Heartland Express vs Saia
Saia reported revenue of $3.2 billion in fiscal 2025, 4.0 times Heartland Express' $806 million in fiscal 2025. Heartland Express' revenue fell 23.1% in its latest year, and Saia's grew 0.8%. Heartland Express had an operating margin of -7.1%, against 10.9% at Saia. Free cash flow was −$67 million at Heartland Express and $27 million at Saia.
Side by side
| Heartland Express | Saia | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest fiscal year | FY2025, Dec 31, 2025 | FY2025, Dec 31, 2025 |
| Revenue | $806M | $3.2B |
| Revenue growth | −23.1% | 0.8% |
| Revenue growth a year, last 5 years | 4.5% | 12.2% |
| Gross margin | — | — |
| Operating margin | −7.1% | 10.9% |
| Net margin | −6.5% | 7.9% |
| Free cash flow | −$67M | $27M |
| Free cash flow margin | −8.3% | 0.8% |
| Return on capital | −4.8% | 10.2% |
| Net debt to EBITDA | 1.3x | 0.2x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $17M | $0M |
| Change in diluted share count | −1.1% | −0.1% |
| Last close | $10.09 | $331.90 |
| P/E at the last close | — | 31.5× |
| Insider trades, last 12 months | bought $31,380, sold $492,069 | bought $117,147, sold $7.1 million |
| Piotroski F-score | 4 of 8 | 6 of 8 |
Amounts in each company's own currency, US$ unless marked (a foreign company may report in another), each company's latest fiscal year from its 10-K, or 20-F or 40-F for a foreign company. Growth rates compare with the year before; the five-year rate is the average a year. Free cash flow is cash from operations minus capital spending; return on capital is after-tax operating income over the money invested in the business; P/E is the last close over the latest earnings per share. Banks are measured differently (return on equity, efficiency ratio), so some rows apply to one company only.
Ten years
Revenue
US$ billions, fiscal years
Heartland ExpressSaia
Operating margin
Percent of revenue
Heartland ExpressSaia
Free cash flow
US$ billions. Cash from operations minus capital expenditure.
Heartland ExpressSaia
Source: the companies' Form 10-K filings, from SEC EDGAR, and the last close. For information only, not investment advice: the figures describe results, not which company is the better investment. The Filing Desk is not affiliated with either company. Full figures on the Heartland Express and Saia pages.