New York, Feb 12, 2026, 18:15 EST — After-hours
- UNP shares ended lower as U.S. rail stocks tracked a broader market drop.
- The railroad flagged a Feb. 18 investor conference appearance and highlighted an intermodal service award this week.
- Recent headlines on a $1.2 billion locomotive upgrade program and a $1.38 quarterly dividend remain in the background.
Union Pacific shares ended Thursday down about 0.5% at $261.77, and were last little changed after the closing bell.
The move matters because investors are starting to parse what, exactly, drives rail earnings in 2026: service consistency, pricing discipline and the cost of running the network. Union Pacific’s updates over the past two days were light on numbers but heavy on the sort of signals shippers and analysts look for.
Intermodal — shipping containers that move by rail for part of the trip and often compete head-to-head with trucks — sits in the middle of that debate. Service rankings and terminal performance can shape volumes quickly when customers have options.
On Tuesday, Union Pacific said it was rated North America’s best performing railroad for intermodal service in 2025 in the Journal of Commerce’s Intermodal Service Scorecard. “Our customers have choices and we’re proud they trust Union Pacific to keep their supply chains moving,” marketing and sales chief Kenny Rocker said in the release. (Up)
A day later, the company said Chief Executive Jim Vena, CFO Jennifer Hamann and Rocker will speak at the Barclays 2026 Industrial Select Conference on Feb. 18 at 9:15 a.m. ET, with a webcast posted on its investor site. (Up)
The conference slot lands as investors continue to weigh Union Pacific’s spending plans. Earlier this month the railroad and Wabtec agreed to a $1.2 billion program to modernize Union Pacific’s AC4400 locomotives, with deliveries starting in 2027; the companies said the upgrade is expected to cut fuel use by more than 5% and lift reliability, while boosting “tractive effort” — basically pulling power. Vena called the redesigned units “just like new,” while Wabtec CEO Rafael Santana said the program should deliver “substantial gains in performance” for the existing fleet. (Up)
Union Pacific’s board also declared a quarterly dividend of $1.38 a share, payable March 31 to shareholders of record on Feb. 27, the company said in a separate statement. (Up)
A Form 4 filing added a routine governance note: Union Pacific EVP and Chief Information Officer Rahul Jalali disposed of 4,048 shares at $0 and another 1,237 shares at $254.34 on Feb. 9, and acquired 8.679 shares at $261.32 on Feb. 10 through an employee stock purchase plan, the filing showed. (SEC)
Rail shares moved with the tape. CSX fell 1.5% and Norfolk Southern slid 0.9%, while Canadian Pacific Kansas City edged lower and Canadian National rose about 0.9%; the S&P 500 dropped 1.57% and the Dow fell 1.34% in the session. (MarketWatch)
But the path is not clean. Freight volumes can turn fast if industrial demand cools, and railroads have limited room to offset a softer economy without squeezing service. Union Pacific also still faces investor questions about how big spending plans, fuel costs and any twists in its strategic agenda could pressure margins.
Friday’s session will test whether buyers step back in after a weak day for industrials. The next clear catalyst on the calendar is Feb. 18, when Vena and his team take questions at Barclays and investors listen for fresh color on volume trends, intermodal pricing and capital spending.
