HTLDHEARTLAND EXPRESS INC

Trucking (no Local)

Revenue: $58M; 26% YoY
Operating margin: -98.8%; 281% YoY
EBITDA: $102M; 37% YoY
Market cap: $790M
Employees: —
Net debt / EBITDA: 0.9×; $94M net debt
AI in 10-K: 1.5; mentions per 10K words

Takeover score 2 of 13

Fixable underperformance 0 of 7

TSR below peersNo
—
3+ of last 5 years
High CEO pay despite TSRNo
—
Median CEO pay ≥ $15M while TSR trails
Earnings not backed by cashNo
—
Cash flow under 80% of net income
Dilutive SBCNo
4% of revenue
Over 10% of revenue
Payouts exceed cash flowNo
19% of cash flow
Buybacks + dividends over cash flow
Goodwill-heavyNo
27% of assets
Over 40% of assets
Shareholder dissentNo
89% lowest support
Any vote under 80% support

Buyer economics 1 of 4

Low revenue per employeeNo
—
Bottom quartile of its SIC industry
Quiet on AINo
1.5 per 10K words · 46th pct
Bottom quartile of AI mentions in 10-Ks
Net cashNo
0.9× EBITDA net debt
More cash than debt, positive EBITDA
Buyout-sizedYes
$790M market cap
Market cap $500M–$5B

Catalysts 1 of 2

Active 13DYes
1 filing
Active-intent 13D in 18 months
Net insider sellingNo
−$461K net
Net sales over $10M in 12 months

Financials

Metric	FY2021	FY2022	FY2023	FY2024	FY2025	YoY	Trend
Revenue	$11M	$51M	$95M	$78M	$58M	26%
Operating income	$105M	$188M	$42M	−$20M	−$57M	184%
Net income	$79M	$134M	$15M	−$30M	−$52M	76%
Operating cash flow	$123M	$195M	$165M	$144M	$89M	38%
Capex	$133M	$161M	$209M	$110M	$156M	43%
Stock-based comp	$1M	$1M	$2M	$1M	$2M	120%
Buybacks	$32M	$0	$0	$7M	$10M	43%
Dividends	$46M	$6M	$6M	$5M	$6M	32%

Deal filings

None.

13D filers

Filed	Filer	Form	Stake	Intent
May 7, 2025	GERDIN MICHAEL J	SCHEDULE 13D/A	40.7%	Active
Nov 24, 2023	GERDIN MICHAEL J	SC 13D/A	39.6%	Active
Jul 27, 2020	GERDIN MICHAEL J	SC 13D/A	38.6%	Active

Insider trading

Open-market buys, 12 mo: $31K · 1
Open-market sells, 12 mo: $492K · 1
Net: −$461K

Pay vs performance

No pay-versus-performance disclosure yet.