KEX
Kirby Corporation
KEX's fundamentals are strong and it looks cheap: trading at 19x earnings, below its usual 24x. Analysts expect strong earnings growth.
KEX Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Healthy |
KEX's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently healthy.
KEX PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 15x | $129 | — |
| Current | 19x | $129 | — |
| Cheap | 20x | $142 | +11% |
| Fair | 24x | $168 | +30% |
| Expensive | 41x | $286 | +122% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
KEX's PE is in its cheap range at 19x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 15x next year's earnings.
KEX Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for KEX, with profitability improving.
KEX Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $8.31 | +20% |
| Q3 2026 | $6.94 | +29% |
| Q2 2026 | $6.50 | +23% |
| Q1 2026 | $6.50 | +29% |
| Q4 2025 | $6.33 | +29% |
| Q3 2025 | $5.39 | +3.5% |
| Q2 2025 | $5.29 | +12% |
| Q1 2025 | $5.05 | +19% |
| Q4 2024 | $4.91 | +32% |
KEX's earnings per share have climbed steadily: $6.94 over the past year, up 29% from the year before, and higher year over year for 17 quarters in a row.
KEX Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $977.2M | +12% |
| Q2 2026 | $922.4M | +7.8% |
| Q1 2026 | $844.1M | +7.4% |
| Q4 2025 | $851.8M | +6.2% |
| Q3 2025 | $871.2M | +4.8% |
| Q2 2025 | $855.5M | +3.8% |
| Q1 2025 | $785.7M | -2.8% |
| Q4 2024 | $802.3M | +0.4% |
KEX's revenue has grown year over year for six quarters in a row: $977M last quarter, up 12% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 15% | +0.6 points |
| Q2 2026 | 13% | -2.1 points |
| Q1 2026 | 13% | -0.7 points |
| Q4 2025 | 15% | +9 points |
| Q3 2025 | 15% | -0.4 points |
| Q2 2025 | 15% | +0.8 points |
| Q1 2025 | 13% | +0.9 points |
| Q4 2024 | 6.3% | -5.4 points |
KEX's operating margin was 15% last quarter, up 0.6 points from the same quarter a year ago, near the top of its range since 2019.
KEX Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $73.9M | -54% |
| Q2 2026 | $758K | -97% |
| Q1 2026 | $49.4M | +$91.5M |
| Q4 2025 | $265.2M | +76% |
| Q3 2025 | $160.3M | +23% |
| Q2 2025 | $22.4M | -75% |
| Q1 2025 | -$42.1M | -200% |
| Q4 2024 | $150.7M | +69% |
KEX generated $389M in free cash flow over the past year, up 34% from the year before.
KEX Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -1.3% | -677K shares |
| 1 year | -5.3% | -3M shares |
| 3 years | -11% | -6.7M shares |
| 5 years | -11% | -6.9M shares |
KEX has 53M diluted shares, down 5.3% from a year ago, with $326M in buybacks over the past year.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $111.9M |
| Q2 2026 | $59.7M |
| Q1 2026 | $52.7M |
| Q4 2025 | $101.6M |
| Q3 2025 | $120M |
| Q2 2025 | $31.2M |
| Q1 2025 | $101.5M |
| Q4 2024 | $33.3M |
KEX spent $326M buying back its own shares over the past year, up 14% from the year before.
KEX Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 1.3x | Healthy |
| Q2 2026 | 1.3x | Healthy |
| Q1 2026 | 1.2x | Healthy |
| Q4 2025 | 1.1x | Healthy |
| Q3 2025 | 1.5x | Healthy |
| Q2 2025 | 1.6x | Healthy |
| Q1 2025 | 1.6x | Healthy |
| Q4 2024 | 1.2x | Healthy |
KEX's net debt is about 1.3 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), down from 1.5 years a year ago.
KEX Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 45.9 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 40.6 | Neutral |
KEX's weekly RSI is 46 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 41 (neutral).
KEX PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | KEX | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 19x | 24x | 23% below |
| PE % | 6 | 58 | 52 pts below |
KEX is trading at 19x earnings, a 23% discount to the Industrials sector's median of 24x.
KEX Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $133.3 | 3.6% below |
| 20 week MA | $136.6 | 5.9% below |
| 50 week MA | $133.2 | 3.5% below |
| 100 week MA | $117.7 | 9.1% above |
| 200 week MA | $105.2 | 22% above |
KEX has pulled back, but its long-term trend is still up: it's below its 8-, 20- and 50-week averages, but 22% above its 200-week average.
KEX Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $88.5 | $51.4 | -42% |
| 2021 | $51.4 | $59.7 | +16% |
| 2022 | $59.7 | $64.4 | +7.9% |
| 2023 | $64.4 | $78.5 | +22% |
| 2024 | $78.5 | $106.0 | +35% |
| 2025 | $106.0 | $110.9 | +4.6% |
| 2026 YTD | $110.9 | $128.5 | +16% |
KEX has finished higher in five of the last six years. It's up 16% so far in 2026.