KEX vs SFL vs ZIM Stock Comparison

Kirby, Sfl and ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
KEX Kirby Corp
$146.19 +11.1% 1M +64.9% 1Y
Market cap
$7.72B
P/E
20.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.60B
Div. yield
–
Marine Shipping Industrials
5 wins
SFL SFL Corp Ltd.
$12.78 -0.5% 1M +75.1% 1Y
Market cap
$1.85B
P/E
26.2x
Revenue (TTM)
—
Div. yield
6.57%
Marine Shipping Industrials
1 win

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

Kirby leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Kirby 5, ZIM Integrated Shipping Services 3, Sfl 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionKEXSFLZIMLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $7.72B $1.85B $3.57B KEX
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 20.9x 26.2x 25.6x KEX
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 21.3x 23.2x 5.3x ZIM
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +8.5% — -24.9% KEX
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months — — 2.2% –
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — — — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 6.1x — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield — 6.57% 4.01% SFL
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +64.9% +75.1% +100.0% ZIM
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +22.8%/yr +10.1%/yr -10.4%/yr KEX
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 29.7% 30.9% 48.5% KEX
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers — 45/100 46/100 ZIM

Percentile Scorecard

KEXSFLZIM

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

AxisKEXSFLZIM
Valuation 42 #79 of 136 30 #95 of 136 94 #9 of 136
Growth 79 #27 of 122 56 #54 of 122 8 #112 of 122
Profitability – – 40 #70 of 116
Financial Health – 6 #134 of 143 26 #106 of 143
Shareholder Returns – 89 #10 of 81 61 #32 of 81
Overall – 45 46
  • KEX ranked among 150 companies in Transportation
  • SFL ranked among 150 companies in Transportation
  • ZIM ranked among 150 companies in Transportation

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodKEXSFLZIMSPY
1 month +11.1%-0.5%+4.5% +0.9%
3 months +11.4%+5.4%+20.7% +5.9%
6 months -4.2%+12.7%+14.0% +8.5%
Year to date +32.7%+63.6%+39.7% +13.3%
1 year +64.9%+75.1%+100.0% +12.4%
3 years +95.7%+18.2%+264.4% +88.1%
3 years, per year +25.1%+5.7%+53.9% +23.5%
5 years +178.9%+61.6%-42.1% +68.2%
5 years, per year +22.8%+10.1%-10.4% +11.0%
10 years +147.7%+0.1%— +263.4%
10 years, per year +9.5%+0.0%— +13.8%

Risk

MeasureKEXSFLZIMSPY
Volatility, 1Y 29.7%30.9%48.5% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 27.2%29.1%39.7% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.560.370.91 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 2.192.432.06 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -38.8%-52.6%-92.6% -25.4%
From 52-week high -4.2%-7.0%-4.0% -0.9%
52-week high $152.59$13.74$30.90 $779.14
52-week low $88.64$7.19$14.35 $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.

MultipleKEXSFLZIM
P/E now vs peer median 20.9xmedian 16.1x 26.2xmedian 16.1x 25.6xmedian 16.1x
P/S now vs peer median 2.1xmedian 0.9x —median 0.9x 0.6xmedian 0.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 8.6x 11.1xmedian 8.6x 1.4xmedian 8.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median 14.6xmedian 11.6x —median 11.6x 1.9xmedian 11.6x
P/B now vs peer median —median 1.2x 1.8xmedian 1.2x 0.9xmedian 1.2x
PEG now vs peer median 0.75median 0.80 -1.45median 0.80 -0.49median 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 monthsKEXSFLZIM
Revenue $3.60B – $6.44B
Gross profit – – $879.10M
Operating income $510.61M – $528.50M
Net income – $64.88M -$823.50M
Free cash flow – – $1.91B
EPS (diluted) $6.96 $0.49 $1.16
Cash & equivalents – $113.10M $1.04B
Total debt – $2.38B –
Shares (diluted) 53.70M 133.06M 120.52M
Enterprise value $7.72B -$144.28B -$3.92B

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
MetricKEXSFLZIM
P/E 20.9x 26.2x 25.6x
P/FCF 14.6x – 1.9x
P/Operating cash flow 12.3x – 2.2x
P/S 2.1x – 0.6x
P/B – 1.8x 0.9x
P/Tangible book – 1.8x 0.9x
EV/EBITDA – 11.1x 1.4x
EV/EBIT – 29.1x 4.8x
EV/Revenue 2.1x – 0.4x
EV/FCF – – 1.3x
EV/Operating cash flow 12.3x – 1.5x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.75 -1.45 -0.49

Growth

14 metrics
MetricKEXSFLZIM
Revenue growth (1Y) 8.5% – -24.9%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 6.0% – -7.4%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – -68.5%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – -26.9%
Operating income growth (1Y) 22.5% – -78.9%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 19.4% – -35.3%
Net income growth (1Y) – 82.4% 64.2%
Net income CAGR (3Y) – -18.9% 53.0%
EPS growth (1Y) 27.4% 78.2% -93.1%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 28.0% -18.0% -52.6%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 3.3% – -57.9%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 11.0% – -20.1%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – – -54.0%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – – -17.4%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricKEXSFLZIM
Gross margin – – 13.7%
EBITDA margin – – 27.7%
Operating margin – – 8.2%
Pretax margin – – 3.0%
Net margin – – 2.2%
FCF margin – – 29.7%
Operating cash flow margin 17.4% – 25.8%
Return on equity – – 3.6%
Return on assets – – 1.3%
Return on invested capital – – –
Return on capital employed – – 6.3%
Asset turnover – – 0.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) – – -2.0x
Stock comp / revenue – – –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricKEXSFLZIM
Debt / assets – 67.8% –
Debt / equity – 2.3x –
Net debt / EBITDA – 6.1x –
Debt / FCF – – –
Liabilities / assets – 70.6% 63.6%
Equity / assets – 29.4% 36.4%
Interest coverage – – 1.2x
Current ratio – 0.4x 1.2x
Quick ratio – 0.4x 0.5x
Cash ratio – 0.2x 0.5x
Altman Z-score – – 1.39

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricKEXSFLZIM
Dividend yield – 6.6% 4.0%
Net buyback yield – – –
Shareholder yield – 6.6% 4.0%
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.

ConsensusKEXSFLZIM
Forward P/E 21.3xFY2026 23.2xFY2026 5.3xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $6.86FY2026 $0.55FY2026 $5.60FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +8.4%FY2026 +450.0%FY2026 +40.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +29.0% +76.4% -103.6%
Revenue, next fiscal year $3.49BFY2026 $691.35MFY2026 $8.36BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +4.0%FY2026 -5.7%FY2026 +21.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +4.7% +19.5% -12.2%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersKEXSFLZIM
Held by institutions 99.6% 43.5% 38.7%
Institutions holding 464 223 244
Change in shares held, QoQ -0.1% +15.8% -6.7%
Institutions buying 252 133 122
Institutions selling 145 55 77
Buyers to sellers 1.74 2.42 1.58

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.

KEXSFLZIM
KEX 1.00 0.22 0.12
SFL 0.22 1.00 0.25
ZIM 0.12 0.25 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, KEX, SFL and ZIM?

Kirby (KEX) is the largest by market capitalisation: Kirby (KEX) $7.72B, Sfl (SFL) $1.85B, ZIM Integrated Shipping Services (ZIM) $3.57B.

Which stock is cheaper, KEX, SFL and ZIM?

Kirby (KEX) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Kirby (KEX) 20.9x, Sfl (SFL) 26.2x, ZIM Integrated Shipping Services (ZIM) 25.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, ZIM Integrated Shipping Services (ZIM) is cheapest (Kirby (KEX) 21.3x, Sfl (SFL) 23.2x, ZIM Integrated Shipping Services (ZIM) 5.3x). 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: Kirby (KEX) +8.5%, ZIM Integrated Shipping Services (ZIM) -24.9%.

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year ZIM Integrated Shipping Services (ZIM) returned the most: Kirby (KEX) +64.9%, Sfl (SFL) +75.1%, ZIM Integrated Shipping Services (ZIM) +100.0%. Over five years, Kirby (KEX) compounded fastest (Kirby (KEX) +22.8%/yr, Sfl (SFL) +10.1%/yr, ZIM Integrated Shipping Services (ZIM) -10.4%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Sfl (SFL) has the highest dividend yield: Sfl (SFL) 6.57%, ZIM Integrated Shipping Services (ZIM) 4.01%. Kirby (KEX) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Kirby (KEX) has been the steadiest (Kirby (KEX) 29.7%, Sfl (SFL) 30.9%, ZIM Integrated Shipping Services (ZIM) 48.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, KEX, SFL and ZIM?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Kirby (KEX) leads on 5. 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.