Kirby (KEX) AI Stock Analysis

• Market Cap: $6.99B
• Dividend Yield: N/A
• Average Volume (3M): 747.89K
• Price to Earnings (P/E): 20.6
• Beta (1Y): 1.36
• Revenue Growth: 1.59%
• EPS Growth: 3.35%
• Country: US
• Employees: 5,414
• Sector: Industrials
• Sector Strength: 72
• Industry: Marine Shipping
• EPS (TTM): 1.68
• Shares Outstanding: 53,646,000
• 10 Day Avg. Volume: 495,311
• 30 Day Avg. Volume: 747,888
• PEG Ratio: 0.60
• Price to Book (P/B): 1.82
• Price to Sales (P/S): 1.82
• P/FCF Ratio: 15.12
• Enterprise Value/Market Cap: 1.18
• Enterprise Value/Revenue: 2.46
• Enterprise Value/Gross Profit: 9.37
• Enterprise Value/Ebitda: 10.59
• 1Y Price Target: $139.60
• Price Target Upside: 7.29% Upside
• Rating Consensus: Strong Buy
• Number of Analyst Covering: 5
• EPS Forecast (FY): 7.06
• Revenue Forecast (FY): $3.55B

• Rating: 79 Outperform
• Price Target: $147.00 ▲(12.97% Upside)
• Action: Reiterated Date: 02/21/26
• Date: Action: Reiterated 02/21/26

KEX scores well primarily on strengthened financial performance (improved profitability and sharply reduced leverage) and a constructive earnings outlook supported by strong free cash flow and capital returns. Technicals add support with a clear uptrend and positive momentum, while valuation is more neutral (P/E ~20 and no dividend yield provided) given cyclical and execution risks highlighted in guidance.

Positive Factors

Balance Sheet Strength

Kirby’s dramatic deleveraging materially reduces financial risk and increases flexibility. A low debt load supports sustained capex, buybacks and selective M&A, lowers interest expense sensitivity in downturns, and makes the company more resilient across shipping cycles.

Free Cash Flow

Consistent, large free cash flow provides durable funding for growth capex, maintenance, and shareholder returns. Strong cash generation enables disciplined deleveraging and buybacks while preserving liquidity to weather lower-rate utilization periods and invest in service growth.

Business Diversification

Growing coastal operations and a rapidly expanding power-generation business shift revenue mix toward higher-utilization, higher-margin, and service-driven streams. This diversification reduces reliance on volatile inland oil & gas flows and supports more stable, higher-margin earnings over time.

Negative Factors

Cyclicality of Demand

Kirby’s results depend on utilization, freight pricing and industrial activity. The 2025 earnings step-up may be vulnerable to macro slowdowns or weaker commodity flows; enduring cyclicality can reverse margins and revenue quickly, challenging sustained earnings improvement.

Planned Shipyard Days

Higher planned maintenance reduces revenue-producing days and raises unit costs. Extended or recurring shipyard schedules compress utilization and margins, creating persistent early-year headwinds to cash flow and complicating fleet deployment and contract delivery timing.

Working-Capital & Cost Pressures

Uneven cash conversion and OEM/supply constraints force working-capital builds to support DNS growth, stressing liquidity timing. Rising medical and other operating costs further compress margins, making free cash flow and return profiles more volatile despite strong headline FCF.

Kirby Business Overview & Revenue Model

Company Description

Kirby Corporation operates domestic tank barges in the United States. Its Marine Transportation segment provides marine transportation service and towing vessel transporting bulk liquid product, as well as operates tank barge throughout the Mississippi River System, on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, coastwise along three United States coasts, and in Alaska and Hawaii. It also transport petrochemical, black oil, refined petroleum product, and agricultural chemicals by tank barge; and operates offshore dry-bulk barge and tugboat unit that are engaged in the offshore transportation of dry-bulk cargo in the United States coastal trade. As of December 31, 2021, it owned and operated 1,025 inland tank barge, approximately 255 inland towboat, 31 coastal tank barge, 29 coastal tugboat, 4 offshore dry-bulk cargo barge, 4 offshore tugboat, and 1 docking tugboat. Its Distribution and Services segment sells after-market service and genuine replacement part for engine, transmission, reduction gear, electric motor, drive, and control, electrical distribution and control system, energy storage battery system, and related oilfield service equipment; rebuild component parts or diesel engine, transmission and reduction gear, and related equipment used in oilfield service, marine, power generation, on-highway, and other industrial applications; rents generator, industrial compressor, high capacity lift truck, and refrigeration trailer; and manufactures and remanufactures oilfield service equipment, including pressure pumping unit, as well as manufacturers electric power generation equipment, specialized electrical distribution and control equipment, and high capacity energy storage/battery systems for oilfield customer. It serves to various companies and the United States government. The company was formerly known as Kirby Exploration Company, Inc. and changed its name to Kirby Corporation in 1990. Kirby Corporation was founded in 1921 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

How the Company Makes Money

Kirby generates revenue primarily through the sale of its cleaning equipment and accessories. The company employs a direct sales model, utilizing a network of independent distributors who sell products directly to consumers, which allows for higher margins compared to traditional retail channels. Key revenue streams include the sale of vacuum cleaners, replacement parts, and cleaning solutions. Additionally, Kirby benefits from recurring revenue through service contracts and warranties for its products. Strategic partnerships with distributors and a strong emphasis on customer service contribute to customer retention and repeat sales, further enhancing the company's earnings.

Kirby Financial Statement Overview

Summary

Fundamentals are strong: profitability improved materially with net margins around ~10.5% in 2025, the balance sheet is very conservative after sharp deleveraging (debt-to-equity down to ~0.07), and operating/free cash flow are solid. The main constraint is cyclicality and somewhat uneven cash conversion versus earnings.

Income Statement

Profitability and operating performance have improved materially over the last several years, with net margin rising from losses in 2020–2021 to ~10.5% in 2025, alongside stronger gross and EBITDA margins. Revenue growth has been volatile (sharp rebound post-2020, modest growth in 2024, and an outsized jump in 2025), but the overall trajectory is positive with meaningfully higher EBIT and net income versus 2022–2023. Key watch item is the sustainability of the 2025 revenue step-up given the industry’s cyclical nature.

Balance Sheet

Leverage has improved dramatically, with debt-to-equity declining from ~0.54 (2020) to ~0.07 (2025), indicating a much stronger capital structure and lower financial risk. Equity has steadily increased, and returns to shareholders have improved to ~10.5% in 2025 from negative levels in 2020–2021. The main limitation is that asset intensity remains high (typical for marine shipping), so maintaining returns depends on continued solid utilization and pricing.

Cash Flow

Cash generation is solid, with operating cash flow consistently positive and free cash flow expanding significantly versus 2022–2023, including strong free cash flow growth in 2025. However, cash conversion is not consistently strong: in 2025, free cash flow was ~61% of net income (and ~55% in 2024), and operating cash flow relative to net income has fluctuated over time, which suggests working-capital and/or reinvestment swings. Overall cash flow strength is good, but less stable than profitability and leverage trends.

Breakdown	Dec 2025	Dec 2024	Dec 2023	Dec 2022	Dec 2021
Income Statement
Total Revenue	3.36B	3.27B	3.09B	2.78B	2.25B
Gross Profit	883.42M	825.20M	700.06M	522.37M	379.98M
EBITDA	781.86M	652.21M	557.29M	411.01M	-34.41M
Net Income	354.57M	286.71M	222.94M	122.29M	-246.95M
Balance Sheet
Total Assets	6.04B	5.85B	5.72B	5.55B	5.40B
Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments	78.78M	74.44M	32.58M	80.58M	34.81M
Total Debt	1.30B	1.06B	1.19B	1.26B	1.36B
Total Liabilities	2.65B	2.50B	2.54B	2.51B	2.51B
Stockholders Equity	3.38B	3.35B	3.19B	3.04B	2.89B
Cash Flow
Free Cash Flow	405.73M	413.83M	138.50M	121.52M	223.56M
Operating Cash Flow	670.20M	756.49M	540.23M	294.13M	321.58M
Investing Cash Flow	-352.18M	-400.13M	-413.15M	-139.60M	-55.79M
Financing Cash Flow	-313.69M	-314.50M	-175.08M	-108.76M	-311.31M

Kirby Technical Analysis

• Technical Analysis Sentiment: Positive
• Last Price: 130.12
• 50DMA: Positive
• 100DMA: Positive
• 200DMA: Positive
• MACD: Negative
• RSI: Neutral
• STOCH: Negative

Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For KEX, the sentiment is Positive. The current price of 130.12 is above the 20-day moving average (MA) of 124.13, above the 50-day MA of 120.87, and above the 200-day MA of 107.15, indicating a bullish trend. The MACD of 2.36 indicates Negative momentum. The RSI at 62.58 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 88.37 is Negative, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Positive sentiment for KEX.

Kirby Peers Comparison

Name	Overall Rating	Market Cap	P/E Ratio	ROE	Dividend Yield	Revenue Growth	EPS Growth
DAC	81 Outperform	$2.04B	4.17	13.70%	3.64%	3.82%	-13.73%
KEX	79 Outperform	$6.99B	20.55	10.53%	―	1.59%	3.35%
CMRE	76 Outperform	$2.02B	5.87	16.57%	2.94%	-29.82%	-16.77%
MATX	76 Outperform	$5.21B	12.09	16.44%	1.13%	1.88%	9.30%
SBLK	67 Neutral	$2.88B	48.14	2.50%	1.59%	-13.87%	-82.48%
Sector *	63 Neutral	$10.79B	15.43	7.44%	2.01%	2.89%	-14.66%
ZIM	62 Neutral	$3.50B	3.49	25.25%	20.35%	1.63%	-30.30%

Kirby Corporate Events

Kirby Expands Board, Appoints Tracy Embree as Director

Kirby Corporation announced on February 20, 2026, that it has expanded its board from nine to ten members and appointed Tracy A. Embree as an independent director effective February 16, 2026, with her term running as a Class I director until the 2026 annual stockholders meeting. Embree, a retired president of Otis Americas with more than 25 years of global industrial leadership and current board roles at Lennox International and KLA, is expected to deepen Kirby’s expertise in power generation, manufacturing, and distribution, reinforcing the board’s ability to guide the company’s marine transportation and industrial services businesses.

The most recent analyst rating on (KEX) stock is a Buy with a $141.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Kirby stock, see the KEX Stock Forecast page.