The BusinessWeek 50 Ranking
12
Burlington Northern Santa Fe
THERE’S ONE good thing about being a railroad even as manufacturing, one of the industry’s historic customer bases, moves offshore: Imported products have to get to consumers, too. Burlington Northern Santa Fe is one of two railroads making its debut on the BW50 list. Volume is one reason. Burlington, whose 32,000 miles of track lace the western two-thirds of the U.S., boasted record shipments in 2005, with double-digit growth in consumer goods, farm products, lumber, and other commodities. Leverage is another reason. Like every other transportation outfit, the Fort Worth-based company has been hit by all-timehigh energy costs. But CEO Rose was able to pass along all the extra expense to customers through a surcharge. As a result, profits nearly doubled, to $1.5 billion. It doesn’t look like Burlington is about to lose the head of steam it has built up: Industry analysts recently revised upward their profit forecasts for 2006 and 2007. The railroad is also bumping up its capital spending to meet higher demand.
Company Info |
|
| 2005 Rank | 200 |
| GET MORE COMPANY INFO | BNI |
| Market Value $ Million | 29,220.3 |
| Total Return $ Million | (1-yr.) 58.5
(3-yr.) 230.3 |
| 2005 Sales $ Billion | 13.0 |
| Sales Growth $ Million | (1-yr.) 19
(3-yr.) 13.4 |
| Long-Term Growth Est. % | 16.5 |
| Net income $ Million | 1,531.0 |
| Net Income Growth $ Million | (1-yr.) 94
(3-yr.) 23.6 |
| Net Margin %* | 11.8 |
| Return on Inv. Capital (%)* | 9.4 |
| Share Price 12-Mo. Hi/Lo | 82/46 |
| P/E Ratio | 20 |
| Industry | Transportation |
| CORPORATE WEB SITE | |
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*Trailing 12 months
Company data as of 2/28/06 provided by Standard & Poor's Compustat
