UPS vs BABA vs ZTO Stock Comparison

United Parcel Service, Alibaba Group Holding and ZTO Express (Cayman) Prices as of Nov 5, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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UPS United Parcel Service Inc
$111.05 +19.3% 1M +19.5% 1Y
Market cap
$92.80B
P/E
21.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$91.37B
Div. yield
–
Parcel Delivery Industrials
1 win
BABA Alibaba Group Holding Ltd
$108.10 -1.1% 1M -34.4% 1Y
Market cap
$253.24B
P/E
24.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$150.46B
Div. yield
–
Digital Marketplaces Technology
1 win

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

ZTO Express (Cayman) leads on 8 of the 12 questions below (ZTO Express (Cayman) 8, Alibaba Group Holding 1, United Parcel Service 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionUPSBABAZTOLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $92.80B $253.24B $16.58B BABA
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 21.0x 24.1x 11.2x ZTO
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 16.3x 15.4x 10.8x ZTO
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +2.1% +8.1% +21.2% ZTO
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 4.8% 7.0% 19.0% ZTO
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 12.3% 2.4% 15.0% ZTO
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.8x — — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +19.5% -34.4% +10.2% UPS
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -11.8%/yr -7.4%/yr -5.7%/yr ZTO
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 30.4% 40.6% 24.3% ZTO
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 45/100 45/100 66/100 ZTO

Percentile Scorecard

UPSBABAZTO

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

AxisUPSBABAZTO
Valuation 38 #85 of 137 65 #59 of 166 67 #46 of 137
Growth 25 #95 of 127 18 #127 of 154 77 #30 of 127
Profitability 69 #39 of 125 55 #70 of 154 73 #35 of 125
Financial Health 35 #96 of 147 56 #79 of 179 84 #24 of 147
Shareholder Returns 55 #41 of 90 30 #68 of 97 30 #63 of 90
Overall 45 45 66
  • UPS ranked among 150 companies in Transportation
  • BABA ranked among 185 companies in Internet Platforms
  • ZTO ranked among 150 companies in Transportation

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodUPSBABAZTOSPY
1 month +19.3%-1.1%+5.7% -5.9%
3 months +7.6%-14.7%-13.5% -4.6%
6 months +10.9%-23.3%-17.8% +0.2%
Year to date +12.0%-26.3%-0.4% +7.5%
1 year +19.5%-34.4%+10.2% +8.2%
3 years -21.9%+26.6%-14.8% +68.3%
3 years, per year -7.9%+8.2%-5.2% +19.0%
5 years -46.7%-31.9%-25.3% +56.5%
5 years, per year -11.8%-7.4%-5.7% +9.4%
10 years +3.8%+10.8%+36.9% +251.5%
10 years, per year +0.4%+1.0%+3.2% +13.4%

Risk

MeasureUPSBABAZTOSPY
Volatility, 1Y 30.4%40.6%24.3% 13.6%
Downside volatility, 1Y 33.6%35.7%25.3% 14.2%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.690.920.03 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.64-0.850.42 0.60
Max drawdown, 5Y -64.4%-62.5%-50.7% -25.4%
From 52-week high -7.5%-39.0%-19.6% -5.9%
52-week high $120.00$177.18$25.88 $779.14
52-week low $90.87$94.81$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.

MultipleUPSBABAZTO
P/E now vs peer median 21.4xmedian 14.1x 23.8xmedian 18.0x 11.2xmedian 14.1x
P/S now vs peer median 0.9xmedian 0.9x 1.7xmedian 1.3x 2.1xmedian 0.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 9.9xmedian 7.8x —median 15.5x —median 7.8x
P/FCF now vs peer median 13.1xmedian 11.7x 7.6xmedian 11.4x 7.7xmedian 11.7x
P/B now vs peer median 5.6xmedian 1.2x 1.5xmedian 1.7x 1.8xmedian 1.2x
PEG now vs peer median -1.09median 0.68 -16.55median 0.38 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 monthsUPSBABAZTO
Revenue $91.37B $150.46B $7.81B
Gross profit – $57.45B $1.96B
Operating income $6.52B $4.39B $1.64B
Net income $4.42B $10.08B $1.51B
Free cash flow $6.35B $33.19B $2.13B
R&D – $10.68B –
EPS (diluted) $5.19 $4.38 $1.81
Cash & equivalents $6.84B $21.06B $1.46B
Total debt $26.08B $21.57B $1.72B
Shares (diluted) 852.00M 2.40B 820.80M
Enterprise value $69.62B $66.88B $332.97M

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
MetricUPSBABAZTO
P/E 21.4x 23.8x 11.2x
P/FCF 13.1x 7.6x 7.7x
P/Operating cash flow 9.0x 22.2x 7.7x
P/S 0.9x 1.7x 2.1x
P/B 5.6x 1.5x 1.8x
P/Tangible book 7.5x 1.6x 2.0x
EV/EBITDA 9.9x – –
EV/EBIT 15.8x 52.1x 8.3x
EV/Revenue 1.1x 1.5x 1.7x
EV/FCF 16.2x 6.9x 6.4x
EV/Operating cash flow 11.1x 20.2x 6.4x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -1.09 -16.55 1.39

Growth

14 metrics
MetricUPSBABAZTO
Revenue growth (1Y) 2.1% 8.1% 21.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -0.6% 5.6% 13.5%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 0.2% 10.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 6.5% 7.7%
Operating income growth (1Y) -20.7% -77.5% 5.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -12.9% -35.9% 6.8%
Net income growth (1Y) -19.6% -50.0% 22.6%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -19.7% -3.6% 8.9%
EPS growth (1Y) -20.0% -47.9% 25.2%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -19.6% -1.4% 8.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 9.7% -45.8% 46.4%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -5.9% -27.8% 4.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 44.5% -8.5% 46.4%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 4.5% -0.6% 4.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricUPSBABAZTO
Gross margin – 38.2% 25.1%
EBITDA margin 11.4% – –
Operating margin 7.1% 2.9% 21.0%
Pretax margin 6.4% 9.7% 27.7%
Net margin 4.8% 7.0% 19.0%
FCF margin 7.0% 22.1% 27.3%
Operating cash flow margin 10.2% 7.5% 27.3%
Return on equity 29.4% 6.2% 16.3%
Return on assets 6.1% 3.6% 10.5%
Return on invested capital 12.3% 2.4% 15.0%
Return on capital employed 11.6% 2.1% 15.1%
Asset turnover 1.3x 0.5x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.1x 1.1x 1.4x
Stock comp / revenue 0.1% 1.1% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricUPSBABAZTO
Debt / assets 35.9% 7.5% 11.8%
Debt / equity 1.7x 0.1x 0.2x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.8x – –
Debt / FCF 4.1x 0.6x 0.8x
Liabilities / assets 79.3% 43.6% 35.5%
Equity / assets 20.7% 56.4% 64.5%
Interest coverage 6.0x 3.2x 56.1x
Current ratio 1.2x 1.4x 1.7x
Quick ratio 1.1x 0.6x 1.4x
Cash ratio 0.4x 0.6x 1.3x
Altman Z-score 2.84 2.38 3.63

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricUPSBABAZTO
Dividend yield 5.9% 1.0% 1.9%
Net buyback yield -0.1% – –
Shareholder yield 5.8% 1.0% 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.

ConsensusUPSBABAZTO
Forward P/E 16.3xFY2026 15.4xFY2026 10.8xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $6.82FY2026 $7.02FY2026 $1.92FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -4.7%FY2026 +80.9%FY2026 +20.0%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +26.0% +22.8% +13.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $88.51BFY2026 $174.00BFY2026 $8.91BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -0.2%FY2026 +17.3%FY2026 +26.9%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +14.1% +14.7% +12.2%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersUPSBABAZTO
Held by institutions 62.5% 10.1% 7.4%
Institutions holding 2,141 1,221 194
Change in shares held, QoQ +6.0% -5.4% +1.8%
Institutions buying 1,089 556 100
Institutions selling 812 422 64
Buyers to sellers 1.34 1.32 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.

UPSBABAZTO
UPS 1.00 0.03 0.15
BABA 0.03 1.00 0.24
ZTO 0.15 0.24 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, UPS, BABA and ZTO?

Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) is the largest by market capitalisation: United Parcel Service (UPS) $92.80B, Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) $253.24B, ZTO Express (Cayman) (ZTO) $16.58B.

Which stock is cheaper, UPS, BABA and ZTO?

ZTO Express (Cayman) (ZTO) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (United Parcel Service (UPS) 21.0x, Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) 24.1x, ZTO Express (Cayman) (ZTO) 11.2x). On next year's consensus earnings, ZTO Express (Cayman) (ZTO) is cheapest (United Parcel Service (UPS) 16.3x, Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) 15.4x, 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: United Parcel Service (UPS) +2.1%, Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) +8.1%, ZTO Express (Cayman) (ZTO) +21.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

ZTO Express (Cayman) (ZTO) has the highest net margin (United Parcel Service (UPS) 4.8%, Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) 7.0%, ZTO Express (Cayman) (ZTO) 19.0%). On return on invested capital, ZTO Express (Cayman) (ZTO) leads (United Parcel Service (UPS) 12.3%, Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) 2.4%, ZTO Express (Cayman) (ZTO) 15.0%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year United Parcel Service (UPS) returned the most: United Parcel Service (UPS) +19.5%, Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) -34.4%, ZTO Express (Cayman) (ZTO) +10.2%. Over five years, ZTO Express (Cayman) (ZTO) compounded fastest (United Parcel Service (UPS) -11.8%/yr, Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) -7.4%/yr, ZTO Express (Cayman) (ZTO) -5.7%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, ZTO Express (Cayman) (ZTO) has been the steadiest (United Parcel Service (UPS) 30.4%, Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) 40.6%, ZTO Express (Cayman) (ZTO) 24.3%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, UPS, BABA 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 8. 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.