At a glance
Saia Inc is worth $8.66B, about 34 times its fiscal 2025 earnings. Revenue grew 0.8% to $3.23B in fiscal 2025, with 7.9% kept as profit; over 5 years it has grown 12.2% a year. It pays no dividend. The stock returned +14.2% over the past year with dividends reinvested and +0.8% a year over five years, against +11.5% and +11.7% for the S&P 500. At its worst it fell 36.9% in the 2020 crash (S&P 500: 33.7%) and 46.3% in the 2022 bear market (S&P 500: 24.5%), and was back at its earlier high 2 months and 12 months after the lows.
The business in plain English
Saia, Inc., based in Johns Creek, Georgia, runs a national trucking network built for less-than-truckload (LTL) freight. LTL carriers pick up many smaller shipments, usually 100 to 10,000 pounds, from different businesses. They sort them at local terminals and combine them in shared trailers for the long haul. Its main subsidiary, Saia LTL Freight, dates to 1924. It serves the 48 contiguous states directly and reaches Canada and Mexico through partner carriers.
About 97% of revenue comes from moving LTL shipments for businesses. The rest comes from brokered truckload (full loads arranged with other carriers), expedited and other logistics services. Saia charges for each shipment, plus fuel surcharges, and picks up about 35,000 shipments a day. In 2025 the average shipment weighed about 1,380 pounds and traveled about 897 miles.
Running this network takes heavy spending. As of December 31, 2025, Saia ran 213 owned and leased terminals and about 7,700 tractors and 26,500 trailers. It had nearly 14,500 non-union employees. In the five years through 2025 it invested more than $2.5 billion, mostly in real estate, trucks and technology, to open terminals closer to customers. Profit depends on moving more freight through that network. Revenue held at $3.2 billion in 2025, but operating income (profit from running the business) fell to $352.2 million from $482.2 million.
Price history
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SAIA +14.2% over the year to Oct 28, 2026, total return with dividends reinvested.
Latest results
- In Q3 FY2026 (ended Sep 30, 2026), revenue was $982.5M, up 17% from a year earlier, and net income was $91.4M (+5.9%).
- For fiscal 2025, revenue was $3.23B (+0.8% year over year; +12.2% a year from FY2020 to FY2025) with a 7.9% net margin.
Financial health check
| Revenue growth a year (FY2020–FY2025) | +12.2% good |
|---|---|
| Operating margin | 10.9% watch |
| Free cash flow margin | 0.8% watch |
| Return on equity (FY2025) | 9.9% watch |
| Return on assets (FY2025) | 7.3% watch |
| Net cash (cash minus debt) | $102.5M good |
| Fiscal year | Revenue | Net income | Free cash flow |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2020 | $1.82B | $138.3M | $78.0M |
| FY2021 | $2.29B | $253.2M | $96.8M |
| FY2022 | $2.79B | $357.4M | $105.6M |
| FY2023 | $2.88B | $354.9M | $138.1M |
| FY2024 | $3.21B | $362.1M | $-459.9M |
| FY2025 | $3.23B | $255.0M | $27.3M |
Valuation snapshot
| Market value | $8.66B |
|---|---|
| P/E ratio | 34.1 |
| Dividend yield | None |
Rank among 1514 US companies
Market value at each year end
Saia’s market value went from $1.11B at the end of 2016 to $8.66B on Oct 28, 2026, about 7.8 times as much; since the end of 2025 it is down 0%.
Show as a table
| Year end | Market value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 28, 2026 | $8.66B | -0.4% |
| 2025 | $8.70B | -28.2% |
| 2024 | $12.12B | +4.2% |
| 2023 | $11.63B | +109.7% |
| 2022 | $5.55B | -37.5% |
| 2021 | $8.88B | +87.7% |
| 2020 | $4.73B | +95.8% |
| 2019 | $2.42B | +68.4% |
| 2018 | $1.43B | -20.5% |
| 2017 | $1.80B | +62.0% |
| 2016 | $1.11B |
Price behavior
| YTD | 1 yr | 3 yr | 5 yr | 10 yr | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SAIA price data to Oct 28, 2026 | -0.6% | +14.2% | -1.9% | +0.8% | +24.8% |
Show as a table
| Year | Price data |
|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | -0.6% |
| 2025 | -28.4% |
| 2024 | +4.0% |
| 2023 | +109.0% |
| 2022 | -37.8% |
| 2021 | +86.4% |
| 2020 | +94.2% |
| 2019 | +66.8% |
| 2018 | -21.1% |
| 2017 | +60.3% |
| 2016 | +98.4% |
| 2015 | -59.8% |
| 2014 | +72.7% |
| 2013 | +107.9% |
| 2012 | +85.3% |
| 2011 | -24.8% |
| 2010 | +11.9% |
| 2009 | +36.5% |
| 2008 | -18.4% |
| 2007 | -42.7% |
| 2006 | +9.2% |
| 2008 financial crisis stocks fell Oct 9, 2007 – Mar 9, 2009 | Lost 47% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 64.5%, back to its old high 9.8 months after the low |
|---|---|
| 2020 COVID crash stocks fell Feb 19, 2020 – Mar 23, 2020 | Lost 32.5% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 36.9%, back to its old high 1.9 months after the low |
| 2022 bear market stocks fell Jan 3, 2022 – Oct 12, 2022 | Lost 35.3% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 46.3%, back to its old high 11.8 months after the low |
Insider activity
Form 4 filings from 2025-10-30 to 2026-10-30 (25 read): 0 open-market purchases and 10 sales ($6.3M).
| Date | Insider | Type | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 13, 2026 | Frederick J Iii Holzgrefe President & CEO | sell | $1.9M |
| Feb 13, 2026 | Raymond R Ramu Exec. VP & Chief Customer Off. | sell | $1.4M |
| Feb 13, 2026 | Patrick D Sugar EVP Operations | sell | $1.0M |
| Feb 13, 2026 | Raymond R Ramu Exec. VP & Chief Customer Off. | sell | $589K |
| Feb 12, 2026 | Matthew J Batteh Chief Financial Officer | sell | $417K |
Who owns it
Large shareholders (13G filings)
| BlackRock, Inc. | 9.1% | Mar 31, 2025 |
| T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. | 8.7% | Mar 31, 2026 |
| AllianceBernstein L.P. | 8.5% | Sep 30, 2025 |
| Vanguard Capital Management | 5.25% | Mar 31, 2026 |
| Capital International Investors | 4.3% | Dec 31, 2025 |
| VIKING GLOBAL INVESTORS LP | 4.1% | Dec 31, 2025 |
ETFs with the most weight in SAIA
| VNSE Natixis Vaughan Nelson Select ETF | 2.9% |
| XTN SPDR S&P Transportation ETF | 2.75% |
| SUPL ProShares Supply Chain Logistics ETF | 2.42% |
| AIRR First Trust RBA American Industrial Renaissance ETF | 2.19% |
| TSME Thrivent Small-Mid Cap Equity ETF | 1.8% |
| IYT iShares US Transportation ETF | 1.78% |
| SMCO Hilton Small-MidCap Opportunity ETF | 1.48% |
| SUPP TCW Transform Supply Chain ETF | 1.12% |
What could go wrong
- Costly terminal expansion may not pay off. Saia spent over $2.5 billion in five years on terminals, trucks and technology. Cash left after that spending was negative $460 million in 2024. New terminals that draw too little freight would hurt returns.
- Driver costs and a possible union drive. Saia competes hard with other carriers to hire and keep qualified drivers. Its nearly 14,500 employees are non-union, and the company warns that unionization could impair its ability to compete.
- Rivals can undercut prices in slow periods. Carriers periodically cut prices to win freight, especially in recessions. Larger rivals, railroads, freight brokers and well-funded e-commerce companies could also take customers or hold down what Saia can charge.
- Accident claims and insurance costs. A fleet of about 7,700 tractors faces accident and injury claims. Saia warns that insurance and claims costs could significantly cut earnings and make them swing from year to year.
- Diesel prices and fuel surcharges. Saia depends on the cost and supply of diesel fuel and on surcharges it adds to customer bills to recover fuel costs. If those surcharges fall short, fuel spikes could squeeze profit.
- Freight demand follows the economy and tariffs. Recessions, tariffs and weaker U.S. manufacturing can cut how much customers ship, their ability to pay and the prices Saia can charge. The first quarter is usually the weakest.
Recent events
- Quarterly results released; Executive or board change; Investor presentation or announcement; Other company announcement
- Other company announcement
- Investor presentation or announcement
- Quarterly results released
- Other company announcement
- Investor presentation or announcement
- Shareholder vote results
- Quarterly results released
- Other company announcement
- Investor presentation or announcement
For income and retirement investors
Saia does not pay a dividend and made no share repurchases in fiscal 2021 through 2025. Shares outstanding rose 1.3% between July 2021 and July 2026, which slightly shrank each share's slice of the company. The company has put its cash into terminals, trucks and technology instead. For an income investor, this means returns depend entirely on the share price, and drawing income would mean cashing in shares.
The share price has swung sharply in downturns. It fell 64.5% during the 2008 financial crisis and took about 10 months from its low to regain its old high. In the 2020 COVID crash it fell 36.9% and recovered in about two months. In the 2022 bear market, a long market slide, it dropped 46.3% and needed nearly a year to recover. As of October 28, 2026, its deepest drop over the prior three years was 60.9%. Single stocks like Saia carry more risk than diversified funds.
Questions investors ask
How does Saia make money?
Saia makes most of its money hauling less-than-truckload (LTL) freight, which brings in about 97% of revenue. It picks up shipments of roughly 100 to 10,000 pounds from many businesses. It combines them at its 213 terminals (as of December 31, 2025) and moves them across the 48 contiguous states. It charges for each shipment, plus fuel surcharges. Brokered truckload, expedited and logistics services make up the rest. Revenue was $3.23 billion in 2025, up 0.8% from 2024.
Does Saia pay a dividend?
No. Saia paid no dividends and made no share repurchases in fiscal 2021 through 2025. It put its cash into growth instead, investing more than $2.5 billion in the five years through 2025, mainly in terminals, trucks and technology. That left little cash over. Free cash flow, the cash remaining after capital spending, was $27.3 million in 2025 on $3.23 billion of revenue. Any return for shareholders has come from the share price alone.
Is Saia's profit growing?
Not in 2025, though results improved in the quarter ended June 30, 2026. Revenue rose just 0.8% to $3.23 billion in 2025. Net income fell 29.6% to $255.0 million, and earnings per share dropped to $9.52 from $13.51. In the June 2026 quarter, revenue grew 17.1% and net income rose 32% from a year earlier. Over the five years from 2020 to 2025, revenue grew about 12.2% a year.
Are Saia's workers unionized?
No. Saia describes its nearly 14,500 employees as union-free. The company lists unionization as a risk and warns that its ability to compete could be impaired if its operations became unionized. It says it invests in training, safety and wellness programs and offers competitive wages and benefits. It also warns that competition for qualified drivers is significant and that higher pay or healthcare costs could weigh on results.
Which ETFs hold Saia stock?
About 107 ETFs hold Saia, and in each it is a small slice of the portfolio. At last report, the largest weights were in the Natixis Vaughan Nelson Select ETF (VNSE) at 2.9%, the SPDR S&P Transportation ETF (XTN) at 2.75%, the ProShares Supply Chain Logistics ETF (SUPL) at 2.42% and the iShares US Transportation ETF (IYT) at 1.78%. In funds like these, Saia's price swings have a much smaller effect than they would on a single-stock holding.