CRH vs Knife River
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KIRA’s take AI analyst
I put CRH and Knife River side by side, using each one’s latest annual report. Here is what stands out:
- CRH is the larger business, with $37.4B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $3.1B for Knife River, about 12 times as much.
- Knife River grew revenue faster (8.5%, against 5.3%).
- CRH kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (14.5% operating margin, against 9.1%).
- CRH turned more of its sales into free cash flow (7.8% FCF margin, against −2.2%).
- CRH earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (11.8%, against 9.1%).
- Investors pay more for each dollar of Knife River’s earnings: a P/E of 21.6x against 15.1x for CRH.
Who comes out ahead
Of the 10 measures where higher (or lower) is clearly better, how many each company leads.
CRH
CRH
9/10
Gross marginOperating marginNet marginFCF marginReturn on capitalReturn on equityPiotroski F-scoreNet debt / EBITDAShare count change
Knife River
KNF
1/10
Revenue growth
Side by side
Best in the row
| Latest fiscal year | CRH FY25 | KNF FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $57.1B | $3.0B |
| Revenue | $37.4B | $3.1B |
| Free cash flow | $2.9B | −$69.6M |
| Net income | $3.8B | $157M |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 5.3% | 8.5% |
| 5-year growth | 7.7% | — |
| Share count change | −1.8% | 0.1% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 36.1% | 18.4% |
| Operating margin | 14.5% | 9.1% |
| Net margin | 10.0% | 5.0% |
| FCF margin | 7.8% | −2.2% |
| Return on capital | 11.8% | 9.1% |
| Return on equity | 16.5% | 10.1% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | $14.1B | $1.1B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 1.9x | 2.3x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $1.2B | $0.0M |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 15.1x | 21.6x |
| Piotroski F-score | 7 | 3 |
Ten years
Revenue
Operating margin
Free cash flow
Return on capital
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.