Saia, Inc. vs United Parcel Service, Inc, two Trucking stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Size alone sets these apart, United Parcel Service at $91.9B against Saia at $11.6B, and UPS out-earns it on capital while trailing on margin. UPS posts a 33.24% return on equity against Saia's 9.71%, but Saia's LTL pricing gives it the wider net margin, 7.84% against UPS's 5.94%. UPS trades far cheaper on earnings, 17.5 times against 45.27, and pays a 6.07% dividend where Saia pays none. UPS also generates more free cash, a 4.91% yield against 1.68%. Their book multiples run closer, 5.82 for UPS against Saia's 4.40, and both hold the same slim 0.04 debt-to-equity.
Comparison updated 2026-07-11.
| Metric | SAIA | UPS |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $420.62 | $112.60 |
| Market cap | $11.3B | $95.7B |
| Sector | Trucking | Trucking |
| Stage | Mature | Mature |
| Implied growth (priced in) | — | +4.0% |
| P/E | 44.2 | 18.2 |
| P/B | 4.29 | 6.06 |
| P/S | 3.47 | 1.08 |
| EV/EBITDA | 18.9 | 8.0 |
| Revenue growth | +0.4% | -2.8% |
| Operating margin | 8.3% | 6.0% |
| Net margin | 7.8% | 5.9% |
| Return on equity | 9.7% | 33.2% |
| Return on assets | 7.2% | 7.3% |
| Return on invested capital | 9.8% | 34.9% |
| FCF yield | 1.7% | 4.7% |
| Dividend yield | — | 5.8% |
| Debt / equity | 0.04 | 0.04 |
| Current ratio | 1.52 | 1.21 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 7.95 | 7.72 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 6 / 9 | 7 / 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.