SAIA vs FDXF vs WERN Stock Comparison

Saia, FedEx Freight Holding Company and Werner Enterprises Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
SAIA Saia Inc
$343.07 +2.0% 1M +23.7% 1Y
Market cap
$9.15B
P/E
32.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.54B
Div. yield
–
Trucking Industrials
4 wins

Head to Head

8 decided of 12

Saia leads on 4 of the 12 questions below (Saia 4, FedEx Freight Holding Company 2, Werner Enterprises 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionSAIAFDXFWERNLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $9.15B $16.48B $1.66B FDXF
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 32.5x 25.1x -44.1x FDXF
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 32.3x — 36.4x SAIA
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +9.3% — +14.7% WERN
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 8.0% — — –
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 10.0% — — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -0.2x — — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield — — 2.03% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +23.7% — +2.8% SAIA
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +1.9%/yr — -9.4%/yr SAIA
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 47.0% 60.2% 41.9% WERN
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 47/100 — 38/100 SAIA

Percentile Scorecard

SAIAFDXFWERN

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

AxisSAIAFDXFWERN
Valuation 24 #104 of 136 33 #91 of 136 59 #56 of 136
Growth 58 #52 of 121 – 18 #100 of 121
Profitability 60 #45 of 112 – 33 #75 of 112
Financial Health 91 #13 of 140 9 #127 of 140 45 #78 of 140
Shareholder Returns 4 #77 of 80 – 37 #51 of 80
Overall 47 – 38
  • SAIA ranked among 150 companies in Transportation
  • FDXF ranked among 150 companies in Transportation
  • WERN ranked among 150 companies in Transportation

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodSAIAFDXFWERNSPY
1 month +2.0%-2.0%-18.9% +0.7%
3 months -2.2%-20.1%-25.1% +3.7%
6 months -23.6%—-25.1% +7.1%
Year to date +5.1%—-7.9% +12.8%
1 year +23.7%—+2.8% +11.9%
3 years -4.0%—-24.1% +85.2%
3 years, per year -1.3%—-8.8% +22.8%
5 years +9.7%—-39.0% +67.6%
5 years, per year +1.9%—-9.4% +10.9%
10 years +866.4%—+14.6% +262.0%
10 years, per year +25.5%—+1.4% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureSAIAFDXFWERNSPY
Volatility, 1Y 47.0%60.2%41.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 47.1%53.4%45.1% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.330.130.85 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.50—0.07 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -60.9%-42.7%-53.2% -25.4%
From 52-week high -29.6%-41.7%-41.6% -1.2%
52-week high $487.14$188.46$47.29 $779.14
52-week low $250.48$107.94$23.15 $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.

MultipleSAIAFDXFWERN
P/E now vs peer median 32.5xmedian 16.5x 25.1xmedian 16.5x -44.1xmedian 16.5x
P/S now vs peer median 2.6xmedian 0.9x 1.9xmedian 0.9x 0.5xmedian 0.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 14.3xmedian 8.8x —median 8.8x —median 8.8x
P/FCF now vs peer median 32.8xmedian 11.9x -77.7xmedian 11.9x 38.3xmedian 11.9x
P/B now vs peer median 3.2xmedian 1.2x -33.2xmedian 1.2x 1.2xmedian 1.2x
PEG now vs peer median -5.76median 0.84 —median 0.84 —median 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 monthsSAIAFDXFWERN
Revenue $3.54B – $3.43B
Operating income $378.33M – $2.09M
Net income $283.09M – –
Free cash flow $278.80M – –
EPS (diluted) $10.56 – –
Cash & equivalents $202.52M – $39.20M
Total debt $100.00M $4.53B –
Shares (diluted) 26.82M 149.51M 60.24M
Enterprise value $8.81B $16.48B $1.66B

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
MetricSAIAFDXFWERN
P/E 32.5x 25.1x -44.1x
P/FCF 32.8x -77.7x 38.3x
P/Operating cash flow 14.8x – –
P/S 2.6x 1.9x 0.5x
P/B 3.2x -33.2x 1.2x
P/Tangible book 3.2x -33.2x 1.3x
EV/EBITDA 14.3x – –
EV/EBIT 23.9x – –
EV/Revenue 2.6x – 0.5x
EV/FCF 32.5x – –
EV/Operating cash flow 14.6x – –
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -5.76 – –

Growth

14 metrics
MetricSAIAFDXFWERN
Revenue growth (1Y) 9.3% – 14.7%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 8.3% – 1.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – –
Operating income growth (1Y) -2.9% – -96.6%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -4.9% – -79.0%
Net income growth (1Y) -0.2% – –
Net income CAGR (3Y) -5.6% – –
EPS growth (1Y) -0.3% – –
EPS CAGR (3Y) -5.6% – –
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -0.7% – –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 4.3% – –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 2,140% – –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 33.8% – –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricSAIAFDXFWERN
Gross margin – – –
EBITDA margin 17.9% – –
Operating margin 10.7% – –
Pretax margin 10.6% – –
Net margin 8.0% – –
FCF margin 7.9% – –
Operating cash flow margin 17.5% – –
Return on equity 8.5% – -2.1%
Return on assets 6.2% – -0.9%
Return on invested capital 10.0% – –
Return on capital employed 11.1% – –
Asset turnover 0.9x – 1.1x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.2x – –
Stock comp / revenue – – –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricSAIAFDXFWERN
Debt / assets 2.6% 65.8% –
Debt / equity 0.0x -9.1x –
Net debt / EBITDA -0.2x – –
Debt / FCF 0.4x – –
Liabilities / assets 26.7% 107.2% 57.6%
Equity / assets 73.3% -7.2% 42.4%
Interest coverage 39.5x – –
Current ratio 1.8x 1.5x 1.4x
Quick ratio 1.7x – –
Cash ratio 0.5x – –
Altman Z-score 7.60 – –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricSAIAFDXFWERN
Dividend yield – – 2.0%
Net buyback yield 0.0% – –
Shareholder yield 0.0% – 2.0%
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.

ConsensusSAIAFDXFWERN
Forward P/E 32.3xFY2026 – 36.4xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $10.63FY2026 – $0.76FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +16.7%FY2026 – –
EPS growth, the year after +28.5% – +165.8%
Revenue, next fiscal year $3.87BFY2026 – $3.42BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +19.9%FY2026 – +15.2%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -5.5% – +11.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersSAIAFDXFWERN
Held by institutions 100.0% 60.8% 100.0%
Institutions holding 514 1,122 272
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.0% – +5.6%
Institutions buying 292 1,122 169
Institutions selling 152 0 73
Buyers to sellers 1.92 – 2.32

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.

SAIAFDXFWERN
SAIA 1.00 0.33 0.66
FDXF 0.33 1.00 0.28
WERN 0.66 0.28 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, SAIA, FDXF and WERN?

FedEx Freight Holding Company (FDXF) is the largest by market capitalisation: Saia (SAIA) $9.15B, FedEx Freight Holding Company (FDXF) $16.48B, Werner Enterprises (WERN) $1.66B.

Which stock is cheaper, SAIA, FDXF and WERN?

FedEx Freight Holding Company (FDXF) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Saia (SAIA) 32.5x, FedEx Freight Holding Company (FDXF) 25.1x, Werner Enterprises (WERN) -44.1x). On next year's consensus earnings, Saia (SAIA) is cheapest (Saia (SAIA) 32.3x, Werner Enterprises (WERN) 36.4x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Werner Enterprises (WERN) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Saia (SAIA) +9.3%, Werner Enterprises (WERN) +14.7%.

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Saia (SAIA) returned the most: Saia (SAIA) +23.7%, Werner Enterprises (WERN) +2.8%. Over five years, Saia (SAIA) compounded fastest (Saia (SAIA) +1.9%/yr, Werner Enterprises (WERN) -9.4%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Werner Enterprises (WERN) 2.03%. Saia (SAIA) and FedEx Freight Holding Company (FDXF) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Werner Enterprises (WERN) has been the steadiest (Saia (SAIA) 47.0%, FedEx Freight Holding Company (FDXF) 60.2%, Werner Enterprises (WERN) 41.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, SAIA, FDXF and WERN?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Saia (SAIA) leads on 4. 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.