KEX vs URI vs WSC Stock Comparison

Kirby, United Rentals and WillScot Holdings Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
KEX Kirby Corp
$137.21 +6.4% 1M +54.7% 1Y
Market cap
$7.24B
P/E
20.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.49B
Div. yield
–
Marine Shipping Industrials
5 wins
URI United Rentals, Inc.
$1,162.88 +11.1% 1M +29.2% 1Y
Market cap
$72.09B
P/E
25.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$17.50B
Div. yield
0.66%
Equipment Rental Industrials
5 wins
WSC WillScot Holdings Corp
$17.65 -2.9% 1M -22.5% 1Y
Market cap
$3.20B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$2.29B
Div. yield
1.59%
Equipment Rental Industrials
2 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

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

QuestionKEXURIWSCLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $7.24B $72.09B $3.20B URI
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 20.6x 25.3x -46.4x KEX
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 20.0x 21.0x 15.2x WSC
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +6.6% +9.4% -2.5% URI
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 10.2% 16.3% -3.0% URI
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 8.3% 14.0% — URI
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.3x 2.3x 8.5x KEX
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield — 0.66% 1.59% WSC
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +54.7% +29.2% -22.5% KEX
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +20.4%/yr +26.0%/yr -12.4%/yr URI
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 29.0% 42.3% 51.8% KEX
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 64/100 56/100 37/100 KEX

Percentile Scorecard

KEXURIWSC

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

AxisKEXURIWSC
Valuation 41 #81 of 136 20 #37 of 46 60 #19 of 46
Growth 79 #26 of 121 92 #4 of 39 16 #33 of 39
Profitability 54 #53 of 115 95 #3 of 39 45 #22 of 39
Financial Health 66 #50 of 143 20 #38 of 47 2 #46 of 47
Shareholder Returns 80 #17 of 82 52 #16 of 32 65 #12 of 32
Overall 64 56 37
  • KEX ranked among 150 companies in Transportation
  • URI ranked among 49 companies in Distribution and Rental
  • WSC ranked among 49 companies in Distribution and Rental

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodKEXURIWSCSPY
1 month +6.4%+11.1%-2.9% -0.2%
3 months -5.6%+6.6%-31.4% +3.9%
6 months -9.1%+20.8%-22.9% +8.2%
Year to date +24.5%+43.7%-6.3% +12.9%
1 year +54.7%+29.2%-22.5% +12.3%
3 years +83.7%+191.4%-54.0% +87.4%
3 years, per year +22.5%+42.9%-22.8% +23.3%
5 years +153.0%+216.7%-48.5% +67.9%
5 years, per year +20.4%+26.0%-12.4% +10.9%
10 years +131.2%+1,424.7%— +261.1%
10 years, per year +8.7%+31.3%— +13.7%

Risk

MeasureKEXURIWSCSPY
Volatility, 1Y 29.0%42.3%51.8% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 27.1%39.1%47.6% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.551.041.87 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.890.69-0.43 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -38.8%-40.0%-71.8% -25.4%
From 52-week high -10.1%-0.2%-39.3% -1.2%
52-week high $152.59$1,165.29$29.07 $779.14
52-week low $88.64$710.47$14.98 $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.

MultipleKEXURIWSC
P/E now vs peer median 20.6xmedian 16.3x 25.3xmedian 25.3x -46.4xmedian 25.3x
P/S now vs peer median 2.1xmedian 1.0x 4.1xmedian 1.0x 1.4xmedian 1.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 10.8xmedian 8.7x 13.7xmedian 13.4x 16.2xmedian 13.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 15.2xmedian 11.4x 80.8xmedian 21.9x 10.7xmedian 21.9x
P/B now vs peer median 2.1xmedian 1.2x 7.4xmedian 2.6x 3.5xmedian 2.6x
PEG now vs peer median 0.65median 0.82 2.66median 2.38 1.59median 2.38

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 monthsKEXURIWSC
Revenue $3.49B $17.50B $2.29B
Gross profit $1.16B $6.84B $1.16B
Operating income $488.92M $4.47B $149.28M
Net income $355.89M $2.86B -$68.89M
Free cash flow $475.58M $892.00M $297.75M
EPS (diluted) $6.62 $45.89 $-0.38
Cash & equivalents $38.96M $153.00M $18.17M
Total debt $1.04B $14.67B $3.50B
Shares (diluted) 53.70M 62.26M 181.81M
Enterprise value $7.02B $71.21B $3.13B

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
MetricKEXURIWSC
P/E 20.6x 25.3x -46.4x
P/FCF 15.2x 80.8x 10.7x
P/Operating cash flow 10.2x 11.6x 4.5x
P/S 2.1x 4.1x 1.4x
P/B 2.1x 7.4x 3.5x
P/Tangible book 2.1x 7.8x 4.5x
EV/EBITDA 10.8x 13.7x 16.2x
EV/EBIT 16.9x 19.4x 44.7x
EV/Revenue 2.4x 5.0x 2.9x
EV/FCF 17.3x 97.1x 22.4x
EV/Operating cash flow 11.6x 14.0x 9.5x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.65 2.66 1.59

Growth

14 metrics
MetricKEXURIWSC
Revenue growth (1Y) 6.6% 9.4% -2.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 5.1% 8.0% -0.3%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 5.0% 10.4% -7.6%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 11.8% 6.0% -3.2%
Operating income growth (1Y) 18.0% 11.5% -61.3%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 22.6% 5.7% -38.2%
Net income growth (1Y) 17.2% 12.9% -162.8%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 26.8% 6.2% -28.7%
EPS growth (1Y) 23.2% 16.6% -163.3%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 31.6% 9.5% -29.1%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 21.4% 24.2% 19.4%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 18.5% 10.9% -2.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 82.1% 98.2% 9.6%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 43.3% 83.7% -9.9%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricKEXURIWSC
Gross margin 33.2% 39.1% 50.5%
EBITDA margin 21.8% 36.1% 17.9%
Operating margin 14.0% 25.5% 6.5%
Pretax margin 13.5% 21.8% -3.4%
Net margin 10.2% 16.3% -3.0%
FCF margin 13.6% 5.1% 13.0%
Operating cash flow margin 20.3% 35.4% 30.7%
Return on equity 10.4% 30.2% -4.1%
Return on assets 5.8% 8.9% -0.6%
Return on invested capital 8.3% 14.0% –
Return on capital employed 9.0% 16.5% 2.9%
Asset turnover 0.6x 0.5x 0.4x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.0x 2.2x -10.2x
Stock comp / revenue 0.5% 0.9% 1.6%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricKEXURIWSC
Debt / assets 16.7% 44.7% 59.6%
Debt / equity 0.3x 1.5x 3.8x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.3x 2.3x 8.5x
Debt / FCF 2.2x 16.4x 11.7x
Liabilities / assets 44.6% 70.4% 84.5%
Equity / assets 55.4% 29.6% 15.5%
Interest coverage 11.0x – –
Current ratio 1.7x 0.8x 0.8x
Quick ratio 1.0x 0.6x 0.6x
Cash ratio 0.1x 0.0x 0.0x
Altman Z-score 3.27 3.57 0.66

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricKEXURIWSC
Dividend yield – 0.7% 1.6%
Net buyback yield 4.5% 2.5% 1.0%
Shareholder yield 4.5% 3.2% 2.6%
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.

ConsensusKEXURIWSC
Forward P/E 20.0xFY2026 21.0xFY2026 15.2xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $6.86FY2026 $55.27FY2026 $1.16FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +8.4%FY2026 +31.4%FY2026 -3.3%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +29.0% +6.3% +4.3%
Revenue, next fiscal year $3.49BFY2026 $18.69BFY2026 $2.18BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +4.0%FY2026 +16.1%FY2026 -4.4%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +4.7% +3.1% +15.9%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersKEXURIWSC
Held by institutions 99.6% 95.9% 100.0%
Institutions holding 464 1,587 371
Change in shares held, QoQ -0.1% +4.7% -0.8%
Institutions buying 252 804 200
Institutions selling 145 537 129
Buyers to sellers 1.74 1.50 1.55

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.

KEXURIWSC
KEX 1.00 0.26 0.15
URI 0.26 1.00 0.46
WSC 0.15 0.46 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, KEX, URI and WSC?

United Rentals (URI) is the largest by market capitalisation: Kirby (KEX) $7.24B, United Rentals (URI) $72.09B, WillScot Holdings (WSC) $3.20B.

Which stock is cheaper, KEX, URI and WSC?

Kirby (KEX) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Kirby (KEX) 20.6x, United Rentals (URI) 25.3x, WillScot Holdings (WSC) -46.4x). On next year's consensus earnings, WillScot Holdings (WSC) is cheapest (Kirby (KEX) 20.0x, United Rentals (URI) 21.0x, WillScot Holdings (WSC) 15.2x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

United Rentals (URI) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Kirby (KEX) +6.6%, United Rentals (URI) +9.4%, WillScot Holdings (WSC) -2.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

United Rentals (URI) has the highest net margin (Kirby (KEX) 10.2%, United Rentals (URI) 16.3%, WillScot Holdings (WSC) -3.0%). On return on invested capital, United Rentals (URI) leads (Kirby (KEX) 8.3%, United Rentals (URI) 14.0%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Kirby (KEX) returned the most: Kirby (KEX) +54.7%, United Rentals (URI) +29.2%, WillScot Holdings (WSC) -22.5%. Over five years, United Rentals (URI) compounded fastest (Kirby (KEX) +20.4%/yr, United Rentals (URI) +26.0%/yr, WillScot Holdings (WSC) -12.4%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

WillScot Holdings (WSC) has the highest dividend yield: United Rentals (URI) 0.66%, WillScot Holdings (WSC) 1.59%. Kirby (KEX) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Kirby (KEX) has been the steadiest (Kirby (KEX) 29.0%, United Rentals (URI) 42.3%, WillScot Holdings (WSC) 51.8%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, KEX, URI and WSC?

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