TacticScaleWhat CSX Does & How It Makes Money (CSX)
Updated October 2026 · reflects CSX's latest reported financials
Major US freight railroad serving the eastern United States and Canada. CSX earns freight revenue by charging shippers to move bulk commodities, manufactured goods and intermodal containers over its rail network.
How CSX makes money
CSX earns freight revenue by charging shippers to move bulk commodities, manufactured goods and intermodal containers over its rail network. Its trucking operations add drayage, rail-to-truck transfer and automotive distribution services.
What CSX does
CSX Corporation is a major U.S. freight railroad. Its network covers about 20,000 route miles in 26 states east of the Mississippi River, plus the District of Columbia and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec, and it owns about 3,400 locomotives. It connects directly by track to production and distribution facilities and reaches many large population centers. The company carries a wide mix of freight: chemicals, agricultural and food products, minerals, automotive goods, forest products, fertilizers, and metals and equipment. It also moves coal, coke and iron ore to power plants, steel mills and industrial plants, and it carries export coal to deep-water ports. The company reports two segments, rail and trucking. It runs intermodal service for manufactured consumer goods in containers through about 30 terminals, and it offers drayage for pickup and delivery. For customers not on its rail lines, it transfers products like plastics and ethanol from rail cars to trucks. It also runs distribution centers and storage locations for the automotive industry. CSX was incorporated in 1978 and is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida.
Products & services
- Merchandise rail freight (chemicals, agriculture, minerals, forest products, metals)
- Coal, coke and iron ore transport, including export coal
- Intermodal container and trailer services (~30 terminals)
- Drayage and trucking pickup/delivery
- Rail-to-truck transfer (e.g., plastics, ethanol)
- Automotive distribution centers and storage
What is CSX worth?
On an owner-earnings DCF, CSX's most-likely value is about $25 versus a recent price near $47 (48% above fair value). But TacticScale only calls a stock undervalued when the price sits below its conservative no-growth floor (~$14) with a margin of safety — so the honest verdict here is “Fairly priced — no edge.” Fair value earns its keep only at the extremes, not in the wide middle.
Price sits in the normal range — fair value isn't actionable here; it earns its keep only when price drops below the no-growth floor, or runs to roughly double the optimistic case.
⚠ High leverage — net debt is 6.5× annual cash flow. Net debt is subtracted from this fair value, but refinancing at higher rates, principal timing, and share dilution aren’t modeled — the equity can be worth far less if cash flow weakens.
Analysis, not advice. Fair value is a margin-of-safety estimate from a deterministic owner-earnings DCF, not a price target or recommendation. See the full breakdown →
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