Cash fell 43%.
Kirby ended June with $39.0 million, down from $68.4 million a year earlier. That is the oddest number in a filing where revenue rose 7.8% to $922.4 million, while KMT revenue growth was attributed to higher term pricing and fuel rebills in the inland and coastal markets.
The income statement supplies the friction. Operating income fell 7.2% to $122.4 million, pulling operating margin down to 13.3% from 15.4%. Net income declined 4.8% to $89.7 million, but diluted earnings per share held at $1.67 because the diluted share count fell 4.9% to 53.7 million.
Kirby says KMT's revenue increase came with a pricing split that matters. KMT is the company’s marine transportation business, carrying bulk liquid products such as chemicals and agricultural commodities.
"KMT revenues for the 2026 second quarter and first six months increased 9% and 7%, respectively, compared to the 2025 second quarter and first six months, primarily due to higher term pricing in the inland market and increased fuel rebills in the inland and coastal markets, partially offset by lower spot pricing in the inland market as compared to the 2025 second quarter and first six months."
Kirby 10-Q, filed Aug. 5, 2026
Revenue increased, but not every price moved in the same direction. Lower inland spot pricing partly offset the stronger contracted rates, leaving revenue growth without the same lift at the operating line.
Fuel added another squeeze. Kirby disclosed that rapidly rising fuel prices temporarily compressed inland operating income and margins because contractual fuel escalators adjust with a lag. The company also said selling, general, and administrative expenses rose with inflationary cost pressure, including salary and wage increases that began July 1, 2025.
"During the second quarter of 2026, rapidly rising fuel prices temporarily compressed operating income and operating margins in the inland market due to the inherent lag in the Company's contractual fuel escalation mechanisms."
Kirby 10-Q, filed Aug. 5, 2026
The filing highlights the cost and pricing mechanics between a load moving and its economics landing. Kirby's latest annual results had reached a 14.8% operating margin in 2025; the latest three months came in 1.5 percentage points below that level.
The cash numbers complicate the margin story again. For the first six months, operating cash flow rose to $169.9 million from $130.5 million, while capital expenditures fell 20.2%. Kirby describes the improvement as favorable working-capital changes, not as a result of higher quarterly profit. Accounts receivable rose 13.7% to $641.6 million, while inventory declined 2.4% to $415.9 million.
Debt was higher at midyear than at year-end, even as cash was lower than a year earlier. Long-term debt increased 13% from year-end, and the debt-to-capitalization ratio rose to 23.1% from 21.4%. Interest expense still fell 14% in the three months, as average debt and the average interest rate both declined versus the comparable period.
At the latest close, Kirby shares were $132.59, up 1.6% on Aug. 4. The stock’s 12-month return was 38.8%, while the latest filing presents a business adding revenue and reducing capital spending, but retaining less operating margin and carrying more receivables at the June 30 snapshot.
The unresolved point is not hidden in another segment table. It is whether the cash balance and receivables balance moved back toward their prior levels in Kirby’s next quarterly report.
Source: Kirby’s 10-Q filed Aug. 5, 2026. For the next quarterly report, how did cash and receivables move after the June 30 snapshot?