CHRW vs RXO: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?

Same yardstick, side by side (as of October 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.

Reading it: CHRW is the cheaper of the two on forward earnings, but cheaper is not the same as better. Pair the valuation with growth (how far the forward P/E sits below the trailing P/E) and risk (beta) before you decide.

The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. CHRW and RXO share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.

This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined CHRW and RXO exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

C.H. Robinson Worldwide is one of the world's largest logistics platforms, operating an asset-light model: it owns very few trucks or ships and instead brokers capacity, matching shippers who need goods moved with the carriers that move them. Its two core engines are North American Surface Transportation (NAST, roughly two-thirds of net revenue, spanning truckload and less-than-truckload brokerage) and Global Forwarding (ocean, air, and customs). The company earns a spread between what shippers pay and what carriers charge, so its profitability tracks freight-market pricing and volume cycles more than gross revenue, which simply passes through freight costs.

Full CHRW guide

RXO, Inc. was created in November 2022 when XPO spun off its asset-light North American brokered transportation business. The company does not own tractors or trailers. It sells capacity to shippers, buys it from independent carriers, and keeps the spread, which is why revenue is large (~$6.1 billion trailing twelve months) and margins are thin. Truck brokerage is roughly 74% of revenue, with two complementary businesses making up the rest: Last Mile (~18%), which delivers heavy goods like appliances and furniture into homes, and Managed Transportation (~8%), which runs outsourced freight departments for large shippers under multi-year contracts. In September 2024 RXO paid about $1.025 billion for Coyote Logistics from UPS, roughly doubling brokerage volume and moving RXO into the top three North American truck brokers behind C.H. Robinson and Total Quality Logistics.

Full RXO guide

Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.

• CHRW drivers: Margin expansion through automation and cost discipline; Scale and network advantage as the #1 broker.
• RXO drivers: The C.H. Robinson deal sets the value; Truckload capacity leaving the market.

A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: CHRW operates in an intensely competitive, low-margin industry where it faces asset-based carriers (J.B. For RXO, the main risk now is the deal itself.

Growth-minded investors who believe the theme has years to run tend to accept the richer multiple for more upside; value-minded investors lean toward the cheaper forward earnings and steadier profile. Pick CHRW if you believe its drivers more; RXO if you believe its. Many investors hold both, but since they share themes, that is a concentrated bet, not diversification. Decide deliberately and check overlap. For the full detail, see the CHRW and RXO guides.

CHRW. The multiple has compressed: CHRW now trades near 26 times trailing and 18 times forward earnings, down from the mid-30s P/E of mid-2026, as the shares fell about 34% in three months and investors priced in the leverage and integration risk of the ~$5.8 billion RXO acquisition. Earnings themselves are still rising, with second-quarter 2026 EPS of $1.61 beating the $1.52 consensus. Third-quarter results on October 28 carry a consensus near $1.75, and the 23 analysts tracked by Yahoo Finance have a mean target around $193, though several cut targets in mid-October.

RXO. Earnings multiples no longer explain the RXO share price. With a signed sale to C.H. Robinson, the stock trades close to the value of $17.25 in cash plus about 0.0856 C.H. Robinson shares, about $28.40 when C.H. Robinson is at $130, against an October 16, 2026 close of about $28.30. Any gap between the two is the market's price for the time to closing in the first half of 2027 and the risk that the deal does not complete.

Headline figures (approximate, October 2026): CHRW shows revenue (ttm) ~$17.0B; Q2 2026 ~$4.93B, up ~19% y/y, net income (ttm) ~$633M, eps (ttm / forward) ~$5.24 / ~$7.49, p/e (trailing / forward) ~26x / ~18x; RXO shows deal terms (c.h. robinson) $17.25 cash + ~0.0856 CHRW shares per RXO share; ~$5.8B total; close expected 1H 2027, revenue (ttm) ~$6.1B, q2 2026 revenue (yoy) ~$1.77B (+25%), net income (ttm) ~-$105M (~-$0.62 per share).

CHRW and RXO are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined CHRW and RXO exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.