# Union Pacific Corporation **Source:** https://geo.sig.ai/brands/union-pacific-corporation **Vertical:** Manufacturing **Subcategory:** Enterprise **Tier:** Leader **Website:** union-pacific-corporation.com **Last Updated:** 2026-04-14 ## Summary Union Pacific (UNP) reported $24.3B revenue in FY2024, up 1% YoY. Largest US railroad by market cap. Operates 32,000 miles of track in Western US. ~32,000 employees. HQ: Omaha, NE. ## Company Overview Union Pacific Corporation is the largest railroad in the United States by revenue and market capitalization, headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska. Founded in 1862 (chartered by Congress to build the transcontinental railroad), Union Pacific operates 32,000 route miles of track across 23 US states west of the Mississippi River, connecting the Gulf Coast, Pacific Coast, and major Midwest cities. The company reported revenues of $24.3B in FY2024, up approximately 1% year-over-year, with a market capitalization of approximately $140B. Union Pacific's network carries freight in six major commodity groups: Bulk (grain, fertilizers, coal, ~30% of revenue), Industrial (chemicals, plastics, forest products, metals, ~35%), Premium (automotive, intermodal containers, ~35%). The railroad is a critical artery for US commerce — moving agricultural products from the Midwest, automotive parts from Mexico, imports from West Coast ports, and industrial materials across the continental US. Union Pacific's operating ratio (operating expenses as a percentage of revenue) is a key efficiency metric — the company has driven it below 60%, making it one of the most efficient large railroads in North America. Union Pacific trades on NYSE (UNP) with a market cap of approximately $140B and is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. CEO Jim Vena (appointed 2023) is focused on "operational excellence" — reducing costs and improving service reliability through precision scheduled railroading (PSR) methodology. Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway owns BNSF Railway (Union Pacific's primary competitor), highlighting the attractiveness of railroad economics. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Union Pacific's annual revenue? Union Pacific reported $24.3B in revenue for FY2024, up approximately 1% year-over-year, with volume improvements partially offset by mix headwinds from lower coal carloads. ### What does Union Pacific do? Union Pacific operates the largest US freight railroad, running 32,000 miles of track across 23 western states. It moves bulk commodities (grain, coal, fertilizer), industrial goods (chemicals, metals, forest products), and intermodal containers. ### What is Union Pacific's stock ticker? Union Pacific trades on NYSE under ticker UNP. It is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500. ### Who are Union Pacific's main competitors? Union Pacific's primary competitor is BNSF Railway (owned by Berkshire Hathaway), which operates a parallel network in the western US. In the eastern US, CSX and Norfolk Southern dominate. Canadian National (CN) and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) also compete for some traffic. ### Why are railroads considered great businesses? Railroads have natural monopolies on their network — it is economically impossible to build competing rail lines. They move freight at 4x the fuel efficiency of trucks, have strong pricing power, and generate exceptional free cash flow. Warren Buffett called buying BNSF the best investment he ever made. ### What commodities does Union Pacific haul and which are its largest revenue segments? Union Pacific's freight mix spans six major commodity categories: bulk commodities (grain, fertilizer, coal, and food products), industrial products (chemicals, plastics, metals, and forest products), premium (intermodal containers and automotive parts), agricultural products (ethanol, corn, and soybean exports), energy (crude oil, liquefied petroleum gas, and industrial sand for hydraulic fracturing), and automotive (finished vehicles). Bulk and agricultural commodities dominate volume, while intermodal and industrial products are high-growth revenue segments as e-commerce-driven container volume and manufacturing supply chains expand. Coal has been a declining segment as US power generators shift to natural gas and renewables. ### How does Union Pacific's Precision Scheduled Railroading (PSR) operating model work? Union Pacific implemented Precision Scheduled Railroading — a freight network operating philosophy pioneered by Hunter Harrison at Canadian National — which moves freight on fixed, scheduled trains running predetermined routes at predetermined times rather than building trains only when enough cars accumulate for a destination. PSR dramatically improved Union Pacific's operating ratio (operating expenses divided by revenue) from above 65% to below 58%, reduced asset requirements by shrinking the locomotive and car fleet needed for operations, and improved transit time consistency. Critics argue PSR has also reduced service flexibility and contributed to crew staffing challenges in some regions. ### How does Union Pacific compete with BNSF Railway and what territories do they serve? Union Pacific and BNSF Railway (owned by Berkshire Hathaway) are the two dominant Class I railroads in the western United States, with overlapping routes creating competition on key corridors including transcontinental intermodal lanes between the Midwest and West Coast ports. Union Pacific's network focuses on routes through the Midwest and Southwest including the historical transcontinental line through Wyoming's Overland Pass, while BNSF's strength is in northern tier routes and the Powder River Basin coal corridor. Shippers in the western US typically have access to both railroads on major routes, creating price and service competition that is more limited in eastern railroad markets where NS and CSX largely divide geography. ## Tags b2b, manufacturing, transportation, public, global, fortune500, enterprise --- *Data from geo.sig.ai Brand Intelligence Database. Updated 2026-04-14.*