CSX CORP (CSX) Business

Item 1.  Business

CSX Corporation, together with its subsidiaries ("CSX" or the “Company”), based in Jacksonville, Florida, is one of the nation's leading transportation companies. The Company provides rail-based freight transportation services including traditional rail service, the transport of intermodal containers and trailers, as well as other transportation services such as rail-to-truck transfers and bulk commodity operations. CSX and the rail industry provide customers with access to an expansive and interconnected transportation network that plays a key role in North American commerce and is critical to the long-term economic success and improved global competitiveness of the United States. In addition, freight railroads provide the most economical and environmentally efficient means to transport goods over land.

CSX Transportation, Inc.

CSX’s principal operating subsidiary, CSX Transportation, Inc. (“CSXT”), provides an important link to the transportation supply chain through its approximately 20,000 route-mile rail network and serves major population centers in 26 states east of the Mississippi River, the District of Columbia and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. It has access to over 70 ocean, river and lake port terminals along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts, the Mississippi River, the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence Seaway. This access allows the Company to meet the dynamic transportation needs of manufacturers, industrial producers, the automotive industry, construction companies, farmers and feed mills, wholesalers and retailers, and energy producers. The Company’s intermodal business links customers to railroads via trucks and terminals. CSXT also serves thousands of production and distribution facilities through track connections with other Class I railroads and approximately 250 short-line and regional railroads.

CSXT is also responsible for the Company's real estate sales, leasing, acquisition and management and development activities. Substantially all of these activities are focused on supporting railroad operations.

Other Entities

In addition to CSXT, the Company’s subsidiaries include Quality Carriers, Inc. ("Quality Carriers"), CSX Intermodal Terminals, Inc. (“CSX Intermodal Terminals”), Total Distribution Services, Inc. (“TDSI”), TRANSFLO Terminal Services, Inc. (“TRANSFLO”), CSX Technology, Inc. (“CSX Technology”) and other subsidiaries. Quality Carriers is the largest provider of bulk liquid chemicals truck transportation in North America. CSX Intermodal Terminals owns and operates a system of intermodal terminals, predominantly in the eastern United States, and also provides drayage services (the pickup and delivery of intermodal shipments) for certain customers. TDSI serves the automotive industry with distribution centers and storage locations. TRANSFLO connects non-rail served customers to the many benefits of rail by transferring products from rail to trucks. The biggest TRANSFLO markets are chemicals and agriculture, which includes shipments of plastics and ethanol. CSX Technology and other subsidiaries provide support services for the Company.

Operating Model

The Company is focused on developing and strictly maintaining a scheduled service plan with an emphasis on improving customer service, optimizing assets and increasing employee engagement. When this operating model is executed effectively, the Company competes for additional business in the U.S. freight market. Further, this model leads to reduced costs and strong free cash flow generation.

CSX 2025 Form 10-K p.3

CSX CORPORATION

PART I

Lines of Business

During 2025, the Company's services generated $14.1 billion of revenue and served four primary lines of business: merchandise, intermodal, coal and trucking.

•The merchandise business shipped 2.6 million carloads (41% of volume) and generated $8.8 billion in revenue (62% of revenue) in 2025. The Company’s merchandise business is comprised of shipments in the following diverse markets: chemicals, agricultural and food products, automotive, minerals, forest products, metals and equipment, and fertilizers.

•The intermodal business shipped 3.0 million units (48% of volume) and generated $2.1 billion in revenue (15% of revenue) in 2025. The intermodal business combines the superior economics of rail transportation with the flexibility of trucks and offers a cost and environmental advantage over long-haul trucking. Through a network of approximately 30 terminals, the intermodal business serves all major markets east of the Mississippi River and transports mainly manufactured consumer goods in containers, providing customers with truck-like service for longer shipments.

•The coal business shipped 718 thousand carloads (11% of volume) and generated $1.9 billion in revenue (13% of revenue) in 2025. The Company transports domestic coal, coke and iron ore to electricity-generating power plants, steel manufacturers and industrial plants as well as export coal to deep-water port facilities. Most of the export coal the Company transports is used for steelmaking, while the majority of domestic coal the Company ships is used for electricity generation.

•The trucking business generated $816 million, or 6%, of revenue in 2025. Trucking revenue includes revenue from the operations of Quality Carriers.

Other revenue accounted for 4% of the Company’s total revenue in 2025. This category includes revenue from regional subsidiary railroads and incidental charges, including intermodal storage and equipment usage, demurrage and switching. Revenue from regional subsidiary railroads includes shipments by railroads that the Company does not directly operate. Intermodal storage represents charges for customer storage of containers at an intermodal terminal, ramp facility or offsite location beyond a specified period of time. Demurrage represents charges assessed when freight cars are held by a customer beyond a specified period of time. Switching represents charges assessed when a railroad switches cars for a customer or another railroad.

CSX's Committed Workforce

Most of the Company’s employees provide or support transportation services. The Company had approximately 23,000 employees as of December 2025, which includes approximately 16,900 employees that are members of a rail labor union and covered by national agreements with the Class I railroads or CSX-specific agreements. As of the date of this filing, new agreements with an effective date of January 1, 2025, have been fully ratified by most unions, representing nearly 75% of the Company's unionized workforce. The remaining unionized employees are covered under previous agreements while negotiations take place since collective agreements under the Railway Labor Act do not expire, but continue until amended or replaced.

CSX prioritizes workplace safety for employees and is committed to continued improvement through enhanced processes, training, technology, communication, and continuous collaboration with customers and peers across the railroad industry. Training programs and processes are focused on injury and accident prevention as well as emergency preparedness. Additionally, the attainment of key safety targets is a component of management's annual incentive program. The FRA Personal Injury Frequency Index, a measure of the number of FRA-reportable injuries per 200,000 man-hours, was 0.94 in 2025 and 1.23 in 2024.

CSX 2025 Form 10-K p.4

CSX CORPORATION

PART I

The Compensation and Talent Management Committee of the Board of Directors is responsible for the oversight of the Company's workforce and human capital management processes. The Company is committed to developing a culture that promotes workforce satisfaction and expects ethical behavior. The CSX Code of Ethics serves as a guiding standard for ethical behavior and covers many types of matters, including discrimination and harassment as well as safety. Annually, all management employees are required, and union employees are highly encouraged, to complete ethics training.

Company History

A leader in freight rail transportation for nearly 200 years, the Company’s heritage dates back to the early nineteenth century when The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company (“B&O”), the nation’s first common carrier, was chartered in 1827. Since that time, the Company has built on this foundation to create a railroad that could safely and reliably service the ever-increasing demands of a growing nation. Since its founding, numerous railroads have combined with the former B&O through merger and consolidation to create what has become CSX. Each of the railroads that combined into the CSX family brought new geographical reach to valuable markets, gateways, cities, ports and transportation corridors.

CSX Corporation was incorporated in 1978 under Virginia law. In 1980, the Company completed the merger of the Chessie System and Seaboard Coast Line Industries into CSX. The merger allowed the Company to connect northern population centers and Appalachian coal fields to growing southeastern markets. Later, the Company’s acquisition of key portions of Conrail, Inc. ("Conrail") allowed CSXT to link the northeast, including New England and the New York metropolitan area, with Chicago and midwestern markets as well as the growing areas in the Southeast already served by CSXT. This current rail network, which now includes the network acquired from Pan Am, allows the Company to directly serve every major market in the eastern United States with safe, dependable, environmentally responsible and fuel efficient freight transportation and intermodal service.

Competition

The business environment in which the Company operates is highly competitive. Shippers typically select transportation providers that offer the most compelling combination of service and price. Service requirements, both in terms of transit time and reliability, vary by shipper and commodity. As a result, the Company’s primary competition varies by commodity, geographic location and mode of available transportation and includes other railroads, motor carriers that operate similar routes across its service area and, to a less significant extent, barges, ships and pipelines.

CSXT’s primary rail competitor is Norfolk Southern Railway, which operates throughout much of the Company’s territory. During 2025, Norfolk Southern Railway entered into an agreement to merge with Union Pacific Railroad to form the nation's only transcontinental rail network, which requires the approval of the Surface Transportation Board. Other railroads also operate in parts of the Company’s territory. Depending on the specific market, competing railroads and deregulated motor carriers may exert pressure on price and service levels. For further discussion on the risk of competition to the Company, see Item 1A. Risk Factors.

CSX 2025 Form 10-K p.5

CSX CORPORATION

PART I

Regulatory Environment

The Company's operations are subject to various federal, state, provincial (Canada) and local laws and regulations generally applicable to businesses operating in the United States and Canada. In the U.S., the railroad operations conducted by the Company's subsidiaries, including CSXT, are subject to the regulatory jurisdiction of the Surface Transportation Board (“STB”), the Federal Railroad Administration (“FRA”), and its sister agency within the U.S. Department of Transportation ("DOT"), the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (“PHMSA”). Together, FRA and PHMSA have broad jurisdiction over railroad operating standards and practices, including track, freight cars, locomotives and hazardous materials requirements. In addition, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) has regulatory authority with respect to matters that impact the Company's properties and operations.

The Transportation Security Administration (“TSA”), a component of the Department of Homeland Security, has broad authority over railroad operating practices that may have homeland security implications. In Canada, the railroad operations conducted by the Company’s subsidiaries, including CSXT, are subject to the regulatory jurisdiction of the Canadian Transportation Agency.

Although the Staggers Act of 1980 significantly deregulated the U.S. rail industry, the STB has broad jurisdiction over rail carriers. The STB regulates routes, fuel surcharges, conditions of service, rates for non-exempt traffic, acquisitions of control over rail common carriers and the transfer, extension or abandonment of rail lines, among other railroad activities. Any new rules from the STB regarding, among other things, competitive access or revenue adequacy could have a material adverse effect on the Company's financial condition, results of operations and liquidity as well as its ability to invest in enhancing and maintaining vital infrastructure. For further discussion on regulatory risks to the Company, see Item 1A. Risk Factors.

Financial Information

Information regarding the Company's results of operations and financial position can be found in Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.

Other Information

CSX makes available on its website www.csx.com, free of charge, its annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and all amendments to those reports as soon as reasonably practicable after such reports are filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). The information on the CSX website is not part of this annual report on Form 10-K. Additionally, the Company has posted its code of ethics on its website, which is also available to any shareholder who requests it. This Form 10-K and other SEC filings made by CSX are also accessible through the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.

CSX has included the certifications of its Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) and the Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”) required by Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (“the Act”) as Exhibit 31, as well as Section 906 of the Act as Exhibit 32 to this Form 10-K report.

For additional information concerning business conducted by the Company during 2025, see Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.

CSX 2025 Form 10-K p.6

CSX CORPORATION