KEX vs UPS vs ZTO Stock Comparison

Kirby, United Parcel Service and ZTO Express (Cayman) Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
KEX Kirby Corp
$145.98 +10.7% 1M +44.5% 1Y
Market cap
$7.71B
P/E
20.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.60B
Div. yield
–
Marine Shipping Industrials
2 wins
UPS United Parcel Service Inc
$107.31 +14.2% 1M +10.2% 1Y
Market cap
$80.41B
P/E
20.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$89.93B
Div. yield
6.11%
Parcel Delivery Industrials
2 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

ZTO Express (Cayman) leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (ZTO Express (Cayman) 7, United Parcel Service 2, Kirby 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionKEXUPSZTOLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $7.71B $80.41B $15.73B UPS
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 20.9x 20.0x 10.7x ZTO
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 21.3x 15.9x 10.4x ZTO
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +8.5% -0.4% +21.2% ZTO
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months — 5.1% 19.0% ZTO
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 12.9% 15.0% ZTO
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 1.9x — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield — 6.11% 1.96% UPS
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +44.5% +10.2% +4.3% KEX
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +22.8%/yr -12.9%/yr -7.5%/yr KEX
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 26.7% 30.1% 24.3% ZTO
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers — 43/100 68/100 ZTO

Percentile Scorecard

KEXUPSZTO

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

AxisKEXUPSZTO
Valuation 43 #78 of 136 42 #79 of 136 73 #38 of 136
Growth 79 #26 of 121 20 #97 of 121 78 #27 of 121
Profitability – 69 #36 of 112 71 #33 of 112
Financial Health – 33 #94 of 140 83 #25 of 140
Shareholder Returns – 53 #38 of 80 33 #54 of 80
Overall – 43 68
  • KEX ranked among 150 companies in Transportation
  • UPS ranked among 150 companies in Transportation
  • ZTO ranked among 150 companies in Transportation

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodKEXUPSZTOSPY
1 month +10.7%+14.2%+1.4% +0.7%
3 months +10.3%+2.0%-16.6% +3.7%
6 months -3.0%-1.4%-22.3% +7.1%
Year to date +32.5%+8.2%-4.8% +12.8%
1 year +44.5%+10.2%+4.3% +11.9%
3 years +97.6%-22.7%-16.2% +85.2%
3 years, per year +25.5%-8.2%-5.7% +22.8%
5 years +178.5%-49.7%-32.2% +67.6%
5 years, per year +22.8%-12.9%-7.5% +10.9%
10 years +147.4%-0.4%+17.1% +262.0%
10 years, per year +9.5%0.0%+1.6% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureKEXUPSZTOSPY
Volatility, 1Y 26.7%30.1%24.3% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 27.1%33.4%25.3% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.560.710.08 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.670.340.18 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -38.8%-64.4%-50.7% -25.4%
From 52-week high -4.3%-10.6%-23.1% -1.2%
52-week high $152.59$120.00$25.88 $779.14
52-week low $100.99$90.87$18.59 $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.

MultipleKEXUPSZTO
P/E now vs peer median 20.9xmedian 16.5x 20.0xmedian 16.5x 10.7xmedian 16.5x
P/S now vs peer median 2.1xmedian 0.9x 0.9xmedian 0.9x 2.0xmedian 0.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 8.8x 9.6xmedian 8.8x —median 8.8x
P/FCF now vs peer median 14.6xmedian 11.9x 14.7xmedian 11.9x 7.4xmedian 11.9x
P/B now vs peer median —median 1.2x 5.3xmedian 1.2x 1.7xmedian 1.2x
PEG now vs peer median 0.75median 0.84 -0.88median 0.84 1.33median 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 monthsKEXUPSZTO
Revenue $3.60B $89.93B $7.81B
Gross profit – – $1.96B
Operating income $510.61M $6.58B $1.64B
Net income – $4.57B $1.51B
Free cash flow – $5.46B $2.13B
EPS (diluted) $6.96 $5.37 $1.81
Cash & equivalents – $4.65B $1.46B
Total debt – $24.48B $1.72B
Shares (diluted) 53.70M 851.00M 820.80M
Enterprise value $7.71B $57.34B -$507.48M

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
MetricKEXUPSZTO
P/E 20.9x 20.0x 10.7x
P/FCF 14.6x 14.7x 7.4x
P/Operating cash flow 12.3x 9.1x 7.4x
P/S 2.1x 0.9x 2.0x
P/B – 5.3x 1.7x
P/Tangible book – 7.2x 1.9x
EV/EBITDA – 9.6x –
EV/EBIT – 15.2x 7.8x
EV/Revenue 2.1x 1.1x 1.6x
EV/FCF – 18.4x 6.0x
EV/Operating cash flow 12.3x 11.3x 6.0x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.75 -0.88 1.33

Growth

14 metrics
MetricKEXUPSZTO
Revenue growth (1Y) 8.5% -0.4% 21.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 6.0% -2.2% 13.5%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – 10.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – 7.7%
Operating income growth (1Y) 22.5% -21.7% 5.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 19.4% -17.3% 6.8%
Net income growth (1Y) – -20.2% 22.6%
Net income CAGR (3Y) – -23.0% 8.9%
EPS growth (1Y) 27.4% -20.6% 25.2%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 28.0% -22.7% 8.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 3.3% 18.6% 46.4%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 11.0% -8.0% 4.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – 54.2% 46.4%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – -4.2% 4.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricKEXUPSZTO
Gross margin – – 25.1%
EBITDA margin – 11.6% –
Operating margin – 7.3% 21.0%
Pretax margin – 6.5% 27.7%
Net margin – 5.1% 19.0%
FCF margin – 6.1% 27.3%
Operating cash flow margin 17.4% 9.9% 27.3%
Return on equity – 29.6% 16.3%
Return on assets – 6.4% 10.5%
Return on invested capital – 12.9% 15.0%
Return on capital employed – 11.6% 15.1%
Asset turnover – 1.3x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) – 1.9x 1.4x
Stock comp / revenue – 0.1% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricKEXUPSZTO
Debt / assets – 34.4% 11.8%
Debt / equity – 1.6x 0.2x
Net debt / EBITDA – 1.9x –
Debt / FCF – 4.5x 0.8x
Liabilities / assets – 78.8% 35.5%
Equity / assets – 21.2% 64.5%
Interest coverage – 6.0x 56.1x
Current ratio – 1.2x 1.7x
Quick ratio – 1.0x 1.4x
Cash ratio – 0.3x 1.3x
Altman Z-score – 2.84 3.54

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricKEXUPSZTO
Dividend yield – 6.1% 2.0%
Net buyback yield – -0.1% –
Shareholder yield – 6.0% 2.0%
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.

ConsensusKEXUPSZTO
Forward P/E 21.3xFY2026 15.9xFY2026 10.4xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $6.86FY2026 $6.75FY2026 $1.92FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +8.4%FY2026 -5.7%FY2026 +20.0%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +29.0% +26.7% +13.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $3.49BFY2026 $87.80BFY2026 $8.91BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +4.0%FY2026 -1.0%FY2026 +26.9%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +4.7% +14.6% +12.2%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersKEXUPSZTO
Held by institutions 99.6% 70.9% 7.4%
Institutions holding 465 2,139 194
Change in shares held, QoQ -0.1% +6.0% +1.8%
Institutions buying 252 1,090 100
Institutions selling 145 809 64
Buyers to sellers 1.74 1.35 1.56

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.

KEXUPSZTO
KEX 1.00 0.17 0.05
UPS 0.17 1.00 0.14
ZTO 0.05 0.14 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, KEX, UPS and ZTO?

United Parcel Service (UPS) is the largest by market capitalisation: Kirby (KEX) $7.71B, United Parcel Service (UPS) $80.41B, ZTO Express (Cayman) (ZTO) $15.73B.

Which stock is cheaper, KEX, UPS and ZTO?

ZTO Express (Cayman) (ZTO) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Kirby (KEX) 20.9x, United Parcel Service (UPS) 20.0x, ZTO Express (Cayman) (ZTO) 10.7x). On next year's consensus earnings, ZTO Express (Cayman) (ZTO) is cheapest (Kirby (KEX) 21.3x, United Parcel Service (UPS) 15.9x, ZTO Express (Cayman) (ZTO) 10.4x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

ZTO Express (Cayman) (ZTO) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Kirby (KEX) +8.5%, United Parcel Service (UPS) -0.4%, ZTO Express (Cayman) (ZTO) +21.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

ZTO Express (Cayman) (ZTO) has the highest net margin (United Parcel Service (UPS) 5.1%, ZTO Express (Cayman) (ZTO) 19.0%). On return on invested capital, ZTO Express (Cayman) (ZTO) leads (United Parcel Service (UPS) 12.9%, ZTO Express (Cayman) (ZTO) 15.0%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Kirby (KEX) returned the most: Kirby (KEX) +44.5%, United Parcel Service (UPS) +10.2%, ZTO Express (Cayman) (ZTO) +4.3%. Over five years, Kirby (KEX) compounded fastest (Kirby (KEX) +22.8%/yr, United Parcel Service (UPS) -12.9%/yr, ZTO Express (Cayman) (ZTO) -7.5%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

United Parcel Service (UPS) has the highest dividend yield: United Parcel Service (UPS) 6.11%, ZTO Express (Cayman) (ZTO) 1.96%. Kirby (KEX) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, ZTO Express (Cayman) (ZTO) has been the steadiest (Kirby (KEX) 26.7%, United Parcel Service (UPS) 30.1%, ZTO Express (Cayman) (ZTO) 24.3%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, ZTO Express (Cayman) (ZTO) leads on 7. 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.