SAIA vs ODFL vs KNX Stock Comparison

Saia, Old Dominion Freight Line and Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
SAIA Saia Inc
$324.62 -1.7% 1M +14.2% 1Y
Market cap
$8.66B
P/E
31.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.39B
Div. yield
–
Trucking Industrials
4 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings 6, Saia 4, Old Dominion Freight Line 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionSAIAODFLKNXLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $8.66B $35.96B $9.91B ODFL
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 31.3x 33.8x 64.6x SAIA
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 30.5x 28.3x 27.3x KNX
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +4.8% +3.8% +7.0% KNX
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 8.2% — 1.9% SAIA
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 10.2% — 3.2% SAIA
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.0x — 0.1x SAIA
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield — 0.66% 1.28% KNX
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +14.2% +27.4% +39.1% KNX
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +0.8%/yr +0.3%/yr +1.4%/yr KNX
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 46.7% 38.4% 37.8% KNX
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 44/100 48/100 48/100 ODFL

Percentile Scorecard

SAIAODFLKNX

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

AxisSAIAODFLKNX
Valuation 22 #106 of 136 5 #129 of 136 55 #62 of 136
Growth 50 #62 of 122 37 #77 of 122 69 #38 of 122
Profitability 58 #49 of 116 100 #1 of 116 38 #72 of 116
Financial Health 87 #20 of 143 92 #12 of 143 66 #50 of 143
Shareholder Returns 3 #79 of 81 5 #77 of 81 11 #72 of 81
Overall 44 48 48
  • SAIA ranked among 150 companies in Transportation
  • ODFL ranked among 150 companies in Transportation
  • KNX ranked among 150 companies in Transportation

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodSAIAODFLKNXSPY
1 month -1.7%-2.0%-4.2% +0.9%
3 months -17.7%-22.2%-14.3% +5.9%
6 months -23.1%-17.2%-3.9% +8.5%
Year to date -0.6%+10.5%+16.4% +13.3%
1 year +14.2%+27.4%+39.1% +12.4%
3 years -5.7%-5.9%+27.0% +88.1%
3 years, per year -1.9%-2.0%+8.3% +23.5%
5 years +3.8%+1.5%+7.4% +68.2%
5 years, per year +0.8%+0.3%+1.4% +11.0%
10 years +814.4%+591.3%+110.9% +263.4%
10 years, per year +24.8%+21.3%+7.7% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureSAIAODFLKNXSPY
Volatility, 1Y 46.7%38.4%37.8% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 47.1%39.4%32.9% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.350.931.01 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.300.711.03 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -60.9%-45.5%-39.6% -25.4%
From 52-week high -33.4%-30.3%-26.2% -0.9%
52-week high $487.14$248.73$82.45 $779.14
52-week low $250.48$126.29$41.68 $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.

MultipleSAIAODFLKNX
P/E now vs peer median 31.3xmedian 16.1x 33.8xmedian 16.1x 64.6xmedian 16.1x
P/S now vs peer median 2.6xmedian 0.9x 6.2xmedian 0.9x 1.2xmedian 0.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 13.8xmedian 8.6x —median 8.6x 8.9xmedian 8.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median 33.9xmedian 11.6x 33.0xmedian 11.6x 13.2xmedian 11.6x
P/B now vs peer median 3.2xmedian 1.2x 7.7xmedian 1.2x 1.4xmedian 1.2x
PEG now vs peer median -5.00median 0.80 —median 0.80 -2.48median 0.80

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 monthsSAIAODFLKNX
Revenue $3.39B $5.79B $8.00B
Operating income $374.65M $1.54B $338.60M
Net income $277.96M – $153.25M
Free cash flow $255.23M – $752.32M
EPS (diluted) $10.36 – $0.94
Cash & equivalents $84.01M $466.22M $254.16M
Total debt $100.12M – $347.82M
Shares (diluted) 26.83M 208.72M 163.30M
Enterprise value $8.48B $35.96B $9.03B

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
MetricSAIAODFLKNX
P/E 31.3x 33.8x 64.6x
P/FCF 33.9x 33.0x 13.2x
P/Operating cash flow 14.3x – 6.5x
P/S 2.6x 6.2x 1.2x
P/B 3.2x 7.7x 1.4x
P/Tangible book 3.2x 7.7x 1.9x
EV/EBITDA 13.8x – 8.9x
EV/EBIT 23.2x – 29.5x
EV/Revenue 2.6x 6.2x 1.2x
EV/FCF 34.0x – 13.3x
EV/Operating cash flow 14.3x – 6.6x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -5.00 – -2.48

Growth

14 metrics
MetricSAIAODFLKNX
Revenue growth (1Y) 4.8% 3.8% 7.0%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 7.4% -0.4% 4.8%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – –
Operating income growth (1Y) -5.4% 10.7% 26.6%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -5.3% -2.3% -13.5%
Net income growth (1Y) -4.2% – 7.4%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -6.1% – -25.9%
EPS growth (1Y) -4.3% – 7.4%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -6.3% – -26.1%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -3.2% – 86.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 2.9% – 8.0%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 326.1% – 1,550%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 29.2% – 143.2%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricSAIAODFLKNX
Gross margin – – –
EBITDA margin 18.5% – 14.1%
Operating margin 11.0% – 4.2%
Pretax margin 10.8% – 2.7%
Net margin 8.2% – 1.9%
FCF margin 7.5% – 9.4%
Operating cash flow margin 17.9% – 19.0%
Return on equity 5.4% 25.2% 2.2%
Return on assets 4.0% 20.0% 1.3%
Return on invested capital 10.2% – 3.2%
Return on capital employed 11.4% – 3.1%
Asset turnover 0.9x 1.0x 0.7x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.2x – 9.9x
Stock comp / revenue – – –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricSAIAODFLKNX
Debt / assets 2.7% – 2.9%
Debt / equity 0.0x – 0.0x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.0x – 0.1x
Debt / FCF 0.4x – 0.5x
Liabilities / assets 26.8% 20.7% 41.7%
Equity / assets 73.2% 79.3% 58.3%
Interest coverage 31.1x – 3.0x
Current ratio 1.6x 2.0x 0.9x
Quick ratio 1.4x – 0.6x
Cash ratio 0.2x – 0.2x
Altman Z-score 7.43 – 2.22

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricSAIAODFLKNX
Dividend yield – 0.7% 1.3%
Net buyback yield 0.0% – -0.1%
Shareholder yield 0.0% 0.7% 1.2%
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.

ConsensusSAIAODFLKNX
Forward P/E 30.5xFY2026 28.3xFY2026 27.3xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $10.63FY2026 $6.13FY2026 $2.23FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +16.7%FY2026 +26.7%FY2026 +77.0%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +28.5% +3.8% +95.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $3.87BFY2026 $6.39BFY2026 $7.91BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +19.9%FY2026 +16.1%FY2026 +5.9%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -5.5% -5.2% +6.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersSAIAODFLKNX
Held by institutions 100.0% 79.6% 100.0%
Institutions holding 513 1,025 628
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.0% +2.2% +1.9%
Institutions buying 292 543 376
Institutions selling 152 341 168
Buyers to sellers 1.92 1.59 2.24

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.

SAIAODFLKNX
SAIA 1.00 0.83 0.74
ODFL 0.83 1.00 0.74
KNX 0.74 0.74 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, SAIA, ODFL and KNX?

Old Dominion Freight Line (ODFL) is the largest by market capitalisation: Saia (SAIA) $8.66B, Old Dominion Freight Line (ODFL) $35.96B, Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings (KNX) $9.91B.

Which stock is cheaper, SAIA, ODFL and KNX?

Saia (SAIA) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Saia (SAIA) 31.3x, Old Dominion Freight Line (ODFL) 33.8x, Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings (KNX) 64.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings (KNX) is cheapest (Saia (SAIA) 30.5x, Old Dominion Freight Line (ODFL) 28.3x, Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings (KNX) 27.3x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings (KNX) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Saia (SAIA) +4.8%, Old Dominion Freight Line (ODFL) +3.8%, Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings (KNX) +7.0%.

Which company is more profitable?

Saia (SAIA) has the highest net margin (Saia (SAIA) 8.2%, Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings (KNX) 1.9%). On return on invested capital, Saia (SAIA) leads (Saia (SAIA) 10.2%, Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings (KNX) 3.2%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings (KNX) returned the most: Saia (SAIA) +14.2%, Old Dominion Freight Line (ODFL) +27.4%, Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings (KNX) +39.1%. Over five years, Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings (KNX) compounded fastest (Saia (SAIA) +0.8%/yr, Old Dominion Freight Line (ODFL) +0.3%/yr, Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings (KNX) +1.4%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings (KNX) has the highest dividend yield: Old Dominion Freight Line (ODFL) 0.66%, Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings (KNX) 1.28%. Saia (SAIA) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings (KNX) has been the steadiest (Saia (SAIA) 46.7%, Old Dominion Freight Line (ODFL) 38.4%, Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings (KNX) 37.8%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings (KNX) 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.