Forensic Analysis · General / Diversified · as of Jun 27, 2026
HEARTLAND EXPRESS INC (HTLD)
A forensic read on HEARTLAND EXPRESS INC built from its complete SEC filings — financial-health screens, earnings quality, red flags and a price-aware rating. Reproducible math, not opinion.
C · Mixed — selective
Forensic grade
Safe
Financial health
4.2
Altman Z-score
Clean
Earnings quality
3
Forensic signals
-5.7%
ROE
$1.2B
Market cap
0.54%
Dividend yield
HEARTLAND EXPRESS INC earns a C (Mixed — selective) forensic quality grade, and its Altman Z-score is 4.2, placing it in the Safe zone. 3 forensic signals were flagged in its latest SEC filings, led by return on invested capital.
What the filings flag
-4%Return on invested capital.Return on invested capital is -4% and slipping from 9% — well below its ~9% cost of capital, so reinvested dollars may be destroying value, not building it.
-0.4%/yrShare-count dilution.Diluted share count changed -1% over the last 3 years to FY2025 (-0.4%/yr). Roughly flat — buybacks are about offsetting stock comp, not shrinking the count. Per-share value isn't being meaningfully helped or hurt by the count.
-86%Dividend — cut.The payout was CUT ~86% in FY2022 (from FY2021). It still returns some cash, but it is NOT the dependable, rising dividend an unbroken streak implies — weigh the cut when judging reliability.
Key fundamentals
Net Margin-6.5%
Debt / Equity0.21x
Free Cash Flow$-66.9M
Latest Revenue$805.7M
Return on Equity-6.9%
Revenue Growth YoY-23.1%
Go deeper — free with an account
The forensic grade and screens above are free — no account needed. An account adds the full interactive deep-dive on HEARTLAND EXPRESS INC:
🔒The written investment read — what the numbers mean, in plain English
🔒Ask anything about HTLD's filings — AI Q&A across the 10-K, 10-Qs & 8-Ks
🔒Interactive valuation — reverse-DCF sliders, Monte Carlo & scenario stress
🔒Calibrated 12-month price forecast, with the math shown