Canadian National Railway Company (CNR.TO) stock analysis

In our weekly check, Canadian National Railway Company is graded B (A to F). Of 25 checks on debt, profit, cash flow and trend: 21 pass, warnings: 3, red flags: 1.

About Canadian National Railway Company

Canadian National Railway Company is an Industrials company (Railroads) based in Canada, listed on TSX as CNR.TO.

What our checks show for CNR.TO

Red flags

• The net margin fell by 6.9 points over 5 years, to 26.9%: the company keeps less of each sale as profit.

Warning signs

• Net debt is 2.4x a year of EBITDA (debt/equity 1.03). That limits room in a downturn and raises refinancing risk.
• Revenue grew only 1.3% a year over the last 3 years.
• Net profit fell 2.2% a year over the last 3 years.

Strengths

• Operating cash flow is 1.47x net profit: the profit arrives as real cash.
• Analysts expect earnings per share to grow about 10.1% a year over the next years.
• Analysts expect the net margin to improve by 3.4 points from today's 26.9%.
• The company keeps 26.9% of its revenue as net profit.
• Free cash flow is 20% of revenue: cash for dividends, buybacks or growth.
• The dividend takes 46% of profit: there is a cushion.

Next earnings report: 2026-10-30

Similar companies

NSC · CP · CSX · WAB · UNP

Questions

What grade does Canadian National Railway Company (CNR.TO) have?

In our weekly check, Canadian National Railway Company is graded B (A to F). Of 25 checks on debt, profit, cash flow and trend: 21 pass, warnings: 3, red flags: 1. The grade is a risk check, not a buy or sell recommendation.

What are the main risks of CNR.TO stock?

This week's biggest flags for Canadian National Railway Company: Margins falling, High debt, Weak revenue growth. In total 4 of 25 checks show a warning or a red flag.

What does Canadian National Railway Company do?

Canadian National Railway Company is an Industrials company (Railroads) based in Canada, listed on TSX as CNR.TO.

When does Canadian National Railway Company report earnings next?

The next earnings report is expected on 2026-10-30. We re-run the checks every week, so the grade can change after it.

The grade is a risk check, not a price forecast, and not investment advice. In our 10-year test (S&P 500, 2016-2026), stocks we graded A or B fell more than 30% 2-3 times less often than D or F, without a lower average return.

Updated 2026-10-24

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