Heartland Express

HTLD

Trucking · Industrials

Price

$15.39

+0.09 (+0.59%)

Market Cap

$1.19B

Exchange

NASDAQ

Winston Score

Winston is worried

Weak fundamentals across most pillars.

Share count falling — buybacks

−2.1% over 4y

The company has reduced its share count over this period, returning value to shareholders through buybacks.

Diluted shares outstanding: 79.6M (2021) → 77.9M (2025)

Heartland Express, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a short-to-medium haul truckload carrier in the United States and Canada. It primarily provides nationwide asset-based dry van truckload service for shippers from Washington to Florida and New England to California; and temperature-controlled truckload services. The company offers its services under the Heartland Express and Millis Transfer brand names. It primarily serves retailers and manufacturers in consumer goods, applianc

Winston Score History

Growth Profile

For growth stock investors

When traditional metrics don't capture the full picture, these are the signals growth stock investors use instead.

Revenue Growth

-19.7% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Revenue declining

EPS Growth

+65.4% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

EPS growth accelerating

R&D Spend

$0/ year

0.0% of revenue

Below sector average (4%)

Research and development spending

Insider Activity

39.7%ownership

Insiders own a meaningful stake in the company

Cash Position

Cash flow positive

$44M cash & investments

Quarterly Free Cash Flow

↑ Burn rate improving

Company generates more cash than it spends — no dilution risk from fundraising

Revenue declining

Heartland Express's revenue is actually shrinking. In a growth stock, that removes the core investment thesis. The low Winston Score here may be warranted — unless there's a turnaround story.

The Winston Score above measures business quality today. Growth stocks often score lower because they invest in the future rather than maximising current profits. These metrics show what matters most for evaluating that future.

Score breakdown

Every number that matters to educated investors.

Each metric is explained in plain language so you know exactly what you're looking at. Start your free trial now.

Quality

Gross Margin

0.1%

Thin — 0.1% gross margin

Operating Margin

-6.0%

Losing money on operations — -6.0%

ROCE

-1.2%

Weak — -1.2% return on capital

Negative ROIC means the business is losing money on every dollar invested in it.

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Growth

Sales YoY

-23.5%

Shrinking sales (-23.5% YoY)

EPS YoY

N/A

Data not available

EPS Consistency

0/8 quarters

Earnings rarely grow — volatile business

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Cash Flow

Cash Conversion

N/A

—

Data not available

FCF Margin

-8.4%

Burning cash (-8.4%)

Free cash flow is negative. They are burning cash, not generating it.

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Stability

Debt / Equity

0.20

Conservative — low debt load (0.20)

Interest Cover

N/A

Data not available

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Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

N/M

—

Negative earnings — P/E not meaningful

P/E vs Forward

N/A

not available

Data not available

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Dividends

Dividend Yield

0.55%

Small dividend — 0.55% yield

Modest yield. The bulk of any return needs to come from price appreciation.

Dividend Growth

+0.0%

Dividend flat

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