KEX vs URI vs ZIM Stock Comparison

Kirby, United Rentals 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
$7.64B
P/E
20.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.60B
Div. yield
–
Marine Shipping Industrials
2 wins
URI United Rentals, Inc.
$1,174.94 +12.5% 1M +34.2% 1Y
Market cap
$74.18B
P/E
26.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$17.50B
Div. yield
–
Equipment Rental Industrials
5 wins

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

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

QuestionKEXURIZIMLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $7.64B $74.18B $3.52B URI
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 20.4x 26.0x 25.2x KEX
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 21.3x 21.3x 5.3x ZIM
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +8.5% +9.4% -24.9% URI
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months — 16.3% 2.2% URI
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 14.0% — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 2.3x — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +64.9% +34.2% +100.0% ZIM
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +22.8%/yr +25.4%/yr -10.4%/yr URI
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 29.7% 42.2% 48.5% KEX
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers — 55/100 46/100 URI

Percentile Scorecard

KEXURIZIM

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

AxisKEXURIZIM
Valuation 42 #79 of 136 20 #37 of 46 94 #9 of 136
Growth 79 #27 of 122 90 #5 of 39 8 #112 of 122
Profitability – 92 #4 of 39 40 #70 of 116
Financial Health – 20 #38 of 47 26 #106 of 143
Shareholder Returns – 52 #16 of 32 61 #32 of 81
Overall – 55 46
  • KEX ranked among 150 companies in Transportation
  • URI ranked among 49 companies in Distribution and Rental
  • ZIM ranked among 150 companies in Transportation

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodKEXURIZIMSPY
1 month +11.1%+12.5%+4.5% +0.9%
3 months +11.4%+11.3%+20.7% +5.9%
6 months -4.2%+23.4%+14.0% +8.5%
Year to date +32.7%+45.2%+39.7% +13.3%
1 year +64.9%+34.2%+100.0% +12.4%
3 years +95.7%+194.5%+264.4% +88.1%
3 years, per year +25.1%+43.4%+53.9% +23.5%
5 years +178.9%+209.9%-42.1% +68.2%
5 years, per year +22.8%+25.4%-10.4% +11.0%
10 years +147.7%+1,458.5%— +263.4%
10 years, per year +9.5%+31.6%— +13.8%

Risk

MeasureKEXURIZIMSPY
Volatility, 1Y 29.7%42.2%48.5% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 27.2%39.0%39.7% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.561.040.91 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 2.190.812.06 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -38.8%-40.0%-92.6% -25.4%
From 52-week high -4.2%0.0%-4.0% -0.9%
52-week high $152.59$1,174.94$30.90 $779.14
52-week low $88.64$710.47$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.

MultipleKEXURIZIM
P/E now vs peer median 20.9xmedian 16.1x 25.6xmedian 25.6x 25.6xmedian 16.1x
P/S now vs peer median 2.1xmedian 0.9x 4.2xmedian 1.1x 0.6xmedian 0.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 8.6x 13.8xmedian 13.3x 1.4xmedian 8.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median 14.6xmedian 11.6x 81.7xmedian 22.0x 1.9xmedian 11.6x
P/B now vs peer median —median 1.2x 7.5xmedian 2.6x 0.9xmedian 1.2x
PEG now vs peer median 0.75median 0.80 2.68median 2.36 -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 monthsKEXURIZIM
Revenue $3.60B $17.50B $6.44B
Gross profit – $6.84B $879.10M
Operating income $510.61M $4.47B $528.50M
Net income – $2.86B -$823.50M
Free cash flow – $892.00M $1.91B
EPS (diluted) $6.96 $45.89 $1.16
Cash & equivalents – $153.00M $1.04B
Total debt – $14.67B –
Shares (diluted) 53.70M 62.26M 120.52M
Enterprise value $7.64B $73.30B -$3.98B

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
MetricKEXURIZIM
P/E 20.9x 25.6x 25.6x
P/FCF 14.6x 81.7x 1.9x
P/Operating cash flow 12.3x 11.8x 2.2x
P/S 2.1x 4.2x 0.6x
P/B – 7.5x 0.9x
P/Tangible book – 7.9x 0.9x
EV/EBITDA – 13.8x 1.4x
EV/EBIT – 19.6x 4.8x
EV/Revenue 2.1x 5.0x 0.4x
EV/FCF – 97.9x 1.3x
EV/Operating cash flow 12.3x 14.1x 1.5x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.75 2.68 -0.49

Growth

14 metrics
MetricKEXURIZIM
Revenue growth (1Y) 8.5% 9.4% -24.9%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 6.0% 8.0% -7.4%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 10.4% -68.5%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 6.0% -26.9%
Operating income growth (1Y) 22.5% 11.5% -78.9%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 19.4% 5.7% -35.3%
Net income growth (1Y) – 12.9% 64.2%
Net income CAGR (3Y) – 6.2% 53.0%
EPS growth (1Y) 27.4% 16.6% -93.1%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 28.0% 9.5% -52.6%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 3.3% 24.2% -57.9%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 11.0% 10.9% -20.1%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – 98.2% -54.0%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 83.7% -17.4%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricKEXURIZIM
Gross margin – 39.1% 13.7%
EBITDA margin – 36.1% 27.7%
Operating margin – 25.5% 8.2%
Pretax margin – 21.8% 3.0%
Net margin – 16.3% 2.2%
FCF margin – 5.1% 29.7%
Operating cash flow margin 17.4% 35.4% 25.8%
Return on equity – 30.2% 3.6%
Return on assets – 8.9% 1.3%
Return on invested capital – 14.0% –
Return on capital employed – 16.5% 6.3%
Asset turnover – 0.5x 0.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) – 2.2x -2.0x
Stock comp / revenue – 0.9% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricKEXURIZIM
Debt / assets – 44.7% –
Debt / equity – 1.5x –
Net debt / EBITDA – 2.3x –
Debt / FCF – 16.4x –
Liabilities / assets – 70.4% 63.6%
Equity / assets – 29.6% 36.4%
Interest coverage – – 1.2x
Current ratio – 0.8x 1.2x
Quick ratio – 0.6x 0.5x
Cash ratio – 0.0x 0.5x
Altman Z-score – 3.59 1.39

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricKEXURIZIM
Dividend yield – 0.7% 4.0%
Net buyback yield – 2.5% –
Shareholder yield – 3.2% 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.

ConsensusKEXURIZIM
Forward P/E 21.3xFY2026 21.3xFY2026 5.3xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $6.86FY2026 $55.27FY2026 $5.60FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +8.4%FY2026 +31.4%FY2026 +40.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +29.0% +6.3% -103.6%
Revenue, next fiscal year $3.49BFY2026 $18.69BFY2026 $8.36BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +4.0%FY2026 +16.1%FY2026 +21.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +4.7% +3.1% -12.2%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersKEXURIZIM
Held by institutions 99.6% 95.9% 38.7%
Institutions holding 464 1,587 244
Change in shares held, QoQ -0.1% +4.7% -6.7%
Institutions buying 252 804 122
Institutions selling 145 537 77
Buyers to sellers 1.74 1.50 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.

KEXURIZIM
KEX 1.00 0.30 0.13
URI 0.30 1.00 0.07
ZIM 0.13 0.07 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, KEX, URI and ZIM?

United Rentals (URI) is the largest by market capitalisation: Kirby (KEX) $7.64B, United Rentals (URI) $74.18B, ZIM Integrated Shipping Services (ZIM) $3.52B.

Which stock is cheaper, KEX, URI and ZIM?

Kirby (KEX) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Kirby (KEX) 20.4x, United Rentals (URI) 26.0x, ZIM Integrated Shipping Services (ZIM) 25.2x). On next year's consensus earnings, ZIM Integrated Shipping Services (ZIM) is cheapest (Kirby (KEX) 21.3x, United Rentals (URI) 21.3x, 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?

United Rentals (URI) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Kirby (KEX) +8.5%, United Rentals (URI) +9.4%, ZIM Integrated Shipping Services (ZIM) -24.9%.

Which company is more profitable?

United Rentals (URI) has the highest net margin (United Rentals (URI) 16.3%, ZIM Integrated Shipping Services (ZIM) 2.2%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year ZIM Integrated Shipping Services (ZIM) returned the most: Kirby (KEX) +64.9%, United Rentals (URI) +34.2%, ZIM Integrated Shipping Services (ZIM) +100.0%. Over five years, United Rentals (URI) compounded fastest (Kirby (KEX) +22.8%/yr, United Rentals (URI) +25.4%/yr, ZIM Integrated Shipping Services (ZIM) -10.4%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Kirby (KEX) has been the steadiest (Kirby (KEX) 29.7%, United Rentals (URI) 42.2%, 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, URI 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, 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.