KBR vs J Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
Compare KBR's government-and-defense-services concentration against Jacobs Solutions' broader infrastructure-and-water-engineering portfolio.
Use this KBR Inc. vs Jacobs Solutions comparison to evaluate the key differences across valuation, growth, profitability, and risk before making an investment decision.
KBR holds the edge across 3 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. J has delivered stronger 1-year price return (-4.16% vs -28.01%), though KBR has the better forward P/E setup (9.07x vs 18.40x for J). On fundamentals, J is growing revenue faster (34.50%), while KBR maintains the higher operating margin (7.61%) — a classic growth-versus-profitability split. Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for KBR (+24.00%) than for J (+6.94%).
Human Wall Street analysts' price targets, typically implying a ~12-month view — a separate signal from this site's own AI Prediction Signal further down the page, which is a 5-/30-day machine-learning forecast based on price history alone.
| Metric | KBR | J |
|---|---|---|
| AI scorei | 39.4 | 48.7 |
| AI ranki | #1250 | #604 |
| Latest closei | $35.54 | $143.40 |
| 1M returni | -6.40% | -2.69% |
| 6M returni | -4.18% | +12.01% |
| 1Y returni | -28.01% | -4.16% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | KBR | J |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $7.2K (-28.0%) started 2025-09-18 | $9.58K (-4.2%) started 2025-09-18 |
| 5Y ago | $9.4K (-6.0%) started 2021-09-20 | $14.08K (+40.8%) started 2021-09-20 |
| 10Y ago | $24.6K (+146.0%) started 2016-09-19 | $37.92K (+279.2%) started 2016-09-19 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | KBR | J |
|---|---|---|
| Market capi | $4.65B | $17.79B |
| Trailing P/Ei | 11.10 | 50.49 |
| Forward P/Ei | 9.07 | 18.40 |
| Price/Salesi | N/A | N/A |
| EV/Revenuei | 0.93 | 1.45 |
| Analyst targeti | $45.71 | $162.53 |
| Target upsidei | +24.00% | +6.94% |
| Metric | KBR | J |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growthi | 1.60% | 34.50% |
| Earnings growthi | 33.10% | -25.40% |
| EPS growthi | +33.10% | -25.40% |
| FCF margini | +3.64% | +4.54% |
| Operating margini | 7.61% | 7.39% |
| Profit margini | 5.49% | 2.38% |
| ROIC proxyi | 27.53% | 8.00% |
| Return on equityi | 27.53% | 8.00% |
| Dividend yieldi | 1.79% | 0.96% |
| Payout ratioi | 19.88% | 45.18% |
| Dividend growth streaki | N/A | No increase yet |
| Betai | 0.45 | 0.67 |
| Debt/equityi | 170.40 | 124.73 |
| Current ratioi | 1.15 | 1.29 |
| Quick ratioi | 1.04 | 1.25 |
Over the past year, KBR and J have moved moderately in the same direction (correlation of 0.55), based on daily returns.
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | KBR | J |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growthi | -28.01% | -4.16% |
| CAGRi | -28.03% | -4.17% | |
| Volatilityi | 34.05% | 32.83% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | -0.93 | -0.10 | |
| Sortino ratioi | -1.27 | -0.13 | |
| Max drawdowni | 39.28% | 34.77% | |
| Current drawdowni | 28.22% | 12.79% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 20.60% | 16.26% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 22.24% | 18.13% | |
| Max daily dropi | 6.62% | 10.95% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 16.03% | 16.61% | |
| 5Y | Growthi | -5.95% | +37.44% |
| CAGRi | -1.22% | +6.57% | |
| Volatilityi | 29.27% | 26.17% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | -0.05 | 0.20 | |
| Sortino ratioi | -0.07 | 0.28 | |
| Max drawdowni | 58.26% | 34.77% | |
| Current drawdowni | 50.65% | 12.79% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 18.57% | 12.04% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 24.73% | 14.12% | |
| Max daily dropi | 14.02% | 10.95% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 19.26% | 16.61% | |
| 10Y | Growthi | +145.95% | +259.60% |
| CAGRi | +9.42% | +13.66% | |
| Volatilityi | 36.68% | 27.81% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.31 | 0.44 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.43 | 0.62 | |
| Max drawdowni | 58.26% | 39.33% | |
| Current drawdowni | 50.65% | 12.79% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 15.18% | 10.14% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 20.67% | 12.65% | |
| Max daily dropi | 22.89% | 12.10% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 36.72% | 24.33% |
| Category | KBR | J |
|---|---|---|
| Company | KBR | J |
| Sector | Industrials | Industrials |
| Industry | Engineering & Construction | Engineering & Construction |
| Core business | KBR, Inc. provides scientific, technology, and engineering solutions to governments and commercial customers worldwide. | Jacobs Solutions Inc. engages in the infrastructure and advanced facilities, and consulting businesses in the United States, Europe, Canada, India, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, the Middle East, and Africa. |
Want deeper AI forecasts?
This comparison page is public and free forever. Subscribers can unlock saved watchlists, full AI rankings, detailed forecasts, and interactive analysis tools.