DAC vs KEX vs MATX Stock Comparison

Danaos, Kirby and Matson Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
DAC Danaos Corp
$159.19 +2.9% 1M +76.8% 1Y
Market cap
$2.90B
P/E
5.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.06B
Div. yield
–
Marine Shipping Industrials
6 wins
KEX Kirby Corp
$145.98 +10.7% 1M +44.5% 1Y
Market cap
$7.71B
P/E
20.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.60B
Div. yield
–
Marine Shipping Industrials
3 wins
MATX Matson, Inc.
$227.28 +0.4% 1M +130.8% 1Y
Market cap
$6.72B
P/E
14.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.46B
Div. yield
0.01%
Marine Shipping Industrials
1 win

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

Danaos leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Danaos 6, Kirby 3, Matson 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionDACKEXMATXLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $2.90B $7.71B $6.72B KEX
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 5.4x 20.6x 14.5x DAC
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 5.6x 21.3x 13.0x DAC
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +2.5% +8.5% -0.2% KEX
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 51.3% — 13.4% DAC
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — — 14.3% –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.0x — 0.3x DAC
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.01% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +76.8% +44.5% +130.8% MATX
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +16.4%/yr +22.8%/yr +22.3%/yr KEX
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 23.5% 26.7% 34.6% DAC
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 73/100 — 45/100 DAC

Percentile Scorecard

DACKEXMATX

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

AxisDACKEXMATX
Valuation 87 #19 of 136 43 #78 of 136 33 #92 of 136
Growth 49 #62 of 121 79 #26 of 121 23 #94 of 121
Profitability 83 #20 of 112 – 60 #46 of 112
Financial Health 90 #15 of 140 – 69 #44 of 140
Shareholder Returns 54 #37 of 80 – 42 #47 of 80
Overall 73 – 45
  • DAC ranked among 150 companies in Transportation
  • KEX ranked among 150 companies in Transportation
  • MATX ranked among 150 companies in Transportation

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodDACKEXMATXSPY
1 month +2.9%+10.7%+0.4% +0.7%
3 months +12.1%+10.3%+11.5% +3.7%
6 months +32.2%-3.0%+30.3% +7.1%
Year to date +69.0%+32.5%+84.0% +12.8%
1 year +76.8%+44.5%+130.8% +11.9%
3 years +138.2%+97.6%+151.3% +85.2%
3 years, per year +33.6%+25.5%+36.0% +22.8%
5 years +113.4%+178.5%+172.9% +67.6%
5 years, per year +16.4%+22.8%+22.3% +10.9%
10 years +349.4%+147.4%+477.6% +262.0%
10 years, per year +16.2%+9.5%+19.2% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureDACKEXMATXSPY
Volatility, 1Y 23.5%26.7%34.6% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 20.6%27.1%26.2% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.620.561.00 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 3.271.673.78 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -51.7%-38.8%-54.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -6.4%-4.3%-4.2% -1.2%
52-week high $170.09$152.59$237.28 $779.14
52-week low $89.60$100.99$97.33 $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.

MultipleDACKEXMATX
P/E now vs peer median 5.4xmedian 16.5x 20.9xmedian 16.5x 14.8xmedian 16.5x
P/S now vs peer median 2.8xmedian 0.9x 2.1xmedian 0.9x 2.0xmedian 0.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 4.2xmedian 8.8x —median 8.8x 9.7xmedian 8.8x
P/FCF now vs peer median 3.6xmedian 11.9x 14.6xmedian 11.9x 61.4xmedian 11.9x
P/B now vs peer median 0.7xmedian 1.2x —median 1.2x 2.5xmedian 1.2x
PEG now vs peer median 1.01median 0.84 0.75median 0.84 2.46median 0.84

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 monthsDACKEXMATX
Revenue $1.06B $3.60B $3.46B
Gross profit $847.70M – –
Operating income $510.90M $510.61M $525.00M
Net income $540.80M – $463.80M
Free cash flow $807.90M – $110.70M
EPS (diluted) $29.26 $6.96 $15.31
Cash & equivalents $1.01B – $119.30M
Total debt $3.76B – $332.40M
Shares (diluted) 18.48M 53.70M 30.30M
Enterprise value -$1.23B $7.71B $6.27B

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
MetricDACKEXMATX
P/E 5.4x 20.9x 14.8x
P/FCF 3.6x 14.6x 61.4x
P/Operating cash flow 4.1x 12.3x 11.6x
P/S 2.8x 2.1x 2.0x
P/B 0.7x – 2.5x
P/Tangible book 0.7x – 2.6x
EV/EBITDA 4.2x – 9.7x
EV/EBIT 5.7x – 13.4x
EV/Revenue 2.7x 2.1x 2.0x
EV/FCF 3.6x – 63.3x
EV/Operating cash flow 4.0x 12.3x 12.0x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.01 0.75 2.46

Growth

14 metrics
MetricDACKEXMATX
Revenue growth (1Y) 2.5% 8.5% -0.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 1.9% 6.0% 0.6%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 2.6% – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 0.5% – –
Operating income growth (1Y) 38.7% 22.5% -10.2%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -5.7% 19.4% -2.3%
Net income growth (1Y) 17.7% – -6.1%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 1.8% – 0.4%
EPS growth (1Y) 23.5% 27.4% 0.4%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 5.4% 28.0% 6.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 17.2% 3.3% -5.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 6.4% 11.0% -11.0%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -22.0% – -57.0%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 4.4% – -42.1%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricDACKEXMATX
Gross margin 80.3% – –
EBITDA margin 65.8% – 21.0%
Operating margin 48.4% – 15.2%
Pretax margin 51.3% – 15.9%
Net margin 51.3% – 13.4%
FCF margin 76.6% – 3.2%
Operating cash flow margin 67.8% 17.4% 16.9%
Return on equity 13.6% – 16.9%
Return on assets 10.2% – 10.0%
Return on invested capital – – 14.3%
Return on capital employed 10.0% – 13.0%
Asset turnover 0.2x – 0.7x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.3x – 1.3x
Stock comp / revenue 1.7% – 0.7%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricDACKEXMATX
Debt / assets 22.2% – 7.1%
Debt / equity 0.3x – 0.1x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.0x – 0.3x
Debt / FCF 1.5x – 3.0x
Liabilities / assets 25.5% – 41.2%
Equity / assets 74.5% – 58.8%
Interest coverage 40.6x – 79.5x
Current ratio 9.3x – 0.9x
Quick ratio 8.8x – 0.8x
Cash ratio 8.2x – 0.2x
Altman Z-score 2.94 – 3.92

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricDACKEXMATX
Dividend yield 2.9% – 0.6%
Net buyback yield 1.0% – 3.9%
Shareholder yield 3.9% – 4.5%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – 9.6%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – 40.3%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – -0.9%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – -0.6%

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.

ConsensusDACKEXMATX
Forward P/E 5.6xFY2026 21.3xFY2026 13.0xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $28.38FY2026 $6.86FY2026 $17.50FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +8.0%FY2026 +8.4%FY2026 +26.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after -6.3% +29.0% -8.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.11BFY2026 $3.49BFY2026 $3.45BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +7.1%FY2026 +4.0%FY2026 +3.2%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +7.5% +4.7% +6.1%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersDACKEXMATX
Held by institutions 20.8% 99.6% 86.3%
Institutions holding 136 465 429
Change in shares held, QoQ +4.1% -0.1% +0.4%
Institutions buying 72 252 213
Institutions selling 36 145 134
Buyers to sellers 2.00 1.74 1.59

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.

DACKEXMATX
DAC 1.00 0.27 0.38
KEX 0.27 1.00 0.37
MATX 0.38 0.37 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, DAC, KEX and MATX?

Kirby (KEX) is the largest by market capitalisation: Danaos (DAC) $2.90B, Kirby (KEX) $7.71B, Matson (MATX) $6.72B.

Which stock is cheaper, DAC, KEX and MATX?

Danaos (DAC) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Danaos (DAC) 5.4x, Kirby (KEX) 20.6x, Matson (MATX) 14.5x). On next year's consensus earnings, Danaos (DAC) is cheapest (Danaos (DAC) 5.6x, Kirby (KEX) 21.3x, Matson (MATX) 13.0x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Kirby (KEX) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Danaos (DAC) +2.5%, Kirby (KEX) +8.5%, Matson (MATX) -0.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

Danaos (DAC) has the highest net margin (Danaos (DAC) 51.3%, Matson (MATX) 13.4%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Matson (MATX) returned the most: Danaos (DAC) +76.8%, Kirby (KEX) +44.5%, Matson (MATX) +130.8%. Over five years, Kirby (KEX) compounded fastest (Danaos (DAC) +16.4%/yr, Kirby (KEX) +22.8%/yr, Matson (MATX) +22.3%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Danaos (DAC) 0.00%, Kirby (KEX) 0.00%, Matson (MATX) 0.01%. Danaos (DAC) and Kirby (KEX) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Danaos (DAC) has been the steadiest (Danaos (DAC) 23.5%, Kirby (KEX) 26.7%, Matson (MATX) 34.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, DAC, KEX and MATX?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Danaos (DAC) 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.