Heartland Express Inc HTLD

IndustrialsFreight & Logistics ServicesUnited States of America

Last close 10.22 USD on Nov 1, 2026, +13.8% year to date

Quant rating

Quant rating D Rank 388 of 486 in Industrials

Growth B 131 of 486
Valuation D 424 of 486
Quality C 284 of 486
Revisions D 419 of 486
Momentum D 372 of 486

Wall Street consensus Hold (3.33)Average target 11.75 USD +15.0%

Historical valuation

Multiples use consensus estimates for the next twelve months. The dashed line is the 5-year average.

Key data

Market cap: 789M
Enterprise value: 840M
52-week range: 7.00 – 16.50
3-year range: 7.00 – 16.50
Dividend yield: 0.78%
Beta (5 years): 1.38
Shares outstanding: 77.2M
Next earnings: Feb 1, 2027

About the company

Heartland Express, Inc. is a holding company. The Company, together with its subsidiaries, is a short, medium and long-haul truckload carrier and transportation services provider. It primarily provides a nationwide asset-based dry van truckload service for various shippers across the United States, along with cross-border freight and other transportation services offered through third-party partnerships in Mexico. The Company’s primary customers include retailers, manufacturers and parcel carriers. Its over-the-road tractors are equipped with mobile communication systems. It operates 28 terminal facilities throughout the contiguous United States and one in Mexico. The Company’s subsidiaries include Heartland Express, Inc. of Iowa, Heartland Express Services, Inc., Heartland Express Maintenance Services, Inc., Midwest Holding Group, LLC, Millis Transfer, LLC, Smith Transport, Inc., Transportation Resources, Inc., Contract Freighters, Inc., and others.

Growth and profitability fiscal year ends December 31

Growth and profitability by fiscal year
	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021	5Y avg
Revenue (mil)	806	1,048	1,207	968	607	–
Revenue growth	−23.1%	−13.2%	24.7%	59.4%	−5.9%	4.5%
EPS (basic, normalized)	−0.43	−0.38	0.19	1.06	1.00	–
EPS growth	–	–	−82.1%	6.0%	–	–
Gross margin	–	–	–	–	–	–
Net margin	−6.5%	−2.8%	1.2%	13.8%	13.1%	3.7%
ROE	−6.6%	−3.5%	1.7%	16.9%	10.9%	3.9%

Balance sheet, last quarter
Cash & short-term investments (mil)	48.5
Current ratio	0.77x
Long-term debt (mil)	0
Net debt (mil)	51.4
Total equity (mil)	754
Net debt / equity	0.07x
Net debt / EBITDA	0.41x

Estimates and valuation

Consensus estimates and implied multiples
	Sales (mil)			EBITDA (mil)			EPS
Fiscal year	Mean est.	Growth	EV/Sales	Mean est.	Growth	EV/EBITDA	Mean est.	Growth	P/E
2025 actual	806	−23.1%	1.0x	126	−22.2%	6.7x	−0.43	−13.2%	−23.8x
2026	719	−10.8%	1.2x	153	+21.4%	5.5x	0.14	+132.1%	74.0x
2027	748	+4.1%	1.1x	184	+20.3%	4.6x	0.43	+209.4%	23.9x
2028	777	+3.9%	1.1x	206	+12.3%	4.1x	0.64	+50.3%	15.9x

Estimate revisions

Change in consensus estimates over 1, 3 and 6 months
	Sales				EPS
Fiscal year	Estimate (mil)	1M	3M	6M	Estimate	1M	3M	6M
2026	719	−2.1%	−2.4%	−3.0%	0.14	−23.1%	+38.2%	+225.6%
2027	748	−4.8%	−5.4%	−6.9%	0.43	−17.4%	−16.8%	+3.3%
2028	777	−5.4%	−6.5%	−4.2%	0.64	−11.5%	−11.5%	−4.1%

Earnings surprises EPS beat in 3 of the last 4 quarters

Reported results versus consensus, last 10 fiscal quarters
Quarter ended	Mar 2024	Jun 2024	Sep 2024	Dec 2024	Mar 2025	Jun 2025	Sep 2025	Dec 2025	Mar 2026	Jun 2026
Sales reported (mil)	270	275	260	243	219	210	197	179	176	184
Sales mean (mil)	265	275	268	254	241	227	210	192	175	192
Surprise	+2.0%	−0.1%	−3.2%	−4.6%	−9.1%	−7.3%	−6.5%	−6.7%	+0.7%	−4.3%
EPS reported	−0.19	−0.04	−0.12	−0.02	−0.18	−0.14	−0.11	−0.01	−0.06	0.14
EPS mean	−0.12	−0.06	−0.01	−0.04	−0.09	−0.08	−0.13	−0.08	−0.12	−0.02
Surprise	−60.7%	+34.8%	−800.2%	+52.0%	−89.9%	−75.0%	+13.0%	+86.9%	+48.9%	−1,022.9%

Peer comparison Freight & Logistics Services

Peers in the same industry group, by market capitalization
Company	Market cap	Net debt/EBITDA	Net margin	P/B	FY1 P/E	FY2 P/E	FY1 EV/EBITDA	FY2 EV/EBITDA
HTLD Heartland Express Inc	789M	0.41x	−6.5%	1.05x	74.0x	23.9x	5.5x	4.6x
UNP Union Pacific Corporation	180.7B	2.19x	29.1%	8.20x	23.1x	21.1x	15.2x	14.1x
CP Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited	78.0B	3.28x	27.5%	2.38x	24.5x	21.3x	16.4x	14.9x
CNR Canadian National Railway Co	74.8B	2.56x	27.3%	4.77x	21.2x	19.3x	13.9x	13.1x
CSX CSX Corporation	95.8B	2.70x	20.5%	6.67x	25.3x	22.2x	15.3x	14.0x
UPS United Parcel Service Inc	92.1B	1.60x	6.3%	6.11x	14.9x	13.4x	8.9x	8.2x
Mean		2.12x	17.4%	4.86x	30.5x	20.2x	12.5x	11.5x
Median		2.38x	23.9%	5.44x	23.8x	21.2x	14.6x	13.6x

Technical analysis

1M−10.7%
3M−23.4%
1Y+29.0%
3Y−15.4%

Financial statements in millions of USD

Income statement in millions of USD, fiscal years

Income statement, Heartland Express Inc, fiscal years, most recent first
	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020
Total revenue	806	1,048	1,207	968	607	645
Cost of revenue	–	–	–	–	–	–
Gross profit	806	1,048	1,207	968	607	645
Selling, general & administrative expenses	666	841	946	697	416	432
Research & development	–	–	–	–	–	–
Depreciation/amortization	159	182	199	133	104	110
Interest expense (income), operating	–	–	–	–	–	–
Unusual expense (income)	−4.5	−7.5	−41.1	−96.9	−37.4	−14.8
Other operating expenses	42.7	52.9	61.1	46.6	19.2	24.6
Operating income	−57.4	−20.2	42.4	188	105	93.4
Net interest income (expense)	−10.7	−16.4	−22.5	−7.3	0.6	0.8
Gain (loss) on sale of assets	–	–	–	–	–	–
Other non-operating income (expense)	0	0	0	0	0	0
Net income before taxes	−68.1	−36.7	19.9	181	106	94.3
Provision for taxes	−15.7	−7.0	5.1	47.5	26.8	23.5
Minority interest	–	–	–	–	–	–
Equity in affiliates	–	–	–	–	–	–
U.S. GAAP adjustment	–	–	–	–	–	–
Net income before extraordinary items	−52.5	−29.7	14.8	134	79.3	70.8
Extraordinary items	–	–	–	–	–	–
Net income	−52.5	−29.7	14.8	134	79.3	70.8
EBIT, normalized	−61.9	−27.7	1.3	93.7	68.0	78.6
EBITDA, normalized	97.3	154	200	227	172	189
Basic EPS, normalized	−0.43	−0.38	0.19	1.06	1.00	–

Balance sheet in millions of USD, fiscal years

Balance sheet, Heartland Express Inc, fiscal years, most recent first
	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020
Assets
Cash & short-term investments	18.5	12.8	28.1	49.5	158	114
Receivables	75.3	93.7	113	143	56.9	55.6
Total inventory	–	–	–	–	–	–
Prepaid expenses	11.6	10.4	10.7	11.3	9.2	8.2
Other current assets	9.2	12.6	17.6	26.1	9.4	15.3
Total current assets	115	129	169	230	233	193
Property, plant & equipment	669	772	903	994	488	539
Goodwill	323	323	323	321	168	168
Intangibles	69.5	93.5	98.5	104	22.4	24.7
Long-term investments	–	–	–	–	–	–
Note receivable	–	–	–	–	–	–
Other long-term assets	16.0	16.4	16.4	21.1	16.8	25.8
Total assets	1,192	1,334	1,510	1,669	929	951
Liabilities
Accounts payable	–	–	–	–	–	–
Payable/accrued	33.5	35.4	37.8	62.7	20.5	12.8
Accrued expenses	71.0	75.1	76.4	80.1	51.1	56.8
Short-term debt	0	0	0	0	0	0
Current portion of long-term debt	5.7	9.0	9.3	13.9	–	–
Other current liabilities	0	0	0	0	0	1.5
Total current liabilities	110	120	123	157	71.6	71.0
Long-term debt	154	192	291	399	0	0
Minority interest	–	–	–	–	–	–
Other liabilities	172	200	230	258	130	156
Total liabilities	436	512	644	814	201	227
Shareholders' equity
Preferred stock	0	0	0	0	0	0
Common stock	0.9	0.9	0.9	0.9	0.9	0.9
Additional paid-in capital	3.0	3.2	4.5	4.2	4.1	4.3
Retained earnings (accumulated deficit)	965	1,024	1,060	1,052	924	891
Treasury stock	−214	−206	−200	−201	−202	−172
Other equity	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total equity	755	823	865	855	727	724
Total liabilities & shareholders' equity	1,192	1,334	1,510	1,669	929	951

Cash flow statement in millions of USD, fiscal years

Cash flow statement, Heartland Express Inc, fiscal years, most recent first
	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020
Operating activities
Net income	−52.5	−29.7	14.8	134	79.3	70.8
Depreciation, depletion & amortization	159	182	199	133	104	110
Deferred taxes	−25.2	−30.2	−18.1	2.4	−5.9	8.1
Non-cash items	−2.1	−5.4	−38.4	−95.1	−36.3	−12.7
Changes in working capital	9.8	28.2	7.9	20.8	−17.9	2.3
Cash from operations	89.3	144	165	195	123	179
Investing activities
Capital expenditures	−156	−110	−209	−161	−133	−204
Other investing cash flows	130	63.0	141	−503	130	93.3
Cash from investing	−26.0	−46.5	−67.9	−663	−2.6	−111
Financing activities
Financing cash flow items	−0.4	−0.4	−0.3	−0.3	−0.2	−0.6
Cash dividends paid	−6.2	−4.7	−6.3	−6.3	−45.9	−6.5
Issuance (retirement) of debt, net	–	–	–	–	–	–
Other financing cash flows	−51.5	−108	−114	366	−32.0	−25.7
Cash from financing	−58.2	−113	−121	359	−78.1	−32.7
Foreign exchange effects	–	–	–	–	–	–
Net change in cash	5.2	−14.9	−23.3	−109	42.6	35.1
Free cash flow	−66.9	34.8	−43.3	34.1	−9.2	−25.5

Disclaimer

The financial data presented in this report is delayed and obtained from sources QDD Research believes to be reliable, including stock exchanges, SEDAR, and EDGAR. However, no representation or warranty is made as to the accuracy, completeness, or timeliness of the information. QDD Research accepts no liability for any errors, omissions, or financial losses arising from the use of this data.

This report is generated using a fully systematic and quantitative approach. All factor scores and the overall quant rating (ranging from D to A+) are derived from algorithmic models and are based solely on objective financial metrics. These scores are intended for informational purposes only and should not be interpreted as investment advice or a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any securities.

QDD Research is not a registered investment advisor or broker-dealer and does not provide personalized financial advice. The content is not tailored to the specific investment goals, financial situation, or risk profile of any individual investor. We strongly encourage readers to consult with a licensed broker or investment advisor before making any investment decisions based on the information contained in this report.

Live quote provided by TradingView. Report data updated Nov 1, 2026 after market close.