Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. vs ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc., two Trucking stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
An 18.49% net margin at ZTO Express stands against a 0.45% margin at Knight-Swift, whose truckload fleet scrapes through the freight trough. ZTO also earns a 13.53% return on equity against Knight-Swift's 0.48%, and trades at 13.71 times earnings, while Knight-Swift's profits are too thin to price that way. Knight-Swift counters with a heavier free cash yield, 10.4% against ZTO's 5.37%, a figure inflated by depressed capital spending in the downturn. Their book multiples nearly match, 1.77 for Knight-Swift and 1.87 for ZTO. As an ADR, ZTO adds currency and governance risk. At $18.0B, ZTO outsizes Knight-Swift's $12.5B.
Comparison updated 2026-07-11.
| Metric | KNX | ZTO |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $75.18 | $23.82 |
| Market cap | $12.3B | $19.6B |
| Sector | Trucking | Trucking |
| Stage | Mature | Growth |
| Implied growth (priced in) | +18.4% | — |
| P/E | — | 14.9 |
| P/B | 1.74 | 2.04 |
| P/S | 1.64 | 2.78 |
| EV/EBITDA | 14.3 | 9.9 |
| Revenue growth | +1.1% | +200.0% |
| Gross margin | — | 25.0% |
| Operating margin | 1.5% | 21.3% |
| Net margin | 0.5% | 18.5% |
| Return on equity | 0.5% | 13.5% |
| Return on assets | 0.3% | 10.0% |
| Return on invested capital | 1.6% | 10.6% |
| FCF yield | 10.6% | 4.9% |
| Dividend yield | 1.0% | — |
| Debt / equity | 0.25 | 0.16 |
| Current ratio | 0.70 | 1.49 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 2.40 | 5.16 |
| 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.