ZBRA vs CSGP vs KN Stock Comparison

Zebra Technologies, Costar and Knowles Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
1 more company in this comparison (LITE) Create a free account to keep reading and compare up to 10 companies.
ZBRA Zebra Technologies Corp
$384.70 +3.5% 1M +40.2% 1Y
Market cap
$18.00B
P/E
33.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$5.85B
Div. yield
–
Electronic Components Technology
4 wins
CSGP Costar Group, Inc.
$27.54 +1.9% 1M -64.8% 1Y
Market cap
$11.29B
P/E
63.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.67B
Div. yield
–
Real Estate Software Technology
2 wins
KN Knowles Corp
$34.76 -6.7% 1M +48.0% 1Y
Market cap
$2.98B
P/E
41.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$666.10M
Div. yield
–
Electronic Components Technology
5 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Knowles leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Knowles 5, Zebra Technologies 4, Costar 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionZBRACSGPKNLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $18.00B $11.29B $2.98B ZBRA
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 33.4x 63.1x 41.5x ZBRA
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 17.0x 19.5x 24.3x ZBRA
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +12.7% +20.2% +16.1% CSGP
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 9.2% 4.9% 10.8% KN
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 10.6% 1.8% 8.9% ZBRA
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.4x 0.7x 0.5x KN
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +40.2% -64.8% +48.0% KN
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -6.4%/yr -20.4%/yr +10.8%/yr KN
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 45.5% 50.1% 41.3% KN
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 62/100 75/100 63/100 CSGP

Percentile Scorecard

ZBRACSGPKN

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

AxisZBRACSGPKN
Valuation 69 #35 of 111 73 #25 of 89 47 #59 of 111
Growth 46 #59 of 108 78 #19 of 81 62 #42 of 108
Profitability 85 #17 of 104 63 #29 of 76 71 #31 of 104
Financial Health 18 #94 of 115 70 #29 of 94 60 #47 of 115
Shareholder Returns 94 #6 of 78 90 #6 of 52 77 #19 of 78
Overall 62 75 63
  • ZBRA ranked among 121 companies in Computer Hardware
  • CSGP ranked among 98 companies in Vertical Software
  • KN ranked among 121 companies in Computer Hardware

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodZBRACSGPKNSPY
1 month +3.5%+1.9%-6.7% +0.9%
3 months +35.9%-7.7%+0.7% +5.9%
6 months +78.5%-19.3%+14.5% +8.5%
Year to date +58.4%-59.0%+62.2% +13.3%
1 year +40.2%-64.8%+48.0% +12.4%
3 years +85.7%-61.0%+167.2% +88.1%
3 years, per year +22.9%-26.9%+38.8% +23.5%
5 years -28.0%-68.0%+66.8% +68.2%
5 years, per year -6.4%-20.4%+10.8% +11.0%
10 years +480.5%+44.4%+138.6% +263.4%
10 years, per year +19.2%+3.7%+9.1% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureZBRACSGPKNSPY
Volatility, 1Y 45.5%50.1%41.3% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 38.0%55.4%43.1% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.700.121.90 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.88-1.291.16 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -67.8%-72.4%-49.6% -25.4%
From 52-week high -1.6%-64.8%-18.8% -0.9%
52-week high $391.00$78.23$42.80 $779.14
52-week low $199.30$26.95$20.67 $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.

MultipleZBRACSGPKN
P/E now vs peer median 34.1xmedian 33.5x 61.8xmedian 40.6x 41.4xmedian 33.5x
P/S now vs peer median 3.1xmedian 2.8x 3.0xmedian 2.4x 4.4xmedian 2.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 19.4xmedian 19.6x 17.0xmedian 18.3x 22.1xmedian 19.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median 20.1xmedian 29.8x 26.3xmedian 20.5x 91.5xmedian 29.8x
P/B now vs peer median 5.3xmedian 2.9x 1.4xmedian 1.8x 3.7xmedian 2.9x
PEG now vs peer median -9.01median 1.10 -2.65median 1.74 1.21median 1.10

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 monthsZBRACSGPKN
Revenue $5.85B $3.67B $666.10M
Gross profit $2.90B $2.88B $295.50M
Operating income $858.00M $212.00M $97.10M
Net income $539.00M $179.00M $71.70M
Free cash flow $904.00M $422.00M $32.20M
R&D $622.00M $439.00M $43.90M
EPS (diluted) $11.20 $0.45 $0.82
Cash & equivalents $157.00M $500.00M $46.60M
Total debt $2.77B $994.00M $116.00M
Shares (diluted) 48.13M 401.90M 87.70M
Enterprise value $16.55B $6.68B $2.79B

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
MetricZBRACSGPKN
P/E 34.1x 61.8x 41.4x
P/FCF 20.1x 26.3x 91.5x
P/Operating cash flow 18.6x 18.0x 29.1x
P/S 3.1x 3.0x 4.4x
P/B 5.3x 1.4x 3.7x
P/Tangible book 6.7x 1.9x 4.4x
EV/EBITDA 19.4x 17.0x 22.1x
EV/EBIT 24.3x 54.6x 31.0x
EV/Revenue 3.6x 3.2x 4.5x
EV/FCF 23.0x 27.4x 93.6x
EV/Operating cash flow 21.3x 18.8x 29.8x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -9.01 -2.65 1.21

Growth

14 metrics
MetricZBRACSGPKN
Revenue growth (1Y) 12.7% 20.2% 16.1%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 2.1% 15.4% 25.5%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 14.9% 18.7% 20.8%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 4.2% 14.4% 13.2%
Operating income growth (1Y) 8.1% 362.7% 62.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -0.9% -14.6% -33.2%
Net income growth (1Y) -1.6% 790.5% 71.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -6.1% -23.7% 33.7%
EPS growth (1Y) 4.8% 830.4% 71.2%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -3.8% -23.3% 34.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 5.8% 70.0% -15.4%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 63.5% 5.5% 7.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 6.0% 786.6% -31.0%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 83.6% -2.9% -9.0%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricZBRACSGPKN
Gross margin 49.6% 78.3% 44.4%
EBITDA margin 18.3% 18.6% 20.4%
Operating margin 14.7% 5.8% 14.6%
Pretax margin 12.1% 6.3% 13.7%
Net margin 9.2% 4.9% 10.8%
FCF margin 15.5% 11.5% 4.8%
Operating cash flow margin 16.7% 16.8% 15.2%
Return on equity 15.6% 2.2% 9.0%
Return on assets 6.4% 1.8% 6.7%
Return on invested capital 10.6% 1.8% 8.9%
Return on capital employed 19.1% 2.2% 10.1%
Asset turnover 0.7x 0.4x 0.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.8x 3.4x 1.4x
Stock comp / revenue 3.0% 4.2% 4.4%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricZBRACSGPKN
Debt / assets 32.0% 9.7% 10.8%
Debt / equity 0.8x 0.1x 0.1x
Net debt / EBITDA 2.4x 0.7x 0.5x
Debt / FCF 3.1x 2.4x 3.6x
Liabilities / assets 60.2% 22.1% 25.8%
Equity / assets 39.8% 77.9% 74.2%
Interest coverage – – –
Current ratio 0.5x 1.3x 2.9x
Quick ratio 0.3x 1.1x 1.5x
Cash ratio 0.0x 0.7x 0.4x
Altman Z-score 3.75 – 6.87

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricZBRACSGPKN
Dividend yield – – –
Net buyback yield 5.0% 9.3% 1.7%
Shareholder yield 5.0% 9.3% 1.7%
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.

ConsensusZBRACSGPKN
Forward P/E 17.0xFY2026 19.5xFY2026 24.3xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $22.59FY2026 $1.41FY2026 $1.43FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +42.6%FY2026 +62.1%FY2026 +28.8%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after -4.5% +29.8% +21.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $6.35BFY2026 $3.92BFY2026 $712.60MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +17.7%FY2026 +20.8%FY2026 +20.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +1.2% +0.8% +12.1%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersZBRACSGPKN
Held by institutions 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%
Institutions holding 644 751 340
Change in shares held, QoQ +4.5% +2.0% +0.5%
Institutions buying 309 415 198
Institutions selling 242 257 93
Buyers to sellers 1.28 1.61 2.13

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.

ZBRACSGPKN
ZBRA 1.00 0.07 0.36
CSGP 0.07 1.00 -0.25
KN 0.36 -0.25 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ZBRA, CSGP and KN?

Zebra Technologies (ZBRA) is the largest by market capitalisation: Zebra Technologies (ZBRA) $18.00B, Costar (CSGP) $11.29B, Knowles (KN) $2.98B.

Which stock is cheaper, ZBRA, CSGP and KN?

Zebra Technologies (ZBRA) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Zebra Technologies (ZBRA) 33.4x, Costar (CSGP) 63.1x, Knowles (KN) 41.5x). On next year's consensus earnings, Zebra Technologies (ZBRA) is cheapest (Zebra Technologies (ZBRA) 17.0x, Costar (CSGP) 19.5x, Knowles (KN) 24.3x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Costar (CSGP) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Zebra Technologies (ZBRA) +12.7%, Costar (CSGP) +20.2%, Knowles (KN) +16.1%.

Which company is more profitable?

Knowles (KN) has the highest net margin (Zebra Technologies (ZBRA) 9.2%, Costar (CSGP) 4.9%, Knowles (KN) 10.8%). On return on invested capital, Zebra Technologies (ZBRA) leads (Zebra Technologies (ZBRA) 10.6%, Costar (CSGP) 1.8%, Knowles (KN) 8.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Knowles (KN) returned the most: Zebra Technologies (ZBRA) +40.2%, Costar (CSGP) -64.8%, Knowles (KN) +48.0%. Over five years, Knowles (KN) compounded fastest (Zebra Technologies (ZBRA) -6.4%/yr, Costar (CSGP) -20.4%/yr, Knowles (KN) +10.8%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Knowles (KN) has been the steadiest (Zebra Technologies (ZBRA) 45.5%, Costar (CSGP) 50.1%, Knowles (KN) 41.3%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, ZBRA, CSGP and KN?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Knowles (KN) leads on 5. 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.