Sifting through countless of stocks in the Marine Transportation industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in Matson, Inc. or Star Bulk Carriers Corp. because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how Matson, Inc. and Star Bulk Carriers Corp. compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Matson, Inc. and Star Bulk Carriers Corp.

Matson, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of ocean transportation and logistics services. It operates through two segments, Ocean Transportation and Logistics. The company offers ocean freight transportation services to the domestic non-contiguous economies of Hawaii, Alaska and Guam, and to other island economies in Micronesia; and transports dry containers of mixed commodities, refrigerated commodities, food products, beverages, building materials, automobiles, household goods, livestock, seafood, general sustenance cargo, e-commerce related goods, garments, consumer electronics, footwear, retail merchandise, and other merchandise. It also operates an expedited service from China to Long Beach, California, and various islands in the South Pacific, as well as Okinawa, Japan; and provides stevedoring, refrigerated cargo, inland transportation, container equipment maintenance, and other terminal services on the Hawaiian islands of Oahu, Hawaii, Maui, and Kauai, as well as in the Alaska terminal locations of Anchorage, Kodiak, and Dutch Harbor. In addition, the company provides multimodal transportation brokerage of domestic and international rail intermodal, long-haul and regional highway trucking, specialized hauling, flat-bed and project, less-than-truckload (LCL), and expedited freight services; LCL consolidation and freight forwarding services; warehousing, trans-loading, value-added packaging and distribution services; purchase order management, booking services, and non-vessel operating common carrier freight forwarding services. It serves the U.S. military, freight forwarders and non-vessel owning common carriers, retailers and consumer goods manufacturers, and other customers. The company was formerly known as Alexander & Baldwin Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to Matson, Inc. in June 2012. Matson, Inc. was founded in 1882 and is headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Star Bulk Carriers Corp., a shipping company, engages in the ocean transportation of dry bulk cargoes through the ownership and operation of dry bulk carrier vessels worldwide. Its vessels transport a range of bulk commodities, including iron ores, minerals and grains, bauxite, fertilizers, and steel products. As of December 31, 2025, the company owned a fleet of 136 dry bulk vessels consisting of Newcastlemax, Capesize, Post Panamax, Kamsarmax, Panamax, Ultramax, and Supramax vessels with carrying capacities between 55,569 deadweight tonnage and 209,537 deadweight tonnage. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. was incorporated in 2006 and is based in Marousi, Greece.

Latest Marine Transportation and Matson, Inc., Star Bulk Carriers Corp. Stock News

As of August 7, 2026, Matson, Inc. had a $6.2 billion market capitalization, compared to the Marine Transportation median of $773.9 million. Matson, Inc.’s stock is NA in 2026, NA in the previous five trading days and up 81.65% in the past year.

Currently, Matson, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 13.8. Matson, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $3.5 billion with a 13.4% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 16.7%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $16.053 per share for the current fiscal year. Matson, Inc. currently has a 0.7% dividend yield.

Currently, Star Bulk Carriers Corp.’s price-earnings ratio is 23.2. Star Bulk Carriers Corp.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $1.1 billion with a 23.9% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 21.9%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $4.297 per share for the current fiscal year. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. currently has a 2.0% dividend yield.

How We Compare Matson, Inc. and Star Bulk Carriers Corp. Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at Matson, Inc. and Star Bulk Carriers Corp.’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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Matson, Inc. and Star Bulk Carriers Corp. Growth Grades

Company	Ticker	Growth
Matson, Inc.	MATX	B
Star Bulk Carriers Corp.	SBLK	B

The foundation of growth investing is seeking out stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth that is expected to continue into the future.

In order to compute the growth score and assign it a letter grade, the percentile ranks for each of three components‐consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations‐must be determined. These three rank figures are added together, and the sum is ranked against the entire stock universe to arrive at a company’s Growth Score to create an equal distribution of grades.

The companies in the bottom 20% of the stock universe receive Growth Grades of F, considered to be very weak, while those in the top 20% receive A grades, which are considered very strong.

Matson, Inc. has a Growth Score of 77, which is Strong. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a Growth Score of 77, which is Strong.

The Growth Grade Winner: It’s a Tie!

Looking at the Growth Grade breakdown above, both Matson, Inc. and Star Bulk Carriers Corp. have a grade of B. For investors who focus solely on a company’s upward growth, further research should be conducted into both companies’ other financial metrics before deciding whether to invest.

Matson, Inc. and Star Bulk Carriers Corp.’s Quality Grades

Company	Ticker	Quality
Matson, Inc.	MATX	B
Star Bulk Carriers Corp.	SBLK	A

Like the Value Grade, AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the percentile rank of key metrics. Specifically, the Quality Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and the F-Score.

The score is variable, meaning it can consider all eight measures or, should any of the eight measures not be valid, the remaining measures that are valid. To be assigned a Quality Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) measure and corresponding ranking for at least four of the eight quality measures.

The Quality Score is used to assess the underlying “quality” of a particular stock. A higher-quality stock possesses traits associated with upside potential and reduced downside risk. Backtesting of the Quality Grade shows that stocks with higher grades, on average, outperformed stocks with lower grades over the period of 1998 through 2019.

Stocks receive better grades (higher scores) for having higher scores for the quality subcomponents and worse grades (lower scores) for lower scores for the subcomponents.

Matson, Inc. has a Quality Score of 78, which is Strong. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a Quality Score of 81, which is Very Strong.

The Quality Grade Winner: Star Bulk Carriers Corp.

As you can clearly see from the Quality Grade breakdown above, Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a better overall quality grade than Matson, Inc.. For investors who are looking for companies with higher quality than others in the same industry, Star Bulk Carriers Corp. could be a good stock to add to their portfolios. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Matson, Inc. and Star Bulk Carriers Corp.’s Estimate Revisions Grades

Company	Ticker	Earnings Estimate
Matson, Inc.	MATX	A
Star Bulk Carriers Corp.	SBLK	A

Earnings estimate revisions scores consider the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, positive surprises beget further positive surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

Estimate revisions offer an indication of what analysts are thinking about the short-term prospects of a firm. Estimate revisions are based on the statistical significance of a firm’s last two quarterly earnings surprises and the percentage change in its consensus estimate for the current fiscal year over the past month and past three months.

Matson, Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 87, which is Very Positive. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 88, which is Very Positive.

The Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade Winner: It’s a Tie!

Looking at the Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade breakdown above, both Matson, Inc. and Star Bulk Carriers Corp. have a grade of A. For those focusing solely on a company’s estimate revisions, other financial metrics will need to be evaluated to determine whether Matson, Inc. or Star Bulk Carriers Corp. is a better fit.

Other Matson, Inc. and Star Bulk Carriers Corp. Grades

In addition to Growth, Quality and Estimate Revisions, A+ Investor also provides grades for Value and Momentum.

Momentum grades help uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming.

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection. Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether Matson, Inc. and Star Bulk Carriers Corp. pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, Matson, Inc. or Star Bulk Carriers Corp. Stock?

Overall, Matson, Inc. stock has a Growth Score of 77, Estimate Revisions Score of 87 and Quality Score of 78.

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. stock has a Growth Score of 77, Estimate Revisions Score of 88 and Quality Score of 81.

Comparing Matson, Inc. and Star Bulk Carriers Corp.’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.