Knight Transportation (KNX)
NYSE:KNX
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Knight Transportation
(NYSE:KNX)
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Rating:64Neutral
Price Target:
$84.00
▲(30.39% Upside)
Action:Reiterated
Date:05/15/26
The score is driven primarily by mixed financial performance—stronger recent growth and a notable cash flow rebound with manageable leverage, but sharply compressed margins and ROE remain the main risk. Technicals add support via a clear uptrend and positive momentum. Guidance from the latest earnings call points to improving conditions and sequential earnings recovery, while valuation is a drag due to a non-meaningful negative P/E and only modest yield.
Positive Factors
Strong cash generation
Sustained, large operating and free cash flows provide durable internal funding for capex, dividends, debt reduction and working capital. This cash-generation cushion improves resilience across freight cycles and supports strategic flexibility without immediate reliance on equity markets.
Negative Factors
Compressed profitability and weak ROE
Persistently thin margins and near-zero ROE indicate the business currently converts little of revenue into shareholder returns. That limits reinvestment capacity, makes earnings highly sensitive to cost or rate shocks, and prolongs recovery time even if volumes improve.
Read all positive and negative factors
Positive Factors
Negative Factors
Strong cash generation
Sustained, large operating and free cash flows provide durable internal funding for capex, dividends, debt reduction and working capital. This cash-generation cushion improves resilience across freight cycles and supports strategic flexibility without immediate reliance on equity markets.
Read all positive factors
Knight Transportation (KNX) vs. SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY)
Market Cap
$13.11B
Dividend Yield1.34%
Average Volume (3M)4.43M
Price to Earnings (P/E)385.7
Beta (1Y)1.10
Revenue Growth1.13%
EPS Growth-77.50%
CountryUS
Employees35,300
SectorIndustrials
Sector Strength72
IndustryTrucking
Share Statistics
EPS (TTM)0.21
Shares Outstanding162,494,000
10 Day Avg. Volume3,972,274
30 Day Avg. Volume4,425,540
Financial Highlights & Ratios
PEG Ratio-2.94
Price to Book (P/B)1.20
Price to Sales (P/S)1.14
P/FCF Ratio11.12
Enterprise Value/Market Cap1.12
Enterprise Value/Revenue1.96
Enterprise Value/Gross Profit7.89
Enterprise Value/Ebitda14.75
Forecast
1Y Price Target
$76.04Price Target Upside18.03% Upside
Rating ConsensusStrong Buy
Number of Analyst Covering17
EPS Forecast (FY)1.91
Revenue Forecast (FY)$8.07B
Knight Transportation Business Overview & Revenue Model
Company Description
Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (KNX) stands as a prominent provider of transportation services, specializing in truckload freight solutions for clients throughout the United States, Mexico, and Canada. Its operational scope is segmented...
How the Company Makes Money
KNX primarily makes money by moving freight for customers and charging for those transportation services. Its revenue model is typically organized into (1) asset-based trucking and (2) asset-light logistics. In the asset-based trucking business (t...
Knight Transportation Earnings Call Summary
Earnings Call Date:Apr 22, 2026
(Q1-2026)
| % Change Since: |
Next Earnings Date:Jul 22, 2026
Earnings Call Sentiment Positive
The call balanced near-term, largely one-time headwinds (adverse claim ruling, VAT decision, weather/fuel impacts and securitization costs) and YoY earnings pressure against clear signs of market inflection and operational progress. Management highlighted strengthening truckload pricing, improved LTL tonnage and mix, intermodal momentum, structural cost reductions, tighter carrier qualifications and a constructive Q2 earnings guide ($0.45–$0.49 adjusted EPS). While several nonrecurring and timing-related negatives materially depressed Q1 results, the company presented a credible path to margin recovery driven by capacity reduction, bid-renewal momentum and operational leverage across segments.Positive Updates
Improving Truckload Pricing Environment and Bid Activity
Late in Q1 management saw mid-single-digit rate increases with volumes holding or growing; company shifted bid targets to high single- to low double-digit percentage increases as incumbents revisit contracts and turndown/turn-back activity increases.
Negative Updates
Quarterly Profitability and EPS Pressure
GAAP diluted EPS was a loss of $0.01 for Q1 2026 versus $0.19 in prior year; adjusted EPS declined to $0.09 from $0.28 in Q1 2025, reflecting material YoY erosion in reported earnings.
Read all updates
Q1-2026 Updates
Positive
Negative
Improving Truckload Pricing Environment and Bid Activity
Late in Q1 management saw mid-single-digit rate increases with volumes holding or growing; company shifted bid targets to high single- to low double-digit percentage increases as incumbents revisit contracts and turndown/turn-back activity increases.
Read all positive updates
Company Guidance
Knight‑Swift guided second‑quarter adjusted EPS of $0.45–$0.49 (a larger‑than‑normal sequential increase versus Q1 adjusted EPS of $0.09 and Q1 GAAP loss of $0.01), citing improving freight fundamentals and an expectation that truckload contractual rates will begin to reprice late in Q2 into the back half of 2026; management said bid targets have moved from low‑mid single digits to high‑single/low‑double‑digit increases and noted spot exposure exiting Q1 in the low‑to‑mid‑teens. Q1 was impacted by $18M of LTL claim development, $4M of truckload VAT expense and an estimated $12–14M of weather/fuel disruption, with consolidated adjusted operating income down ~$37M YoY (operating income down ~$38M) and a consolidated adjusted operating ratio of 97% (up 230 bps YoY). Segment metrics called out include Truckload OR 96.3% (worse 70 bps YoY), revenue per loaded mile +1.4% and loaded miles −1.8%; LTL revenue ex‑fuel +2.6%, weight per shipment +5.2%, length‑of‑haul +8.5% and March tonnage +7% YoY; Logistics revenue −9.9% (volumes −18.9%, revenue per load +10.4%, gross margin 16.6%); Intermodal revenue +2.7% (revenue per load +1.6%, load count +1.2%, March load count +8.4%); All‑Other revenue +13.5% (including ~$5M of securitization costs). Tax rates cited were GAAP 7% and non‑GAAP 28%, and management said they expect margin expansion (targeting sub‑90 OR during the year) as contract resets and improving network efficiency flow through.Knight Transportation Financial Statement Overview
Summary
Income Statement
42
Neutral
Balance Sheet
66
Positive
Cash Flow
74
Positive
| Breakdown | TTM | Dec 2025 | Dec 2024 | Dec 2023 | Dec 2022 | Dec 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Income Statement | ||||||
| Total Revenue | 7.50B | 7.47B | 7.41B | 7.14B | 7.43B | 6.00B |
| Gross Profit | 1.86B | 2.11B | 1.80B | 1.96B | 2.41B | 1.97B |
| EBITDA | 993.49M | 1.05B | 1.03B | 1.01B | 1.66B | 1.47B |
| Net Income | 33.99M | 65.95M | 117.63M | 217.15M | 771.33M | 743.39M |
Balance Sheet | ||||||
| Total Assets | 11.95B | 11.96B | 13.07B | 13.26B | 11.14B | 10.82B |
| Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments | 293.22M | 302.80M | 365.94M | 466.35M | 389.74M | 354.11M |
| Total Debt | 2.66B | 2.89B | 2.82B | 2.67B | 1.67B | 1.96B |
| Total Liabilities | 4.88B | 4.86B | 5.96B | 6.16B | 4.18B | 4.27B |
| Stockholders Equity | 7.05B | 7.08B | 7.11B | 7.09B | 6.95B | 6.53B |
Cash Flow | ||||||
| Free Cash Flow | 1.25B | 763.23M | -20.09M | 90.06M | 635.29M | 656.06M |
| Operating Cash Flow | 1.30B | 1.27B | 799.06M | 1.16B | 1.44B | 1.19B |
| Investing Cash Flow | -549.75M | -520.39M | -759.12M | -1.23B | -646.18M | -1.82B |
| Financing Cash Flow | -799.56M | -807.74M | -139.40M | 150.69M | -754.35M | 779.33M |
Knight Transportation Technical Analysis
Positive
64.42
Price Trends
65.92
Positive
61.67
Positive
53.74
Positive
Market Momentum
4.18
Negative
79.08
Negative
90.91
Negative
Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For KNX, the sentiment is Positive. The current price of 64.42 is below the 20-day moving average (MA) of 71.68, below the 50-day MA of 65.92, and above the 200-day MA of 53.74, indicating a bullish trend. The MACD of 4.18 indicates Negative momentum. The RSI at 79.08 is Negative, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 90.91 is Negative, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Positive sentiment for KNX.
Knight Transportation Risk Analysis
Knight Transportation disclosed 76 risk factors in its most recent earnings report. Knight Transportation reported the most risks in the "Finance & Corporate" category.
Finance & Corporate - Financial and accounting risks. Risks related to the execution of corporate activity and strategy
Latest Risks Added 0 New Risks
Knight Transportation Peers Comparison
UnderperformOutperform
Sector (63)
Name | Overall Rating | Market Cap | P/E Ratio | ROE | Dividend Yield | Revenue Growth | EPS Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
75 Outperform | $12.82B | 50.43 | 10.04% | ― | 0.34% | -20.72% | |
64 Neutral | $13.11B | 385.68 | 0.48% | 1.34% | 1.13% | -77.50% | |
63 Neutral | $10.79B | 15.43 | 7.44% | 2.01% | 2.89% | -14.66% | |
60 Neutral | $1.48B | 101.76 | 1.89% | 2.07% | -7.81% | -33.01% | |
60 Neutral | $6.79B | 69.32 | 3.24% | 1.40% | 5.54% | -21.38% | |
59 Neutral | $2.67B | -311.59 | -0.62% | 1.84% | 3.28% | -154.33% | |
58 Neutral | $3.70B | 66.39 | 4.30% | 0.62% | -1.65% | -67.84% |
* Industrials Sector Average
KNX
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Knight Transportation Corporate Events
Business Operations and StrategyExecutive/Board Changes
Knight-Swift Outlines Founder Retirement and Consulting Transition
Neutral
Jun 4, 2026
On June 3, 2026, company founder and former CEO Kevin P. Knight resigned as Executive Chairman and director of Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc., with the board stating his departure did not stem from any disagreement over operations or po...
DividendsShareholder Meetings
Knight Transportation Board Declares Quarterly Cash Dividend
Positive
May 13, 2026
At its annual meeting of stockholders on May 12, 2026, Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. shareholders elected eleven directors to serve until the 2027 meeting and approved, on an advisory basis, the compensation of the company’s name...
Business Operations and StrategyPrivate Placements and Financing
Knight Transportation Completes Major Convertible Notes Offering
Positive
May 8, 2026
Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc., on May 8, 2026, completed a private offering of $1.5 billion in 1.00% Convertible Senior Notes due 2031, including the full exercise of an additional $200 million option by initial purchasers. The notes, ...
Glossary
BuyA stock rated as a "Buy" is expected to perform better than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock is likely to deliver higher returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
HoldA stock rated as a "Hold" is expected to perform in line with the overall market or a specific benchmark. This rating indicates that the stock is neither particularly compelling nor unfavorable for investment. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
SellA stock rated as a "Sell" is expected to perform worse than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock may deliver lower returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
Disclaimer
This AI Analyst Stock Report is automatically generated by our AI systems using advanced algorithms and publicly available financial, technical, and market data. While the information provided aims to be accurate and insightful, it is intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Any content created by an AI (Artificial Intelligence) system may contain inaccuracies and/or contain errors. Investing in stocks carries inherent risks, and past performance is not indicative of future results. This report does not account for your personal financial circumstances, objectives, or risk tolerance. Always conduct your own research or consult with a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions. The analysis and recommendations provided are based on historical and current data and may not fully reflect future market conditions or unexpected developments. Neither the creators of this report nor its affiliated entities guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the information presented. Use this report at your own discretion and risk.