Norfolk Southern's (NSC) Q2 earnings beat was driven by revenue outperformance and better-than-expected margins, with management also striking a more constructive tone on volumes across all three segments, RBC Capital Markets said in a note Thursday.

Management was more bullish on volumes than in Q1, given a tightening truck market, a growing industrial development pipeline, and ongoing coal export strength, the investment firm said.

The firm revised its 2026 volume growth estimate to 2.2% from 1%, with intermodal and coal leading the bulk of the revision. Strong volume growth and tightening trucking capacity could create an attractive setup for pricing momentum in 2027, the firm added.

The pricing tailwind from the truck market tightness should reflect more meaningfully in the company's revenue per unit in H2 and into 2027, according to the note.

RBC maintained its sector perform rating on Norfolk Southern and raised its price target to $360 from $320.

Shares of Norfolk Southern were up more than 1% in Friday trading.

Price: 352.54, Change: +3.99, Percent Change: +1.14