Guides
Learn the concepts that drive each sector: what they mean, how to calculate them, and the benchmark ranges.
Mining
What Is AISC? All-In Sustaining Cost Explained
WGC definition, cost components, quartile benchmarks by commodity.
Gold Mining AISC Benchmarks
Cost rankings by quartile, region, and producer.
AISC vs Cash Cost: What Miners Include (and Hide)
Exactly what separates the two metrics and how companies use cash cost to look cheaper.
How to Calculate AISC from Financial Statements
Line item mapping from 10-K to AISC, with worked examples and common pitfalls.
What Is a Good AISC? How to Judge Mining Costs
Evaluating AISC in context: quartile position, reserve life, by-product credits, and common traps.
AISC for Copper Mines: Cost Metrics and Benchmarks
C1 cash cost, sustaining capital, by-product credit dynamics, and the copper cost curve.
Copper Cost Curve: C1 Cash Costs of the Majors
The net-of-by-product copper C1 curve, why by-product credits reorder it, and C1 versus all-in cost.
AISC for Silver Mines: Primary Producers and By-Product Economics
Why most silver has no standalone AISC, primary producer benchmarks, and streaming cost structures.
How to Value a Gold Mine: NAV & DCF
Reserve-based NAV, discount rates by jurisdiction, sensitivity analysis.
How to Value a Copper Mine: NAV & the Copper Price
Reserve-based NAV, the long-term copper price, the discount rate, and by-products as their own price line.
Mining Discount Rates by Jurisdiction
Tier system from Canada/Australia to DRC/Mali, political risk premiums.
Royalty & Streaming
Royalty vs Streaming Companies
NSR royalties, metal streams, Franco-Nevada and Wheaton business models.
What Is a GEO? Gold-Equivalent Ounces Explained
The revenue-equivalence formula, fixed vs variable conversion, and why GEO comparisons shift with metal prices.
NSR vs NPI vs GOR Royalties: Which to Model
The royalty-type taxonomy, why NSR is the standard, and the NPI cost-base trap.
Royalty Rate Benchmarks: Typical Rates by Commodity
Typical NSR bands by commodity, the GOR-NSR-NPI hierarchy, and financing versus government royalties.
How Sliding-Scale Royalties Change the Model
Price-linked rates, hybrid structures, and why the contract beats a generic rate.
How to Value a Metal Stream: Margin per Ounce
Delivery pricing, the margin-per-GEO build, and step-down clauses.
The Streaming Tax Trap: Offshore Rates and NAV
Real effective tax rates after Pillar Two, and why a miner tax rate understates streamer NAV.
EV/GEO and $/GEO: Judging Royalty Deal Value
Peer multiples, deal vintages from Kurmuk to Antamina, and the accretion test.
Cobre Panama and Royalty Concentration Risk
The full shutdown-to-stockpile arc and the top-3 concentration screen across the peer set.
Steel & Bulk Commodities
Steel Spread and Metal Margin: How EAF Steelmakers Earn
HRC minus scrap as the earnings engine, spot vs planning spreads, and the route-economics gap.
BOF vs EAF Steelmaking: Two Different Businesses
The integrated and electric-arc routes compared: inputs, cost drivers, capital and carbon.
Iron Ore Cost Curve: C1 Cash Costs of the Majors
The big-4 disclosed curve, the C1-to-all-in gap, and the grade discount against the 62% Fe index.
Coking Coal Cost Curve: FOB Costs by Producer
The seaborne met-coal FOB curve, the short-ton vs metric-tonne trap, and cost against the PLV price.
Hard Coking Coal & the PLV Quality Benchmark
What PLV specifies, the quality parameters (CSR, ash) that set the discount, and realisation by product tier.
EV/EBITDA Through the Cycle: Valuing Steelmakers
Why LTM multiples fail at cycle extremes and how to build a normalised EBITDA from the planning spread.
Met Coal vs Thermal Coal: Pricing and Quality Benchmarks
PLV benchmarks, the quality ladder, and gross vs net realisation in met coal margins.
EBITDA per Tonne: Comparing Steel Producers
Producer ladder and the two definition traps: units and shipment basis.
Oil & Gas
Decline Curve Analysis Explained
Exponential vs hyperbolic decline, b-factor, EUR, basin type curves.
How to Read a Reserves Report
PRMS classification, 1P/2P/3P, SEC vs NI 51-101, what to check in footnotes.
F&D Cost Benchmarks by Basin
Finding & development costs, recycle ratio, capital efficiency metrics.
NAV vs EV/DACF for E&P Valuation
When to use each metric, blowdown vs going concern NAV, worked comparison.
PV-10 vs NAV: What the Standardised Measure Misses
SEC pricing rules, the PUD five-year rule, and the reconciliation workflow.
Operating Netback per BOE: Calculation and Benchmarks
The line-by-line netback build, the WCS differential variant, recycle ratio.
Shale Breakevens by Basin: the Dallas Fed Survey
New-well vs operating vs corporate breakevens, with Dallas Fed survey breakevens by basin.
Midstream & Pipelines
Distributable Cash Flow vs FCF for Midstream
DCF is the MLP distribution-policy metric; FCF is the C-corp residual. Never compare one column without labels.
MLP vs C-Corp: K-1s, Taxes and Who Owns Which
The wrapper sets the tax form, holder base, and multiple. KMI's 2014 roll-up and AMZI vs AMEI spreads.
EV/EBITDA by Midstream Asset Type
Pure-MLP indices screen lower than C-corp-heavy ones. Illustrative 8–10× band anchored to AMZI, AMEI, and Wells Fargo 9.0×.
Take-or-Pay Contracts and Pipeline Revenue Quality
Fee-based percentages are non-comparable without the denominator. EPD 82% GOM vs KMI 96% budget EBDA.
Distribution Coverage Ratio: the MLP Safety Metric
Coverage = DCF ÷ distributions paid. EPD 1.7×, ET ~1.80×, MPLX 1.4× floor; below 1.0× the payout is drawing on the balance sheet.
Refining
The 3-2-1 Crack Spread: Calculation and What It Misses
EIA formula (2 gasoline + 1 ULSD − 3 LLS per bbl); what the indicator ignores (RINs, basis, complexity, turnarounds).
Nelson Complexity Index: Why Refinery Complexity Matters
NCI build-up (CDU = 1.0); complexity buys crude-slate optionality. OGJ 9.5 is a 1996 snapshot, not a current average.
Crack Spread Capture Rate: Comparing Refiners Properly
Capture = realised ÷ indicator; worked capture examples and the 85 to 110% reading band. Never rank $/bbl against capture %.
RIN Costs and the RFS: the Refiner's Hidden Line Item
Obligated-party mechanics, D6 RINs in EPA EMTS; RVO cost as the scale anchor from filed results.
Mid-Cycle EBITDA: Valuing Refiners Through the Cycle
LTM multiples whipsaw at crack extremes; normalise off the $25/bbl planning crack + 92% utilisation; 5–7× band.
REIT
What Is FFO? Funds From Operations Explained
The Nareit definition, how FFO is calculated from net income, and why net income fails for a REIT.
FFO vs AFFO: What's the Difference
Nareit defines FFO; nobody defines AFFO. The adjustments each REIT makes, and how to read them.
How to Calculate NAV for a REIT
Direct capitalisation, cap rate selection, and per-share NAV step-by-step.
Cap Rates by Property Type
Ranges for industrial, office, retail, residential, data centres, and more.
REIT Implied Cap Rate: Reading Discount to NAV
The market's cap rate on a REIT's own portfolio, and how the gap to market cap rates shows discount or premium to NAV.
REIT Screening Checklist: 8 Key Metrics
Occupancy, NOI growth, AFFO payout, leverage. Good/caution/red flag thresholds included.
Industrial vs Office REITs
Demand drivers, lease structures, and valuation divergence post-2020.
Mortgage REIT
Agency vs Hybrid Mortgage REITs: Two Different Machines
Agency carry (MBS + repo + hedges) vs hybrid MSRs and CRE loan books; the label hides three risk books.
Book Value per Share: the mREIT Scoreboard
BVPS vs tangible net BVPS; economic return = ΔBVPS + dividends; P/B as the market's BVPS forecast.
CPR and Prepayment Risk in Agency MBS
CPR = 1−(1−SMM)^12; NLY/AGNC portfolio speeds, and duration vs leverage.
mREIT Leverage: Economic vs At-Risk Definitions
NLY 5.6× economic vs AGNC 7.2× at-risk. The denominators barely differ, so most of the gap is a genuinely harder book; the 7–8× band fits at-risk-style only.
CRE Debt REITs: Office Exposure and Non-Accruals
BXMT 27% office on net loan exposure vs STWD 8% on undepreciated assets; distributable EPS after charge-offs.
Infrastructure & Digital REITs
Tower REIT Lease Escalators: the 3% Machine
US ~3% fixed escalators (AMT 10-K); escalator − churn + colo = organic growth identity.
Churn in Tower and Data Centre REITs
Bases differ: AMT ~2% billings, SBAC 2.6% consolidated, EQIX 2.4% quarterly MRR, and CCI's 0.7% headline against a true rate nearer 6% once the Sprint rent is added back.
AFFO for Towers: What It Shows That FFO Misses
Tower AFFO is the dividend-capacity metric. AFFO per share ranks nothing across different share counts; the multiple is what compares, inside a 15–22× band.
Data Centre REITs and the Power Constraint
Grid queues are the binding constraint (EIA +2% commercial, ERCOT +11%); bookings without power visibility are option value.
Colocation vs Hyperscale: Two Data Centre Economics
EQIX interconnection density (MRR churn 2.4%) vs DLR hyperscale bookings ($1.2B); different multiples, different bases (AFFO vs Core FFO).
Banks
CET1 Requirements 2026: SCB and G-SIB Surcharges
The 4.5% minimum plus stress capital buffer plus G-SIB surcharge; headroom, not the headline ratio, is the screen.
CET1 vs Tier 1 vs Total Capital: Which Binds
The nested tiers and what sits in each; the SLR as the unweighted parallel test; finding the binding cushion.
CET1 for European Banks: MDA Buffers vs the US
P1 + P2R + combined buffer resolving into the MDA trigger; why the same ratio reads differently either side of the Atlantic.
P/TBV vs ROTCE: How Banks Are Actually Valued
Steady-state identity P/TBV = ROTCE/COE; map JPM ~2.89× at 20% to C ~1.39× at 7.7%; one point of return buys ~0.1× of book.
Net Interest Margin Explained
Definition plus label traps (JPM net yield / BAC FTE / TE NIM); ladder 2.01–2.83% vs FDIC 3.30%; deposit beta.
CET1 and Bank Capital Ratios
4.5% + SCB + G-SIB stack; filed headroom JPM +2.6 pp / BAC +1.4 pp; comfortable at +2.0 pp or better.
Bank Efficiency Ratio: Reading Cost Discipline
Definition; <60% good; ladder JPM 52% to WFC 66%; the overhead-ratio label.
Net Charge-Offs and the Credit Cycle
NCO definition; FDIC 0.62%; ladder PNC 0.23% to C ~1.27% (derived); provisions lead under CECL.
Insurance
Combined Ratio Benchmarks 2026: Progressive to AIG
Four-band ladder plus the structural drivers of each rung: line mix, catastrophe load, expense discipline, reserving posture.
Loss Ratio, Expense Ratio, Combined Ratio: Which Matters
Same total, different halves, different businesses; plus the earned-versus-written denominator mismatch.
Accident Year vs Calendar Year Combined Ratio
Two correct answers for one period; the gap between the bases is the development. Ex-cat is the third variant.
Combined Ratio: the P&C Scoreboard
Loss + expense; <100% profit / <95% strong; ladder CB 85.7% to AIG GI 90.1% vs industry 92.2%/92.9%; investment income sits outside.
P/BV vs ROE for Insurers
Ex-AOCI base; identity vs 10% COE; map PGR 3.97× at 35.3% to AIG 0.96× at 7.5% (core 11.1% is the bet).
Float and the Investment-Income Engine
Float is borrowed money and the combined ratio is its price; six insurers report investment yield on six different bases, so never rank the raw numbers.
Reserve Development: Favourable vs Adverse
What a reserve release is and which way the sign runs; seventeen favourable years then $7.8B adverse in 2024; a release never proves this year's reserves are enough.
The Life Insurance Spread Business
Life insurers earn a spread, not an underwriting margin: MetLife files 115bps, Prudential files none, and their assumption reviews are not P&C reserve development.
Alternative Asset Managers
FRE Margin Benchmarks 2026: Blackstone to Carlyle
The fee-related margin ladder with a revenue-and-cost yield decomposition that survives the figures moving.
Distributable Earnings by Firm: ANI, TOE and the Labels
ANI, TOE, after-tax realised income: find the label, reconciliation, tax basis and share base before ranking anything.
Net Accrued Carry: Valuing the Carry Receivable
Carry earned on paper, marked to fund NAV and reversible. What it is, why it swings, how much to credit.
Fee-Related vs Distributable Earnings
Blackstone FRE $5.7B against DE $7.1B; everyone else files a differently named bottom line that does not line up with it.
AUM, Fee-Paying AUM and Perpetual Capital
Headline AUM is not the fee base; four fee-base labels; perpetual share runs Ares 32% to Brookfield 87%; Brookfield charges fees on $603B, not the ~$1.2T platform.
How Alternative Asset Managers Are Valued
P/FRE primary lens; ladder CG ~13.1× to APO ~33.2×; the convention bands; and why P/DE only restates the earnings mix.
Carried Interest and Hurdle Rates Explained
The waterfall (capital → 8% pref → catch-up → 80/20); BX filed 5–8%; BXPE evergreen 5%/12.5%; gross vs net carry bases.
The Insurance Engine: Athene and Global Atlantic
The same $100M of assets is worth more than six times as much to the manager that owns the balance sheet it lands on; insurance adds duration and imports credit risk.
Defence Primes
Backlog and Book-to-Bill in Defence
Funded vs unfunded backlog, book-to-bill arithmetic and FY2025 peer ratios: RTX 1.56x, GD 1.6x defence, LHX 1.3x, BAE 1.2x, NOC 1.10x, plus the LMT filing gap.
Defence Prime Book-to-Bill Benchmarks
FY2025 book-to-bill ranked across RTX, GD, LHX, LMT, BAE and NOC, each with backlog and the filer's own orders-to-revenue definition beside it.
Funded vs Unfunded Backlog in Defence
What appropriation does to a backlog number, why each prime defines funded and unfunded in its own words, and a worked example from one FY2025 filing.
Free Cash Flow Conversion for Primes
Why primes screen on FCF ÷ net income: GD incentive weight 25%, OCF 122% vs FCF 94%, and the FY2025 ladder from LHX 170% to NOC 79%.
FAS vs CAS Pension Accounting for Defence Primes
Why a defence prime books its pension cost twice, where the reconciling line sits between segment and consolidated profit, and how each filer defines it.
Cost-Plus vs Fixed-Price Contracts
NOC cost-type vs FFP margin/risk language, verified portfolio mix (~50% fixed at NOC; GD 51% fixed / 44% cost-reimb), and segment margin dispersion across the peer set.
Defence Budgets and the Demand Cycle
US DoD FY2026 request $961.6B (+11.8%), NATO 2% met by all 32 Allies, Hague 5%-by-2035, and how RTX 52/48 vs LMT ~99.6% government changes budget-beta.
Valuing Defence Primes (FCF Yield)
How to compute FCF yield for defence primes and cross-check it against P/E, using FY2025 filed figures, the BAE FX adjustment, and FCF conversion.
Commercial Aerospace
OEM vs Aftermarket: Where Aerospace Makes Money
Why commercial aerospace margins split between loss-making OE ramps and high-margin aftermarket: Boeing BCA −17.1% vs BGS ~18.5%, GE 71% services at 26.6% CES margin, and the ~15-25 pp aftermarket premium.
Aerospace Aftermarket Revenue Mix by Company
FY2025 aftermarket or services revenue share ranked across six aerospace filers, with the basis behind each filed figure stated on every row.
Backlog and the Narrowbody Ramp
Derived backlog-years, production-rate targets and book-to-bill for the narrowbody cycle: Boeing 737 ~9.9 yr at 42/month, Airbus A320 ~11.8 yr ramping to 75/month, and FY2025 order intake.
Firm Backlog vs Unfilled Orders in Aerospace
What Boeing's ASC 606 backlog test excludes, how Airbus applies the same test under IFRS 15, and why GE files the number as RPO.
Aftermarket Margins and the Installed Base
Razor/blade engine economics, GE ~45,000-engine installed base, CES backlog ~90% services, MRO revenue share benchmarks, and why filers rarely split aftermarket-only margins.
Boeing/Airbus Duopoly Economics
Why Boeing and Airbus still control 86% of 2024 deliveries, certification and production-cap barriers, sole-source supplier lock-in, and why transaction-level airframe pricing stays off the filing record.
Valuing Aerospace (EV/EBITDA, FCF)
FY2025 peer EV/EBITDA on filed EBITDA bases, FCF divergence between Boeing ($1.9B outflow) and GE ($7.7B), reading bands by business model, and FCF conversion framing.
Space & Satellites
Space Sector Business Models
Launch, in-orbit connectivity and ground/data monetisation: why segment mix sets the metric screen, with Rocket Lab backlog split, Iridium subscribers and Planet recurring ACV.
Cash Runway in Pre-Profit Space Names
Liquidity ÷ |OCF burn| for Rocket Lab (~6.6 yr) and Planet (~15 yr on OCF): why net loss misleads, capex is separate, and EchoStar needs a debt lens.
Satellite Constellation Capex and Economics
Upfront-build economics vs operating burn: FY2025 capex intensity from Iridium 11.5% to Globalstar 201%, historical Kuiper and Iridium NEXT anchors, and why OCF ≠ satellite build spend.
LEO vs GEO Satellite Economics
Why orbit class, not company size, sets a satellite operator's capex cycle: a rolling LEO constellation replacement against a staggered, per-satellite GEO build.
Backlog and Government Contracts in Space
Government anchor programmes and backlog definitions: Iridium EMSS $738.5M, Rocket Lab SDA $816M, Planet NGA $200M ceiling, Viasat defence $984M, plus concentration and recompete risk.
Government Revenue Share Across Space Stocks
FY2025 government revenue share ranked, with the basis behind each filed figure and the two names that do not disclose the split.
Valuing Space Stocks (EV/sales, Runway)
How to compute EV/sales for pre-profit space stocks, cross-check with EV/EBITDA once earnings are real, and overlay cash runway before reading the multiple.
Regulated Utilities
Rate Base: the Asset That Earns
NARUC definition; label zoo (regulatory capital employed / regulated earnings base); verified FY2025 bases and CAGRs.
Allowed vs Earned ROE for Utilities
Prospective allowed ROE (9.70% median Jan–Sep 2025); earned diverges via lag/weather/O&M; FPL 9.80%–11.80% band.
The Regulated Utility EPS Build
RB × equity ratio × allowed ROE → regulated earnings; worked $40B example; ~12-month lag caveat.
Utility P/E Premiums and Rate-Base Growth
Reading bands (<7% in-line to >11% +4–6 turns); D 11.9% vs DUK ~9.6% calibration pair.
FFO/Debt: the Utility Funding Gate
14%–16%+ screening threshold; agency scorecards not cutoffs; equity-issuance flag (D/SRE/AEP live cases).
Allowed ROE Benchmarks: Six US Utilities
An allowed ROE is set per jurisdiction in a rate case. Ranks six US utilities' key authorised ROE against the industry median, basis stated per row.
Utility FFO/Debt Benchmarks: Six US Peers
FFO/debt is the rating agencies' cash coverage test. Ranks six US utilities' FY2025 coverage against a stated screen, basis labelled per row.
Forward vs Historical Test Years for Utilities
A historical test year sets rates on a company's past costs; a forward test year uses its forecast. The gap between them drives regulatory lag and earned ROE.
Renewables & IPPs
PPA vs Merchant: How Generators Get Paid
Contract profile first; proxy hierarchy when no single % is filed; BEP ~89% LTA GWh split is the exception.
Yieldco CAFD Explained
BEP bridge to $1,264M CAFD at 90% payout; CWEN $430M at ~83% derived; 80–95% screen; sponsor pipelines off balance sheet.
Capacity Factors by Generation Technology
LTA = MW × CF × 8,760; norms 91/58/34/24; 1 GW nuclear ≈ 3.8× the MWh of 1 GW solar.
The Contracted Premium in Power Multiples
Bands 11–15× vs 6–9×; +3–5 turns; verified marks NRG 9.2× to BEP ~14.5×; VST/NRG above pure-merchant for a reason.
Spark Spreads and Capacity Revenue
HH × heat rate vs hub energy + capacity $/MW-day; PJM $50/MWh and $250/MW-day planning marks for merchant revenue builds.
Generation Capacity and Technology Mix by Company
Six power generators ranked by reported capacity in gigawatts, technology mix and each filer's own basis, owned, net, operating or gross, stated per row.
CAFD vs Free Cash Flow in Yieldcos
CAFD is a yieldco's own cash metric, stopping before growth capex. What it leaves out that free cash flow keeps, and how to convert one to the other.
Transport Infrastructure
Valuing Concessions: the Finite-Life DCF
Zero terminal value at expiry; 4.50% planning discount anchor; why perpetuity EV/EBITDA misprices short and long remaining life.
Toll Road Traffic and GDP Linkage
~1.0× GDP toll roads / ~1.3× income airports; verified FY2025 growth points across the comp set.
Airport RAB Regulation Explained
Aena DORA RAB €9,387.1M, IMAAJ €10.35, WACC 7.68%; Heathrow H7 context; Auckland Part 4 is not classic RAB.
Toll Escalators and Inflation Linkage
CityLink 4.25% to 2029; WestConnex CPI-or-4%; French ≥70% CPI floor; Getlink inflation minus 1.1%.
Concession Life and the Expiry Cliff
The 6-to-73-year ladder; short-life mispricing (Escota ~6yr); regulatory cycles where no expiry exists.
Concession Life Remaining by Company
Ranks six transport infrastructure operators by remaining concession life, basis stated per row: a contractual expiry, or a regulatory period where none exists.
Regulated Airports vs Demand-Risk Toll Roads
A regulated airport earns an allowed return on a reset asset base with no expiry; a demand-risk toll road earns tolls on traffic to a fixed end date.
Shipping
Shipping NAV and Vessel Values
Broker fair-market-value NAV builds, why vessel book value is not NAV, and how P/NAV is read through the shipping cycle.
Orderbook to Fleet Ratio by Shipping Segment
Orderbook as a share of the fleet for tankers, dry bulk and containers, from BIMCO and Clarksons, each with its measure and date, and what the ratio misses.
Time-Charter Equivalent (TCE) Explained
The Frontline-filed TCE definition, FY2025 achieved rates by segment, Baltic benchmarks vs company TCE, and why liner $/TEU is not TCE.
Shipping Cash Breakevens and Operating Leverage
Disclosed cash breakeven TCE by owner, the Frontline vs Scorpio definition gap, margin maths at mid-cycle rates, and why spike earnings mislead dividend tests.
Scrap Value: the Shipping Floor
Demolition value as LDT times scrap price, base-case vs spot marks, Taylor Maritime accounting policy, and where scrap binds under broker NAV.
Spot vs Time Charter: Locking the Cycle
When a shipowner takes spot rates and when it locks in a time charter: the trade-off through the freight cycle, and what each choice does to earnings and value.
Containership Lessors vs Liner Operators
A containership lessor charters ships out on fixed multi-year hire; a liner charters them in and sells box freight. Risk, filings and valuation compared.
Airlines
RASM and CASM: Airline Unit Economics
TRASM, PRASM, RASM and CASM-ex defined from carrier filings; the FY2025 US unit-margin comparison; matching revenue to cost; why European metrics differ.
Airline CASM by Carrier: Unit Cost Compared
FY2025 CASM and CASM ex-fuel for six US and European airlines, each on its own definition, unit and year end, and what makes unit cost differ.
Airline Fuel Costs and Hedging
A mid-cycle jet fuel price vs EIA spot; Delta Monroe refinery as operational hedge; Southwest hedge exit; European rolling books.
Load Factor: Reading Airline Density
Load factor as RPM ÷ ASM vs IATA's RPK ÷ ASK; FY2025 IATA regional benchmarks; why a full plane is not a profitable one; capacity growth vs density.
EBITDAR and Airline Leverage
Why EBITDAR replaces EBITDA for lease-heavy airlines; adjusted net debt including operating leases; FY2025 leverage anchors for DAL, UAL and AAL.
EBITDA vs EBITDAR: Why Airlines Add Back Rent
EBITDAR adds aircraft rent back to EBITDA so owned and leased fleets compare. Which debt pairs with each, and how IFRS 16 and ASC 842 change the figures.
Airline Free Cash Flow and the Capex Cycle
Non-GAAP vs computed FCF for DAL, UAL, AAL and LUV; FY2025 FCF compared; capex cycle and deleveraging targets; why the label on FCF matters as much as the sign.
Railroads
Operating Ratio: the Railroad Efficiency Metric
Operating ratio defined from Class I filings: why lower is better, reported versus adjusted, CSX's margin-derived figure, and turning the ratio into income.
Class I Railroad Operating Ratios Compared
FY2025 operating ratios for the five listed Class I railroads, reported and adjusted, with the basis for each row and why the two lines and railroads differ.
Revenue per Unit and the Mix Effect
Railroad revenue per unit defined by each filer's basis, why intermodal pulls the headline average down, and how to separate mix from price.
Intermodal Share by Railroad: Volume and Revenue
FY2025 intermodal share of volume and revenue for the five listed Class I railroads, what each counts as a unit, and why mix pulls revenue per unit down.
PSR: What Precision Scheduled Railroading Did
Precision scheduled railroading defined from Union Pacific and CSX filings, what it changes in a network, and how FY2025 operating ratios compare on one basis.
Railroad ROIC and Capital Discipline
Return on invested capital for Class I railroads: which companies file it, the 8% hurdle CSX discloses, how to set ROIC against the cost of capital.
Intermodal vs Trucking Economics
How much Class I rail traffic is intermodal, why its revenue share is lower than its unit share, and how trucks cap what railroads can charge for it.