 consecutive years, delivering a five-year annualized dividend growth rate of 7.9%. Its payout ratio stands at 36.7%, and its most recent ex-dividend date was September 8, 2026.

Wall Street analyst coverage consists of 10 Strong Buy, 5 Buy, 14 Hold, 0 Sell, and 1 Strong Sell ratings. The mean price target is $136.12, which sits 11.8% above the last close of $121.79 on October 16, 2026. For the fiscal year ending December 31, 2026, consensus estimates project revenue of $18.60B and EPS of $8.11. The company has beaten EPS estimates in 3 of the last 4 quarters, with its next earnings date set for October 30, 2026.

This page is an AI-written research summary of Canadian National Railway Company (CNI). The text was generated on October 30, 2026 from Quotelinks data as of October 16, 2026 (company profile, annual results, latest balance sheet, valuation, price performance and analyst estimates). An automatic check rejects any draft that contains a figure not found in that data. It is not investment advice; verify figures on the linked tabs before making decisions.

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