Knight Transportation (KNX) AI Stock Analysis

• Market Cap: $9.63B
• Dividend Yield: 1.34%
• Average Volume (3M): 3.22M
• Price to Earnings (P/E): 146.4
• Beta (1Y): 1.10
• Revenue Growth: >-0.01%
• EPS Growth: 279.47%
• Country: US
• Employees: 35,300
• Sector: Industrials
• Sector Strength: 72
• Industry: Trucking
• EPS (TTM): 0.31
• Shares Outstanding: 162,339,000
• 10 Day Avg. Volume: 2,809,935
• 30 Day Avg. Volume: 3,217,175
• PEG Ratio: -2.94
• Price to Book (P/B): 1.20
• Price to Sales (P/S): 1.14
• P/FCF Ratio: 11.12
• Enterprise Value/Market Cap: 1.28
• Enterprise Value/Revenue: 1.66
• Enterprise Value/Gross Profit: 5.85
• Enterprise Value/Ebitda: 12.23
• 1Y Price Target: $62.14
• Price Target Upside: 4.97% Upside
• Rating Consensus: Moderate Buy
• Number of Analyst Covering: 14
• EPS Forecast (FY): N/A
• Revenue Forecast (FY): N/A

• Rating: 60 Neutral
• Price Target: $62.00 ▲(4.73% Upside)
• Action: Reiterated Date: 02/13/26
• Date: Action: Reiterated 02/13/26

KNX scores as a moderate setup: strong 2025 cash-flow improvement and a generally sound balance sheet support the base case, while technicals are currently positive with the stock trading above key moving averages. The main constraints are weak recent profitability/returns and a very elevated P/E, with near-term guidance remaining cautious despite improving operational momentum.

Positive Factors

Cash generation recovery

Knight-Swift's 2025 rebound in operating cash flow (~$1.27B) and strong free cash flow (~$763M) reflects durable cash-generation capacity. Reliable cash flow supports capex, debt service, dividends and buybacks, providing a buffer against cyclical freight demand and funding margin recovery initiatives.

Receivables financing & leadership update

The shift to a receivables sale structure ($575M facility) reduces financing expense and isolates collections for purchasers, improving liquidity and lowering funded risk. Coupled with a key legal/general counsel appointment, this strengthens financial flexibility and governance over the medium term.

Operational tech and LTL scale

Investments in AI, planning, routing and fuel optimization alongside expanding LTL capacity (~$2.0B potential) are structural advantages. Technology-driven utilization gains and diversified LTL revenue can sustainably reduce cost-per-mile and improve mix, supporting margin recovery as volumes normalize.

Negative Factors

Choppy revenue trends

A significant ~10.6% revenue drop in 2025 signals persistent demand weakness and pricing pressure in core truckload markets. For a fixed-cost asset-heavy carrier, sustained top-line volatility makes margin recovery harder and heightens sensitivity to volume-driven operating leverage over multiple quarters.

Compressed profitability and returns

Net margin and ROE collapsing to roughly 0.9% indicate the company currently converts little of revenue into shareholder returns. Persistently low profitability constrains reinvestment, limits balance-sheet returns, and extends the timeline for meaningful equity value recovery absent sustained structural margin improvement.

Segment margin pressure & impairments

Noncash impairments and widening LTL/logistics adjusted operating ratios show scaling and mix risks. These structural margin pressures—from facility growth outpacing volumes, intermodal breakeven levels, and a weak secondary equipment market—erode durable profitability and raise execution risk as segments scale.

Knight Transportation Business Overview & Revenue Model

Company Description

Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides truckload transportation services in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. The company operates through four segments: Trucking, Logistics, Less-than-truckload (LTL), and Intermodal. Its trucking services include irregular route, dedicated, refrigerated, flatbed, expedited, dry van, drayage, and cross-border transportation of various products, goods, and materials. The company also provides logistics and intermodal services, such as brokerage, intermodal, and certain logistics; freight management; and non-trucking services. In addition, it offers various support services, including repair and maintenance shop services, warranty, insurance, and equipment leasing; and trailer parts manufacturing and warehousing services, as well as engages in the driving academy activities. In addition, it offers regional direct services to customers national transportation needs by utilizing carriers for coverage areas outside networks. The company operates a total of 18,019 tractors, which comprises 16,166 company tractors and 1,853 independent contractor tractors, as well as 67,606 trailers; 2,735 tractors and 7,413 trailers; and 597 tractors and 10,847 intermodal containers. It serves retail, food and beverage, consumer products, paper products, transportation and logistics, housing and building, automotive, and manufacturing industries. Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. was incorporated in 1989 and is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona.

How the Company Makes Money

Knight Transportation generates revenue primarily through its truckload transportation services, which include long-haul and regional freight transportation. The company operates a fleet of trucks, which it uses to transport goods for various clients, charging them based on distance, weight, and service levels. Key revenue streams include contracts with large shippers, spot market transactions, and dedicated freight services that provide stable, recurring revenue. Additionally, Knight benefits from strategic partnerships with other logistics providers, enhancing its service offerings and expanding its market reach. The company's focus on operational efficiency, coupled with its investments in technology and fleet management, also contributes significantly to its profitability.

Knight Transportation Financial Statement Overview

Summary

Financials are mixed: cash flow rebounded strongly in 2025 (FCF about $763M; operating cash flow about $1.27B), and leverage looks manageable (debt-to-equity ~0.41). Offsetting this, revenue declined in 2025 (~-10.6%) and profitability/returns compressed sharply (2025 net margin ~0.9%; ROE ~0.9%), indicating meaningful cyclical pressure.

Income Statement

Revenue has been choppy and recently declined (2025 down ~10.6% after modest growth in 2024), signaling a softer demand/pricing environment. Profitability has compressed materially versus the 2021–2022 peak: 2025 net margin fell to ~0.9% (from ~1.6% in 2024 and ~10–12% in 2021–2022), and operating profitability is also much lower (2025 EBIT margin ~3.0% vs. ~13–15% in 2021–2022). A modest positive is that gross margin improved in 2025 (~28.3% vs. ~24.3% in 2024), but it has not translated into strong bottom-line results.

Balance Sheet

Leverage remains reasonable for the sector: debt-to-equity is ~0.41 in 2025 (up from ~0.24–0.30 in 2021–2022), indicating a higher but still manageable debt load. Equity is sizable (~$7.1B) relative to total assets (~$12.0B), supporting balance-sheet resilience. The key weakness is the sharp drop in shareholder returns as earnings fell, with return on equity down to ~0.9% in 2025 (vs. double-digit levels in 2021–2022).

Cash Flow

Cash generation improved meaningfully in 2025: operating cash flow rose to ~$1.27B and free cash flow turned strongly positive (~$763M) after a near-breakeven/negative 2024. Cash flow also comfortably covered reported earnings in 2025 (operating cash flow to net income ~1.23x), which helps offset weak accounting profitability. The main caution is volatility—free cash flow swung from negative in 2024 to strongly positive in 2025, suggesting sensitivity to cycle and/or working-capital and spending timing.

Breakdown	Dec 2025	Dec 2024	Dec 2023	Dec 2022	Dec 2021
Income Statement
Total Revenue	7.47B	7.41B	7.14B	7.43B	6.00B
Gross Profit	2.11B	1.80B	1.96B	2.41B	1.97B
EBITDA	1.01B	1.03B	1.01B	1.66B	1.47B
Net Income	65.95M	117.63M	217.15M	771.33M	743.39M
Balance Sheet
Total Assets	11.96B	13.07B	13.26B	11.14B	10.82B
Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments	302.80M	365.94M	466.35M	389.74M	354.11M
Total Debt	2.89B	2.82B	2.67B	1.67B	1.96B
Total Liabilities	4.86B	5.96B	6.16B	4.18B	4.27B
Stockholders Equity	7.08B	7.11B	7.09B	6.95B	6.53B
Cash Flow
Free Cash Flow	763.23M	-20.09M	90.06M	635.29M	656.06M
Operating Cash Flow	1.27B	799.06M	1.16B	1.44B	1.19B
Investing Cash Flow	-520.39M	-759.12M	-1.23B	-646.18M	-1.82B
Financing Cash Flow	-807.74M	-139.40M	150.69M	-754.35M	779.33M

Knight Transportation Technical Analysis

• Technical Analysis Sentiment: Positive
• Last Price: 59.20
• 50DMA: Positive
• 100DMA: Positive
• 200DMA: Positive
• MACD: Positive
• RSI: Neutral
• STOCH: Neutral

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 59.2 is above the 20-day moving average (MA) of 58.72, above the 50-day MA of 56.26, and above the 200-day MA of 46.92, indicating a bullish trend. The MACD of 1.21 indicates Positive momentum. The RSI at 53.72 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 56.09 is Neutral, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Positive sentiment for KNX.

Knight Transportation Peers Comparison

Name	Overall Rating	Market Cap	P/E Ratio	ROE	Dividend Yield	Revenue Growth	EPS Growth
SAIA	70 Outperform	$10.40B	41.26	10.43%	―	1.96%	-24.55%
SNDR	66 Neutral	$5.04B	48.76	3.45%	1.40%	5.46%	2.31%
Sector *	63 Neutral	$10.79B	15.43	7.44%	2.01%	2.89%	-14.66%
WERN	63 Neutral	$2.03B	-139.28	1.78%	1.84%	-3.42%	-43.86%
KNX	60 Neutral	$9.63B	146.36	0.93%	1.34%	>-0.01%	279.47%
ARCB	56 Neutral	$2.32B	39.31	4.61%	0.62%	-5.34%	-48.16%
MRTN	54 Neutral	$1.10B	64.14	2.53%	2.07%	-9.74%	-42.57%

Knight Transportation Corporate Events

Knight-Swift Boosts Quarterly Dividend, Signals Strong Cash Flow

On February 11, 2026, Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc.’s board of directors approved an increase in its quarterly cash dividend on common stock to $0.20 per share, up from $0.18. The move, announced on February 12, 2026, signals a higher capital return to shareholders and suggests confidence in the company’s cash flow and financial position.

The dividend will be paid on March 23, 2026 to shareholders of record as of March 6, 2026. This higher payout may enhance the stock’s appeal to income-focused investors and underscores management’s willingness to share more of the company’s earnings with its equity holders.

The most recent analyst rating on (KNX) stock is a Buy with a $64.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Knight Transportation stock, see the KNX Stock Forecast page.

Knight Transportation executes new receivables facility and leadership change

On December 31, 2025, Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc., through its wholly owned subsidiary Swift Receivables Company II, LLC, entered into a new $575 million Receivables Purchase Agreement that replaces its prior receivables financing arrangement, shifting the structure from a receivables-secured financing to a sale of receivables, which is expected to lower the company’s expenses and segregate collections for the benefit of purchasers rather than the company’s general creditors. Using proceeds from this new facility, the company simultaneously repaid all remaining outstanding borrowings and terminated the prior agreement, while also appointing Soumit Roy as executive vice president, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary effective December 31, 2025, following the previously disclosed retirement of Todd Carlson, signaling both a significant refinancing of its receivables program and a key change in its senior leadership team.

The most recent analyst rating on (KNX) stock is a Buy with a $59.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Knight Transportation stock, see the KNX Stock Forecast page.