Union Pacific Corporation


The Union Pacific Corporation is a publicly traded railroad holding company serving as the holding company for the Union Pacific Railroad.
Incorporated in 1969 in Utah, it is headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska along with its Union Pacific Railroad subsidiary. Along with BNSF Railway, owned by Berkshire Hathaway, the companies have a near-duopoly on freight railroad transportation west of the Mississippi River.
Notable companies acquired by Union Pacific and merged into Union Pacific Railroad include Missouri Pacific Railroad which included the Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad, the Chicago and North Western Transportation Company, the Western Pacific Railroad, the Denver and [Rio Grande Western Railroad], the St. Louis Southwestern Railway, the SPCSL Corporation, and the Southern Pacific Transportation Company.
Union Pacific has announced plans to acquire the Norfolk Southern in a deal worth $85 billion. If approved by regulators, it would create the first transcontinental railroad network in the United States.

History

Pre-history

On July 1, 1862, after the passage of the Pacific Railway Acts, an entity called Union Pacific Railroad was incorporated. The act was approved by President Abraham Lincoln, and it provided for the construction of railroads from the Missouri River to the Pacific as a war measure for the preservation of the Union. The railroad was constructed westward from Council Bluffs, Iowa to meet the Central Pacific Railroad line, which was constructed eastward from San Francisco Bay. The railroads were united with the "Golden spike" in May 1869. The combined Union Pacific-Central Pacific line became known as the First transcontinental railroad and the train route that operated on it was called the Overland Route.
Union Pacific was entangled in the Crédit 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. The company was significantly overbilled, with executives and financiers, led by Thomas C. Durant, Oakes Ames, and Oliver Ames, embezzling large sums of money. The company faced financial difficulty during the Panic of 1873.
In the 1870s, under the ownership of Jay Gould, the company expanded its rail network noticeably. On January 24, 1880, Union Pacific Railroad was consolidated with Kansas Pacific Railway and Denver 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.
The Union Pacific Railway declared bankruptcy during the Panic of 1893, in part due to losses from the fraud and new competition, and went into government receivership. In 1898, under a bankruptcy plan sponsored by Kuhn, Loeb & Co., it emerged from the receivership under a new similarly named entity controlled by E. H. Harriman.
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.

20th century

The Union Pacific Corporation was established in 1969 with its incorporation in Utah as a holding company for the Union Pacific Railroad and other subsidiaries.
In 1982, Union Pacific Corporation acquired Missouri Pacific Railroad, which included the Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad, and the Western Pacific Railroad. The Missouri Pacific Railroad continued operations until January 1, 1997 when it was legally merged into Union Pacific Railroad.
In 1986, the company acquired Overnite Transportation Company for $1.2 billion. 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. However, the companies did not integrate well, exacerbated by issues with labor unions. In 2001, the division acquired Motor Cargo Industries for $580 million. In 2003, Union Pacific completed a corporate spin-off and initial public offering of Overnite. In 2005, the company was acquired by United Parcel Service for $1.3 billion.
Union Pacific completed the corporate spin-off of Union Pacific Resources, its hydrocarbon exploration subsidiary, in 1996. Anadarko Petroleum acquired Union Pacific Resources in 2000 for $4.4 billion in stock.
In June 1995, the company acquired the 70% of Chicago and North Western Transportation Company that it did not already own for $1.1 billion.
In 1996, Union Pacific Corporation acquired the Southern Pacific Rail Corporation, which included the Southern Pacific Transportation Company, the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad, the St. Louis Southwestern Railway and the SPCSL Corporation, for $5.4 billion. It was led by Philip Anschutz.
In 1997, the company sold 220 miles of track in northern Wisconsin and Michigan to Wisconsin Central Ltd. for $85 million.

21st century

In 2000, due to a slowdown in business activity during the early 2000s recession, the company cut 2,000 jobs.
In 2005, James R. Young was named CEO of the company.
In 2015, Union Pacific Corporation legally merged the Southern Pacific Rail Corporation into Union Pacific Railroad.
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 are far outpacing any of your Class 1 peers."
On July 29, 2025, Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern announced an $85 billion agreement to create a transcontinental railroad. The boards of both companies unanimously approved the transaction, which remains subject to review by the Surface Transportation Board. In January 2026, the Surface Transportation Board rejected the merger application citing insufficient information on the combined company's projected market share and other incomplete documentation. The board invited the companies to revise and resubmit the application. If approved, the combined network would encompass more than 50,000 route miles across 43 states and connect approximately 100 ports in the United States.

Headquarters history

The Union Pacific Corporation was headquartered in New York City at the time of its in 1969.
In 1998, CEO Drew Lewis relocated the corporate headquarters to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. In 1997, the headquarters was shifted to Dallas, Texas.
In 2004, the corporate headquarters was relocated to Omaha to join the Union Pacific Railroad headquarters.

Finances

YearRevenue
in million US$		Net income
in million US$		Total Assets
in million US$		Price per Share
in US$		Employees
200010,76584230,9177.5650,500
200110,83096631,5529.8048,700
200211,1591,34132,77211.0947,300
200311,5511,58533,49611.2346,400
200412,21560434,59611.5848,300
200513,5781,02635,62013.1749,700
200615,5781,60636,51517.5250,700
200716,2831,85538,03322.7850,100
200817,9702,33539,72226.9548,200
200914,1431,89042,18422.1043,500
201016,9652,78043,08832.3542,900
201119,5573,29245,09641.6844,900
201220,9263,94347,15351.2645,900
201321,9634,38849,73167.6146,445
201423,9885,18052,37292.5047,201
201521,8134,77254,60092.5847,457
201619,9414,23355,71884.6542,919
201721,24010,71257,806108.5141,992
201822,8325,96659,147138.2341,967
201921,7085,91961,673180.7937,483
202019,5335,34962,398208.2230,960
202121,8046,52363,525251.9329,905
202224,8756,99865,44930,717
202324,1196,37967,13231,490
202424,2506,74767,71532,439