Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. vs Saia, Inc., two Trucking stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Saia's less-than-truckload network earns far fatter margins than Knight-Swift's truckload fleet, a difference baked into the two business models. Saia posts a 7.84% net margin and a 9.71% return on equity; Knight-Swift, caught in a freight-rate trough, is barely profitable at a 0.45% margin and a 0.48% return on equity. Knight-Swift shows no meaningful earnings multiple this cycle, while Saia trades at 45.27 times. The trade-off shows in free cash: Knight-Swift yields 10.4% against Saia's 1.68%, and pays a 0.94% dividend where Saia pays none. Saia commands the higher book multiple, 4.40 times against 1.77. Knight-Swift at $12.5B and Saia at $11.6B are close in size, but far apart in profitability.
Comparison updated 2026-07-11.
| Metric | KNX | SAIA |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $75.18 | $420.62 |
| Market cap | $12.3B | $11.3B |
| Sector | Trucking | Trucking |
| Stage | Mature | Mature |
| Implied growth (priced in) | +18.4% | — |
| P/E | — | 44.2 |
| P/B | 1.74 | 4.29 |
| P/S | 1.64 | 3.47 |
| EV/EBITDA | 14.3 | 18.9 |
| Revenue growth | +1.1% | +0.4% |
| Operating margin | 1.5% | 8.3% |
| Net margin | 0.5% | 7.8% |
| Return on equity | 0.5% | 9.7% |
| Return on assets | 0.3% | 7.2% |
| Return on invested capital | 1.6% | 9.8% |
| FCF yield | 10.6% | 1.7% |
| Dividend yield | 1.0% | — |
| Debt / equity | 0.25 | 0.04 |
| Current ratio | 0.70 | 1.52 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 2.40 | 7.95 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 4 / 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.