FRO vs UPS vs KEX Stock Comparison

Frontline, United Parcel Service and Kirby Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
1 more company in this comparison (MATX) Create a free account to keep reading and compare up to 10 companies.
FRO Frontline plc
$55.52 +15.4% 1M +129.1% 1Y
Market cap
$12.51B
P/E
8.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.71B
Div. yield
–
Marine Shipping Industrials
8 wins
KEX Kirby Corp
$146.19 +11.1% 1M +64.9% 1Y
Market cap
$7.68B
P/E
20.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.60B
Div. yield
–
Marine Shipping Industrials
1 win

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

Frontline leads on 8 of the 12 questions below (Frontline 8, United Parcel Service 1, Kirby 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionFROUPSKEXLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $12.51B $90.70B $7.68B UPS
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 8.4x 19.8x 20.6x FRO
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 5.6x 15.6x 21.3x FRO
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +48.8% -0.4% +8.5% FRO
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 54.8% 5.1% — FRO
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 29.5% 12.9% — FRO
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 1.9x — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +129.1% +9.6% +64.9% FRO
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +44.5%/yr -13.1%/yr +22.8%/yr FRO
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 44.8% 30.1% 29.7% KEX
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 79/100 44/100 — FRO

Percentile Scorecard

FROUPSKEX

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

AxisFROUPSKEX
Valuation 50 #69 of 136 43 #78 of 136 42 #79 of 136
Growth 96 #6 of 122 22 #96 of 122 79 #27 of 122
Profitability 98 #3 of 116 70 #36 of 116 –
Financial Health 67 #48 of 143 34 #95 of 143 –
Shareholder Returns 86 #12 of 81 54 #38 of 81 –
Overall 79 44 –
  • FRO ranked among 150 companies in Transportation
  • UPS ranked among 150 companies in Transportation
  • KEX ranked among 150 companies in Transportation

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodFROUPSKEXSPY
1 month +15.4%+12.0%+11.1% +0.9%
3 months +41.8%+1.0%+11.4% +5.9%
6 months +53.0%-0.9%-4.2% +8.5%
Year to date +154.4%+6.5%+32.7% +13.3%
1 year +129.1%+9.6%+64.9% +12.4%
3 years +149.3%-21.7%+95.7% +88.1%
3 years, per year +35.6%-7.8%+25.1% +23.5%
5 years +530.2%-50.5%+178.9% +68.2%
5 years, per year +44.5%-13.1%+22.8% +11.0%
10 years +649.3%-1.9%+147.7% +263.4%
10 years, per year +22.3%-0.2%+9.5% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureFROUPSKEXSPY
Volatility, 1Y 44.8%30.1%29.7% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 45.2%33.4%27.2% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.510.720.56 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 2.880.322.19 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -56.1%-64.4%-38.8% -25.4%
From 52-week high -6.2%-12.0%-4.2% -0.9%
52-week high $59.22$120.00$152.59 $779.14
52-week low $20.58$90.87$88.64 $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.

MultipleFROUPSKEX
P/E now vs peer median 8.3xmedian 16.1x 19.7xmedian 16.1x 20.9xmedian 16.1x
P/S now vs peer median 4.6xmedian 0.9x 0.9xmedian 0.9x 2.1xmedian 0.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 8.6x 9.5xmedian 8.6x —median 8.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median 6.1xmedian 11.6x 14.5xmedian 11.6x 14.6xmedian 11.6x
P/B now vs peer median 3.9xmedian 1.2x 5.2xmedian 1.2x —median 1.2x
PEG now vs peer median 0.44median 0.80 -0.87median 0.80 0.75median 0.80

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 monthsFROUPSKEX
Revenue $2.71B $89.93B $3.60B
Operating income $1.63B $6.58B $510.61M
Net income $1.49B $4.57B –
Free cash flow $2.02B $5.46B –
EPS (diluted) $6.68 $5.37 $6.96
Cash & equivalents $321.42M $4.65B –
Total debt $2.43B $24.48B –
Shares (diluted) 222.62M 851.00M 53.70M
Enterprise value $11.27B $67.59B $7.68B

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
MetricFROUPSKEX
P/E 8.3x 19.7x 20.9x
P/FCF 6.1x 14.5x 14.6x
P/Operating cash flow 9.1x 8.9x 12.3x
P/S 4.6x 0.9x 2.1x
P/B 3.9x 5.2x –
P/Tangible book 3.9x 7.1x –
EV/EBITDA – 9.5x –
EV/EBIT 8.9x 15.1x –
EV/Revenue 5.3x 1.1x 2.1x
EV/FCF 7.2x 18.1x –
EV/Operating cash flow 10.7x 11.2x 12.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.44 -0.87 0.75

Growth

14 metrics
MetricFROUPSKEX
Revenue growth (1Y) 48.8% -0.4% 8.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 12.2% -2.2% 6.0%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – –
Operating income growth (1Y) 226.3% -21.7% 22.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 24.1% -17.3% 19.4%
Net income growth (1Y) 524.5% -20.2% –
Net income CAGR (3Y) 21.7% -23.0% –
EPS growth (1Y) 524.5% -20.6% 27.4%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 19.0% -22.7% 28.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 116.9% 18.6% 3.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 17.1% -8.0% 11.0%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 218.6% 54.2% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 20.5% -4.2% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricFROUPSKEX
Gross margin – – –
EBITDA margin – 11.6% –
Operating margin 60.1% 7.3% –
Pretax margin 54.9% 6.5% –
Net margin 54.8% 5.1% –
FCF margin 74.3% 6.1% –
Operating cash flow margin 49.8% 9.9% 17.4%
Return on equity 49.6% 29.6% –
Return on assets 25.9% 6.4% –
Return on invested capital 29.5% 12.9% –
Return on capital employed 31.0% 11.6% –
Asset turnover 0.5x 1.3x –
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 0.9x 1.9x –
Stock comp / revenue – 0.1% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricFROUPSKEX
Debt / assets 41.9% 34.4% –
Debt / equity 0.8x 1.6x –
Net debt / EBITDA – 1.9x –
Debt / FCF 1.2x 4.5x –
Liabilities / assets 45.7% 78.8% –
Equity / assets 54.3% 21.2% –
Interest coverage 8.8x 6.0x –
Current ratio 1.9x 1.2x –
Quick ratio 1.4x 1.0x –
Cash ratio 0.7x 0.3x –
Altman Z-score 4.59 2.83 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricFROUPSKEX
Dividend yield 6.4% 6.2% –
Net buyback yield – -0.1% –
Shareholder yield 6.4% 6.1% –
Payout ratio (earnings) – – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – –

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.

ConsensusFROUPSKEX
Forward P/E 5.6xFY2026 15.6xFY2026 21.3xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $9.98FY2026 $6.75FY2026 $6.86FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +487.1%FY2026 -5.7%FY2026 +8.4%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after -49.8% +26.7% +29.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $2.52BFY2026 $87.80BFY2026 $3.49BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +110.2%FY2026 -1.0%FY2026 +4.0%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -18.3% +14.6% +4.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersFROUPSKEX
Held by institutions 33.6% 70.9% 99.6%
Institutions holding 261 2,138 464
Change in shares held, QoQ +36.6% +6.0% -0.1%
Institutions buying 152 1,089 252
Institutions selling 74 809 145
Buyers to sellers 2.05 1.35 1.74

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.

FROUPSKEX
FRO 1.00 0.04 0.15
UPS 0.04 1.00 0.16
KEX 0.15 0.16 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, FRO, UPS and KEX?

United Parcel Service (UPS) is the largest by market capitalisation: Frontline (FRO) $12.51B, United Parcel Service (UPS) $90.70B, Kirby (KEX) $7.68B.

Which stock is cheaper, FRO, UPS and KEX?

Frontline (FRO) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Frontline (FRO) 8.4x, United Parcel Service (UPS) 19.8x, Kirby (KEX) 20.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, Frontline (FRO) is cheapest (Frontline (FRO) 5.6x, United Parcel Service (UPS) 15.6x, Kirby (KEX) 21.3x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Frontline (FRO) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Frontline (FRO) +48.8%, United Parcel Service (UPS) -0.4%, Kirby (KEX) +8.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

Frontline (FRO) has the highest net margin (Frontline (FRO) 54.8%, United Parcel Service (UPS) 5.1%). On return on invested capital, Frontline (FRO) leads (Frontline (FRO) 29.5%, United Parcel Service (UPS) 12.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Frontline (FRO) returned the most: Frontline (FRO) +129.1%, United Parcel Service (UPS) +9.6%, Kirby (KEX) +64.9%. Over five years, Frontline (FRO) compounded fastest (Frontline (FRO) +44.5%/yr, United Parcel Service (UPS) -13.1%/yr, Kirby (KEX) +22.8%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Kirby (KEX) has been the steadiest (Frontline (FRO) 44.8%, United Parcel Service (UPS) 30.1%, Kirby (KEX) 29.7%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, FRO, UPS and KEX?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Frontline (FRO) leads on 8. 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.