Knife River Corp (KNF) Shares Fall 3.8% -- What GF Score of 72 Tells Investors
On August 24, 2026, Knife River Corp (KNF) shares fell 3.8%, closing at $63.66. The stock has experienced significant volatility, with a 52-week range of $58.72

Knife River Corporation is a U.S.-based entity focused on supplying aggregate-derived building materials and offering related contracting services. Its business activities are ...
Plutux is not an investment adviser. Market data and AI-generated analysis are for information and education only, not investment advice. Disclaimer
Est. EPS $2.79 · Revenue $1.31B · 2 analysts
Est. EPS $0.65 · Revenue $809.06M · 2 analysts
Est. EPS $2.91 · Revenue $3.47B · 3 analysts
Est. EPS $-1.40 · Revenue $439.70M · 1 analysts
| Metric | Latest | YoYYoY means Year-over-Year. It compares the latest annual value with the previous annual value to show long-term trend strength. | QoQQoQ means Quarter-over-Quarter. It compares the latest quarter with the immediately previous quarter to show short-term momentum changes. |
|---|---|---|---|
| RevenueThe total money that came through the front door from selling things, before paying a single bill. Think of it as the grand total of every credit card swipe from customers. (YoY compares this year to last year's performance, while QoQ compares the current three months to the previous three). | $3.1B | +8.5% | +128.9% |
| Net IncomeThe absolute bottom line. If the company paid every single supplier, employee, banker, and tax collector, this is the actual money left in their pocket at the end of the day. | $157.1M | -22.1% | +155.4% |
| Gross MarginThe basic markup. If they sell a $100 pair of sneakers, this percentage tells you how much of that price tag is profit right after paying for the rubber and shoelaces, but before paying for things like store rent or TV commercials. | +18.4% | -6.6% | +2666.3% |
| Operating MarginThe 'day job' efficiency score. Out of every dollar a customer spends, this shows how many cents the company keeps after making the product AND paying for all the everyday corporate overhead (like salaries, marketing, and keeping the lights on). | +9.1% | -16.7% | +142.1% |
| Net MarginThe final take-home percentage. When you strip away every conceivable cost, tax, and interest payment, this is the exact number of cents the company truly gets to keep from every dollar in sales. | +5.0% | -28.2% | +124.2% |
| Free Cash FlowThe holy grail of corporate cash. It's the spendable, physical money left over after the business pays for its daily operations AND buys the big, expensive upgrades (like new factories or servers) it needs to survive. This is the 'free' money they can use to pay dividends or buy back stock. | $-69.6M | -146.4% | -8.9% |
| FCF MarginThe ultimate cash conversion rate. It shows how good the company is at turning regular sales directly into cold, hard, spendable cash. A high percentage means the business is an absolute cash-printing machine. | -2.2% | -142.8% | +52.4% |
| Debt / EquityThe financial risk gauge. It compares how much of the company's empire was built using borrowed money (loans) versus the owners' own money (shareholders). A high number means they are heavily leveraged and playing a riskier game; a low number means they are playing it safe. | 74.2% | +50.8% | +9.3% |
| Current RatioThe 12-month survival check. It simply compares the cash they have right now (plus things they can quickly turn into cash) against the immediate bills they absolutely must pay this year. A score above 1 means they have enough in the wallet to cover the upcoming bills without panicking. | 2.54x | -4.8% | -0.4% |
| Total AssetsThe absolute size of the company's empire. It bundles together absolutely everything of value they own—from the cash in the register and the inventory in the warehouse, to the software patents in the vault and the factories on the ground. | $3.7B | +28.0% | +9.4% |
| Metric | Annual (A vs E) | Annual Surprise | Quarter (A vs E) | Quarter Surprise |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EPS Surprise | 2.76 vs 2.61 | +5.7% | 0.77 vs 1.13 | -31.7% |
| Revenue Surprise | $3.1B vs $3.1B | +0.9% | $938.6M vs $931.4M | +0.8% |
| Date | Executive | Title | Security | Side | Shares | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 30, 2026 | Fagg Karen B | director | Phantom Stock | A | 197 | — |
| May 21, 2026 | Rebstock Peggy S. | officer: VP, CAO and Controller | Common Stock | — | 0 | — |
| May 21, 2026 | Rebstock Peggy S. | officer: VP, CAO and Controller | Common Stock | — | 0 | — |
| May 20, 2026 | SANDBROOK WILLIAM J | director | Common Stock | A | 2,040 | — |
| May 20, 2026 | MOSS PATRICIA L | director | Common Stock | A | 2,040 | — |
Operator: Good morning, everyone, and welcome to the Knife River Corporation First Quarter Results Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] Also, today's call is being recorded. At this time, I would like to hand things over to Dara Dierks, VP of Investor Relations. Please go ahead, ma'am. Dara Dierks: Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining Knife River Corporation's First Quarter Results Conference Call. With me today are President and Chief Executive Officer, Brian Gray; and Chief Financial Officer, Nathan Ring. A question-and-answer session will follow their prepared remarks. Today's discussion will contain forward-looking statements about future operational and financial expectations. Actual results may differ materially from those projected in today's forward-looking statements. For further detail, please refer to today's earnings release and the risk factors disclosed in our most recent filings with the SEC, which are available on our website and the SEC website. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update our forward-looking statements. During this presentation, we will make reference to certain non-GAAP information. These non-GAAP measures are defined and reconciled to the most directly comparable GAAP measure in today's earnings release and investor presentation. These materials are also available on our website. I would now like to turn the call over to Brian. Brian Gray: Thank you, Dara. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us. We had a strong start to the year, and I look forward to discussing our first quarter in more detail. Also today, we'll spend some time highlighting key components of our growth strategy and what we see ahead in 2026. Starting with our first quarter results. I'm pleased to report we improved revenue by 16% and adjusted EBITDA by 16% year-over-year, while expanding adjusted EBITDA margins by 290 basis points. We saw increased activity in our markets, which helped drive double-digit volume growth across our product lines. Combined with our efforts to lower costs and optimize pricing, we realized margin growth for aggregates, ready-mix and asphalt. On the contracting services side, revenues were up, and we have secured record quarter backlog of $1.2 billion. We are just now entering the start of our construction season, and we're doing so from a position of strength. Lastly, we completed 3 aggregates-based acquisitions during the quarter. We expanded into Utah with a platform operation in Salt Lake City, and we strengthened our footprint in Montana. I'll talk more about our acquisition opportunities in a few minutes. We are growing. Our competitive edge initiatives are working, and we believe we are well positioned for another successful year. We're excited about 2026, and we're confident in our ability to deliver continued growth. Supporting that confidence is a clear improvement strategy that we believe makes us the employer, supplier, acquirer and investment of choice. …
| Name | Title | Compensation | Gender | Year Born | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Brian R. Gray | Chief Executive Officer, President & Director | USD 2,035,027 | Male | 1971 | Active |
Trevor J. Hastings | Vice President & Chief Operating Officer | USD 982,029 | Male | 1974 | Active |
Nathan W. Ring | Vice President & Chief Financial Officer | USD 971,029 | Male | 1975 | Active |
Karl A. Liepitz | Vice President, Chief Legal Officer & Secretary | USD 874,272 | Male | 1979 | Active |
Glenn R. Pladsen | Vice President & Chief Excellence Officer | USD 763,444 | Male | 1968 | Active |
Zane Adam Karimi | Director of Investor Relations | — | Male | — | Active |
Marney Kadrmas | Senior Vice President of Financial Strategy | — | Female | 1970 | Active |
Peggy S. Rebstock | VP, Chief Accounting Officer & Controller | — | Female | 1973 | Active |
Sarah L. LaChapelle | Vice President & Chief People Officer | — | Female | 1980 | Active |
Tony Spilde | Senior Director of Communications | — | — | — | Active |
On August 24, 2026, Knife River Corp (KNF) shares fell 3.8%, closing at $63.66. The stock has experienced significant volatility, with a 52-week range of $58.72

Knife River (NYSE: KNF) reported second-quarter revenue growth of 13% year over year as it converted a record backlog into higher sales, while adjusted EBITDA was flat on a reported basis amid higher diesel costs, weather-related project delays and lower-margin contracting work. President and Chief Executive Officer Brian Gray said adjusted EBITDA increased 7% from the

Knife River Corporation remains rated Hold due to low ROIC, negative ROIC-WACC spread, and limited multiple expansion potential. Q2 results showed strong 13% revenue growth but margin compression from cost inflation and higher fuel prices, partially offset by 8% price increases. KNF's aggregates segment benefits from local monopolies, but overall industry capital returns remain structurally low versus peers like VMC and MLM.

Knife River NYSE: KNF reported second-quarter revenue growth of 13% year over year as it converted a record backlog into higher sales, while adjusted EBITDA was flat on a reported basis amid higher diesel costs, weather-related project delays and lower-margin contracting work.

Knife River Corporation (KNF) Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
