Saia, Inc. (SAIA) Stock

Saia, Inc. (SAIA) is a Industrials stock trading at $349.62 (as of 2026-08-24), with a market capitalization of $9.33B and a trailing P/E of 33.3. Figures are sourced from first-party U.S. SEC EDGAR filings and market data.

Saia, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates in North America as a transportation provider offering less-than-truckload shipping for freight in the 400 to 10,000 pound range, along with value-added services such as non-asset truckload, expedited, and logistics. It serves shipping customers using its network of owned and leased facilities.

Understand Saia, Inc.: how it makes money

Saia provides less-than-truckload shipping and related logistics services in North America, and it makes money by transporting customer freight and selling value-added services such as expedited and non-asset truckload.

Saia’s operating profit potential is driven by recurring customer volume reflected in its contractual renewal rates, and by shipment economics captured in revenue per shipment (excluding fuel) versus cost per shipment, supported by network utilization indicators like average length of haul.

Revenue by segment (latest quarter)
LTL$0.8B

Business quality (Weak): Useful operating KPI detail is provided, but reportable segment breakouts are not, and many segment sub-line items are shown as zero in the provided data.

Valuation: At 45× earnings, SAIA trades 157% above the Transportation average (18×). Note: one-time items can distort reported P/E.

Bull case

  • Contracted demand appears resilient: Saia shows contractual renewal rate figures in the mid single digits (examples provided include 6.7% and 5.1%).
  • Shipment pricing and economics are tracked: The company’s operating focus includes revenue per shipment excluding fuel (297.11 per the provided KPI label) and cost per shipment year over year (6.1% per the provided KPI label), which help explain margin movement.
  • Network growth is in progress: The provided operational KPIs show 39 ramping terminals opened since 2022, and 17 ramping terminals completing their first year.

Bear case

  • Volume pressures are visible: The provided KPIs include tonnage decline of 2.1% and a Southern California volume decline of 18% year over year.
  • Costs and safety metrics can weigh on results: Cost per shipment is up 6.1% year over year in the provided KPIs. The provided KPIs also show preventable accident frequency of 21% and lost time injuries of 10% year over year.
Valuation — source: SEC EDGAR (first-party)
Price$349.62
Market Cap$9.33B
P/E Ratio33.3
EV / EBITDA14.8
Price / Book3.42
Price / Sales2.74
FCF Yield2.9%
DCF Value (model)$120.53
DCF Upside vs Price-65.5%
Profitability & Growth — source: SEC EDGAR
Revenue (TTM)$3.23B
Net Margin7.9%
Revenue Growth (YoY)0.8%
EPS Growth (YoY)-29.7%
FCF Growth (YoY)-105.9%
Financial Health — source: SEC EDGAR
Altman Z-Score8.42 (safe)
Valuation vs Sector & Industry
Stock P/E33.3
Sector P/E (Industrials)26.0
Industry P/E (Transportation)17.0
vs Sector28.0%
vs Industry95.7%
Smart-Money Activity — SEC Form 4 / 13F / Congressional disclosures
Top Institutional HolderBlackRock, Inc. ($839.24M)
Institutional Holders Tracked10
Congressional Trades (recent)2
Company
SectorIndustrials
IndustryTransportation
CEOFrederick J. Holzgrefe
Employees15,300
CountryUS
IPO Date2002-09-11

Related Companies (Transportation; 8 comparable transport companies)

  • Werner Enterprises, Inc. (WERN)
  • ArcBest Corporation (ARCB)
  • Landstar System, Inc. (LSTR)
  • Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. (ODFL)
  • Schneider National, Inc. (SNDR)
  • Universal Logistics Holdings, Inc. (ULH)
  • Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (KNX)
  • Covenant Logistics Group, Inc. (CVLG)
SAIA earnings history · SAIA institutional & insider holders · SAIA KPIs & operating metrics · SAIA financials · SAIA investor presentations & press releases · SAIA SEC filings · SAIA peers · Congress trades · Insider trades · Short interest · Stock screener

Data as of 2026-08-24.

Figures sourced from U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC EDGAR) filings and market data. Not personalized investment advice.