SAIA vs UPS
Saia Inc. and United Parcel Service Inc., side by side — 10 fiscal years reported in USD, drawn from SEC filings.
Most recent reported year
| Metric | SAIA | UPS |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $3.2B | $88.7B |
| Net income | $255.0M | $5.6B |
| Gross margin | · | · |
| Net margin | 7.9% | 6.3% |
| Return on equity | 10.4% | 33.8% |
| Diluted EPS | $9.52 | $6.56 |
| Dividend / share | · | $6.56 |
| Payout ratio | · | 96.9% |
| Free cash flow | $27.3M | $4.8B |
| Equity | $2.6B | $16.2B |
| Net debt / equity | 0.06× | 1.13× |
| Current ratio | 1.64× | 1.22× |
| Revenue CAGR 5y | 12.2% | 0.9% |
| Profit CAGR 5y | 13.0% | 32.9% |
UPS bills 27.4× the revenue of SAIA, and SAIA keeps more of each dollar of revenue as profit (7.9% against 6.3%).
The stronger figure of the pair is set in bold. That is arithmetic, not a recommendation — this page does not pick a winner. "·" marks a figure not available in our data.
10 years side by side
| Fiscal year | SAIA | UPS |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $3.2B | $88.7B |
| FY2024 | $3.2B | $91.1B |
| FY2023 | $2.9B | $91.0B |
| FY2022 | $2.8B | $100.3B |
| FY2021 | $2.3B | $97.3B |
| FY2020 | $1.8B | $84.6B |
| FY2019 | $1.8B | $74.1B |
| FY2018 | $1.7B | $71.9B |
| FY2017 | $1.4B | $66.6B |
| FY2016 | $1.3B | $61.6B |
Bottom line
| Fiscal year | SAIA | UPS |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $255.0M | $5.6B |
| FY2024 | $362.1M | $5.8B |
| FY2023 | $354.9M | $6.7B |
| FY2022 | $357.4M | $11.5B |
| FY2021 | $253.2M | $12.9B |
| FY2020 | $138.3M | $1.3B |
| FY2019 | $113.7M | $4.4B |
| FY2018 | $105.0M | $4.8B |
| FY2017 | $91.1M | $4.9B |
| FY2016 | $48.0M | $3.4B |
17 fiscal years
| Fiscal year | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | −$85,426,714,000 | UPS |
| FY2024 | −$87,860,926,000 | UPS |
| FY2023 | −$88,076,567,000 | UPS |
| FY2022 | −$97,545,943,000 | UPS |
| FY2021 | −$94,998,296,000 | UPS |
| FY2020 | −$82,805,634,000 | UPS |
| FY2019 | −$72,307,265,000 | UPS |
| FY2018 | −$70,207,151,000 | UPS |
| FY2017 | −$65,180,297,000 | UPS |
| FY2016 | −$60,359,609,000 | UPS |
| FY2015 | −$57,141,689,000 | UPS |
| FY2014 | −$56,959,679,000 | UPS |
| FY2013 | −$54,298,906,000 | UPS |
| FY2012 | −$53,028,321,000 | UPS |
| FY2011 | −$52,074,776,000 | UPS |
| FY2010 | −$48,642,340,000 | UPS |
| FY2009 | −$44,447,859,000 | UPS |
UPS has reported the higher revenue in every one of these 17 fiscal years. The gap has widened since the earliest year compared.
17 of 19 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
17 fiscal years
| Fiscal year | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | +1.6 pp | SAIA |
| FY2024 | +4.9 pp | SAIA |
| FY2023 | +4.9 pp | SAIA |
| FY2022 | +1.3 pp | SAIA |
| FY2021 | −2.2 pp | UPS |
| FY2020 | +6.0 pp | SAIA |
| FY2019 | +0.4 pp | SAIA |
| FY2018 | −0.3 pp | UPS |
| FY2017 | −0.9 pp | UPS |
| FY2016 | −1.7 pp | UPS |
| FY2015 | −3.8 pp | UPS |
| FY2014 | −1.1 pp | UPS |
| FY2013 | −4.1 pp | UPS |
| FY2012 | +1.4 pp | SAIA |
| FY2011 | −6.1 pp | UPS |
| FY2010 | −6.5 pp | UPS |
| FY2009 | −5.3 pp | UPS |
The higher net margin has changed hands between SAIA and UPS over this period.
17 of 19 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
Standard deviation, each side
SAIA's net margin has been more volatile than UPS's over the 17 comparable fiscal years — 4.0 percentage points of standard deviation against 2.8.
17 of 19 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
Year by year
The lead in net margin changed hands between SAIA and UPS over these 17 fiscal years — SAIA led in 7 and UPS in 10.
17 of 19 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
Standard deviation, each side
UPS's return on equity has been more volatile than SAIA's over the 17 comparable fiscal years — 160.4 percentage points of standard deviation against 7.2.
17 of 18 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
Year by year
UPS led in return on equity in every one of the 17 comparable fiscal years — a structural lead, not a recent swing.
17 of 18 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.