ODFL vs TFII: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?

Same yardstick, side by side (as of August 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: TFII 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. ODFL and TFII 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 ODFL and TFII 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.

Old Dominion Freight Line is a non-union less-than-truckload (LTL) motor carrier that moves palletized freight for thousands of business customers across a company-owned network of roughly 260 service centers spanning the continental US. LTL means consolidating multiple shippers' partial loads onto one trailer, a dense, service-intensive business where Old Dominion has built a reputation for best-in-class on-time delivery (about 99%) and a very low cargo claims ratio (under 0.1%). That service premium lets it charge higher yields (revenue per hundredweight) and consistently run the lowest operating ratio in the industry, meaning it keeps more of every revenue dollar as profit than peers.

Full ODFL guide

TFI International is a North American transportation and logistics company that operates across the United States, Canada, and Mexico through four reporting segments: Less-Than-Truckload (LTL), Truckload, Logistics, and Package and Courier. Its LTL business is anchored by TForce Freight, the former UPS Freight operation it acquired for about US$800 million in 2021, and the company has long grown through a steady stream of tuck-in and larger acquisitions under CEO Alain Bedard. It serves e-commerce, retail, industrial, and OEM customers, and its asset-based scale is meant to drive down cost per shipment.

Full TFII guide

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

• ODFL drivers: Market-share gains from service leadership; Yield and pricing discipline.
• TFII drivers: LTL scale and TForce Freight integration; Acquisition-led growth and capital allocation.

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: Freight demand is cyclical and tied to industrial production and goods consumption, so a prolonged soft patch pressures volumes, as seen in the roughly 7.7% Q1 2026 tonnage decline. For TFII, the freight recession has dragged on for years, and TFII's LTL tonnage fell more than 7% year over year in a recent quarter while revenue per hundredweight also declined, so a delayed recovery would keep pressure on earnings.

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 ODFL if you believe its drivers more; TFII 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 ODFL and TFII guides.

ODFL. ODFL posted Q1 2026 revenue of about $1.33 billion, down roughly 2.9% year over year, with EPS of about $1.14 that beat estimates on firm pricing despite lower volumes. Trailing-twelve-month revenue is around $5.5 billion against roughly $1.0 billion of net income. The premium multiple (P/E near 40) reflects the market's willingness to pay up for the strongest margins and service record in LTL.

TFII. TFII trades at a full trailing earnings multiple after a strong run in the shares, with a lower forward multiple that assumes an earnings recovery. Q1 2026 revenue came in around $1.95 billion, ahead of estimates, but operating income and net income were down year over year as freight demand stayed soft. The valuation embeds an expectation that the freight cycle improves.

Headline figures (approximate, JULY 2026): ODFL shows revenue (ttm) ~$5.5B, net income (ttm) ~$1.0B, market cap ~$42B, q1 2026 diluted eps ~$1.14; TFII shows revenue (ttm) ~$7.9B, net income (ttm) ~$300M, market cap ~$11.8B, p/e (trailing) ~44x.

ODFL and TFII 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 ODFL and TFII exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.