KEX vs UPS vs CMBT Stock Comparison

Kirby, United Parcel Service and Cmb.Tech Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
KEX Kirby Corp
$134.74 +4.5% 1M +55.1% 1Y
Market cap
$7.33B
P/E
20.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.49B
Div. yield
–
Marine Shipping Industrials
4 wins
UPS United Parcel Service Inc
$100.20 +6.7% 1M +14.9% 1Y
Market cap
$90.64B
P/E
19.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$89.93B
Div. yield
–
Parcel Delivery Industrials
2 wins
CMBT Cmb.Tech Nv
$18.35 -3.4% 1M +96.7% 1Y
Market cap
$4.17B
P/E
4.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.89B
Div. yield
–
Marine Shipping Industrials
5 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Cmb.Tech leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Cmb.Tech 5, Kirby 4, United Parcel Service 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionKEXUPSCMBTLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $7.33B $90.64B $4.17B UPS
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 20.6x 19.8x 4.9x CMBT
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 19.6x 14.8x 7.2x CMBT
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +6.6% -0.4% +84.9% CMBT
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 10.2% 5.1% 29.6% CMBT
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 8.3% 12.9% — UPS
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.3x 1.9x 4.8x KEX
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +55.1% +14.9% +96.7% CMBT
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +19.4%/yr -13.9%/yr +11.3%/yr KEX
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 29.0% 30.6% 40.3% KEX
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 64/100 45/100 61/100 KEX

Percentile Scorecard

KEXUPSCMBT

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

AxisKEXUPSCMBT
Valuation 42 #80 of 136 46 #74 of 136 59 #57 of 136
Growth 79 #26 of 122 23 #94 of 122 94 #8 of 122
Profitability 53 #55 of 116 70 #36 of 116 76 #29 of 116
Financial Health 64 #52 of 144 33 #97 of 144 16 #121 of 144
Shareholder Returns 80 #17 of 82 56 #37 of 82 62 #32 of 82
Overall 64 45 61
  • KEX ranked among 150 companies in Transportation
  • UPS ranked among 150 companies in Transportation
  • CMBT ranked among 150 companies in Transportation

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodKEXUPSCMBTSPY
1 month +4.5%+6.7%-3.4% -0.8%
3 months -7.1%-11.2%+19.4% +3.5%
6 months -11.6%-7.4%+39.3% +7.0%
Year to date +22.3%+1.0%+90.2% +12.2%
1 year +55.1%+14.9%+96.7% +13.0%
3 years +80.4%-25.7%+2.7% +86.3%
3 years, per year +21.7%-9.4%+0.9% +23.1%
5 years +142.3%-52.8%+70.9% +68.6%
5 years, per year +19.4%-13.9%+11.3% +11.0%
10 years +142.1%-7.7%+135.3% +258.0%
10 years, per year +9.2%-0.8%+8.9% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureKEXUPSCMBTSPY
Volatility, 1Y 29.0%30.6%40.3% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 27.1%33.6%37.5% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.550.710.56 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.900.492.40 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -38.8%-64.4%-62.7% -25.4%
From 52-week high -11.7%-16.5%-12.3% -1.8%
52-week high $152.59$120.00$20.92 $779.14
52-week low $88.64$89.22$9.09 $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.

MultipleKEXUPSCMBT
P/E now vs peer median 20.2xmedian 16.1x 18.7xmedian 16.1x 4.9xmedian 16.1x
P/S now vs peer median 2.0xmedian 1.0x 0.8xmedian 1.0x 2.0xmedian 1.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 10.6xmedian 8.7x 9.1xmedian 8.7x 10.0xmedian 8.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median 15.0xmedian 11.5x 13.8xmedian 11.5x 7.4xmedian 11.5x
P/B now vs peer median 2.1xmedian 1.2x 5.0xmedian 1.2x 1.9xmedian 1.2x
PEG now vs peer median 0.64median 0.81 -0.82median 0.81 0.42median 0.81

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 monthsKEXUPSCMBT
Revenue $3.49B $89.93B $2.89B
Gross profit $1.16B – $2.22B
Operating income $488.92M $6.58B $1.21B
Net income $355.89M $4.57B $839.57M
Free cash flow $475.58M $5.46B $787.73M
EPS (diluted) $6.62 $5.37 $3.73
Cash & equivalents $38.96M $4.65B $151.57M
Total debt $1.04B $24.48B $5.45B
Shares (diluted) 53.70M 851.00M 229.44M
Enterprise value $7.11B $67.53B $3.58B

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
MetricKEXUPSCMBT
P/E 20.2x 18.7x 4.9x
P/FCF 15.0x 13.8x 7.4x
P/Operating cash flow 10.0x 8.5x 7.4x
P/S 2.0x 0.8x 2.0x
P/B 2.1x 5.0x 1.9x
P/Tangible book 2.1x 6.7x 1.9x
EV/EBITDA 10.6x 9.1x 10.0x
EV/EBIT 16.6x 14.4x 9.1x
EV/Revenue 2.3x 1.1x 3.8x
EV/FCF 17.1x 17.4x 14.1x
EV/Operating cash flow 11.4x 10.7x 14.1x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.64 -0.82 0.42

Growth

14 metrics
MetricKEXUPSCMBT
Revenue growth (1Y) 6.6% -0.4% 84.9%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 5.1% -2.2% 31.2%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 5.0% – 80.8%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 11.8% – 30.8%
Operating income growth (1Y) 18.0% -21.7% 146.6%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 22.6% -17.3% 20.4%
Net income growth (1Y) 17.2% -20.2% 274.8%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 26.8% -23.0% 12.6%
EPS growth (1Y) 23.2% -20.6% -20.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 31.6% -22.7% 11.8%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 21.4% 18.6% 184.9%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 18.5% -8.0% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 82.1% 54.2% 184.9%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 43.3% -4.2% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricKEXUPSCMBT
Gross margin 33.2% – 76.7%
EBITDA margin 21.8% 11.6% 38.5%
Operating margin 14.0% 7.3% 42.0%
Pretax margin 13.5% 6.5% 28.5%
Net margin 10.2% 5.1% 29.6%
FCF margin 13.6% 6.1% 27.3%
Operating cash flow margin 20.3% 9.9% 27.3%
Return on equity 10.4% 29.6% –
Return on assets 5.8% 6.4% –
Return on invested capital 8.3% 12.9% –
Return on capital employed 9.0% 11.6% –
Asset turnover 0.6x 1.3x –
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.0x 1.9x 0.9x
Stock comp / revenue 0.5% 0.1% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricKEXUPSCMBT
Debt / assets 16.7% 34.4% 61.8%
Debt / equity 0.3x 1.6x 1.7x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.3x 1.9x 4.8x
Debt / FCF 2.2x 4.5x 6.9x
Liabilities / assets 44.6% 78.8% 64.6%
Equity / assets 55.4% 21.2% 35.4%
Interest coverage 11.0x 6.0x 2.3x
Current ratio 1.7x 1.2x 1.1x
Quick ratio 1.0x 1.0x 0.7x
Cash ratio 0.1x 0.3x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 3.24 2.78 1.62

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricKEXUPSCMBT
Dividend yield – 6.5% 4.6%
Net buyback yield 4.6% -0.2% –
Shareholder yield 4.6% 6.4% 4.6%
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.

ConsensusKEXUPSCMBT
Forward P/E 19.6xFY2026 14.8xFY2026 7.2xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $6.86FY2026 $6.75FY2026 $2.54FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +8.4%FY2026 -5.7%FY2026 +262.9%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +29.0% +26.7% -21.7%
Revenue, next fiscal year $3.49BFY2026 $87.80BFY2026 $2.12BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +4.0%FY2026 -1.0%FY2026 +27.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +4.7% +14.6% +1.9%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersKEXUPSCMBT
Held by institutions 99.6% 70.9% 20.1%
Institutions holding 464 2,137 169
Change in shares held, QoQ -0.1% +6.0% +8.7%
Institutions buying 252 1,088 78
Institutions selling 145 809 51
Buyers to sellers 1.74 1.34 1.53

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.

KEXUPSCMBT
KEX 1.00 0.16 0.14
UPS 0.16 1.00 0.01
CMBT 0.14 0.01 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, KEX, UPS and CMBT?

United Parcel Service (UPS) is the largest by market capitalisation: Kirby (KEX) $7.33B, United Parcel Service (UPS) $90.64B, Cmb.Tech (CMBT) $4.17B.

Which stock is cheaper, KEX, UPS and CMBT?

Cmb.Tech (CMBT) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Kirby (KEX) 20.6x, United Parcel Service (UPS) 19.8x, Cmb.Tech (CMBT) 4.9x). On next year's consensus earnings, Cmb.Tech (CMBT) is cheapest (Kirby (KEX) 19.6x, United Parcel Service (UPS) 14.8x, Cmb.Tech (CMBT) 7.2x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Cmb.Tech (CMBT) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Kirby (KEX) +6.6%, United Parcel Service (UPS) -0.4%, Cmb.Tech (CMBT) +84.9%.

Which company is more profitable?

Cmb.Tech (CMBT) has the highest net margin (Kirby (KEX) 10.2%, United Parcel Service (UPS) 5.1%, Cmb.Tech (CMBT) 29.6%). On return on invested capital, United Parcel Service (UPS) leads (Kirby (KEX) 8.3%, United Parcel Service (UPS) 12.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Cmb.Tech (CMBT) returned the most: Kirby (KEX) +55.1%, United Parcel Service (UPS) +14.9%, Cmb.Tech (CMBT) +96.7%. Over five years, Kirby (KEX) compounded fastest (Kirby (KEX) +19.4%/yr, United Parcel Service (UPS) -13.9%/yr, Cmb.Tech (CMBT) +11.3%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Kirby (KEX) has been the steadiest (Kirby (KEX) 29.0%, United Parcel Service (UPS) 30.6%, Cmb.Tech (CMBT) 40.3%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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