ARCB vs FDXF vs SAIA Stock Comparison

Arcbest, FedEx Freight Holding Company and Saia Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
ARCB Arcbest Corp /Tx/
$130.34 +4.1% 1M +73.7% 1Y
Market cap
$2.91B
P/E
178.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$4.20B
Div. yield
0.37%
Trucking Industrials
3 wins
SAIA Saia Inc
$340.86 +5.1% 1M +17.8% 1Y
Market cap
$9.09B
P/E
32.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.39B
Div. yield
–
Trucking Industrials
6 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Saia leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Saia 6, Arcbest 3, FedEx Freight Holding Company 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionARCBFDXFSAIALeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $2.91B $16.21B $9.09B FDXF
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 178.7x 24.8x 32.8x FDXF
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 19.7x — 32.1x ARCB
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +3.7% — +4.8% SAIA
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 0.4% — 8.2% SAIA
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 1.5% — 10.2% SAIA
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.2x — 0.0x SAIA
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.37% — — –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +73.7% — +17.8% ARCB
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +7.1%/yr — +1.8%/yr ARCB
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 46.5% 60.7% 46.5% SAIA
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 35/100 — 44/100 SAIA

Percentile Scorecard

ARCBFDXFSAIA

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisARCBFDXFSAIA
Valuation 42 #80 of 136 34 #90 of 136 23 #105 of 136
Growth 15 #103 of 121 – 51 #60 of 121
Profitability 32 #79 of 115 – 56 #51 of 115
Financial Health 63 #53 of 143 9 #130 of 143 87 #20 of 143
Shareholder Returns 25 #62 of 82 – 3 #80 of 82
Overall 35 – 44
  • ARCB ranked among 150 companies in Transportation
  • FDXF ranked among 150 companies in Transportation
  • SAIA ranked among 150 companies in Transportation

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodARCBFDXFSAIASPY
1 month +4.1%-4.2%+5.1% -0.2%
3 months -12.8%-28.2%-16.9% +3.9%
6 months +2.0%—-23.1% +8.2%
Year to date +75.7%—+4.4% +12.9%
1 year +73.7%—+17.8% +12.3%
3 years +27.5%—-1.0% +87.4%
3 years, per year +8.4%—-0.3% +23.3%
5 years +40.6%—+9.3% +67.9%
5 years, per year +7.1%—+1.8% +10.9%
10 years +537.4%—+880.9% +261.1%
10 years, per year +20.4%—+25.7% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureARCBFDXFSAIASPY
Volatility, 1Y 46.5%60.7%46.5% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 45.1%53.8%46.6% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.200.141.35 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.58—0.38 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -62.6%-42.7%-60.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -24.8%-42.5%-30.0% -1.2%
52-week high $173.22$188.46$487.14 $779.14
52-week low $59.62$107.94$250.48 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleARCBFDXFSAIA
P/E now vs peer median 178.7xmedian 16.3x 24.8xmedian 16.3x 32.8xmedian 16.3x
P/S now vs peer median 0.7xmedian 1.0x 1.8xmedian 1.0x 2.7xmedian 1.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 14.3xmedian 8.7x —median 8.7x 14.5xmedian 8.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median 15.6xmedian 11.4x -76.5xmedian 11.4x 35.6xmedian 11.4x
P/B now vs peer median 2.3xmedian 1.2x -32.6xmedian 1.2x 3.3xmedian 1.2x
PEG now vs peer median -3.10median 0.82 —median 0.82 -5.25median 0.82

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsARCBFDXFSAIA
Revenue $4.20B – $3.39B
Operating income $29.18M – $374.65M
Net income $16.30M – $277.96M
Free cash flow $187.04M – $255.23M
EPS (diluted) $0.73 – $10.36
Cash & equivalents $145.85M – $84.01M
Total debt $215.55M $4.53B $100.12M
Shares (diluted) 22.35M 149.51M 26.83M
Enterprise value $2.40B $16.21B $8.91B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricARCBFDXFSAIA
P/E 178.7x 24.8x 32.8x
P/FCF 15.6x -76.5x 35.6x
P/Operating cash flow 10.3x – 15.0x
P/S 0.7x 1.8x 2.7x
P/B 2.3x -32.6x 3.3x
P/Tangible book 2.4x -32.6x 3.3x
EV/EBITDA 14.3x – 14.5x
EV/EBIT 101.5x – 24.3x
EV/Revenue 0.7x – 2.7x
EV/FCF 15.8x – 35.7x
EV/Operating cash flow 10.5x – 15.0x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -3.10 – -5.25

Growth

14 metrics
MetricARCBFDXFSAIA
Revenue growth (1Y) 3.7% – 4.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -3.3% – 7.4%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – –
Operating income growth (1Y) -86.6% – -5.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -49.7% – -5.3%
Net income growth (1Y) -89.7% – -4.2%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -59.1% – -6.1%
EPS growth (1Y) -89.4% – -4.3%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -57.7% – -6.3%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 22.3% – -3.2%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -10.2% – 2.9%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 165.4% – 326.1%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -3.5% – 29.2%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricARCBFDXFSAIA
Gross margin – – –
EBITDA margin 4.9% – 18.5%
Operating margin 0.7% – 11.0%
Pretax margin 0.5% – 10.8%
Net margin 0.4% – 8.2%
FCF margin 4.4% – 7.5%
Operating cash flow margin 6.7% – 17.9%
Return on equity 1.3% – 5.4%
Return on assets 0.7% – 4.0%
Return on invested capital 1.5% – 10.2%
Return on capital employed 1.7% – 11.4%
Asset turnover 1.7x – 0.9x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 17.3x – 2.2x
Stock comp / revenue 0.2% – –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricARCBFDXFSAIA
Debt / assets 8.8% 65.8% 2.7%
Debt / equity 0.2x -9.1x 0.0x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.2x – 0.0x
Debt / FCF 1.2x – 0.4x
Liabilities / assets 48.3% 107.2% 26.8%
Equity / assets 51.7% -7.2% 73.2%
Interest coverage 2.0x – 31.1x
Current ratio 1.0x 1.5x 1.6x
Quick ratio 0.9x – 1.4x
Cash ratio 0.2x – 0.2x
Altman Z-score 4.05 – 7.69

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricARCBFDXFSAIA
Dividend yield 0.4% – –
Net buyback yield 1.4% – 0.0%
Shareholder yield 1.8% – 0.0%
Payout ratio (earnings) 66.2% – –
Payout ratio (FCF) 5.8% – –
Dividend growth (1Y) -3.6% – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) -2.7% – –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusARCBFDXFSAIA
Forward P/E 19.7xFY2026 – 32.1xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $6.60FY2026 – $10.63FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +78.4%FY2026 – +16.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +49.8% – +28.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $4.39BFY2026 – $3.87BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +9.5%FY2026 – +19.9%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +7.9% – -5.5%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersARCBFDXFSAIA
Held by institutions 100.0% 60.8% 100.0%
Institutions holding 328 1,121 513
Change in shares held, QoQ -0.6% – +1.0%
Institutions buying 179 1,121 292
Institutions selling 105 0 152
Buyers to sellers 1.70 – 1.92

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

ARCBFDXFSAIA
ARCB 1.00 0.38 0.71
FDXF 0.38 1.00 0.34
SAIA 0.71 0.34 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ARCB, FDXF and SAIA?

FedEx Freight Holding Company (FDXF) is the largest by market capitalisation: Arcbest (ARCB) $2.91B, FedEx Freight Holding Company (FDXF) $16.21B, Saia (SAIA) $9.09B.

Which stock is cheaper, ARCB, FDXF and SAIA?

FedEx Freight Holding Company (FDXF) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Arcbest (ARCB) 178.7x, FedEx Freight Holding Company (FDXF) 24.8x, Saia (SAIA) 32.8x). On next year's consensus earnings, Arcbest (ARCB) is cheapest (Arcbest (ARCB) 19.7x, Saia (SAIA) 32.1x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Saia (SAIA) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Arcbest (ARCB) +3.7%, Saia (SAIA) +4.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Saia (SAIA) has the highest net margin (Arcbest (ARCB) 0.4%, Saia (SAIA) 8.2%). On return on invested capital, Saia (SAIA) leads (Arcbest (ARCB) 1.5%, Saia (SAIA) 10.2%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Arcbest (ARCB) returned the most: Arcbest (ARCB) +73.7%, Saia (SAIA) +17.8%. Over five years, Arcbest (ARCB) compounded fastest (Arcbest (ARCB) +7.1%/yr, Saia (SAIA) +1.8%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Arcbest (ARCB) 0.37%. FedEx Freight Holding Company (FDXF) and Saia (SAIA) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Saia (SAIA) has been the steadiest (Arcbest (ARCB) 46.5%, FedEx Freight Holding Company (FDXF) 60.7%, Saia (SAIA) 46.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, ARCB, FDXF and SAIA?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Saia (SAIA) leads on 6. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.