Knife River Corp (KNF)

Price$61.91Cached quoteAs of 2026-09-04 16:23 UTC

AI: Fair-priced

Price checkThe shares look roughly fair, because current valuation already assumes healthy profit growth and debt reduction.

Using roughly 56.8 million shares and June net debt of about $1.63 billion, the latest close implies an equity value near $3.53 billion and enterprise value near $5.15 billion. Management guides to $520-$560 million of 2026 adjusted EBITDA, meaning operating profit before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. That makes enterprise value about 9.2-9.9 times guided profit, while the shares are about 22 times 2025 earnings. Those are reasonable, not distressed, multiples for a growing but leveraged cyclical business, supporting Fair-priced. Yahoo Finance+1

Big pictureRevenue and operating profit have grown, but cash generation remains uneven and capital spending has climbed.

From 2021 to 2025, revenue rose from $2.23 billion to $3.15 billion and EBITDA from $292 million to $480 million, while operating cash flow increased from $181 million to $278 million. But 2025 net income fell 22% and capital spending jumped to $348 million, leaving operating cash flow minus capital spending negative by about $70 million. First-half 2026 operating cash flow was also negative before capital spending, showing strong seasonality and heavy reinvestment. Earnings durability is real, but cash left after operations and investment is not consistently smooth. Pasted text

Business strengthDemand, backlog, and acquired businesses support growth, though regional mix is still holding margins back.

Second-quarter revenue rose 13% to $938.6 million, materials volumes grew by double digits, contracting revenue increased 20%, and backlog reached $1.2 billion. Knife River raised 2026 revenue guidance to $3.4-$3.6 billion while keeping adjusted EBITDA guidance at $520-$560 million. The offset is mix: West revenue fell 9% and its EBITDA fell 19%, while Mountain revenue rose 34% but EBITDA was flat. Acquisitions and volume are working, yet lower-margin contracting and regional delays are limiting how much growth reaches profit. investors.kniferiver.com+1

What could change the storyFast debt reduction would improve upside, while weaker margins or more borrowing would quickly hurt the case.

Debt is the swing factor. Gross debt rose from about $727 million at the end of 2024 to $1.67 billion by June 2026, while cash fell to about $41 million. Management reported net leverage of 3.2 times, versus a longer-term target near 2.5 times. Shares outstanding have barely changed since 2023, and the supplied history shows no buybacks or dividends, so capital has mainly gone to assets and acquisitions. Stronger cash flow and deleveraging would improve value; further borrowing or weak margins would reduce downside protection. investors.kniferiver.com+1

AI: News

Second-quarter profit missSales grew, but lower profit and margin pressure coincided with a sharp negative market reaction.

On August 4, Knife River reported second-quarter revenue of $938.6 million, up 13%, but net income fell 13% to $43.9 million and adjusted EBITDA slipped 1% to $139.7 million. The company raised revenue guidance but kept its profit range unchanged. Shares closed about 11.8% lower following the announcement. The size and timing of that move, alongside the earnings miss, make the results a plausible main driver, but market timing alone cannot prove exact causation. SEC+1

Debt-funded expansionAcquisitions broaden growth markets, but added borrowing materially reduced the balance-sheet safety cushion.

On May 15, Knife River added $400 million to its term loan, bringing that facility to $895 million while cutting the interest-rate margin by 0.25 percentage point. The financing supported recent acquisitions and liquidity. By June 30, gross debt had reached about $1.6 billion and net leverage was 3.2 times. The acquisitions add reserves and exposure to faster-growing markets, but they also make future cash generation and debt reduction more important to equity value. No clean one-day price effect is reliably isolated. SEC+1

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Revenue

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2025

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Free cash flow

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Total cash / debt

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Financial statements

	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021
Revenue	$3.15B	$2.90B	$2.83B	$2.53B	$2.23B
Gross profit	$577.3M	$569.8M	$538.9M	$360.9M	$346.9M
Gross margin	18.35%	19.66%	19.04%	14.24%	15.57%
Operating expenses	$291.5M	$253.6M	$242.5M	$166.6M	$155.9M
Operating income	$285.9M	$316.2M	$296.4M	$194.3M	$191.1M
Operating margin	9.09%	10.91%	10.47%	7.67%	8.57%
EBITDA	$479.6M	$453.1M	$420.2M	$312.1M	$292.1M
EBITDA margin	15.25%	15.63%	14.85%	12.31%	13.10%
Net income	$157.1M	$201.7M	$182.9M	$116.2M	$129.8M
Net profit margin	4.99%	6.96%	6.46%	4.59%	5.82%
Basic EPSper basic share	$2.77	$3.56	$3.23	$2.05	$2.29
Diluted EPSper diluted share	$2.76	$3.55	$3.23	$2.05	$2.29

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Owners

Reported shareholders

Reference date Jun 30, 2026

Reported holdings Number of shares

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Top 15 reported holders of KNF
Holder	Shares held
Gray Brian R.	92.91K
Hastings Trevor J	48.24K
Christenson Nancy K.	47.11K
Liepitz Karl A	46.21K
Fagg Karen B	33.32K
Ring Nathan W	32.93K
MOSS PATRICIA L	31.87K
Pladsen Glenn R.	25.58K
Carmona-Alvarez German	9.03K
SANDBROOK WILLIAM J	7.74K
Kadrmas Marney L.	7.38K
Chiodo Patricia	5.55K
Hill Thomas W.	5.5K
Rebstock Peggy S.	1.91K
LaChapelle Sarah L.	—

Bars compare reported share counts. A matching total for this share class and reporting period is unavailable, so percentages are not shown.

Source: SEC Form 4 ↗Updated Sep 29, 2026 · Quarterly data

Insider buys & sells

Jul 1, 2024–Jun 30, 2026

Buys0$0.00 disclosed value

Sells (SEC code S)0$0.00 disclosed value

No insider transactions transactions were reported in the stored SEC coverage.

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Community posts

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@tickerstat16 days ago
Starboard presses Knife River for margin improvements and strategic alternatives
Starboard Value urged Knife River ($KNF) to adopt a plan targeting at least a 22% adjusted EBITDA margin by fiscal 2029 and to evaluate strategic alternatives. The shareholder argues that stronger aggregates pricing and meaningful cost redu ...
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Knife River Corp (KNF)

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Starboard presses Knife River for margin improvements and strategic alternatives