CANADIAN PACIFIC KANSAS CITY LTD/CN vs UNION PACIFIC CORP, two Railroads stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Scale and structure diverge here: at $159.3B, UNP's western US network dwarfs CP's $78.8B, though CP's post-merger reach now runs from Canada through the US into Mexico. UNP earns 37.15% on equity to CP's 8.6%, while CP nets a competitive 27.21% of revenue against 29.2%. CP runs the cleaner balance sheet, 0.46 turns of debt against UNP's 1.53, and trades far cheaper at 2.26 times book against 8.20. UNP yields more free cash, 3.58% against 1.94%, and pays 2.03% against 0.73%. UNP trades at 22.09 times earnings, CP dearer at 26.65, the market paying up for CP's single-line Mexico corridor.
Comparison updated 2026-07-11.
| Metric | CP | UNP |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $90.11 | $286.98 |
| Market cap | $80.9B | $170.4B |
| Sector | Railroads | Railroads |
| Stage | Mature | Mature |
| Implied growth (priced in) | +20.4% | +10.0% |
| P/E | 27.4 | 23.6 |
| P/B | 2.32 | 8.77 |
| P/S | 7.34 | 6.90 |
| EV/EBITDA | 17.4 | 16.1 |
| Revenue growth | +1.1% | +1.9% |
| Operating margin | 34.0% | 39.5% |
| Net margin | 27.2% | 29.2% |
| Return on equity | 8.6% | 37.1% |
| Return on assets | 4.7% | 10.4% |
| Return on invested capital | 6.0% | 15.4% |
| FCF yield | 1.9% | 3.3% |
| Dividend yield | 0.7% | 1.9% |
| Debt / equity | 0.46 | 1.53 |
| Current ratio | 0.67 | 0.92 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 2.15 | 3.91 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 7 / 9 | 8 / 9 |
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The stronger value is highlighted per metric where one is strictly better on that single number; it is not an overall verdict on either company. For informational and research purposes only. Not investment advice. Not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security. boothcheck is not a registered investment adviser. Past performance does not guarantee future results.