Return on Capital (ROC)
Return on capital (ROC) is after tax rate of return on net business assets. ROIC is unaffected by changes in interest rates or company debt and equity structure. It measures business productivity performance.
Return on Invested Capital (ROIC)
Union Pacific Corp., ROIC calculation, comparison to benchmarks
| Dec 31, 2024 | Dec 31, 2023 | Dec 31, 2022 | Dec 31, 2021 | Dec 31, 2020 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Selected Financial Data (US$ in millions) | ||||||
| Net operating profit after taxes (NOPAT)1 | 7,772) | 7,558) | 8,288) | 7,625) | 6,650) | |
| Invested capital2 | 62,044) | 61,524) | 59,751) | 58,241) | 58,340) | |
| Performance Ratio | ||||||
| ROIC3 | 12.53% | 12.28% | 13.87% | 13.09% | 11.40% | |
| Benchmarks | ||||||
| ROIC, Competitors4 | ||||||
| FedEx Corp. | 7.05% | 7.80% | 7.54% | 11.15% | 4.40% | |
| Uber Technologies Inc. | 25.12% | 15.33% | -55.79% | -5.09% | -31.45% | |
| United Airlines Holdings Inc. | 10.41% | 10.59% | 6.49% | -1.52% | -15.38% | |
| United Parcel Service Inc. | 13.67% | 16.77% | 28.42% | 34.07% | 3.42% | |
Based on: 10-K (reporting date: 2024-12-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2023-12-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2022-12-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2021-12-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2020-12-31).
1 NOPAT. See details »
2 Invested capital. See details »
3 2024 Calculation
ROIC = 100 × NOPAT ÷ Invested capital
= 100 × 7,772 ÷ 62,044 = 12.53%
4 Click competitor name to see calculations.
| Performance ratio | Description | The company |
|---|---|---|
| ROIC | A measure of the periodic, after tax, cash-on-cash yield earned in the business. | Union Pacific Corp. ROIC deteriorated from 2022 to 2023 but then slightly improved from 2023 to 2024. |
Decomposition of ROIC
Union Pacific Corp., decomposition of ROIC
Based on: 10-K (reporting date: 2024-12-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2023-12-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2022-12-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2021-12-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2020-12-31).
1 Operating profit margin (OPM). See calculations »
2 Turnover of capital (TO). See calculations »
3 Effective cash tax rate (CTR). See calculations »
The primary reason for the increase in return on invested capital (ROIC) over 2024 year is the increase in profitability measured by operating profit margin (OPM) ratio.
Operating Profit Margin (OPM)
Union Pacific Corp., OPM calculation, comparison to benchmarks
| Dec 31, 2024 | Dec 31, 2023 | Dec 31, 2022 | Dec 31, 2021 | Dec 31, 2020 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Selected Financial Data (US$ in millions) | ||||||
| Net operating profit after taxes (NOPAT)1 | 7,772) | 7,558) | 8,288) | 7,625) | 6,650) | |
| Add: Cash operating taxes2 | 2,285) | 2,020) | 2,085) | 2,055) | 1,543) | |
| Net operating profit before taxes (NOPBT) | 10,056) | 9,578) | 10,374) | 9,680) | 8,193) | |
| Operating revenues | 24,250) | 24,119) | 24,875) | 21,804) | 19,533) | |
| Profitability Ratio | ||||||
| OPM3 | 41.47% | 39.71% | 41.70% | 44.40% | 41.95% | |
| Benchmarks | ||||||
| OPM, Competitors4 | ||||||
| FedEx Corp. | 7.80% | 7.32% | 6.41% | 9.60% | 4.03% | |
| Uber Technologies Inc. | 9.10% | 7.09% | -27.42% | -2.86% | -57.75% | |
| United Airlines Holdings Inc. | 9.48% | 9.41% | 6.69% | -1.70% | -42.95% | |
| United Parcel Service Inc. | 9.30% | 10.43% | 15.59% | 17.83% | 3.14% | |
Based on: 10-K (reporting date: 2024-12-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2023-12-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2022-12-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2021-12-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2020-12-31).
1 NOPAT. See details »
2 Cash operating taxes. See details »
3 2024 Calculation
OPM = 100 × NOPBT ÷ Operating revenues
= 100 × 10,056 ÷ 24,250 = 41.47%
4 Click competitor name to see calculations.
| Profitability ratio | Description | The company |
|---|---|---|
| OPM | The operating profit margin (OPM) is the ratio of pretax economic earnings, or NOPBT, to sales. | Union Pacific Corp. OPM deteriorated from 2022 to 2023 but then improved from 2023 to 2024 not reaching 2022 level. |
Turnover of Capital (TO)
Union Pacific Corp., TO calculation, comparison to benchmarks
| Dec 31, 2024 | Dec 31, 2023 | Dec 31, 2022 | Dec 31, 2021 | Dec 31, 2020 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Selected Financial Data (US$ in millions) | ||||||
| Operating revenues | 24,250) | 24,119) | 24,875) | 21,804) | 19,533) | |
| Invested capital1 | 62,044) | 61,524) | 59,751) | 58,241) | 58,340) | |
| Efficiency Ratio | ||||||
| TO2 | 0.39 | 0.39 | 0.42 | 0.37 | 0.33 | |
| Benchmarks | ||||||
| TO, Competitors3 | ||||||
| FedEx Corp. | 1.25 | 1.30 | 1.41 | 1.31 | 1.20 | |
| Uber Technologies Inc. | 2.94 | 2.38 | 1.95 | 1.09 | 0.53 | |
| United Airlines Holdings Inc. | 1.16 | 1.19 | 1.10 | 0.47 | 0.35 | |
| United Parcel Service Inc. | 1.89 | 2.00 | 2.24 | 2.19 | 2.55 | |
Based on: 10-K (reporting date: 2024-12-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2023-12-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2022-12-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2021-12-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2020-12-31).
1 Invested capital. See details »
2 2024 Calculation
TO = Operating revenues ÷ Invested capital
= 24,250 ÷ 62,044 = 0.39
3 Click competitor name to see calculations.
| Efficiency ratio | Description | The company |
|---|---|---|
| TO | The turnover of capital (TO) is the ratio of sales to invested capital. Capital turnover is a function of the efficiency of working capital management and of net fixed assets. | Union Pacific Corp. TO deteriorated from 2022 to 2023 and from 2023 to 2024. |
Effective Cash Tax Rate (CTR)
Union Pacific Corp., CTR calculation, comparison to benchmarks
| Dec 31, 2024 | Dec 31, 2023 | Dec 31, 2022 | Dec 31, 2021 | Dec 31, 2020 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Selected Financial Data (US$ in millions) | ||||||
| Net operating profit after taxes (NOPAT)1 | 7,772) | 7,558) | 8,288) | 7,625) | 6,650) | |
| Add: Cash operating taxes2 | 2,285) | 2,020) | 2,085) | 2,055) | 1,543) | |
| Net operating profit before taxes (NOPBT) | 10,056) | 9,578) | 10,374) | 9,680) | 8,193) | |
| Tax Rate | ||||||
| CTR3 | 22.72% | 21.09% | 20.10% | 21.23% | 18.83% | |
| Benchmarks | ||||||
| CTR, Competitors4 | ||||||
| FedEx Corp. | 27.57% | 17.83% | 16.39% | 11.08% | 9.29% | |
| Uber Technologies Inc. | 6.26% | 9.17% | — | — | — | |
| United Airlines Holdings Inc. | 5.29% | 5.37% | 11.59% | — | — | |
| United Parcel Service Inc. | 22.30% | 19.63% | 18.63% | 12.80% | 57.24% | |
Based on: 10-K (reporting date: 2024-12-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2023-12-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2022-12-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2021-12-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2020-12-31).
1 NOPAT. See details »
2 Cash operating taxes. See details »
3 2024 Calculation
CTR = 100 × Cash operating taxes ÷ NOPBT
= 100 × 2,285 ÷ 10,056 = 22.72%
4 Click competitor name to see calculations.
| Tax rate | Description | The company |
|---|---|---|
| CTR | Effective cash tax rate on operating income. | Union Pacific Corp. CTR increased from 2022 to 2023 and from 2023 to 2024. |