KNF vs MLM vs GVA Stock Comparison

Knife River, Martin Marietta Materials and Granite Construction Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
KNF Knife River Corp
$52.89 -3.1% 1M -15.8% 1Y
Market cap
$3.11B
P/E
22.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.31B
Div. yield
–
Aggregates Basic Materials
1 win
GVA Granite Construction Inc
$108.26 -6.0% 1M +3.5% 1Y
Market cap
$4.83B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$4.97B
Div. yield
0.00%
Engineering and Construction Industrials
6 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Granite Construction leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Granite Construction 6, Martin Marietta Materials 5, Knife River 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionKNFMLMGVALeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $3.11B $30.32B $4.83B MLM
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 22.2x 12.3x -29.3x MLM
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 19.8x 27.5x — KNF
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +12.1% +14.8% +21.8% GVA
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 4.2% 36.7% -3.3% MLM
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 6.5% 6.5% 13.4% GVA
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 3.1x 2.8x 1.3x GVA
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.01% 0.00% MLM
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -15.8% -18.8% +3.5% GVA
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years — +5.6%/yr +22.9%/yr GVA
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 51.1% 28.7% 33.1% MLM
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 30/100 34/100 56/100 GVA

Percentile Scorecard

KNFMLMGVA

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

AxisKNFMLMGVA
Valuation 78 #3 of 10 11 #9 of 10 84 #9 of 52
Growth – – 50 #19 of 37
Profitability 0 #8 of 8 86 #2 of 8 50 #19 of 37
Financial Health 13 #8 of 9 38 #6 of 9 32 #39 of 57
Shareholder Returns – 0 #8 of 8 62 #11 of 27
Overall 30 34 56
  • KNF ranked among 10 companies in Construction Materials
  • MLM ranked among 10 companies in Construction Materials
  • GVA ranked among 57 companies in Construction Services

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodKNFMLMGVASPY
1 month -3.1%+4.1%-6.0% -0.8%
3 months -32.6%-11.9%-13.8% +3.5%
6 months -40.5%-17.3%-13.9% +7.0%
Year to date -24.8%-19.0%-6.1% +12.2%
1 year -15.8%-18.8%+3.5% +13.0%
3 years +10.2%+26.4%+215.9% +86.3%
3 years, per year +3.3%+8.1%+46.8% +23.1%
5 years —+31.6%+180.3% +68.6%
5 years, per year —+5.6%+22.9% +11.0%
10 years —+183.2%+144.0% +258.0%
10 years, per year —+11.0%+9.3% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureKNFMLMGVASPY
Volatility, 1Y 51.1%28.7%33.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 51.4%31.2%33.6% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.300.850.97 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.31-0.660.11 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -55.3%-33.4%-40.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -43.7%-28.8%-32.5% -1.8%
52-week high $93.97$708.11$160.39 $779.14
52-week low $47.97$471.33$98.50 $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.

MultipleKNFMLMGVA
P/E now vs peer median 21.5xmedian 19.6x 12.3xmedian 19.6x -28.7xmedian 25.7x
P/S now vs peer median 0.9xmedian 1.8x 4.5xmedian 1.8x 1.0xmedian 0.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 9.2xmedian 9.3x 17.5xmedian 9.3x 10.6xmedian 12.9x
P/FCF now vs peer median 69.7xmedian 31.4x 37.4xmedian 31.4x 10.0xmedian 22.5x
P/B now vs peer median 1.9xmedian 2.3x 2.6xmedian 2.3x 5.9xmedian 2.3x
PEG now vs peer median 14.46median 2.78 0.32median 2.78 0.39median 0.56

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 monthsKNFMLMGVA
Revenue $3.31B $6.69B $4.97B
Gross profit $589.67M $1.88B $776.94M
Operating income $275.33M $1.38B $314.31M
Net income $139.89M $2.46B -$151.53M
Free cash flow $43.06M $810.00M $471.91M
EPS (diluted) $2.46 $40.81 $-3.77
Cash & equivalents $102.03M $112.00M $877.12M
Total debt $1.62B $5.95B $1.56B
Shares (diluted) 56.88M 60.20M 43.75M
Enterprise value $2.73B $29.81B $2.46B

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
MetricKNFMLMGVA
P/E 21.5x 12.3x -28.7x
P/FCF 69.7x 37.4x 10.0x
P/Operating cash flow 9.6x 19.9x 7.8x
P/S 0.9x 4.5x 1.0x
P/B 1.9x 2.6x 5.9x
P/Tangible book 1.9x 2.8x 8.0x
EV/EBITDA 9.2x 17.5x 10.6x
EV/EBIT 16.4x 26.2x 17.1x
EV/Revenue 1.4x 5.4x 1.1x
EV/FCF 104.9x 44.6x 11.4x
EV/Operating cash flow 14.4x 23.8x 8.9x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 14.46 0.32 0.39

Growth

14 metrics
MetricKNFMLMGVA
Revenue growth (1Y) 12.1% 14.8% 21.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 8.3% 1.1% 15.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 10.3% 7.8% 22.0%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 12.6% 3.4% 30.8%
Operating income growth (1Y) 6.5% 3.2% 37.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 6.6% 1.3% 76.7%
Net income growth (1Y) -8.7% 123.2% -185.3%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 1.7% 37.3% -85.3%
EPS growth (1Y) -8.7% 123.9% -225.5%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 1.5% 38.8% -73.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 28.0% -19.7% 37.6%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 3.2% 7.5% 147.4%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 181.0% -15.9% 52.7%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -29.0% 6.6% 94.5%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricKNFMLMGVA
Gross margin 17.8% 28.2% 15.6%
EBITDA margin 14.9% 30.9% 10.2%
Operating margin 8.3% 20.6% 6.3%
Pretax margin 5.8% 17.4% -1.3%
Net margin 4.2% 36.7% -3.3%
FCF margin 1.3% 12.1% 9.5%
Operating cash flow margin 9.5% 22.7% 12.2%
Return on equity 8.8% 21.5% -14.8%
Return on assets 3.5% 11.8% -3.3%
Return on invested capital 6.5% 6.5% 13.4%
Return on capital employed 7.8% 7.2% 16.9%
Asset turnover 0.8x 0.3x 1.2x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.2x 0.6x -4.0x
Stock comp / revenue 0.3% 0.7% 1.0%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricKNFMLMGVA
Debt / assets 38.7% 27.9% 32.6%
Debt / equity 1.0x 0.5x 1.9x
Net debt / EBITDA 3.1x 2.8x 1.3x
Debt / FCF 37.6x 7.3x 3.3x
Liabilities / assets 61.6% 45.8% 83.1%
Equity / assets 38.4% 54.2% 16.9%
Interest coverage 3.1x 5.9x 4.5x
Current ratio 2.7x 1.4x 1.0x
Quick ratio 1.5x 0.7x 0.9x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.1x 0.4x
Altman Z-score 2.27 2.95 2.11

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricKNFMLMGVA
Dividend yield – 0.7% 0.5%
Net buyback yield – 0.7% 1.1%
Shareholder yield – 1.3% 1.6%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 8.2% -15.0%
Payout ratio (FCF) – 24.9% 4.8%
Dividend growth (1Y) – 4.1% 0.1%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 6.8% -0.1%

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.

ConsensusKNFMLMGVA
Forward P/E 19.8xFY2026 27.5xFY2026 –
EPS, next fiscal year $2.67FY2026 $18.36FY2026 $-3.74FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -3.3%FY2026 +12.4%FY2026 -196.9%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +10.5% +17.5% –
Revenue, next fiscal year $3.66BFY2026 $8.03BFY2026 $5.09BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +16.2%FY2026 +14.7%FY2026 +15.2%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +3.1% +26.6% +12.2%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersKNFMLMGVA
Held by institutions 96.7% 98.5% 100.0%
Institutions holding 391 1,072 445
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.0% +1.4% -3.0%
Institutions buying 168 469 239
Institutions selling 137 392 151
Buyers to sellers 1.23 1.20 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.

KNFMLMGVA
KNF 1.00 0.47 0.33
MLM 0.47 1.00 0.39
GVA 0.33 0.39 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, KNF, MLM and GVA?

Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) is the largest by market capitalisation: Knife River (KNF) $3.11B, Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) $30.32B, Granite Construction (GVA) $4.83B.

Which stock is cheaper, KNF, MLM and GVA?

Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Knife River (KNF) 22.2x, Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) 12.3x, Granite Construction (GVA) -29.3x). On next year's consensus earnings, Knife River (KNF) is cheapest (Knife River (KNF) 19.8x, Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) 27.5x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Granite Construction (GVA) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Knife River (KNF) +12.1%, Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) +14.8%, Granite Construction (GVA) +21.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) has the highest net margin (Knife River (KNF) 4.2%, Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) 36.7%, Granite Construction (GVA) -3.3%). On return on invested capital, Granite Construction (GVA) leads (Knife River (KNF) 6.5%, Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) 6.5%, Granite Construction (GVA) 13.4%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Granite Construction (GVA) returned the most: Knife River (KNF) -15.8%, Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) -18.8%, Granite Construction (GVA) +3.5%. Over five years, Granite Construction (GVA) compounded fastest (Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) +5.6%/yr, Granite Construction (GVA) +22.9%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) has the highest dividend yield: Knife River (KNF) 0.00%, Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) 0.01%, Granite Construction (GVA) 0.00%. Knife River (KNF) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) has been the steadiest (Knife River (KNF) 51.1%, Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) 28.7%, Granite Construction (GVA) 33.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, KNF, MLM and GVA?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Granite Construction (GVA) leads on 6. 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.