Kirby Corporation

Kirby reported second-quarter 2026 EPS of $1.67, up 11% sequentially and in line with the prior-year quarter. Marine Transportation revenue was $537 million with operating income of $88 million and an operating margin of 16.4%; revenue rose $44 million, or 9%, year over year, while operating income fell $11 million, or 11%, mainly due to temporary fuel-cost timing and elevated coastal shipyard activity. Distribution and Services revenue was $385 million with operating income of $38 million and an operating margin of 10%; revenue rose $23 million, or 6%, year over year and operating income rose $3 million, or 8%. For the full year, management reaffirmed EPS growth guidance of 5% to 15% and said it expects to trend toward the upper end; inland revenue is expected to grow in the high-teens to 20% range, coastal revenue in the mid-single-digit range with margin in the mid- to high-teens range, and Distribution and Services revenue in the mid-single-digit range with operating margin in the mid- to high-single-digit range. The company also reiterated full-year capex of $220 million to $260 million and operating cash flow of $575 million to $675 million.

The CEO’s tone was constructive and increasingly confident about the second half. He emphasized healthy demand, strong asset utilization, improving inland pricing, and Power Generation backlog as the main reasons Kirby feels comfortable near the upper end of full-year guidance. He also framed inland margins as a long, steady improvement story rather than a quick move back to prior peaks, citing tight supply, minimal newbuild activity, and favorable renewal dynamics.

The CFO highlighted solid segment profitability and balance-sheet flexibility. He cited $39 million of cash, $1.04 billion of debt, a 23.1% debt-to-capitalization ratio, and $566 million of available liquidity at quarter end. Operating cash flow was $72.2 million and capex was $71.5 million in the quarter; he said elevated working capital, mainly receivables and fuel rebills, should normalize in the second half and improve free cash flow. He also reaffirmed full-year capex of $220 million to $260 million, with approximately $170 million to $210 million for marine maintenance and about $65 million for growth capital, and said the company returned $59.7 million to shareholders via buybacks at an average price of $142, plus another $25 million to $29 million quarter-to-date in Q3 at about $140.

Analysts pressed on inland margin timing, coastal pricing, fuel pass-throughs, and whether the raised outlook implied faster growth or just more conservatism. Management said inland margin expansion should be slow and steady, with a multiyear path helped by tight supply, pricing discipline, and a heavy Q4 renewal season, while coastal pricing weakness was described as a small, non-Jones Act-related issue in a subset of 80,000- to 100,000-barrel ATBs rather than a broad market problem. On fuel, management said the Q2 headwind was about $0.05 to $0.10 per share and should largely reverse in Q3/Q4 through contractual recovery. They also said Power Generation backlog increased to $1 billion to $1.5 billion and announced Kirby Integrated Power Systems to target the future aftermarket/service opportunity.