KNX vs XPO vs SAIA Stock Comparison

Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings, Xpo and Saia Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
XPO XPO, Inc.
$182.95 +3.1% 1M +46.7% 1Y
Market cap
$22.09B
P/E
43.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$8.84B
Div. yield
–
Trucking Industrials
6 wins
SAIA Saia Inc
$343.07 +2.0% 1M +23.7% 1Y
Market cap
$9.20B
P/E
32.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.54B
Div. yield
–
Trucking Industrials
3 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Xpo leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Xpo 6, Saia 3, Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionKNXXPOSAIALeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $9.83B $22.09B $9.20B XPO
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 64.1x 43.9x 32.5x SAIA
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 27.4x 31.0x 32.3x KNX
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +7.0% +9.5% +9.3% XPO
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 1.9% 5.7% 8.0% SAIA
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 3.2% 12.7% 10.0% XPO
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.1x 2.0x -0.2x SAIA
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +37.4% +46.7% +23.7% XPO
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +1.5%/yr +29.1%/yr +1.9%/yr XPO
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 37.8% 42.2% 47.0% KNX
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 48/100 50/100 47/100 XPO

Percentile Scorecard

KNXXPOSAIA

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

AxisKNXXPOSAIA
Valuation 54 #63 of 136 19 #110 of 136 24 #104 of 136
Growth 68 #40 of 121 90 #13 of 121 58 #52 of 121
Profitability 39 #69 of 112 65 #40 of 112 60 #45 of 112
Financial Health 66 #49 of 140 26 #104 of 140 91 #13 of 140
Shareholder Returns 13 #70 of 80 49 #41 of 80 4 #77 of 80
Overall 48 50 47
  • KNX ranked among 150 companies in Transportation
  • XPO ranked among 150 companies in Transportation
  • SAIA ranked among 150 companies in Transportation

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodKNXXPOSAIASPY
1 month -4.8%+3.1%+2.0% +0.7%
3 months -12.4%-8.1%-2.2% +3.7%
6 months -5.8%-16.9%-23.6% +7.1%
Year to date +17.0%+34.6%+5.1% +12.8%
1 year +37.4%+46.7%+23.7% +11.9%
3 years +24.6%+136.1%-4.0% +85.2%
3 years, per year +7.6%+33.2%-1.3% +22.8%
5 years +7.9%+258.9%+9.7% +67.6%
5 years, per year +1.5%+29.1%+1.9% +10.9%
10 years +111.8%+1,506.2%+866.4% +262.0%
10 years, per year +7.8%+32.0%+25.5% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureKNXXPOSAIASPY
Volatility, 1Y 37.8%42.2%47.0% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 32.9%39.7%47.1% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.011.191.33 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.991.110.50 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -39.6%-51.3%-60.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -25.8%-19.9%-29.6% -1.2%
52-week high $82.45$228.37$487.14 $779.14
52-week low $41.68$124.75$250.48 $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.

MultipleKNXXPOSAIA
P/E now vs peer median 64.9xmedian 16.5x 42.6xmedian 16.5x 32.5xmedian 16.5x
P/S now vs peer median 1.2xmedian 0.9x 2.4xmedian 0.9x 2.6xmedian 0.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 8.9xmedian 8.8x 17.2xmedian 8.8x 14.3xmedian 8.8x
P/FCF now vs peer median 13.2xmedian 11.9x 32.6xmedian 11.9x 32.8xmedian 11.9x
P/B now vs peer median 1.4xmedian 1.2x 10.8xmedian 1.2x 3.2xmedian 1.2x
PEG now vs peer median -2.49median 0.84 0.31median 0.84 -5.76median 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 monthsKNXXPOSAIA
Revenue $8.00B $8.84B $3.54B
Operating income $338.60M $876.00M $378.33M
Net income $153.25M $503.00M $283.09M
Free cash flow $752.32M $657.00M $278.80M
EPS (diluted) $0.94 $4.26 $10.56
Cash & equivalents $254.16M $260.00M $202.52M
Total debt $347.82M $3.12B $100.00M
Shares (diluted) 163.30M 118.00M 26.82M
Enterprise value $8.95B $20.99B $8.86B

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
MetricKNXXPOSAIA
P/E 64.9x 42.6x 32.5x
P/FCF 13.2x 32.6x 32.8x
P/Operating cash flow 6.5x 18.9x 14.8x
P/S 1.2x 2.4x 2.6x
P/B 1.4x 10.8x 3.2x
P/Tangible book 1.9x 12.5x 3.2x
EV/EBITDA 8.9x 17.2x 14.3x
EV/EBIT 29.7x 27.7x 23.9x
EV/Revenue 1.3x 2.7x 2.6x
EV/FCF 13.4x 36.9x 32.5x
EV/Operating cash flow 6.6x 21.4x 14.6x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -2.49 0.31 -5.76

Growth

14 metrics
MetricKNXXPOSAIA
Revenue growth (1Y) 7.0% 9.5% 9.3%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 4.8% 5.0% 8.3%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – –
Operating income growth (1Y) 26.6% 32.3% -2.9%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -13.5% 39.5% -4.9%
Net income growth (1Y) 7.4% 51.5% -0.2%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -25.9% 138.7% -5.6%
EPS growth (1Y) 7.4% 54.1% -0.3%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -26.1% 139.3% -5.6%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 86.3% 19.3% -0.7%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 8.0% 21.0% 4.3%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 1,550% 183.2% 2,140%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 143.2% 217.0% 33.8%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricKNXXPOSAIA
Gross margin – – –
EBITDA margin 14.1% 15.9% 17.9%
Operating margin 4.2% 9.9% 10.7%
Pretax margin 2.7% 7.6% 10.6%
Net margin 1.9% 5.7% 8.0%
FCF margin 9.4% 7.4% 7.9%
Operating cash flow margin 19.0% 12.8% 17.5%
Return on equity 2.2% 25.5% 8.5%
Return on assets 1.3% 6.0% 6.2%
Return on invested capital 3.2% 12.7% 10.0%
Return on capital employed 3.1% 13.4% 11.1%
Asset turnover 0.7x 1.1x 0.9x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 9.9x 2.3x 2.2x
Stock comp / revenue – 0.9% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricKNXXPOSAIA
Debt / assets 2.9% 37.6% 2.6%
Debt / equity 0.0x 1.6x 0.0x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.1x 2.0x -0.2x
Debt / FCF 0.5x 4.8x 0.4x
Liabilities / assets 41.7% 76.3% 26.7%
Equity / assets 58.3% 23.7% 73.3%
Interest coverage 3.0x 4.2x 39.5x
Current ratio 0.9x 1.0x 1.8x
Quick ratio 0.6x 0.8x 1.7x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.1x 0.5x
Altman Z-score 2.23 3.66 7.60

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricKNXXPOSAIA
Dividend yield 1.3% – –
Net buyback yield -0.1% 1.5% 0.0%
Shareholder yield 1.2% 1.5% 0.0%
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.

ConsensusKNXXPOSAIA
Forward P/E 27.4xFY2026 31.0xFY2026 32.3xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $2.23FY2026 $5.91FY2026 $10.63FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +77.0%FY2026 +58.4%FY2026 +16.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +95.5% +6.3% +28.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $7.91BFY2026 $9.30BFY2026 $3.87BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +5.9%FY2026 +13.9%FY2026 +19.9%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +6.7% +5.4% -5.5%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersKNXXPOSAIA
Held by institutions 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%
Institutions holding 629 751 514
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.9% +2.2% +1.0%
Institutions buying 376 433 292
Institutions selling 168 211 152
Buyers to sellers 2.24 2.05 1.92

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.

KNXXPOSAIA
KNX 1.00 0.70 0.74
XPO 0.70 1.00 0.74
SAIA 0.74 0.74 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, KNX, XPO and SAIA?

Xpo (XPO) is the largest by market capitalisation: Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings (KNX) $9.83B, Xpo (XPO) $22.09B, Saia (SAIA) $9.20B.

Which stock is cheaper, KNX, XPO and SAIA?

Saia (SAIA) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings (KNX) 64.1x, Xpo (XPO) 43.9x, Saia (SAIA) 32.5x). On next year's consensus earnings, Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings (KNX) is cheapest (Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings (KNX) 27.4x, Xpo (XPO) 31.0x, Saia (SAIA) 32.3x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Xpo (XPO) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings (KNX) +7.0%, Xpo (XPO) +9.5%, Saia (SAIA) +9.3%.

Which company is more profitable?

Saia (SAIA) has the highest net margin (Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings (KNX) 1.9%, Xpo (XPO) 5.7%, Saia (SAIA) 8.0%). On return on invested capital, Xpo (XPO) leads (Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings (KNX) 3.2%, Xpo (XPO) 12.7%, Saia (SAIA) 10.0%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Xpo (XPO) returned the most: Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings (KNX) +37.4%, Xpo (XPO) +46.7%, Saia (SAIA) +23.7%. Over five years, Xpo (XPO) compounded fastest (Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings (KNX) +1.5%/yr, Xpo (XPO) +29.1%/yr, Saia (SAIA) +1.9%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings (KNX) has been the steadiest (Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings (KNX) 37.8%, Xpo (XPO) 42.2%, Saia (SAIA) 47.0%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, KNX, XPO and SAIA?

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