Heartland Express

HTLD · Nasdaq · Industrials · Financials, fiscal 2016 to 2025

HTLD · Last close · November 6, 2026

$10.09

Heartland Express' revenue fell 23.1% to $806 million in fiscal 2025. Its operating margin was −7.1%, down from −1.9% a year earlier. Free cash flow was −$67 million, against $35 million a year earlier. It paid out $17 million in dividends and buybacks. The diluted share count fell 1.1%.

HEARTLAND EXPRESS INC Latest fiscal year ended December 31, 2025 10-K filed March 3, 2026 · 0000799233-26-000006 Updated November 7, 2026

Revenue

$806M

23.1%

Operating margin

−7.1%

5.2 pts

Net income

−$52M

Free cash flow

−$67M

$35M a year earlier

Return on capital

−4.8%

3.3 pts

Market cap

$781M

Nov 6 close

P/E

—

Loss: no P/E

Operating margin is operating income as a share of revenue. Free cash flow is cash from operations minus capital spending. Return on capital is after-tax operating income as a share of the money invested in the business: debt plus equity, minus cash. Market cap is the last closing share price times the latest diluted share count, so it is approximate. P/E is the last close divided by diluted earnings per share over the last four quarters, or the latest fiscal year where the quarters aren't available; there is none when the company made a loss.

Charts show fiscal years, from the 10-K filings.

What Heartland Express does

Heartland Express is a trucking company. It hauls truckloads of freight, mainly in dry van trailers, for major shippers across the United States. It also offers temperature-controlled trucking and logistics in Mexico, but says these are not significant. Its average haul is under 400 miles, and it focuses on customers with a lot of freight in the areas where it operates.

It earns money from the number of miles per load it delivers and the rate it is paid per mile or per load. It runs under the brands Heartland Express, Millis Transfer and Smith Transport, plus CFI for services in Mexico. At the end of 2025 it folded the U.S. operations of CFI, a carrier it bought, into the Heartland Express name. Its headquarters are in North Liberty, Iowa.

It says it competes by keeping service and safety high, which depends on having experienced drivers and late-model trucks. Its workforce shrank during the year: it averaged about 4,560 drivers and non-driving staff in 2025 and had about 3,630 by the end of January 2026.

Its biggest risks, as it describes them

Freight demand, fuel and other costs that it cannot control, and may not be able to pass on.
Higher driver pay, or trouble hiring and keeping enough qualified drivers.
Depending on a few major customers.
Problems from joining CFI, its largest acquisition, into its own business.
Strong competition in trucking that limits its prospects for growth.

From Heartland Express's annual report on Form 10-K, filed March 3, 2026, in our words; the 10-K has the full description and every risk factor. Updated with each new annual report.

Income statement

Revenue and net income

US$ billions, fiscal years; net losses in red. Revenue on the left axis, net income on the right; zero is the same line on both.

Revenue (left axis)Net income (right axis)

Gross profit, R&D and operating income

US$ billions, fiscal years. Gross profit is revenue minus the cost of what was sold; research and development is one of the costs paid from it; what remains after all operating costs is operating income. Losses in red.

Gross profitResearch and developmentOperating income

Margins

Percent of revenue

GrossOperatingNetFree cash flow

From fiscal 2016 to 2023, earnings per share fell 16.7% a year and net income 17.4% a year, while buybacks cut the share count by 5%. Heartland Express then lost money in fiscal 2024 and 2025.

Diluted earnings per share

US$ per share, fiscal years, restated for any stock splits; loss years in red.

Returns on capital

Return on capital and on equity

Percent. Return on capital is after-tax operating income over the money invested in the business (debt plus equity, minus cash); return on equity is net income over shareholders' equity. Both use the average of opening and closing balances.

Return on capitalReturn on equity

Balance sheet

Cash and debt

US$ billions, at each fiscal year end. Debt includes finance leases.

Cash and short-term investmentsDebt

Assets, liabilities and equity

US$ billions, at each fiscal year end. Assets equal liabilities plus equity; negative equity in red.

Total assetsTotal liabilitiesShareholders' equity

Debt and liquidity ratios

Times. Debt to equity, current assets over current liabilities, and net debt over EBITDA (a full year's).

Debt to equityCurrent ratioNet debt to EBITDA

Five years at a glance

Fiscal year end	FY21	FY22	FY23	FY24	FY25
Cash and short-term investments	158	50	28	13	18
Debt incl. finance leases	0	380	280	188	154
Net debt (negative means net cash)	−158	331	252	175	136
Net debt to EBITDA	−0.8x	1.0x	1.0x	1.1x	1.3x
Debt to equity	0.0x	0.4x	0.3x	0.2x	0.2x
Interest coverage	—	22.0x	1.8x	−1.1x	−5.0x
Current ratio	3.3x	1.5x	1.4x	1.1x	1.0x
Quick ratio	3.3x	1.5x	1.4x	1.1x	1.0x

US$ millions unless stated, at each fiscal year end. Net debt to EBITDA is debt minus cash, divided by operating income before depreciation and amortization: roughly how many years of those earnings the net debt equals. Debt to equity is debt as a multiple of shareholders' equity. Interest coverage is operating income divided by interest expense. The current ratio is current assets over current liabilities; the quick ratio leaves out inventory.

Cash flow

Cash from operations, capital spending and free cash flow

US$ billions, fiscal years. Free cash flow is cash from operations minus capital spending; negative years in red.

Cash from operationsCapital spendingFree cash flow

Stock-based compensation and buybacks

US$ billions, fiscal years. Shares paid to employees (stock-based compensation, a cost that uses no cash) against cash spent buying shares back. Buybacks that only match it leave the share count roughly where it was.

Stock-based compensationShare buybacks

Dividends and buybacks

US$ billions, cash paid in each fiscal year

DividendsShare buybacks

Diluted share count

Weighted-average diluted shares, millions

Projections

Project Heartland Express' revenue, net income and earnings per share five years ahead in a bull, a base and a bear case with your own figures, and see the share prices your P/E estimates give them, or value it with a discounted cash flow model. Every projected figure is yours: it is not a forecast of ours.

Open Heartland Express' projections

Insider trades

Over the 12 months between November 7, 2025 and November 6, 2026, 1 insider bought $31,380 of Heartland Express shares on the open market, and 1 insider sold $492,069.

Buys and sells by month

US$ millions, open-market purchases (up) and sales (down) by officers, directors and 10% owners in each month.

BoughtSold

Date	Insider	Trade	Shares	Price	Value	Filing
Jun 15, 2026	David Paul MillisDirector	Sold	31,402	$15.67	$492,069	Form 4
Jun 10, 2026	David P SpaldingDirector	Bought	2,000	$15.69	$31,380	Form 4

Open-market purchases and sales by officers, directors and 10% owners, from their Form 4 filings with the SEC: one row per person, day and filing, at the day's average price. Grants, option exercises and shares withheld for tax aren't counted. Insiders buy and sell for many reasons, such as taxes, spreading their savings or a plan set up months earlier, so a trade on its own says little about where a company is heading. For information only, not investment advice. Insider trades at all companies

Indicators

Four widely used measures, worked out from the company's filings. The cutoffs are the ones their authors or users go by, not a verdict of ours.

Indicator	FY23	FY24	FY25
Piotroski F-score	4 of 8	4 of 8	4 of 8
Rule of 40	21.1%	−9.9%	−31.4%
Altman Z''	4.09	4.14	4.16
Accruals ratio	−9.5%	−12.2%	−11.2%

Piotroski F-score: how many of nine simple tests of profitability, funding and efficiency the company passed in the year (Piotroski, 2000); 8 or 9 is strong, 0 to 2 weak. Rule of 40: revenue growth plus free cash flow margin; software investors treat 40% or more as the bar. Altman Z'': working capital, retained earnings, operating income and equity weighed against assets and liabilities (Altman, 1995); Altman puts above 2.6 in the safe zone and below 1.1 in the distress zone. Accruals ratio: net income minus cash from operations, over average total assets; lower means profit is backed by cash.

The nine F-score tests

Test	FY23	FY24	FY25
Net income is positive	Pass	Fail	Fail
Cash from operations is positive	Pass	Pass	Pass
Return on assets rose	Fail	Fail	Fail
Cash from operations exceeds net income	Pass	Pass	Pass
Debt fell relative to assets	Pass	Pass	Pass
Current ratio rose	Fail	Fail	Fail
Share count didn't rise	Fail	Pass	Pass
Gross margin rose	—	—	—
Revenue rose relative to assets	Fail	Fail	Fail
F-score	4 of 8	4 of 8	4 of 8

Companies that report no gross profit are scored on the other eight.

Compare

Put Heartland Express side by side with any other company we cover: revenue, growth, margins, cash flow and returns, with ten years of charts.

Similar companies

Company	Year	Revenue growth	Operating margin	Free cash flow margin	Return on capital	Net debt to EBITDA	F-score	Compare
Heartland Express	FY25	−23.1%	−7.1%	−8.3%	−4.8%	1.3x	4
Marten Transport	FY25	−8.3%	2.6%	—	—	—	—	Compare
Werner Enterprises	FY25	−1.8%	0.4%	−2.3%	0.5%	2.3x	5	Compare
Saia	FY25	0.8%	10.9%	0.8%	10.2%	0.2x	6	Compare
ArcBest	FY25	−4.0%	2.2%	2.9%	4.8%	0.4x	4	Compare

Each company's latest fiscal year. Fiscal years end in different months, so the periods don't line up exactly. Free cash flow margin is free cash flow as a share of revenue. Net debt to EBITDA is explained under the balance sheet, and the F-score under Indicators.

10 years of figures

Fiscal year	FY16	FY17	FY18	FY19	FY20	FY21	FY22	FY23	FY24	FY25
Income statement
Revenue	613	607	611	597	645	607	968	1,208	1,048	806
Revenue growth	−16.8%	−0.9%	0.6%	−2.3%	8.1%	−5.9%	59.4%	24.7%	−13.2%	−23.1%
Gross profit	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Research and development	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Operating income	86	64	90	94	93	105	188	42	−20	−57
Net income	56	75	73	73	71	79	134	15	−30	−52
Diluted EPS (US$)	0.68	0.90	0.88	0.89	0.87	1.00	1.69	0.19	−0.38	−0.67
Diluted shares (millions)	83	83	82	82	81	80	79	79	79	78
Cash flow
Cash from operations	156	110	146	146	179	123	195	165	144	89
Capital expenditure	86	184	169	164	204	133	161	209	110	156
Free cash flow	70	−75	−23	−17	−25	−9	34	−43	35	−67
Dividends paid	7	7	7	7	6	46	6	6	5	6
Share buybacks	15	0	25	0	26	32	0	0	7	10
Acquisitions	0	87	0	62	0	0	676	0	0	0
Stock-based compensation	1	0	0	2	2	1	1	2	1	2
Balance sheet at fiscal year end
Cash and short-term investments	128	75	161	77	114	158	50	28	13	18
Debt incl. finance leases	0	0	0	0	0	0	380	280	188	154
Total assets	738	789	806	899	951	928	1,670	1,510	1,334	1,192
Total liabilities	232	214	190	214	227	201	814	644	512	436
Shareholders' equity	506	575	616	685	724	727	856	865	823	755
Margins and ratios
Gross margin	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Operating margin	14.0%	10.5%	14.7%	15.8%	14.5%	17.4%	19.5%	3.5%	−1.9%	−7.1%
Net margin	9.2%	12.4%	11.9%	12.2%	11.0%	13.1%	13.8%	1.2%	−2.8%	−6.5%
Free cash flow margin	11.4%	−12.3%	−3.7%	−2.9%	−4.0%	−1.5%	3.5%	−3.6%	3.3%	−8.3%
Rule of 40 (growth + FCF margin)	−5.4%	−13.2%	−3.1%	−5.2%	4.2%	−7.4%	62.9%	21.1%	−9.9%	−31.4%
Return on capital	13.8%	14.5%	14.9%	13.3%	11.5%	13.4%	15.8%	2.7%	−1.5%	−4.8%
Return on equity	11.6%	13.9%	12.2%	11.2%	10.1%	10.9%	16.9%	1.7%	−3.5%	−6.7%
Return on assets	7.7%	9.8%	9.1%	8.6%	7.7%	8.4%	10.3%	0.9%	−2.1%	−4.2%
Net debt to EBITDA	−0.7x	−0.5x	−0.8x	−0.4x	−0.6x	−0.8x	1.0x	1.0x	1.1x	1.3x

US$ millions unless stated. Where a later 10-K restated a year, the latest filed figure is shown. Download all figures (CSV, US$ millions)

Source: Heartland Express' Form 10-K filings, from SEC EDGAR. For information only, not investment advice. The Filing Desk is not affiliated with Heartland Express.