Saia (SAIA) Stock Analysis & Winston Score

Saia, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates as a transportation company in North America. The company provides less-than-truckload services for shipments between 400 and 10,000 pounds; and other value-added services, including non-asset truckload, expedited, and logistics services. As of December 31, 2021, it operated 176 owned and leased facilities; and owned approximately 5,600 tractors and 19,300 trailers. The company was formerly known as SCS Transportation, Inc. and changed its name to S

Winston Score History

Growth Profile

For growth stock investors

When traditional metrics don't capture the full picture, these are the signals growth stock investors use instead.

Revenue Growth

+2.4% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Slow revenue growth

EPS Growth

+0.0% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Slow EPS growth

R&D Spend

$0/ year

0.0% of revenue

Below sector average (4%)

Research and development spending

Insider Activity

0.3%ownership

Relatively low insider ownership

Cash Position

Cash flow positive

$39M cash & investments

Quarterly Free Cash Flow

↑ Burn rate improving

Company generates more cash than it spends — no dilution risk from fundraising

Growth context

Saia is growing revenue at 2% year-over-year. The Winston Score measures business quality today — these growth metrics show what could matter tomorrow.

The Winston Score above measures business quality today. Growth stocks often score lower because they invest in the future rather than maximising current profits. These metrics show what matters most for evaluating that future.

Share count broadly stable

+0.3% over 4y

The share count has stayed roughly flat over this period — little dilution or buyback activity.

Diluted shares outstanding: 26.7M (2021) → 26.8M (2025)

Score breakdown

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Quality

Gross Margin

14.0%

Thin — 14.0% gross margin

Operating Margin

8.3%

Modest — 8.3% operating margin

ROCE

2.4%

Weak — 2.4% return on capital

ROIC between 0% and 5%. They earn a few cents back per dollar invested in the business.

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Growth

Sales YoY

+0.3%

Nearly flat sales (0.3% YoY)

EPS YoY

-20.6%

Earnings shrinking (-20.6% YoY)

Earnings per share down more than 10%. Either a bad year, or a real decline.

EPS Consistency

0/8 quarters

Earnings rarely grow — volatile business

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Cash Flow

Cash Conversion

245%

Turns 245% of profit into real cash

FCF Margin

6.0%

Thin free cash flow (6.0%)

FCF margin between 0% and 10%. Some cash from sales, but not a lot.

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Stability

Debt / Equity

0.06

Conservative — low debt load (0.06)

Interest Cover

23.68x

Comfortably covers interest (23.7x)

Interest coverage above 8. Profits cover interest many times over.

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Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

45.8x

Expensive — P/E 45.8

P/E over 35. The market is pricing in heavy, sustained growth.

P/E vs Forward

+20.2

GROWING

Earnings expected to grow meaningfully — cheaper on forward P/E (45.8 → 25.5)

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Dividends

Not applicable for this business.

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