ARCBEST CORPORATION vs ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc., two Trucking stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
China's domestic parcel network is ZTO Express's turf; ArcBest works North American less-than-truckload freight and logistics, so the comparison is more about profitability than overlap. ZTO earns an 18.49% net margin, better than thirteen times ArcBest's 1.38%, and a 13.53% return on equity against 4.35%. ZTO is also far cheaper on earnings, 13.71 times against ArcBest's 59.85, and throws off more free cash, a 5.37% yield versus 4.62%. ArcBest trades at the higher book multiple, 2.54 times against ZTO's 1.87. As an ADR, ZTO carries currency and governance risk that a domestic carrier like ArcBest does not. ZTO's $18.0B value is more than five times ArcBest's $3.3B.
Comparison updated 2026-07-11.
| Metric | ARCB | ZTO |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $147.24 | $23.82 |
| Market cap | $3.3B | $19.6B |
| Sector | Trucking | Trucking |
| Stage | Mature | Growth |
| P/E | 60.3 | 14.9 |
| P/B | 2.56 | 2.04 |
| P/S | 0.81 | 2.78 |
| EV/EBITDA | 13.2 | 9.9 |
| Revenue growth | -1.5% | +200.0% |
| Gross margin | — | 25.0% |
| Operating margin | 0.3% | 21.3% |
| Net margin | 1.4% | 18.5% |
| Return on equity | 4.3% | 13.5% |
| Return on assets | 2.3% | 10.0% |
| Return on invested capital | 4.6% | 10.6% |
| FCF yield | 4.6% | 4.9% |
| Dividend yield | 0.2% | — |
| Debt / equity | 0.17 | 0.16 |
| Current ratio | 0.93 | 1.49 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 8.47 | 5.16 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 7 / 9 | 6 / 9 |
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The stronger value is highlighted per metric where one is strictly better on that single number; it is not an overall verdict on either company. For informational and research purposes only. Not investment advice. Not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security. boothcheck is not a registered investment adviser. Past performance does not guarantee future results.