Kirby Corp. (KEX)
NYSE:KEX
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Kirby
(NYSE:KEX)
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Rating:69Neutral
Price Target:
$156.00
▲(9.79% Upside)
Action:Downgraded
Date:05/09/26
The score is driven primarily by improved underlying financial performance and a constructive earnings outlook, including raised full-year EPS guidance and strong utilization/pricing indicators. Offsetting factors include uneven cash-to-earnings conversion with softer recent free-cash-flow momentum, and mixed technical signals showing short-term weakness despite a longer-term uptrend. Valuation is acceptable but not clearly cheap at ~22.5x earnings, with no dividend yield support provided.
Positive Factors
High Fleet Utilization & Coastal Demand
Sustained high coastal utilization and strong coastal revenue growth reflect constrained large-vessel supply and durable pricing power. This supports higher operating margins and contract renewal leverage, making coastal earnings less cyclical and more resilient over the next several quarters.
Negative Factors
Inconsistent Cash Conversion & FCF Decline
Weaker cash conversion and a ~21% fall in TTM free cash flow signal working-capital variability and higher investment needs. This reduces cushion for capex, buybacks, or downturns and makes near-term capital allocation more sensitive to timing and cyclical demand.
Read all positive and negative factors
Positive Factors
Negative Factors
High Fleet Utilization & Coastal Demand
Sustained high coastal utilization and strong coastal revenue growth reflect constrained large-vessel supply and durable pricing power. This supports higher operating margins and contract renewal leverage, making coastal earnings less cyclical and more resilient over the next several quarters.
Read all positive factors
Kirby Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Any
Revenue by Segment
Reveals how different parts of the business contribute to overall sales, highlighting areas of strength and potential vulnerability within the company's operations.
Reveals how different parts of the business contribute to overall sales, highlighting areas of strength and potential vulnerability within the company's operations.
Data provided by:
The Fly
The FlyKirby (KEX) vs. SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY)
Market Cap
$7.85B
Dividend YieldN/A
Average Volume (3M)700.13K
Price to Earnings (P/E)22.5
Beta (1Y)1.15
Revenue Growth5.52%
EPS Growth28.97%
CountryUS
Employees5,414
SectorIndustrials
Sector Strength72
IndustryMarine Shipping
Share Statistics
EPS (TTM)6.54
Shares Outstanding53,500,000
10 Day Avg. Volume638,326
30 Day Avg. Volume700,133
Financial Highlights & Ratios
PEG Ratio0.60
Price to Book (P/B)1.82
Price to Sales (P/S)1.82
P/FCF Ratio15.12
Enterprise Value/Market Cap1.16
Enterprise Value/Revenue2.65
Enterprise Value/Gross Profit10.19
Enterprise Value/Ebitda11.62
Forecast
1Y Price Target
$160.00Price Target Upside12.60% Upside
Rating ConsensusStrong Buy
Number of Analyst Covering5
EPS Forecast (FY)6.96
Revenue Forecast (FY)$3.49B
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 Missis...
How the Company Makes Money
Kirby primarily makes money by providing marine transportation services under its Marine Transportation segment, earning revenue by moving bulk liquid commodities for customers on inland waterways and, to a lesser extent, in coastal trade. Revenue...
Kirby Earnings Call Summary
Earnings Call Date:Apr 30, 2026
(Q1-2026)
| % Change Since: |
Next Earnings Date:Jul 30, 2026
Earnings Call Sentiment Positive
Overall the call conveyed improving market fundamentals and execution across Kirby's marine and distribution businesses: strong utilization, coastal revenue growth, a meaningful year‑over‑year EPS increase, a raised EPS outlook, solid liquidity, and continued free cash flow and disciplined capital allocation. Near‑term headwinds include seasonal weather/navigation delays, OEM engine supply constraints that compress near‑term power generation revenue and EPS, Q2 fuel cost pressure with lagging contract recovery, and continued softness in conventional Oil & Gas. The positives — including pricing momentum, high utilization, backlog growth in power gen, and a stronger guidance stance — outweigh the transitory and supply‑side challenges discussed.Positive Updates
EPS Growth and Guidance Raise
Reported GAAP EPS of $1.50 for Q1 2026, up 13% year-over-year from $1.33 in Q1 2025. Company raised full‑year EPS guidance to +5% to +15% (from flat to +12%), citing improving market fundamentals and execution.
Negative Updates
Weather and Navigational Delays Impacting Operations
Seasonal winter weather produced a 25% sequential increase in delay days in Q1, which negatively impacted inland operations and efficiency and contributed to an 11% sequential decrease in marine operating income versus Q4 2025.
Read all updates
Q1-2026 Updates
Positive
Negative
EPS Growth and Guidance Raise
Reported GAAP EPS of $1.50 for Q1 2026, up 13% year-over-year from $1.33 in Q1 2025. Company raised full‑year EPS guidance to +5% to +15% (from flat to +12%), citing improving market fundamentals and execution.
Read all positive updates
Company Guidance
Kirby raised full‑year EPS guidance to up 5%–up 15% (from prior flat–up 12%) after reporting Q1 EPS of $1.50 (+13% Y/Y), but flagged near‑term Q2 headwinds of roughly $0.05–$0.10 from diesel fuel cost lag and $0.10–$0.15 from delayed OEM engine deliveries. For 2026 the company expects Marine Transportation inland revenues to grow low‑ to mid‑single digits with utilization in the low‑90% range and inland margins averaging high‑teens to low‑20s (inland fleet: 1,124 barges / 25.1M barrels; term contracts ≈65% of revenue, ~40% of term portfolio reprices in Q4), coastal utilization mid‑to‑high‑90% with mid‑single‑digit revenue growth and high‑teens margins (coastal term ≈92% of revenue; renewals ≈+20% Y/Y). Distribution & Services is expected to be flat to slightly up with mid‑to‑high single‑digit margins (Power Gen Q1 +45% Y/Y but constrained by OEM lead times), while corporate expects operating cash flow $575M–$675M, CapEx $220M–$260M (≈$170M–$210M maintenance; ≈$65M growth), continued strong free cash flow (Q1 OCF $97.7M, Q1 FCF $49.4M), Q1 cash $58M, total debt $983.4M, available liquidity $635.4M, debt‑to‑cap 22.3%, $52.7M of buybacks in Q1 at $123.18 average, and an amended credit facility with a $750M revolver maturing March 26, 2031.Kirby Financial Statement Overview
Summary
Income Statement
78
Positive
Balance Sheet
74
Positive
Cash Flow
66
Positive
| Breakdown | TTM | Dec 2025 | Dec 2024 | Dec 2023 | Dec 2022 | Dec 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Income Statement | ||||||
| Total Revenue | 3.42B | 3.36B | 3.27B | 3.09B | 2.78B | 2.25B |
| Gross Profit | 891.16M | 883.42M | 825.20M | 700.06M | 522.37M | 379.98M |
| EBITDA | 781.71M | 781.86M | 652.21M | 557.29M | 411.01M | -34.41M |
| Net Income | 359.78M | 354.57M | 286.71M | 222.94M | 122.29M | -246.95M |
Balance Sheet | ||||||
| Total Assets | 6.12B | 6.04B | 5.85B | 5.72B | 5.55B | 5.40B |
| Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments | 58.01M | 78.78M | 74.44M | 32.58M | 80.58M | 34.81M |
| Total Debt | 1.19B | 1.30B | 1.06B | 1.19B | 1.26B | 1.36B |
| Total Liabilities | 2.70B | 2.65B | 2.50B | 2.54B | 2.51B | 2.51B |
| Stockholders Equity | 3.41B | 3.38B | 3.35B | 3.19B | 3.04B | 2.89B |
Cash Flow | ||||||
| Free Cash Flow | 497.14M | 405.73M | 413.83M | 138.50M | 121.52M | 223.56M |
| Operating Cash Flow | 731.18M | 670.20M | 756.49M | 540.23M | 294.13M | 321.58M |
| Investing Cash Flow | -303.27M | -352.18M | -400.13M | -413.15M | -139.60M | -55.79M |
| Financing Cash Flow | -420.97M | -313.69M | -314.50M | -175.08M | -108.76M | -311.31M |
Kirby Technical Analysis
Positive
142.09
Price Trends
140.28
Positive
132.31
Positive
114.90
Positive
Market Momentum
1.49
Positive
59.68
Neutral
78.11
Neutral
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 142.09 is below the 20-day moving average (MA) of 147.04, above the 50-day MA of 140.28, and above the 200-day MA of 114.90, indicating a bullish trend. The MACD of 1.49 indicates Positive momentum. The RSI at 59.68 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 78.11 is Neutral, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Positive sentiment for KEX.
Kirby Risk Analysis
Kirby disclosed 28 risk factors in its most recent earnings report. Kirby reported the most risks in the "Production" category.
Finance & Corporate - Financial and accounting risks. Risks related to the execution of corporate activity and strategy
Latest Risks Added 0 New Risks
Kirby Peers Comparison
UnderperformOutperform
Sector (63)
Name | Overall Rating | Market Cap | P/E Ratio | ROE | Dividend Yield | Revenue Growth | EPS Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
80 Outperform | $2.40B | 3.65 | 13.85% | 3.64% | 2.95% | 15.92% | |
72 Outperform | $2.07B | 6.34 | 16.80% | 2.94% | -59.07% | 10.43% | |
71 Outperform | $5.58B | 22.01 | 15.90% | 1.13% | -4.64% | -10.76% | |
69 Neutral | $7.85B | 22.49 | 10.63% | ― | 5.52% | 28.97% | |
64 Neutral | $3.09B | 16.78 | 12.06% | 20.35% | -18.07% | -77.70% | |
63 Neutral | $10.79B | 15.43 | 7.44% | 2.01% | 2.89% | -14.66% | |
62 Neutral | $3.00B | 8.36 | 3.46% | 1.59% | -17.62% | -74.58% |
* Industrials Sector Average
KEX
Kirby
148.69
40.78
37.79%
CMRE
Costamare
17.41
9.27
113.91%
DAC
Danaos
132.82
51.14
62.61%
SBLK
Star Bulk Carriers
26.69
11.10
71.14%
MATX
Matson
188.62
78.71
71.62%
ZIM
ZIM
25.16
8.72
53.05%
Kirby Corporate Events
Business Operations and StrategyExecutive/Board ChangesFinancial DisclosuresM&A TransactionsPrivate Placements and FinancingShareholder Meetings
Kirby Shareholders Approve Governance Changes and Executive Compensation
Positive
Apr 30, 2026
On April 27, 2026, Kirby stockholders re-elected three Class I directors to serve until 2029, ratified KPMG as independent auditor for 2026, approved executive pay on an advisory basis, and adopted amendments to both its 2005 Stock and Incentive P...
Business Operations and StrategyPrivate Placements and Financing
Kirby Expands and Extends Revolving Credit Facility Commitment
Positive
Mar 30, 2026
On March 26, 2026, Kirby Corporation amended and restated its main bank credit facility, extending its maturity to March 26, 2031 and increasing revolving commitments to $750 million while eliminating the prior term loan component. The agreement p...
Business Operations and StrategyExecutive/Board Changes
Kirby Expands Board, Appoints Tracy Embree as Director
Positive
Feb 20, 2026
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 2...
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.