A Business at a Glance
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SAIA INC
SAIA
$11.4B
Mkt Cap
$423.68
-0.67%
SAIA INC (SAIA) has a current P/E ratio of 44.5, compared to its historical median P/E of 28.9. The stock is currently considered Expensive based on its historical valuation range.
SAIA INC (SAIA) has a 5-year average return on invested capital (ROIC) of 20.2%. This indicates strong capital allocation and a potential competitive advantage.
SAIA INC (SAIA) has a market capitalization of $11.3B. It is classified as a large-cap stock.
SAIA INC (SAIA) does not currently pay a regular dividend.
Based on historical P/E analysis, SAIA INC (SAIA) appears expensive. The current P/E of 44.5 is 54% above its historical median of 28.9. The estimated fair value CAGR (P/E method) is 21.2%.
SAIA INC (SAIA) operates in the Trucking (No Local) industry, within the Industrials sector.
SAIA INC (SAIA) reported annual revenue of $3.2 billion in its most recent fiscal year, based on SEC EDGAR filings.
Saia, Inc. is a national less-than-truckload (LTL) carrier headquartered in Johns Creek, Georgia, generating approximately 97% of revenue from transporting shipments between 100 and 10,000 pounds across the 48 contiguous states, with LTL services to Canada and Mexico through interline relationships. The company operates a capital-intensive network of 213 owned and leased terminals supported by approximately 7,700 tractors and 26,500 trailers, picking up roughly 35,000 shipments daily and requiring substantial investment in technology, real estate, and equipment to manage the complexity of multiple shippers, consignees, and third-party payors. Saia's business model relies on consolidating shipments at local freight terminals and transporting them via linehaul operations to destination terminals, generating revenue through time-definite and expedited LTL services alongside value-added offerings including brokered truckload, expedited transportation, and logistics services. The company differentiates through its national integrated network, industry-leading service reliability and on-time performance, advanced technology for network optimization and operational efficiency, and a cargo claims ratio of 0.5% for full year 2025. Saia competes with other LTL carriers, truckload carriers, small package carriers, final mile delivery services, railroads, air freight, third-party logistics providers, and digital competitors, with competitive advantages rooted in its expansive terminal network, technology investments, and ability to provide comprehensive solutions across North America.
【Network scale and margin recovery】 Management expects incremental improvements to performance in 2026 driven by maturing facilities opened since 2022, continued deployment of AI-driven network optimization technology, and share-of-wallet growth with existing customers, even if macroeconomic conditions remain soft. The company anticipates operating ratio improvement of 100–200 basis points for the full year, with the high end assuming some volume tailwind, supported by pricing discipline, mix management, and the operational leverage embedded in the national network built over the past several years. Capital expenditures are expected to moderate to approximately $400–500 million in 2026 as the network build-out matures, allowing the company to focus on returns from its $2 billion investment over the past three years and to position itself to capture market opportunities as conditions improve. Management remains focused on ensuring fair compensation for service investments and expects to drive incremental returns through network redesign, linehaul optimization, and technology deployment, with a long-term target operating ratio in the sub-80s.
| Metric | Target | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Operating Ratio improvement | 100–200 basis points | Full year 2026 |
| Capital Expenditures | $400–500 million | Full year 2026 |
Operating Ratio improvement (Full year 2026): “I think you're looking at a full-year kind of OR improvement, 100-200 basis points.”
Capital Expenditures (Full year 2026): “Looking at next year, but I'd say early read is probably more in a $400 million - $500 million range from a CapEx standpoint.”
Generated solely from the company's own reports listed below — not from third-party data. Hallucination risk is low. · Sources: 10-K, Q4 FY2025 Earnings Call, Q3 FY2025 Earnings Call, Q2 FY2025 Earnings Call, Q1 FY2025 Earnings Call
| Metric | TTM | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 3.3B | 3.2B | 3.2B | 2.9B | 2.8B | 2.3B |
| Net Income | 255M | 255M | 362M | 355M | 357M | 253M |
| EPS | $9.57 | $9.52 | $13.51 | $13.26 | $13.40 | $9.48 |
| Free Cash Flow | 195M | 27M | -460M | 138M | 106M | 97M |
| ROIC | 9.8% | 9.9% | 17.1% | 22.7% | 27.8% | 23.5% |
| Gross Margin | - | 67.9% | 68.2% | 67.4% | 64.5% | 67.5% |
| Debt/Equity | 0.04 | 0.12 | 0.14 | 0.01 | 0.02 | 0.04 |
| Dividends/Share | $0.00 | - | - | - | - | - |
| Operating Income | 349M | 352M | 482M | 460M | 470M | 335M |
| Operating Margin | 10.7% | 10.9% | 15.0% | 16.0% | 16.9% | 14.6% |
| ROE | 9.7% | 10.4% | 17.0% | 20.2% | 25.5% | 23.2% |
| Shares Outstanding | 27M | 27M | 27M | 27M | 27M | 27M |
| Metric | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Income Statement | |||||||||||||
| Revenue | 1.3B | 1.2B | 1.2B | 1.4B | 1.7B | 1.8B | 1.8B | 2.3B | 2.8B | 2.9B | 3.2B | 3.2B | 3.3B |
| Gross Margin | 62.0% | 67.9% | 67.6% | 67.3% | 67.8% | 68.6% | 70.4% | 67.5% | 64.5% | 67.4% | 68.2% | 67.9% | N/A |
| R&D | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| SG&A | 640M | 670M | 696M | 767M | 873M | 948M | 963M | 1.1B | 1.2B | 1.3B | 1.5B | 1.6B | 1.6B |
| EBIT | 86M | 90M | 79M | 95M | 141M | 153M | 180M | 335M | 470M | 460M | 482M | 352M | 349M |
| Op. Margin | 6.7% | 7.4% | 6.5% | 6.9% | 8.5% | 8.5% | 9.9% | 14.6% | 16.9% | 16.0% | 15.0% | 10.9% | 10.7% |
| Net Income | 52M | 55M | 48M | 91M | 105M | 114M | 138M | 253M | 357M | 355M | 362M | 255M | 255M |
| Net Margin | 4.1% | 4.5% | 3.9% | 6.6% | 6.3% | 6.4% | 7.6% | 11.1% | 12.8% | 12.3% | 11.3% | 7.9% | 7.8% |
| Non-Recurring | 16K | -310K | -716K | 183K | -379K | 403K | 2.5M | 3.9M | -50K | -910K | -4.5M | 12M | 12M |
| Returns on Capital | |||||||||||||
| ROIC | 11.8% | 11.6% | 9.6% | 15.0% | 14.3% | 13.4% | 14.5% | 23.5% | 27.8% | 22.7% | 17.1% | 9.9% | 9.8% |
| ROE | 15.5% | 13.8% | 10.5% | 17.1% | 16.4% | 15.1% | 15.6% | 23.2% | 25.5% | 20.2% | 17.0% | 10.4% | 9.7% |
| ROA | 8.1% | 7.9% | 6.3% | 10.3% | 10.0% | 8.9% | 9.3% | 14.9% | 17.8% | 14.9% | 12.6% | 7.7% | 7.2% |
| Cash Flow | |||||||||||||
| Op. Cash Flow | 102M | 146M | 146M | 158M | 256M | 273M | 309M | 383M | 473M | 578M | 584M | 595M | 626M |
| Free Cash Flow | 4.4M | 59M | 27M | -29M | 33M | -15M | 78M | 97M | 106M | 138M | -460M | 27M | 195M |
| Owner Earnings | 39M | 77M | 66M | 66M | 149M | 148M | 167M | 232M | 307M | 387M | 359M | 329M | 359M |
| CapEx | 98M | 86M | 119M | 187M | 224M | 288M | 231M | 286M | 367M | 440M | 1.0B | 568M | 431M |
| Maint. CapEx | 59M | 65M | 76M | 87M | 102M | 119M | 135M | 142M | 157M | 179M | 210M | 249M | 252M |
| Growth CapEx | 39M | 21M | 43M | 100M | 122M | 169M | 96M | 144M | 210M | 261M | 833M | 319M | 179M |
| D&A | 59M | 65M | 76M | 87M | 102M | 119M | 135M | 142M | 157M | 179M | 210M | 249M | 252M |
| CapEx/OCF | 95.7% | 60.6% | 81.5% | 118.3% | 87.2% | 105.4% | 74.8% | 74.7% | 77.7% | 76.1% | 178.8% | 95.4% | 68.9% |
| Capital Allocation | |||||||||||||
| Dividends Paid | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dividend Yield | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Share Buybacks | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Buyback Yield | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 0.0% |
| Stock-Based Comp | 4.2M | 3.9M | 4.6M | 5.1M | 5.6M | 6.2M | 7.5M | 8.7M | 8.8M | 12M | 14M | 17M | 15M |
| Debt Repayment | 7.1M | 7.1M | 7.1M | 7.1M | 0 | 649K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Balance Sheet | |||||||||||||
| Net Debt | 126M | 69M | 72M | 128M | 121M | 136M | 46M | -56M | -156M | -280M | 305M | 285M | 74M |
| Cash & Equiv. | 4.4M | 124K | 1.5M | 4.7M | 2.2M | 248K | 25M | 107M | 187M | 296M | 19M | 20M | 39M |
| Long-Term Debt | 74M | 57M | 57M | 119M | 105M | 117M | 50M | 31M | 16M | 6.3M | 195M | 163M | 112M |
| Debt/Equity | 0.36 | 0.16 | 0.15 | 0.23 | 0.18 | 0.17 | 0.07 | 0.04 | 0.02 | 0.01 | 0.14 | 0.12 | 0.04 |
| Interest Coverage | 18.8 | 21.9 | 18.0 | 18.8 | 26.1 | 22.8 | 34.8 | 104.3 | 180.2 | 181.7 | 54.0 | 21.4 | 23.7 |
| Equity | 367M | 428M | 483M | 582M | 696M | 815M | 961M | 1.2B | 1.6B | 1.9B | 2.3B | 2.6B | 2.6B |
| Total Assets | 667M | 729M | 800M | 967M | 1.1B | 1.4B | 1.5B | 1.8B | 2.2B | 2.6B | 3.2B | 3.5B | 3.6B |
| Total Liabilities | 300M | 301M | 317M | 385M | 438M | 600M | 587M | 625M | 595M | 642M | 297M | 370M | 294M |
| Intangibles | 2.9M | 15M | 13M | 12M | 11M | 9.4M | 8.2M | 7.1M | 6.0M | 5.2M | 4.3M | 3.5M | 0 |
| Retained Earnings | 145M | 200M | 248M | 340M | 444M | 558M | 697M | 950M | 1.3B | 1.7B | 2.0B | 2.3B | 2.3B |
| Working Capital | 40M | 18M | 22M | 36M | 4.1M | -8.9M | -4.1M | 95M | 257M | 327M | 157M | 169M | 171M |
| Current Assets | 170M | 159M | 166M | 203M | 213M | 232M | 272M | 416M | 531M | 649M | 436M | 435M | 499M |
| Current Liabilities | 130M | 141M | 145M | 167M | 209M | 241M | 276M | 321M | 274M | 322M | 278M | 265M | 328M |
| Per Share Data | |||||||||||||
| EPS | 2.04 | 2.16 | 1.87 | 3.49 | 3.99 | 4.30 | 5.20 | 9.48 | 13.40 | 13.26 | 13.51 | 9.52 | 9.57 |
| Owner EPS | 1.53 | 3.02 | 2.55 | 2.51 | 5.65 | 5.58 | 6.28 | 8.69 | 11.51 | 14.48 | 13.41 | 12.28 | 13.45 |
| Book Value | 14.40 | 16.80 | 18.81 | 22.31 | 26.45 | 30.83 | 36.13 | 45.68 | 59.21 | 72.55 | 86.24 | 96.22 | 98.47 |
| Cash Flow/Share | 4.01 | 5.73 | 5.70 | 6.05 | 9.75 | 10.32 | 11.62 | 14.32 | 17.73 | 21.60 | 21.78 | 22.21 | 19.00 |
| Dividends/Share | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 0.00 |
| Shares Out. | 25.5M | 25.5M | 25.7M | 26.1M | 26.3M | 26.4M | 26.6M | 26.7M | 26.7M | 26.8M | 26.8M | 26.8M | 26.7M |
| Valuation | |||||||||||||
| P/E Ratio | 27.2 | 10.2 | 23.9 | 20.5 | 13.9 | 21.5 | 35.2 | 34.8 | 15.5 | 33.8 | 35.2 | 34.8 | 44.3 |
| P/FCF | 319.8 | 9.4 | 42.4 | N/A | 44.5 | N/A | 62.4 | 91.1 | 52.6 | 86.9 | N/A | 324.4 | 58.0 |
| EV/EBIT | 17.5 | 7.1 | N/A | 21.2 | 11.3 | 17.0 | 27.2 | 25.9 | 11.1 | 24.8 | 26.8 | 25.5 | 32.6 |
| Price/Book | 3.9 | 1.3 | 2.4 | 3.2 | 2.1 | 3.0 | 5.1 | 7.2 | 3.5 | 6.2 | 5.5 | 3.4 | 4.3 |
| Price/Sales | 0.9 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 1.0 | 1.2 | 1.1 | 1.7 | 2.8 | 2.2 | 3.2 | 4.0 | 2.7 | 3.5 |
| FCF Yield | 0.3% | 10.6% | 2.4% | -1.5% | 2.2% | -0.6% | 1.6% | 1.1% | 1.9% | 1.2% | -3.6% | 0.3% | 1.7% |
| Market Cap | 1.4B | 560M | 1.1B | 1.9B | 1.5B | 2.4B | 4.9B | 8.8B | 5.6B | 12.0B | 12.7B | 8.9B | 11.3B |
| Avg. Price | 43.81 | 38.14 | 29.48 | 52.93 | 72.59 | 74.87 | 118.17 | 241.49 | 228.60 | 339.50 | 476.36 | 330.69 | 423.68 |
| Year-End Price | 55.47 | 21.99 | 44.70 | 71.50 | 55.41 | 92.36 | 182.83 | 330.19 | 208.19 | 448.43 | 475.31 | 331.02 | 423.68 |
SAIA INC passes 7 of 9 quality checks, indicating strong fundamentals.
SAIA INC trades at 44.5x trailing earnings, compared to its 15-year median P/E of 28.9x, suggesting it is currently Expensive relative to its historical range. On a free-cash-flow basis, the stock trades at 413.4x vs a median of 57.5x. The company's 5-year average ROIC is 20.2% with a gross margin of 67.1%. At current prices, the estimated annualized return to fair value is +14.0%.
SAIA INC (SAIA) has a net profit margin of 7.9%. This is a modest margin.
SAIA INC (SAIA) generated $27 million in free cash flow in its most recent fiscal year. Positive free cash flow supports dividends, buybacks, and debt reduction.
SAIA INC (SAIA) has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. This indicates a conservatively financed balance sheet.
SAIA INC (SAIA) reported earnings per share (EPS) of $9.52 in its most recent fiscal year.
SAIA INC (SAIA) has a return on equity (ROE) of 10.4%. This indicates moderate shareholder returns.
SAIA INC (SAIA) has a 5-year average gross margin of 67.1%. This high margin suggests strong pricing power and a potential competitive moat.
The Ledger Terminal provides 16 years of financial data for SAIA INC (SAIA), sourced directly from SEC EDGAR filings. This includes income statements, balance sheets, cash flow statements, and key financial ratios.
SAIA INC (SAIA) has a book value per share of $96.22, based on its most recent annual SEC filing.
Based on recent SEC filings and earnings disclosures, Management expects incremental improvements to performance in 2026 driven by maturing facilities opened since 2022, continued deployment of AI-driven network optimization technology, and share-of-wallet growth with existing customers, even if macroeconomic conditions remain soft. The company anticipates operating ratio improvement of 100–200 basis points for the full year, with the high end assuming some volume tailwind, supported by pricing discipline, mix management, and the operational leverage embedded in the national network built over the past several years. Capital expenditures are expected to moderate to approximately $400–500 million in 2026 as the network build-out matures, allowing the company to focus on returns from its $2 billion investment over the past three years and to position itself to capture market opportunities as conditions improve. Management remains focused on ensuring fair compensation for service investments and expects to drive incremental returns through network redesign, linehaul optimization, and technology deployment, with a long-term target operating ratio in the sub-80s.
Based on recent SEC filings and earnings calls, SAIA INC (SAIA) has provided the following forward guidance: Operating Ratio improvement: 100–200 basis points (Full year 2026); Capital Expenditures: $400–500 million (Full year 2026).