Kirby vs Matson
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The short version
- Kirby is the larger business, with $3.4B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $3.3B for Matson.
- Kirby grew revenue faster (3.0%, against −2.3%).
- Kirby turned more of its sales into free cash flow (12.1% FCF margin, against 4.6%).
- Matson earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (14.3%, against 8.9%).
- Investors pay more for each dollar of Kirby’s earnings: a P/E of 20.5x against 15.4x for Matson.
| Latest fiscal year | KEX · FY25 | MATX · FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $7.2B | $6.9B |
| Revenue | $3.4B | $3.3B |
| Free cash flow | $406M | $154M |
| Net income | $355M | $445M |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 3.0% | −2.3% |
| 5-year growth | 9.2% | 7.0% |
| Share count change | −4.0% | −5.9% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | — | — |
| Operating margin | 14.8% | 14.9% |
| Net margin | 10.5% | 13.3% |
| FCF margin | 12.1% | 4.6% |
| Return on capital | 8.9% | 14.3% |
| Return on equity | 10.5% | 16.4% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | $841M | $259M |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 1.1x | 0.4x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $354M | $348M |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 20.5x | 15.4x |
| Piotroski F-score | 7 | 5 |
Revenue
FY16
KEX $1.8B
MATX $1.9B
FY17
KEX $2.2B
MATX $2.0B
FY18
KEX $3.0B
MATX $2.2B
FY19
KEX $2.8B
MATX $2.2B
FY20
KEX $2.2B
MATX $2.4B
FY21
KEX $2.2B
MATX $3.9B
FY22
KEX $2.8B
MATX $4.3B
FY23
KEX $3.1B
MATX $3.1B
FY24
KEX $3.3B
MATX $3.4B
FY25
KEX $3.4B
MATX $3.3B
KEX
MATX
Operating margin
FY16
KEX 14.0%
MATX 8.1%
FY17
KEX 4.2%
MATX 7.2%
FY18
KEX 5.2%
MATX 7.4%
FY19
KEX 8.5%
MATX 5.9%
FY20
KEX −19.4%
MATX 11.8%
FY21
KEX −11.5%
MATX 30.3%
FY22
KEX 6.9%
MATX 31.2%
FY23
KEX 10.8%
MATX 11.1%
FY24
KEX 12.2%
MATX 16.1%
FY25
KEX 14.8%
MATX 14.9%
KEX
MATX
Free cash flow
FY16
KEX $185M
MATX −$21.6M
FY17
KEX $176M
MATX −$82.1M
FY18
KEX $45.1M
MATX $242M
FY19
KEX $264M
MATX $158M
FY20
KEX $297M
MATX $325M
FY21
KEX $224M
MATX $674M
FY22
KEX $122M
MATX $1.1B
FY23
KEX $139M
MATX $262M
FY24
KEX $414M
MATX $458M
FY25
KEX $406M
MATX $154M
KEX
MATX
Return on capital
FY16
KEX 5.0%
MATX 9.4%
FY17
KEX 2.6%
MATX 10.8%
FY18
KEX 2.5%
MATX 7.7%
FY19
KEX 3.9%
MATX 5.8%
FY20
KEX −7.2%
MATX 11.8%
FY21
KEX −4.8%
MATX 48.9%
FY22
KEX 3.6%
MATX 45.1%
FY23
KEX 6.2%
MATX 10.1%
FY24
KEX 7.6%
MATX 15.7%
FY25
KEX 8.9%
MATX 14.3%
KEX
MATX
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.