GVA vs KNF vs MLM Stock Comparison

Granite Construction, Knife River and Martin Marietta Materials Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
GVA Granite Construction Inc
$108.26 -6.0% 1M +3.5% 1Y
Market cap
$4.83B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$4.97B
Div. yield
0.00%
Engineering and Construction Industrials
6 wins
KNF Knife River Corp
$52.89 -3.1% 1M -15.8% 1Y
Market cap
$3.11B
P/E
22.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.31B
Div. yield
–
Aggregates Basic Materials
1 win

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Granite Construction leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Granite Construction 6, Martin Marietta Materials 5, Knife River 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionGVAKNFMLMLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $4.83B $3.11B $30.32B MLM
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -29.3x 22.2x 12.3x MLM
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — 19.8x 27.5x KNF
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +21.8% +12.1% +14.8% GVA
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -3.3% 4.2% 36.7% MLM
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 13.4% 6.5% 6.5% GVA
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.3x 3.1x 2.8x GVA
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.01% MLM
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +3.5% -15.8% -18.8% GVA
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +22.9%/yr — +5.6%/yr GVA
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 33.1% 51.1% 28.7% MLM
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 56/100 30/100 34/100 GVA

Percentile Scorecard

GVAKNFMLM

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

AxisGVAKNFMLM
Valuation 84 #9 of 52 78 #3 of 10 11 #9 of 10
Growth 50 #19 of 37 – –
Profitability 50 #19 of 37 0 #8 of 8 86 #2 of 8
Financial Health 32 #39 of 57 13 #8 of 9 38 #6 of 9
Shareholder Returns 62 #11 of 27 – 0 #8 of 8
Overall 56 30 34
  • GVA ranked among 57 companies in Construction Services
  • KNF ranked among 10 companies in Construction Materials
  • MLM ranked among 10 companies in Construction Materials

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodGVAKNFMLMSPY
1 month -6.0%-3.1%+4.1% -0.8%
3 months -13.8%-32.6%-11.9% +3.5%
6 months -13.9%-40.5%-17.3% +7.0%
Year to date -6.1%-24.8%-19.0% +12.2%
1 year +3.5%-15.8%-18.8% +13.0%
3 years +215.9%+10.2%+26.4% +86.3%
3 years, per year +46.8%+3.3%+8.1% +23.1%
5 years +180.3%—+31.6% +68.6%
5 years, per year +22.9%—+5.6% +11.0%
10 years +144.0%—+183.2% +258.0%
10 years, per year +9.3%—+11.0% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureGVAKNFMLMSPY
Volatility, 1Y 33.1%51.1%28.7% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 33.6%51.4%31.2% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.971.300.85 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.11-0.31-0.66 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -40.4%-55.3%-33.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -32.5%-43.7%-28.8% -1.8%
52-week high $160.39$93.97$708.11 $779.14
52-week low $98.50$47.97$471.33 $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.

MultipleGVAKNFMLM
P/E now vs peer median -28.7xmedian 25.7x 21.5xmedian 19.6x 12.3xmedian 19.6x
P/S now vs peer median 1.0xmedian 0.8x 0.9xmedian 1.8x 4.5xmedian 1.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 10.6xmedian 12.9x 9.2xmedian 9.3x 17.5xmedian 9.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 10.0xmedian 22.5x 69.7xmedian 31.4x 37.4xmedian 31.4x
P/B now vs peer median 5.9xmedian 2.3x 1.9xmedian 2.3x 2.6xmedian 2.3x
PEG now vs peer median 0.39median 0.56 14.46median 2.78 0.32median 2.78

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 monthsGVAKNFMLM
Revenue $4.97B $3.31B $6.69B
Gross profit $776.94M $589.67M $1.88B
Operating income $314.31M $275.33M $1.38B
Net income -$151.53M $139.89M $2.46B
Free cash flow $471.91M $43.06M $810.00M
EPS (diluted) $-3.77 $2.46 $40.81
Cash & equivalents $877.12M $102.03M $112.00M
Total debt $1.56B $1.62B $5.95B
Shares (diluted) 43.75M 56.88M 60.20M
Enterprise value $2.46B $2.73B $29.81B

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
MetricGVAKNFMLM
P/E -28.7x 21.5x 12.3x
P/FCF 10.0x 69.7x 37.4x
P/Operating cash flow 7.8x 9.6x 19.9x
P/S 1.0x 0.9x 4.5x
P/B 5.9x 1.9x 2.6x
P/Tangible book 8.0x 1.9x 2.8x
EV/EBITDA 10.6x 9.2x 17.5x
EV/EBIT 17.1x 16.4x 26.2x
EV/Revenue 1.1x 1.4x 5.4x
EV/FCF 11.4x 104.9x 44.6x
EV/Operating cash flow 8.9x 14.4x 23.8x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.39 14.46 0.32

Growth

14 metrics
MetricGVAKNFMLM
Revenue growth (1Y) 21.8% 12.1% 14.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 15.1% 8.3% 1.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 22.0% 10.3% 7.8%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 30.8% 12.6% 3.4%
Operating income growth (1Y) 37.5% 6.5% 3.2%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 76.7% 6.6% 1.3%
Net income growth (1Y) -185.3% -8.7% 123.2%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -85.3% 1.7% 37.3%
EPS growth (1Y) -225.5% -8.7% 123.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -73.5% 1.5% 38.8%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 37.6% 28.0% -19.7%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 147.4% 3.2% 7.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 52.7% 181.0% -15.9%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 94.5% -29.0% 6.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricGVAKNFMLM
Gross margin 15.6% 17.8% 28.2%
EBITDA margin 10.2% 14.9% 30.9%
Operating margin 6.3% 8.3% 20.6%
Pretax margin -1.3% 5.8% 17.4%
Net margin -3.3% 4.2% 36.7%
FCF margin 9.5% 1.3% 12.1%
Operating cash flow margin 12.2% 9.5% 22.7%
Return on equity -14.8% 8.8% 21.5%
Return on assets -3.3% 3.5% 11.8%
Return on invested capital 13.4% 6.5% 6.5%
Return on capital employed 16.9% 7.8% 7.2%
Asset turnover 1.2x 0.8x 0.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -4.0x 2.2x 0.6x
Stock comp / revenue 1.0% 0.3% 0.7%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricGVAKNFMLM
Debt / assets 32.6% 38.7% 27.9%
Debt / equity 1.9x 1.0x 0.5x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.3x 3.1x 2.8x
Debt / FCF 3.3x 37.6x 7.3x
Liabilities / assets 83.1% 61.6% 45.8%
Equity / assets 16.9% 38.4% 54.2%
Interest coverage 4.5x 3.1x 5.9x
Current ratio 1.0x 2.7x 1.4x
Quick ratio 0.9x 1.5x 0.7x
Cash ratio 0.4x 0.2x 0.1x
Altman Z-score 2.11 2.27 2.95

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricGVAKNFMLM
Dividend yield 0.5% – 0.7%
Net buyback yield 1.1% – 0.7%
Shareholder yield 1.6% – 1.3%
Payout ratio (earnings) -15.0% – 8.2%
Payout ratio (FCF) 4.8% – 24.9%
Dividend growth (1Y) 0.1% – 4.1%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) -0.1% – 6.8%

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.

ConsensusGVAKNFMLM
Forward P/E – 19.8xFY2026 27.5xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $-3.74FY2026 $2.67FY2026 $18.36FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -196.9%FY2026 -3.3%FY2026 +12.4%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after – +10.5% +17.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $5.09BFY2026 $3.66BFY2026 $8.03BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +15.2%FY2026 +16.2%FY2026 +14.7%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +12.2% +3.1% +26.6%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersGVAKNFMLM
Held by institutions 100.0% 96.7% 98.5%
Institutions holding 445 391 1,072
Change in shares held, QoQ -3.0% +1.0% +1.4%
Institutions buying 239 168 469
Institutions selling 151 137 392
Buyers to sellers 1.58 1.23 1.20

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.

GVAKNFMLM
GVA 1.00 0.33 0.39
KNF 0.33 1.00 0.47
MLM 0.39 0.47 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, GVA, KNF and MLM?

Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) is the largest by market capitalisation: Granite Construction (GVA) $4.83B, Knife River (KNF) $3.11B, Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) $30.32B.

Which stock is cheaper, GVA, KNF and MLM?

Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Granite Construction (GVA) -29.3x, Knife River (KNF) 22.2x, Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) 12.3x). On next year's consensus earnings, Knife River (KNF) is cheapest (Knife River (KNF) 19.8x, Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) 27.5x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Granite Construction (GVA) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Granite Construction (GVA) +21.8%, Knife River (KNF) +12.1%, Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) +14.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) has the highest net margin (Granite Construction (GVA) -3.3%, Knife River (KNF) 4.2%, Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) 36.7%). On return on invested capital, Granite Construction (GVA) leads (Granite Construction (GVA) 13.4%, Knife River (KNF) 6.5%, Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) 6.5%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Granite Construction (GVA) returned the most: Granite Construction (GVA) +3.5%, Knife River (KNF) -15.8%, Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) -18.8%. Over five years, Granite Construction (GVA) compounded fastest (Granite Construction (GVA) +22.9%/yr, Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) +5.6%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) has the highest dividend yield: Granite Construction (GVA) 0.00%, Knife River (KNF) 0.00%, Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) 0.01%. Knife River (KNF) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) has been the steadiest (Granite Construction (GVA) 33.1%, Knife River (KNF) 51.1%, Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) 28.7%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, GVA, KNF and MLM?

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