LSTR vs UPS vs ZTO Stock Comparison

Landstar System, United Parcel Service and ZTO Express (Cayman) Prices as of Nov 5, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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LSTR Landstar System Inc
$145.48 -13.9% 1M +13.7% 1Y
Market cap
$4.90B
P/E
30.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$5.29B
Div. yield
2.50%
Logistics Industrials
3 wins
UPS United Parcel Service Inc
$111.05 +19.3% 1M +19.5% 1Y
Market cap
$83.47B
P/E
21.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$91.37B
Div. yield
5.91%
Parcel Delivery Industrials
3 wins
ZTO ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc.
$20.81 +5.7% 1M +10.2% 1Y
Market cap
$16.46B
P/E
11.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$7.81B
Div. yield
1.87%
Parcel Delivery Industrials
6 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

ZTO Express (Cayman) leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (ZTO Express (Cayman) 6, United Parcel Service 3, Landstar System 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionLSTRUPSZTOLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $4.90B $83.47B $16.46B UPS
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 30.7x 21.4x 11.2x ZTO
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 24.3x 16.3x 10.8x ZTO
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +10.7% +2.1% +21.2% ZTO
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 3.0% 4.8% 19.0% ZTO
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 17.9% 12.3% 15.0% LSTR
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -1.1x 1.8x — LSTR
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 2.50% 5.91% 1.87% UPS
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +13.7% +19.5% +10.2% UPS
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -3.7%/yr -11.8%/yr -5.7%/yr LSTR
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 40.4% 30.4% 24.3% ZTO
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 50/100 45/100 66/100 ZTO

Percentile Scorecard

LSTRUPSZTO

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

AxisLSTRUPSZTO
Valuation 24 #104 of 137 38 #85 of 137 67 #46 of 137
Growth 21 #100 of 127 25 #95 of 127 77 #30 of 127
Profitability 57 #54 of 125 69 #39 of 125 73 #35 of 125
Financial Health 87 #20 of 147 35 #96 of 147 84 #24 of 147
Shareholder Returns 61 #36 of 90 55 #41 of 90 30 #63 of 90
Overall 50 45 66
  • LSTR 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

PeriodLSTRUPSZTOSPY
1 month -13.9%+19.3%+5.7% -5.9%
3 months -17.8%+7.6%-13.5% -4.6%
6 months -20.0%+10.9%-17.8% +0.2%
Year to date +1.2%+12.0%-0.4% +7.5%
1 year +13.7%+19.5%+10.2% +8.2%
3 years -14.8%-21.9%-14.8% +68.3%
3 years, per year -5.2%-7.9%-5.2% +19.0%
5 years -17.3%-46.7%-25.3% +56.5%
5 years, per year -3.7%-11.8%-5.7% +9.4%
10 years +101.1%+3.8%+36.9% +251.5%
10 years, per year +7.2%+0.4%+3.2% +13.4%

Risk

MeasureLSTRUPSZTOSPY
Volatility, 1Y 40.4%30.4%24.3% 13.6%
Downside volatility, 1Y 46.6%33.6%25.3% 14.2%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.680.690.03 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.340.640.42 0.60
Max drawdown, 5Y -41.2%-64.4%-50.7% -25.4%
From 52-week high -35.4%-7.5%-19.6% -5.9%
52-week high $225.37$120.00$25.88 $779.14
52-week low $121.51$90.87$18.84 $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.

MultipleLSTRUPSZTO
P/E now vs peer median 30.7xmedian 14.1x 21.4xmedian 14.1x 11.2xmedian 14.1x
P/S now vs peer median 0.9xmedian 0.9x 0.9xmedian 0.9x 2.1xmedian 0.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 18.0xmedian 7.8x 9.9xmedian 7.8x —median 7.8x
P/FCF now vs peer median 31.1xmedian 11.7x 13.1xmedian 11.7x 7.7xmedian 11.7x
P/B now vs peer median 5.9xmedian 1.2x 5.6xmedian 1.2x 1.8xmedian 1.2x
PEG now vs peer median -1.79median 0.68 -1.09median 0.68 1.39median 0.68

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 monthsLSTRUPSZTO
Revenue $5.29B $91.37B $7.81B
Gross profit – – $1.96B
Operating income $214.56M $6.52B $1.64B
Net income $160.38M $4.42B $1.51B
Free cash flow $157.62M $6.35B $2.13B
EPS (diluted) $4.73 $5.19 $1.81
Cash & equivalents $297.32M $6.84B $1.46B
Total debt $68.71M $26.08B $1.72B
Shares (diluted) 33.87M 852.00M 820.80M
Enterprise value $3.34B $60.32B $220.06M

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
MetricLSTRUPSZTO
P/E 30.7x 21.4x 11.2x
P/FCF 31.1x 13.1x 7.7x
P/Operating cash flow 28.6x 9.0x 7.7x
P/S 0.9x 0.9x 2.1x
P/B 5.9x 5.6x 1.8x
P/Tangible book 5.9x 7.5x 2.0x
EV/EBITDA 18.0x 9.9x –
EV/EBIT 21.5x 15.8x 8.3x
EV/Revenue 0.9x 1.1x 1.7x
EV/FCF 29.3x 16.2x 6.4x
EV/Operating cash flow 27.0x 11.1x 6.4x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -1.79 -1.09 1.39

Growth

14 metrics
MetricLSTRUPSZTO
Revenue growth (1Y) 10.7% 2.1% 21.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -2.9% -0.6% 13.5%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – 10.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – 7.7%
Operating income growth (1Y) 19.3% -20.7% 5.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -18.3% -12.9% 6.8%
Net income growth (1Y) 16.8% -19.6% 22.6%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -18.8% -19.7% 8.9%
EPS growth (1Y) 19.3% -20.0% 25.2%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -17.2% -19.6% 8.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -19.6% 9.7% 46.4%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -29.5% -5.9% 4.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -20.7% 44.5% 46.4%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -30.5% 4.5% 4.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricLSTRUPSZTO
Gross margin – – 25.1%
EBITDA margin 4.8% 11.4% –
Operating margin 4.1% 7.1% 21.0%
Pretax margin 4.0% 6.4% 27.7%
Net margin 3.0% 4.8% 19.0%
FCF margin 3.0% 7.0% 27.3%
Operating cash flow margin 3.2% 10.2% 27.3%
Return on equity 19.2% 29.4% 16.3%
Return on assets 9.0% 6.1% 10.5%
Return on invested capital 17.9% 12.3% 15.0%
Return on capital employed 21.3% 11.6% 15.1%
Asset turnover 3.0x 1.3x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.1x 2.1x 1.4x
Stock comp / revenue 0.2% 0.1% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricLSTRUPSZTO
Debt / assets 3.8% 35.9% 11.8%
Debt / equity 0.1x 1.7x 0.2x
Net debt / EBITDA -1.1x 1.8x –
Debt / FCF 0.4x 4.1x 0.8x
Liabilities / assets 54.1% 79.3% 35.5%
Equity / assets 45.9% 20.7% 64.5%
Interest coverage 111.1x 6.0x 56.1x
Current ratio 1.8x 1.2x 1.7x
Quick ratio 1.7x 1.1x 1.4x
Cash ratio 0.5x 0.4x 1.3x
Altman Z-score 9.01 2.84 3.63

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricLSTRUPSZTO
Dividend yield 2.5% 5.9% 1.9%
Net buyback yield 2.1% -0.1% –
Shareholder yield 4.6% 5.8% 1.9%
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.

ConsensusLSTRUPSZTO
Forward P/E 24.3xFY2026 16.3xFY2026 10.8xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $5.98FY2026 $6.82FY2026 $1.92FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +80.7%FY2026 -4.7%FY2026 +20.0%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +29.1% +26.0% +13.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $5.51BFY2026 $88.51BFY2026 $8.91BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +16.3%FY2026 -0.2%FY2026 +26.9%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +18.0% +14.1% +12.2%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersLSTRUPSZTO
Held by institutions 100.0% 62.5% 7.4%
Institutions holding 545 2,141 194
Change in shares held, QoQ -2.8% +6.0% +1.8%
Institutions buying 297 1,089 100
Institutions selling 153 812 64
Buyers to sellers 1.94 1.34 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.

LSTRUPSZTO
LSTR 1.00 0.35 0.12
UPS 0.35 1.00 0.15
ZTO 0.12 0.15 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, LSTR, UPS and ZTO?

United Parcel Service (UPS) is the largest by market capitalisation: Landstar System (LSTR) $4.90B, United Parcel Service (UPS) $83.47B, ZTO Express (Cayman) (ZTO) $16.46B.

Which stock is cheaper, LSTR, UPS and ZTO?

ZTO Express (Cayman) (ZTO) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Landstar System (LSTR) 30.7x, United Parcel Service (UPS) 21.4x, ZTO Express (Cayman) (ZTO) 11.2x). On next year's consensus earnings, ZTO Express (Cayman) (ZTO) is cheapest (Landstar System (LSTR) 24.3x, United Parcel Service (UPS) 16.3x, ZTO Express (Cayman) (ZTO) 10.8x). 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: Landstar System (LSTR) +10.7%, United Parcel Service (UPS) +2.1%, ZTO Express (Cayman) (ZTO) +21.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

ZTO Express (Cayman) (ZTO) has the highest net margin (Landstar System (LSTR) 3.0%, United Parcel Service (UPS) 4.8%, ZTO Express (Cayman) (ZTO) 19.0%). On return on invested capital, Landstar System (LSTR) leads (Landstar System (LSTR) 17.9%, United Parcel Service (UPS) 12.3%, ZTO Express (Cayman) (ZTO) 15.0%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year United Parcel Service (UPS) returned the most: Landstar System (LSTR) +13.7%, United Parcel Service (UPS) +19.5%, ZTO Express (Cayman) (ZTO) +10.2%. Over five years, Landstar System (LSTR) compounded fastest (Landstar System (LSTR) -3.7%/yr, United Parcel Service (UPS) -11.8%/yr, ZTO Express (Cayman) (ZTO) -5.7%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

United Parcel Service (UPS) has the highest dividend yield: Landstar System (LSTR) 2.50%, United Parcel Service (UPS) 5.91%, ZTO Express (Cayman) (ZTO) 1.87%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, ZTO Express (Cayman) (ZTO) has been the steadiest (Landstar System (LSTR) 40.4%, United Parcel Service (UPS) 30.4%, ZTO Express (Cayman) (ZTO) 24.3%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, LSTR, 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 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.