IES vs Kirby
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The short version
- IES is the larger business, with $3.4B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $3.4B for Kirby.
- IES grew revenue faster (16.9%, against 3.0%).
- Kirby kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (14.8% operating margin, against 11.4%).
- Kirby turned more of its sales into free cash flow (12.1% FCF margin, against 6.5%).
- IES earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (50.5%, against 8.9%).
- Investors pay more for each dollar of Kirby’s earnings: a P/E of 20.5x against 9.5x for IES.
| Latest fiscal year | IESC · FY25 | KEX · FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $4.3B | $7.2B |
| Revenue | $3.4B | $3.4B |
| Free cash flow | $219M | $406M |
| Net income | $306M | $355M |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 16.9% | 3.0% |
| 5-year growth | 23.1% | 9.2% |
| Share count change | −1.1% | −4.0% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 25.5% | — |
| Operating margin | 11.4% | 14.8% |
| Net margin | 9.1% | 10.5% |
| FCF margin | 6.5% | 12.1% |
| Return on capital | 50.5% | 8.9% |
| Return on equity | 40.9% | 10.5% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | −$224M | $841M |
| Net debt / EBITDA | −0.5x | 1.1x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $41.6M | $354M |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 9.5x | 20.5x |
| Piotroski F-score | 6 | 7 |
Revenue
FY16
IESC $696M
KEX $1.8B
FY17
IESC $811M
KEX $2.2B
FY18
IESC $877M
KEX $3.0B
FY19
IESC $1.1B
KEX $2.8B
FY20
IESC $1.2B
KEX $2.2B
FY21
IESC $1.5B
KEX $2.2B
FY22
IESC $2.2B
KEX $2.8B
FY23
IESC $2.4B
KEX $3.1B
FY24
IESC $2.9B
KEX $3.3B
FY25
IESC $3.4B
KEX $3.4B
IESC
KEX
Operating margin
FY16
IESC 3.6%
KEX 14.0%
FY17
IESC 2.5%
KEX 4.2%
FY18
IESC 3.0%
KEX 5.2%
FY19
IESC 3.9%
KEX 8.5%
FY20
IESC 4.2%
KEX −19.4%
FY21
IESC 5.6%
KEX −11.5%
FY22
IESC 2.6%
KEX 6.9%
FY23
IESC 6.7%
KEX 10.8%
FY24
IESC 10.4%
KEX 12.2%
FY25
IESC 11.4%
KEX 14.8%
IESC
KEX
Free cash flow
FY16
IESC $21.6M
KEX $185M
FY17
IESC $17.8M
KEX $176M
FY18
IESC $7.7M
KEX $45.1M
FY19
IESC $32.4M
KEX $264M
FY20
IESC $72.0M
KEX $297M
FY21
IESC $30.5M
KEX $224M
FY22
IESC −$13.0M
KEX $122M
FY23
IESC $136M
KEX $139M
FY24
IESC $189M
KEX $414M
FY25
IESC $219M
KEX $406M
IESC
KEX
Return on capital
FY16
IESC 17.6%
KEX 5.0%
FY17
IESC 6.4%
KEX 2.6%
FY18
IESC 5.6%
KEX 2.5%
FY19
IESC 15.5%
KEX 3.9%
FY20
IESC 18.0%
KEX −7.2%
FY21
IESC 23.2%
KEX −4.8%
FY22
IESC 10.7%
KEX 3.6%
FY23
IESC 29.6%
KEX 6.2%
FY24
IESC 52.7%
KEX 7.6%
FY25
IESC 50.5%
KEX 8.9%
IESC
KEX
Each company's latest fiscal year; fiscal years end in different months. The best value in each row is highlighted where higher (or lower) is clearly better. Not investment advice.