Heartland Express, Inc.

NasdaqGS:HTLD Stock Report

Market Cap: US$918.7m

Heartland Express Future Growth

Future criteria checks 3/6

Heartland Express is forecast to grow earnings and revenue by 87% and 5.3% per annum respectively. EPS is expected to grow by 94% per annum. Return on equity is forecast to be 6.2% in 3 years.

Key information

87.0%

Earnings growth rate

93.95%

EPS growth rate

Transportation earnings growth15.0%
Revenue growth rate5.3%
Future return on equity6.22%
Analyst coverage

Low

Last updated13 Aug 2026

Recent future growth updates

Recent updates

Seeking Alpha • Feb 18

Heartland Express: Selling Pressure Is Logical As The Stock Becomes Fully Priced (Rating Downgrade)

Summary Heartland Express, Inc. faces persistent macro headwinds, with Q4 2025 revenue down 26.1% YoY and limited growth catalysts. HTLD’s strategic contraction and strong liquidity—$18M cash, Net Debt/EBITDA 1.4x—support operational resilience and dividend sustainability. Valuation remains reasonable, but the stock’s current price is near target levels ($10.28–$13.15), limiting further upside. I downgrade HTLD from buy to hold as technicals show early bearish divergence and upside potential is constrained. Read the full article on Seeking Alpha
Analysis Article • Dec 21

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) Is Paying Out A Dividend Of $0.02

Heartland Express, Inc. ( NASDAQ:HTLD ) has announced that it will pay a dividend of $0.02 per share on the 7th of...
Analysis Article • Dec 14

What Heartland Express, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:HTLD) 26% Share Price Gain Is Not Telling You

Heartland Express, Inc. ( NASDAQ:HTLD ) shareholders would be excited to see that the share price has had a great...
Analysis Article • Nov 27

We Think Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) Has A Fair Chunk Of Debt

Howard Marks put it nicely when he said that, rather than worrying about share price volatility, 'The possibility of...
Analysis Article • Oct 12

Why Investors Shouldn't Be Surprised By Heartland Express, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:HTLD) Low P/S

With a price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 0.7x Heartland Express, Inc. ( NASDAQ:HTLD ) may be sending bullish signals...
Analysis Article • Jul 17

Is Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) Using Too Much Debt?

Some say volatility, rather than debt, is the best way to think about risk as an investor, but Warren Buffett famously...
Analysis Article • Jun 19

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) Is Paying Out A Dividend Of $0.02

Heartland Express, Inc.'s ( NASDAQ:HTLD ) investors are due to receive a payment of $0.02 per share on 3rd of July...
Seeking Alpha • Feb 22

Heartland Express Could Double In The Next Cycle

Summary Heartland Express's stock could double in 2-3 years as freight rates stabilize and the company continues deleveraging and integrating recent acquisitions. Despite a 47.42% decline in share price, Heartland Express is poised for a turnaround due to effective management and a cyclical upswing in the trucking industry. The company has reduced over $300 million in debt since 2022, aiming for a debt-free balance sheet, which should significantly de-risk the business. With a historically modest 15x FCF or PE multiple, Heartland Express could see an 81% upside, translating to an annualized return of over 22%. Read the full article on Seeking Alpha
Analysis Article • Dec 24

Is Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) Using Too Much Debt?

The external fund manager backed by Berkshire Hathaway's Charlie Munger, Li Lu, makes no bones about it when he says...
Analysis Article • Nov 01

Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) Just Released Its Third-Quarter Earnings: Here's What Analysts Think

As you might know, Heartland Express, Inc. ( NASDAQ:HTLD ) last week released its latest third-quarter, and things did...
Analysis Article • Aug 07

There's No Escaping Heartland Express, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:HTLD) Muted Revenues

You may think that with a price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 0.9x Heartland Express, Inc. ( NASDAQ:HTLD ) is a stock...
Analysis Article • Jul 17

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) Is Making Moderate Use Of Debt

Legendary fund manager Li Lu (who Charlie Munger backed) once said, 'The biggest investment risk is not the volatility...
Seeking Alpha • Jul 14

Heartland Express Needs Some Stronger Beats To Change The Narrative

Summary Heartland Express has continued to struggle due to weak trucking demand, lower gains on equipment sales, and integration challenges with recent acquisitions tied to the weak operating environment. Q2 results should show evidence of stabilization for Heartland, with some sequential improvement in volumes, breakeven operating profits, and further progress in integrating Smith and CFI. The outlook for trucking in 2024 is still challenging; volumes and rates have improved some, and operators have left the market, but a slower economy is a real threat. Heartland looks undervalued on both longer-term cash flow and near-term EBITDA and EPS, but the risk of miss-and-lower quarters in 2024 remains very real. Read the full article on Seeking Alpha
Analysis Article • Apr 05

Is Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) Using Too Much Debt?

David Iben put it well when he said, 'Volatility is not a risk we care about. What we care about is avoiding the...
Analysis Article • Jan 04

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) Takes On Some Risk With Its Use Of Debt

Some say volatility, rather than debt, is the best way to think about risk as an investor, but Warren Buffett famously...

Earnings and Revenue Growth Forecasts

NasdaqGS:HTLD - Analysts future estimates and past financials data (USD Millions)
DateRevenueEarningsFree Cash FlowCash from OpAvg. No. Analysts
12/31/202883353N/AN/A4
12/31/2027787421451635
12/31/20267331486925
6/30/2026736-22-8678N/A
3/31/2026763-43-6487N/A
12/31/2025806-52-6789N/A
9/30/2025869-35-68112N/A
6/30/2025932-36-31120N/A
3/31/2025997-2811139N/A
12/31/20241,048-3035144N/A
9/30/20241,080-2389147N/A
6/30/20241,115-2423139N/A
3/31/20241,147-13-41130N/A
12/31/20231,20715-43165N/A
9/30/20231,28725-39207N/A
6/30/20231,2666015233N/A
3/31/20231,14812943224N/A
12/31/202296813434195N/A
9/30/20227611389140N/A
6/30/2022640138-16119N/A
3/31/202260682-19126N/A
12/31/202160779-9123N/A
9/30/2021615778142N/A
6/30/202162573-11158N/A
3/31/2021631712174N/A
12/31/202064571-25179N/A
9/30/202065766-37170N/A
6/30/202064266-22158N/A
3/31/202062469N/A151N/A
12/31/201959773N/A146N/A
9/30/201957783N/A147N/A
6/30/201958081N/A148N/A
3/31/201959477N/A150N/A
12/31/201861173N/A147N/A
9/30/201863089N/A141N/A
6/30/201866078N/A128N/A
3/31/201863475N/A110N/A
12/31/201760775N/A110N/A
9/30/201758250N/A113N/A
6/30/201754954N/A129N/A
3/31/201758056N/A132N/A
12/31/201661356N/A156N/A
9/30/201664760N/A168N/A
6/30/201668163N/A167N/A
3/31/201671270N/A191N/A
12/31/201573673N/A190N/A
9/30/201576578N/A186N/A

Analyst Future Growth Forecasts

Earnings vs Savings Rate: HTLD is forecast to become profitable over the next 3 years, which is considered faster growth than the savings rate (3.7%).

Earnings vs Market: HTLD is forecast to become profitable over the next 3 years, which is considered above average market growth.

High Growth Earnings: HTLD is expected to become profitable in the next 3 years.

Revenue vs Market: HTLD's revenue (5.3% per year) is forecast to grow slower than the US market (13.3% per year).

High Growth Revenue: HTLD's revenue (5.3% per year) is forecast to grow slower than 20% per year.

Earnings per Share Growth Forecasts

Future Return on Equity

Future ROE: HTLD's Return on Equity is forecast to be low in 3 years time (6.2%).

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Company Analysis and Financial Data Status

DataLast Updated (UTC time)
Company Analysis2026/09/17 06:16
End of Day Share Price 2026/09/17 00:00
Earnings2026/06/30
Annual Earnings2025/12/31

Data Sources

The data used in our company analysis is from S&P Global Market Intelligence LLC. The following data is used in our analysis model to generate this report. Data is normalised which can introduce a delay from the source being available.

PackageDataTimeframeExample US Source *
Company Financials10 years
  • Income statement
  • Cash flow statement
  • Balance sheet
Analyst Consensus Estimates+3 years
  • Forecast financials
  • Analyst price targets
Market Prices30 years
  • Stock prices
  • Dividends, Splits and Actions
Ownership10 years
  • Top shareholders
  • Insider trading
Management10 years
  • Leadership team
  • Board of directors
Key Developments10 years
  • Company announcements

* Example for US securities, for non-US equivalent regulatory forms and sources are used.

Unless specified all financial data is based on a yearly period but updated quarterly. This is known as Trailing Twelve Month (TTM) or Last Twelve Month (LTM) Data. Learn more.

Analysis Model and Snowflake

Details of the analysis model used to generate this report is available on our Github page, we also have guides on how to use our reports and tutorials on Youtube.

Learn about the who designed and built the Simply Wall St analysis model.

Industry and Sector Metrics

Our industry and section metrics are calculated every 6 hours by Simply Wall St, details of our process are available on Github.

Analyst Sources

Heartland Express, Inc. is covered by 26 analysts. 5 of those analysts submitted the estimates of revenue or earnings used as inputs to our report. Analysts submissions are updated throughout the day.

AnalystInstitution
Daniel MooreBaird
"Eric MorganBarclays
Garrett ChaseBarclays