 | |
 Headquarters in Omaha, Nebraska | |
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| Industry | Transportation |
| Founded | 1969; 57 years ago (1969) inUtah, United States |
| Headquarters | Union Pacific Center,, United States |
Area served | Western and Mid-Western United States |
Key people | |
| Revenue |  US$24.3 billion (2024) |
| US$9.71 billion (2024) | |
| US$6.75 billion (2024) | |
| Total assets | US$67.7 billion (2024) |
| Total equity | US$16.9 billion (2024) |
Number of employees | 32,439 (2024) |
| Subsidiaries | Union Pacific Railroad |
| Website | up |
| Footnotes / references Financials as of December 31, 2024[update]. References:[1] | |
TheUnion Pacific Corporation is a publicly traded railroadholding company serving as the holding company for theUnion Pacific Railroad.[1]
Incorporated in 1969 inUtah, it is headquartered inOmaha, Nebraska along with its Union Pacific Railroad subsidiary. Along withBNSF Railway, owned byBerkshire Hathaway, the companies have a near-duopoly on freight railroad transportation west of theMississippi River.[2]
Notable companies acquired by Union Pacific and merged into Union Pacific Railroad includeMissouri Pacific Railroad which included theMissouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad, theChicago and North Western Transportation Company, theWestern Pacific Railroad, theDenver and Rio Grande Western Railroad, theSt. Louis Southwestern Railway, theSPCSL Corporation, and theSouthern Pacific Transportation Company.
Union Pacific has announced plans to acquire theNorfolk Southern in a deal worth $85 billion. If approved by regulators, it would create the first transcontinental railroad network in the United States.
On July 1, 1862, after the passage of thePacific Railway Acts, an entity called Union Pacific Railroad was incorporated. The act was approved by PresidentAbraham Lincoln, and it provided for the construction of railroads from theMissouri River to the Pacific as a war measure for the preservation of the Union.[3][4][5][6] The railroad was constructed westward fromCouncil Bluffs, Iowa to meet theCentral Pacific Railroad line, which was constructed eastward fromSan Francisco Bay.[3] The railroads were united with the "Golden spike" in May 1869.[3] The combined Union Pacific-Central Pacific line became known as theFirst transcontinental railroad and the train route that operated on it was called theOverland Route.[3]
Union Pacific was entangled in theCrédit Mobilier scandal, a fraud involving the company, which hurriedly constructed the railroad, and Crédit Mobilier of America, which was formed to finance the construction, from 1864 to 1867 and exposed in 1872.[3] The company was significantly overbilled, with executives and financiers, led byThomas C. Durant,Oakes Ames, andOliver Ames, embezzling large sums of money.[3] The company faced financial difficulty during thePanic of 1873.[3]
In the 1870s, under the ownership ofJay Gould, the company expanded its rail network noticeably.[3] On January 24, 1880, Union Pacific Railroad was consolidated withKansas Pacific Railway andDenver Pacific Railway under a new holding company called Union Pacific Railway.Jay Gould controlled all three railroads but, after leveraging the company and paying large dividends, Gould sold a large stake that year.[3]
The Union Pacific Railway declared bankruptcy during thePanic of 1893, in part due to losses from the fraud and new competition, and went into governmentreceivership.[3] In 1898, under a bankruptcy plan sponsored byKuhn, Loeb & Co., it emerged from the receivership under a new similarly named entity controlled byE. H. Harriman.[3][7]
In 1901, the company acquired a 46% interest in Southern Pacific Railroad; however, the government forced the company to sell the stake in 1913 due to antitrust concerns.[3]
The Union Pacific Corporation was established in 1969 with its incorporation inUtah as a holding company for the Union Pacific Railroad and other subsidiaries.[3]
In 1982, Union Pacific Corporation acquiredMissouri Pacific Railroad, which included theMissouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad, and theWestern Pacific Railroad.[8][9] The Missouri Pacific Railroad continued operations until January 1, 1997 when it was legally merged into Union Pacific Railroad.[10]
In 1986, the company acquired Overnite Transportation Company (nowTForce Freight) for $1.2 billion.[11] At the time, it was the fifth largest trucking company in the United States and represented the expansion of Union Pacific east of the Mississippi River. It also created the first transcontinental transportation system in the United States.[12] However, the companies did not integrate well, exacerbated by issues withlabor unions.[13] In 2001, the division acquired Motor Cargo Industries for $580 million.[14] In 2003, Union Pacific completed acorporate spin-off andinitial public offering of Overnite. In 2005, the company was acquired byUnited Parcel Service for $1.3 billion.[15]
Union Pacific completed thecorporate spin-off of Union Pacific Resources, itshydrocarbon exploration subsidiary, in 1996.[16][17]Anadarko Petroleum acquired Union Pacific Resources in 2000 for $4.4 billion in stock.[18][19][20]
In June 1995, the company acquired the 70% ofChicago and North Western Transportation Company that it did not already own for $1.1 billion.[21][22][23][24]
In 1996, Union Pacific Corporation acquired the Southern Pacific Rail Corporation, which included the Southern Pacific Transportation Company, theDenver and Rio Grande Western Railroad, theSt. Louis Southwestern Railway and theSPCSL Corporation, for $5.4 billion. It was led byPhilip Anschutz.[25]
In 1997, the company sold 220 miles of track in northern Wisconsin and Michigan toWisconsin Central Ltd. for $85 million.[26]
In 2000, due to a slowdown in business activity during theearly 2000s recession, the company cut 2,000 jobs.[27]
In 2005,James R. Young was named CEO of the company.[28]
In 2015, Union Pacific Corporation legally merged theSouthern Pacific Rail Corporation into Union Pacific Railroad.[29]
In March 2024 Union Pacific layoffs caused concern at the Federal Railroad Administration to the extent that the FRA, in a letter to UP's CEO, said "safety of railroad operations is paramount ... decisions that comprise that fundamental ... are unacceptable. You must ensure that highly trained and experienced personnel perform critical inspections and repairs .... Your railroad (layoffs) are far outpacing any of your Class 1 peers."[30]
On July 29, 2025, Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern announced an $85 billion agreement to create a transcontinental railroad, subject to review by the Surface Transportation Board (STB). On January 16, 2026, the STB rejected the merger application as incomplete because it did not contain certain information required by the Board’s regulations, and rejected the filing without prejudice to refiling a revised application. The decision did not dismiss the proceeding and directed the applicants to file a letter in the docket by February 17, 2026 indicating if and when they anticipate refiling.[31]
The Union Pacific Corporation was headquartered inNew York City at the time of its in 1969.[3]
In 1998, CEODrew Lewis relocated the corporate headquarters toBethlehem, Pennsylvania.[32] In 1997, the headquarters was shifted toDallas, Texas.[33]
In 2004, the corporate headquarters was relocated to Omaha to join the Union Pacific Railroad headquarters.[34]
| Year | Revenue in million US$ | Net income in million US$ | Total Assets in million US$ | Price per Share in US$ | Employees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000[35] | 10,765 | 842 | 30,917 | 7.56 | 50,500 |
| 2001[36] | 10,830 | 966 | 31,552 | 9.80 | 48,700 |
| 2002[36] | 11,159 | 1,341 | 32,772 | 11.09 | 47,300 |
| 2003[36] | 11,551 | 1,585 | 33,496 | 11.23 | 46,400 |
| 2004[36] | 12,215 | 604 | 34,596 | 11.58 | 48,300 |
| 2005[36] | 13,578 | 1,026 | 35,620 | 13.17 | 49,700 |
| 2006[37] | 15,578 | 1,606 | 36,515 | 17.52 | 50,700 |
| 2007[38] | 16,283 | 1,855 | 38,033 | 22.78 | 50,100 |
| 2008[39] | 17,970 | 2,335 | 39,722 | 26.95 | 48,200 |
| 2009[40] | 14,143 | 1,890 | 42,184 | 22.10 | 43,500 |
| 2010[41] | 16,965 | 2,780 | 43,088 | 32.35 | 42,900 |
| 2011[42] | 19,557 | 3,292 | 45,096 | 41.68 | 44,900 |
| 2012[43] | 20,926 | 3,943 | 47,153 | 51.26 | 45,900 |
| 2013[44] | 21,963 | 4,388 | 49,731 | 67.61 | 46,445 |
| 2014[45] | 23,988 | 5,180 | 52,372 | 92.50 | 47,201 |
| 2015[46] | 21,813 | 4,772 | 54,600 | 92.58 | 47,457 |
| 2016[47] | 19,941 | 4,233 | 55,718 | 84.65 | 42,919 |
| 2017[48] | 21,240 | 10,712 | 57,806 | 108.51 | 41,992 |
| 2018[49] | 22,832 | 5,966 | 59,147 | 138.23 | 41,967 |
| 2019[50] | 21,708 | 5,919 | 61,673 | 180.79[51] | 37,483 |
| 2020[52] | 19,533 | 5,349 | 62,398 | 208.22[51] | 30,960 |
| 2021[53] | 21,804 | 6,523 | 63,525 | 251.93[51] | 29,905 |
| 2022[54] | 24,875 | 6,998 | 65,449 | 30,717 | |
| 2023[55] | 24,119 | 6,379 | 67,132 | 31,490 | |
| 2024[1] | 24,250 | 6,747 | 67,715 | 32,439 |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
