What does Union Pacific do?

Union Pacific runs a large freight railroad network in the United States through its subsidiary, Union Pacific Railroad. It moves bulk goods like grain, fertilizer, coal, chemicals, and construction materials, plus finished cars, auto parts, and shipping containers. Its customers include farms, food and ethanol producers, manufacturers, and energy companies.

What is Union Pacific's fair value?

On an owner-earnings DCF, Union Pacific's most-likely fair value is about $197, versus a recent price near $278. A margin-of-safety estimate, not a price target. Analysis, not advice.

Industrials · Railroads · UNP

What Union Pacific Does & How It Makes Money (UNP)

Updated October 2026 · reflects Union Pacific's latest reported financials

Major U.S. freight railroad operator founded in 1862. It earns freight revenue by charging shippers to move their goods over its rail network.

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How Union Pacific makes money

It earns freight revenue by charging shippers to move their goods over its rail network. Revenue comes from bulk commodities, industrial products, automotive shipments, and intermodal containers.

What Union Pacific does

Union Pacific Corporation is one of the oldest names in American transportation. It was founded in 1862 and is based in Omaha, Nebraska. Through Union Pacific Railroad, it runs a freight rail network across the United States that moves a wide range of goods: grain, fertilizers, food and refrigerated products, coal and renewables on the bulk side, and construction materials, industrial chemicals, plastics, forest products, metals, petroleum, LPG, soda ash, and sand on the industrial side. It also carries finished automobiles, auto parts, and merchandise in intermodal containers. Its customers range from grain processors and ethanol producers to manufacturers and retailers. That spread of cargo makes the company's volumes a broad indicator of U.S. agricultural, industrial, and consumer activity.

Products & services

Bulk freight (grain, fertilizers, coal, renewables)
Industrial freight (chemicals, plastics, metals, petroleum, sand)
Automotive shipping (finished vehicles and parts)
Intermodal container transport
Food and refrigerated product transport

What is Union Pacific worth?

On an owner-earnings DCF, Union Pacific's most-likely value is about $197 versus a recent price near $278 (29% above fair value). But TacticScale only calls a stock undervalued when the price sits below its conservative no-growth floor (~$109) 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.

Verdict: Fairly priced — no edge

Owner-earnings fair value · recent price ≈ $278

Fair value (most likely)

$197

Range

$152–$287

No-growth floor

$109

Price

~$278

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.

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 →

Sector Industrials Industry Railroads HQ United States Ticker UNP Moat Wide moat (88/100) Official site

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