Union Pacific
Rail freight transportation · United States
Union Pacific runs a freight railroad across 23 western U.S. states, hauling grain, coal, chemicals, cars and shipping containers to ports, the Midwest and the Mexican border.
What makes it different
The only railroad at all six big Mexico gateways.
$2.9BFreight revenue from Mexico shipmentsFY2025
Cross-border traffic is a business rivals cannot fully match on their own networks.
How big it is
How big is Union Pacific?
$24.5BOperating revenuesFY2025
8.4MRevenue carloadsFY2025
29,287EmployeesFY2025
How it makes money FY2025
Three freight groups, roughly equal.
- Industrial35%$8.6B
- Bulk31%$7.6B
- Premium29%$7.0B
- Other revenues5%$1.3B
How the business works
Own the track. Run longer trains.
- 1Western U.S. rail network
- 2Bulk, industrial, containers
- 3Longer, faster, fewer trains
Track is a fixed cost, so every extra car on a longer train turns mostly into profit, which is why the operating ratio is the number to watch.
Who owns it
- Vanguard Capital Management7.55%
- BlackRock, Inc.7.08%
CEO: V. James (Jim) Vena
Who it competes with
BBNSF RailwayNNorfolk SouthernCCSXCCanadian Pacific Kansas CityCCanadian National
Key moments
- 1862Lincoln signs the Pacific Railway Act
- 1869Transcontinental railroad completed at Promontory
- 1996Merges with Southern Pacific
- 2023Jim Vena becomes CEO
- 2025Agrees to acquire Norfolk Southern
Sources
Every number on this page comes from Union Pacific's own reports.
Full profile
The rest of the story is in the app.
What Union Pacific tracks26 metrics
Operating ratio
Route miles
Freight car velocity
Results, quarter by quarterwith a chart
Revenue
Profit
Margin
The full timeline14 moments
1971
2024
2025
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