Start here if you're new
what it is
World Kinect buys and sells fuel for ships, planes, and trucks.
how it gets paid
Last year World Kinect made $36.9B in revenue. Marine was the main engine at $13.0B, or 35% of sales.
why growth slowed
Revenue fell 12.5% last year. The 2.6% gross margin mattered most because it shows how little room the business has when fuel economics turn.
what just happened
The latest quarter missed profit expectations: adjusted EPS was about $0.30 versus roughly $0.47 expected, on sales near $9B (not a $20B+ quarterly number).
At a glance
B++ balance sheet — above average — nothing keeping you up at night
20/100 earnings predictability — expect surprises
22.1x trailing p/e — priced about right
3.3% dividend yield — cash in your pocket every quarter
3.5% return on capital — nothing to write home about
xvary composite: 56/100 — below average
What they do
World Kinect buys and sells fuel for ships, planes, and trucks.
Your flight, ship, and truck fuel bills can run through one counterparty. That is 4,745 employees moving fuel across marine, aviation, and land channels. The punchline is the margin: 2.6% gross margin means a $100 sale leaves $2.60 before overhead.
How they make money
$36.9B
annual revenue · their business grew -12.5% last year
Marine
$13.0B
Aviation
$11.5B
Land
$9.8B
Corporate and other
$2.6B
The products that matter
marine fuel distribution
Marine
~35% of ~$36.9B revenue
marine is the largest single segment by sales, so shipping demand and fuel spreads still set much of the tone. if marine margins slip, you feel it fast.
largest segment
land fuel distribution
Land
land ~27% · aviation ~31%
together, land and aviation are the rest of the revenue stack after marine. that mix gives some end-market diversification, but it does not change the basic math of a business earning just ~0.2% net margin on the whole $36.9B base.
multi-channel
Key numbers
$36.9B
annual revenue
This is the size of the machine. Big revenue with a 2.6% gross margin means the business needs volume and discipline, not heroics.
2.6%
gross margin
This is the whole trick. You are looking at a business that moves giant dollars and keeps pennies.
3.3%
dividend yield
You are paid to wait, but only if earnings cover the payout. Thin margins make that test harder.
$767M
long-term debt
Debt is not huge versus revenue, but it still matters when operating margin is only 0.9%.
Financial health
B++
strength
- balance sheet grade B++ — above average financial health
- risk rank 3 — safer than 50% of stocks
- price stability 45 / 100
- long-term debt $767M (34% of capital)
- net profit margin 0.2% — keeps 0 cents of every dollar in revenue
- return on equity 5% — $0.05 profit for every $1 investors have put in
B++ — functional but not a standout on the balance sheet.
Total return vs. market
You invested $10,000 in WKC 3 years ago → it's now worth $10,410.
The index would have given you $13,880.
source: institutional data · total return
What just happened
missed estimates
World Kinect missed adjusted EPS at about $0.30 versus roughly $0.47 expected (street data varies by GAAP vs. adjusted).
Q4 revenue was on the order of $9B — huge, but not ~$28B (a common scaling mistake is confusing quarterly with larger rolling totals). Gross margin stayed near 2.6%.
~$9.0B
q4 revenue (approx.)
~$0.30
adj. eps (approx.)
2.6%
gross margin
the number that mattered
The 2.6% gross margin mattered most because it shows how little room the business has when fuel economics turn.
-
world kinect likely closed 2025 with decent results.
-
note: full-year results were expected around the time this report reached subscribers.operating performance improved late in the year, and the company likely remained profitable in the december quarter following a return to the black in the september period.
-
earlier in 2025, results were pressured by three consecutive quarterly losses tied to weaker conditions in certain land fuel operations and lower commodity price realizations.the june quarter included a large noncash goodwill impairment tied primarily to the sale of the u.k. land fuels business.
-
even excluding that charge, full-year results likely amounted to a loss of roughly $0.15 per share.
-
financials should improve in 2026.with the sale of the u.k. and brazil businesses now complete, and the exit of a few smaller north american land operations behind it, comparisons this year should be favorable.
source: company earnings report, 2026
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What could go wrong
the top risk is sub-1% margins in marine and land fuel distribution staying sub-1%.
med
thin margins leave you no margin of safety
WKC produced a 0.8% operating margin and a 0.2% net margin last year. That is a tiny profit pool sitting on top of $36.9B in revenue.
if fuel spreads tighten or operating costs rise, a large chunk of earnings power disappears fast because there is almost no cushion.
med
post-divestiture improvement may be mostly optical
the sale of the u.k. and brazil businesses should make 2026 comparisons cleaner. cleaner comparisons do not guarantee better underlying economics.
if EPS misses the $1.10 estimate while operating margin stays below 1%, the repair story starts to look like accounting cleanup instead of real operating progress.
med
cost creep matters more here than at most companies
compliance, environmental, and operating requirements can push costs higher across marine and land fuel distribution. that matters more when net margin is already just 0.2%.
with only about 20 cents of profit per $100 of revenue, even modest cost pressure can erase a meaningful share of annual profit.
at 0.8% operating margin and 0.2% net margin, WKC does not need a disaster to disappoint you — it needs one bad spread or one sticky cost line.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
metric
operating margin above 1%
0.8% is the current reality. if management cannot get that above 1%, the turnaround case stays fragile no matter what revenue does.
calendar
first clean post-divestiture comparisons
2026 should be easier to read now that the u.k. and brazil sales are complete. you want cleaner numbers and better margins, not just easier math.
trend
institutional selling streak
big holders have been net sellers for three straight quarters. if that reverses, sentiment may be improving before the income statement fully shows it.
risk
marine and land staying balanced
marine, aviation, and land split the revenue pie unevenly (~35% / ~31% / ~27%). if one channel starts carrying too much of the load, your diversification cushion gets thinner.
Analyst rankings
short-term outlook
average
momentum score 3 — the stock is tracking close to the broader market. in human-speak: analysts do not see a strong near-term edge.
risk profile
average
stability score 3 — neither especially safe nor unusually volatile. the business risk comes more from thin economics than from a stressed balance sheet.
chart momentum
bottom 5%
technical score 5 is the lowest rating. the tape is saying this stock has not earned the market's trust yet.
earnings predictability
20 / 100
earnings predictability at 20/100 means estimates deserve a discount. if you own this, you are underwriting a lumpy recovery, not a smooth compounding story.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
institutions have been net selling for 3 consecutive quarters — 115 buyers vs. 151 sellers in 3q2025. total institutional holdings: 60.4M shares. net selling for 3 quarters.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
$22
$45
$28
current price
$34
target midpoint · +23% from current · 3-5yr high: $45 (+65% · 15% ann'l return)
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