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Side-by-side financial comparison of Element Solutions Inc (ESI) and LANDSTAR SYSTEM INC (LSTR). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

LANDSTAR SYSTEM INC is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($1.2B vs $840.0M, roughly 1.4× Element Solutions Inc). Element Solutions Inc runs the higher net margin — 6.7% vs 3.4%, a 3.3% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, Element Solutions Inc posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (41.0% vs 1.6%). Over the past eight quarters, Element Solutions Inc's revenue compounded faster (17.1% CAGR vs -2.2%).

Element Solutions Inc is an American specialty chemicals production corporation listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

Landstar System, Inc. is an American transportation services company specializing in logistics and, more specifically, third-party logistics. Landstar utilizes an extensive network of over 8,800 independent owner-operators, referred to internally as business capacity owners (BCOs), over 1,000 independent freight agents, and over 70,000 vetted carriers. Landstar provides services principally throughout the United States and to a lesser extent in Canada and between the U.S. and Canada, Mexico, ...

ESI vs LSTR — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
LSTR
LSTR
1.4× larger
LSTR
$1.2B
$840.0M
ESI
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
ESI
ESI
+39.4% gap
ESI
41.0%
1.6%
LSTR
Higher net margin
ESI
ESI
3.3% more per $
ESI
6.7%
3.4%
LSTR
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
ESI
ESI
Annualised
ESI
17.1%
-2.2%
LSTR

Income Statement — Q1 FY2026 vs Q1 FY2026

Metric
ESI
ESI
LSTR
LSTR
Revenue
$840.0M
$1.2B
Net Profit
$56.0M
$39.4M
Gross Margin
38.4%
9.6%
Operating Margin
13.3%
4.5%
Net Margin
6.7%
3.4%
Revenue YoY
41.0%
1.6%
Net Profit YoY
-43.0%
32.3%
EPS (diluted)
$0.23
$1.16

Green = leading value per metric. Periods may differ when fiscal calendars don't align.

8-Quarter Revenue & Profit Trend

Side-by-side quarterly history. Quarters aligned by calendar period so offset fiscal years line up.

Revenue
ESI
ESI
LSTR
LSTR
Q1 26
$840.0M
$1.2B
Q4 25
$676.2M
$1.2B
Q3 25
$656.1M
$1.2B
Q2 25
$625.2M
$1.2B
Q1 25
$593.7M
$1.2B
Q4 24
$624.2M
$1.2B
Q3 24
$645.0M
$1.2B
Q2 24
$612.7M
$1.2B
Net Profit
ESI
ESI
LSTR
LSTR
Q1 26
$56.0M
$39.4M
Q4 25
$6.2M
$23.9M
Q3 25
$39.3M
$19.4M
Q2 25
$47.4M
$41.9M
Q1 25
$98.0M
$29.8M
Q4 24
$54.7M
$46.2M
Q3 24
$40.3M
$50.0M
Q2 24
$93.2M
$52.6M
Gross Margin
ESI
ESI
LSTR
LSTR
Q1 26
38.4%
9.6%
Q4 25
40.9%
Q3 25
42.2%
Q2 25
42.6%
Q1 25
42.2%
Q4 24
41.0%
Q3 24
41.5%
Q2 24
43.6%
Operating Margin
ESI
ESI
LSTR
LSTR
Q1 26
13.3%
4.5%
Q4 25
10.3%
2.5%
Q3 25
15.4%
2.2%
Q2 25
15.1%
4.6%
Q1 25
13.0%
3.4%
Q4 24
12.0%
4.8%
Q3 24
14.7%
5.2%
Q2 24
15.7%
5.6%
Net Margin
ESI
ESI
LSTR
LSTR
Q1 26
6.7%
3.4%
Q4 25
0.9%
2.0%
Q3 25
6.0%
1.6%
Q2 25
7.6%
3.5%
Q1 25
16.5%
2.6%
Q4 24
8.8%
3.8%
Q3 24
6.2%
4.1%
Q2 24
15.2%
4.3%
EPS (diluted)
ESI
ESI
LSTR
LSTR
Q1 26
$0.23
$1.16
Q4 25
$0.03
$0.70
Q3 25
$0.16
$0.56
Q2 25
$0.20
$1.20
Q1 25
$0.40
$0.85
Q4 24
$0.22
$1.30
Q3 24
$0.17
$1.41
Q2 24
$0.39
$1.48

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest quarter.

Metric
ESI
ESI
LSTR
LSTR
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$177.3M
$411.0M
Total DebtLower is stronger
$26.1M
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$2.7B
$799.0M
Total Assets
$5.7B
$1.6B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
0.03×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
ESI
ESI
LSTR
LSTR
Q1 26
$177.3M
$411.0M
Q4 25
$626.5M
$452.2M
Q3 25
$594.3M
$434.4M
Q2 25
$529.9M
$426.2M
Q1 25
$499.2M
$473.4M
Q4 24
$359.4M
$566.6M
Q3 24
$376.0M
$531.3M
Q2 24
$309.3M
$504.0M
Total Debt
ESI
ESI
LSTR
LSTR
Q1 26
$26.1M
Q4 25
$1.6B
$0
Q3 25
$1.6B
$0
Q2 25
$1.6B
$0
Q1 25
$1.6B
$0
Q4 24
$1.8B
$0
Q3 24
$1.9B
$0
Q2 24
$1.9B
$0
Stockholders' Equity
ESI
ESI
LSTR
LSTR
Q1 26
$2.7B
$799.0M
Q4 25
$2.7B
$795.7M
Q3 25
$2.7B
$888.7M
Q2 25
$2.6B
$921.8M
Q1 25
$2.5B
$930.8M
Q4 24
$2.4B
$972.4M
Q3 24
$2.4B
$1.0B
Q2 24
$2.4B
$1.0B
Total Assets
ESI
ESI
LSTR
LSTR
Q1 26
$5.7B
$1.6B
Q4 25
$5.1B
$1.6B
Q3 25
$5.0B
$1.7B
Q2 25
$5.0B
$1.7B
Q1 25
$4.8B
$1.7B
Q4 24
$4.9B
$1.8B
Q3 24
$5.1B
$1.8B
Q2 24
$5.0B
$1.8B
Debt / Equity
ESI
ESI
LSTR
LSTR
Q1 26
0.03×
Q4 25
0.61×
0.00×
Q3 25
0.61×
0.00×
Q2 25
0.62×
0.00×
Q1 25
0.64×
0.00×
Q4 24
0.76×
0.00×
Q3 24
0.78×
0.00×
Q2 24
0.81×
0.00×

Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency

How much cash each business actually produces after reinvestment. Cash flow is harder to manipulate than net income.

Metric
ESI
ESI
LSTR
LSTR
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$-74.2M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
-8.8%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
3.0%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
ESI
ESI
LSTR
LSTR
Q1 26
Q4 25
$72.7M
Q3 25
$100.1M
$89.3M
Q2 25
$7.1M
Q1 25
$26.0M
$55.7M
Q4 24
$61.1M
Q3 24
$98.5M
$83.1M
Q2 24
$48.1M
Free Cash Flow
ESI
ESI
LSTR
LSTR
Q1 26
$-74.2M
Q4 25
$70.5M
Q3 25
$83.6M
$86.0M
Q2 25
$4.7M
Q1 25
$15.0M
$53.8M
Q4 24
$54.4M
Q3 24
$85.9M
$75.6M
Q2 24
$40.6M
FCF Margin
ESI
ESI
LSTR
LSTR
Q1 26
-8.8%
Q4 25
6.0%
Q3 25
12.7%
7.1%
Q2 25
0.4%
Q1 25
2.5%
4.7%
Q4 24
4.5%
Q3 24
13.3%
6.2%
Q2 24
3.3%
Capex Intensity
ESI
ESI
LSTR
LSTR
Q1 26
3.0%
Q4 25
2.5%
0.2%
Q3 25
2.5%
0.3%
Q2 25
2.8%
0.2%
Q1 25
1.9%
0.2%
Q4 24
3.6%
0.6%
Q3 24
2.0%
0.6%
Q2 24
2.4%
0.6%
Cash Conversion
ESI
ESI
LSTR
LSTR
Q1 26
Q4 25
3.04×
Q3 25
2.55×
4.61×
Q2 25
0.17×
Q1 25
0.27×
1.87×
Q4 24
1.32×
Q3 24
2.44×
1.66×
Q2 24
0.91×

Financial Flow Comparison

Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.

Revenue Breakdown by Segment

ESI
ESI

Electronics ex-Metals$377.8M45%
Pass-through Metals$255.7M30%
Other$206.5M25%

LSTR
LSTR

Segment breakdown not available.

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