ODFL vs KNX vs SAIA Stock Comparison

Old Dominion Freight Line, Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings and Saia Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
SAIA Saia Inc
$332.14 -3.4% 1M +13.8% 1Y
Market cap
$8.75B
P/E
31.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.39B
Div. yield
–
Trucking Industrials
3 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Old Dominion Freight Line leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Old Dominion Freight Line 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.

QuestionODFLKNXSAIALeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $37.87B $9.82B $8.75B ODFL
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 34.8x 228.8x 31.5x SAIA
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 29.8x 28.3x 31.2x KNX
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months -0.6% +4.1% +4.8% SAIA
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 19.4% 0.6% 8.2% ODFL
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 24.1% 1.6% 10.2% ODFL
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -0.1x 0.2x 0.0x ODFL
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +34.5% +39.1% +13.8% KNX
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +2.6%/yr +1.7%/yr +4.1%/yr SAIA
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 37.6% 37.6% 46.3% ODFL
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 50/100 36/100 45/100 ODFL

Percentile Scorecard

ODFLKNXSAIA

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

AxisODFLKNXSAIA
Valuation 7 #126 of 136 47 #73 of 136 23 #105 of 136
Growth 35 #80 of 122 30 #86 of 122 53 #58 of 122
Profitability 87 #16 of 119 33 #80 of 119 59 #50 of 119
Financial Health 94 #10 of 147 63 #55 of 147 87 #20 of 147
Shareholder Returns 28 #61 of 84 8 #77 of 84 4 #81 of 84
Overall 50 36 45
  • ODFL ranked among 150 companies in Transportation
  • KNX 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

PeriodODFLKNXSAIASPY
1 month +2.8%-8.9%-3.4% -1.0%
3 months -21.6%-15.5%-21.6% +2.9%
6 months -16.9%-6.1%-24.9% +6.4%
Year to date +16.5%+17.1%+1.7% +11.4%
1 year +34.5%+39.1%+13.8% +13.1%
3 years -5.3%+21.8%-12.9% +79.4%
3 years, per year -1.8%+6.8%-4.5% +21.5%
5 years +13.6%+8.8%+22.2% +67.7%
5 years, per year +2.6%+1.7%+4.1% +10.9%
10 years +682.0%+122.1%+1,034.0% +255.2%
10 years, per year +22.8%+8.3%+27.5% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureODFLKNXSAIASPY
Volatility, 1Y 37.6%37.6%46.3% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 37.9%32.8%46.4% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.931.011.33 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.921.040.30 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -45.5%-39.6%-60.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -26.5%-25.7%-31.8% -2.5%
52-week high $248.73$82.45$487.14 $779.14
52-week low $126.29$41.68$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.

MultipleODFLKNXSAIA
P/E now vs peer median 34.8xmedian 16.0x 231.8xmedian 16.0x 32.0xmedian 16.0x
P/S now vs peer median 6.8xmedian 1.0x 1.3xmedian 1.0x 2.6xmedian 1.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 20.7xmedian 8.7x 10.2xmedian 8.7x 14.1xmedian 8.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median 34.0xmedian 11.5x 18.3xmedian 11.5x 34.7xmedian 11.5x
P/B now vs peer median 8.3xmedian 1.2x 1.4xmedian 1.2x 3.2xmedian 1.2x
PEG now vs peer median -10.04median 0.82 -4.12median 0.82 -5.12median 0.82

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 monthsODFLKNXSAIA
Revenue $5.60B $7.73B $3.39B
Operating income $1.45B $210.22M $374.65M
Net income $1.09B $43.31M $277.96M
Free cash flow $1.11B $545.27M $255.23M
EPS (diluted) $5.22 $0.26 $10.36
Cash & equivalents $283.94M $186.11M $84.01M
Total debt $184.98M $397.91M $596.06M
Shares (diluted) 208.72M 163.28M 26.83M
Enterprise value $37.14B $9.00B $8.57B

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
MetricODFLKNXSAIA
P/E 34.8x 231.8x 32.0x
P/FCF 34.0x 18.3x 34.7x
P/Operating cash flow 27.2x 7.2x 14.6x
P/S 6.8x 1.3x 2.6x
P/B 8.3x 1.4x 3.2x
P/Tangible book 8.3x 2.0x 3.2x
EV/EBITDA 20.7x 10.2x 14.1x
EV/EBIT 26.0x 48.4x 23.7x
EV/Revenue 6.7x 1.3x 2.6x
EV/FCF 33.8x 18.7x 34.8x
EV/Operating cash flow 27.0x 7.3x 14.6x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -10.04 -4.12 -5.12

Growth

14 metrics
MetricODFLKNXSAIA
Revenue growth (1Y) -0.6% 4.1% 4.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -2.0% 4.2% 7.4%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – –
Operating income growth (1Y) 1.1% -29.6% -5.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -5.2% -33.2% -5.3%
Net income growth (1Y) -0.5% -73.7% -4.2%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -5.2% -56.1% -6.1%
EPS growth (1Y) 1.1% -74.1% -4.3%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -3.5% -56.3% -6.3%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -5.2% 70.8% -3.2%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -4.1% -1.1% 2.9%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 42.8% 1,410% 326.1%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 19.9% 9.6% 29.2%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricODFLKNXSAIA
Gross margin – – –
EBITDA margin 32.4% 12.9% 18.5%
Operating margin 25.8% 2.7% 11.0%
Pretax margin 25.9% 0.9% 10.8%
Net margin 19.4% 0.6% 8.2%
FCF margin 19.9% 7.1% 7.5%
Operating cash flow margin 24.9% 18.0% 17.9%
Return on equity 24.3% 0.6% 5.4%
Return on assets 19.1% 0.4% 4.0%
Return on invested capital 24.1% 1.6% 10.2%
Return on capital employed 28.0% 1.9% 11.4%
Asset turnover 1.0x 0.6x 0.9x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.3x 32.1x 2.2x
Stock comp / revenue – – –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricODFLKNXSAIA
Debt / assets 0.3% 3.3% 2.7%
Debt / equity 0.0x 0.1x 0.0x
Net debt / EBITDA -0.1x 0.2x 0.0x
Debt / FCF 0.0x 0.7x 0.4x
Liabilities / assets 20.7% 41.8% 26.8%
Equity / assets 79.3% 58.2% 73.2%
Interest coverage 2,184x 1.6x 31.1x
Current ratio 1.9x 0.9x 1.6x
Quick ratio 1.7x 0.6x 1.4x
Cash ratio 0.5x 0.2x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 22.10 2.18 7.55

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricODFLKNXSAIA
Dividend yield 0.6% 1.3% –
Net buyback yield 1.4% -0.1% 0.0%
Shareholder yield 2.1% 1.2% 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.

ConsensusODFLKNXSAIA
Forward P/E 29.8xFY2026 28.3xFY2026 31.2xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $6.13FY2026 $2.16FY2026 $10.63FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +26.7%FY2026 +71.4%FY2026 +16.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +3.6% +99.1% +28.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $6.39BFY2026 $7.83BFY2026 $3.87BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +16.1%FY2026 +4.9%FY2026 +19.9%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -5.2% +6.2% -5.5%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersODFLKNXSAIA
Held by institutions 79.6% 100.0% 100.0%
Institutions holding 1,025 628 513
Change in shares held, QoQ +2.2% +1.9% +1.0%
Institutions buying 543 376 292
Institutions selling 341 168 152
Buyers to sellers 1.59 2.24 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.

ODFLKNXSAIA
ODFL 1.00 0.73 0.82
KNX 0.73 1.00 0.73
SAIA 0.82 0.73 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ODFL, KNX and SAIA?

Old Dominion Freight Line (ODFL) is the largest by market capitalisation: Old Dominion Freight Line (ODFL) $37.87B, Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings (KNX) $9.82B, Saia (SAIA) $8.75B.

Which stock is cheaper, ODFL, KNX and SAIA?

Saia (SAIA) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Old Dominion Freight Line (ODFL) 34.8x, Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings (KNX) 228.8x, Saia (SAIA) 31.5x). On next year's consensus earnings, Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings (KNX) is cheapest (Old Dominion Freight Line (ODFL) 29.8x, Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings (KNX) 28.3x, Saia (SAIA) 31.2x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Saia (SAIA) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Old Dominion Freight Line (ODFL) -0.6%, Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings (KNX) +4.1%, Saia (SAIA) +4.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Old Dominion Freight Line (ODFL) has the highest net margin (Old Dominion Freight Line (ODFL) 19.4%, Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings (KNX) 0.6%, Saia (SAIA) 8.2%). On return on invested capital, Old Dominion Freight Line (ODFL) leads (Old Dominion Freight Line (ODFL) 24.1%, Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings (KNX) 1.6%, Saia (SAIA) 10.2%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings (KNX) returned the most: Old Dominion Freight Line (ODFL) +34.5%, Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings (KNX) +39.1%, Saia (SAIA) +13.8%. Over five years, Saia (SAIA) compounded fastest (Old Dominion Freight Line (ODFL) +2.6%/yr, Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings (KNX) +1.7%/yr, Saia (SAIA) +4.1%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Old Dominion Freight Line (ODFL) has been the steadiest (Old Dominion Freight Line (ODFL) 37.6%, Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings (KNX) 37.6%, Saia (SAIA) 46.3%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, ODFL, KNX 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, Old Dominion Freight Line (ODFL) 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.