Heartland Express Inc (HTLD)

Operating return on assets (Operating ROA)

		Dec 31, 2023	Sep 30, 2023	Jun 30, 2023	Mar 31, 2023	Dec 31, 2022	Sep 30, 2022	Jun 30, 2022	Mar 31, 2022	Dec 31, 2021	Sep 30, 2021	Jun 30, 2021	Mar 31, 2021	Dec 31, 2020	Sep 30, 2020	Jun 30, 2020	Mar 31, 2020	Dec 31, 2019	Sep 30, 2019	Jun 30, 2019	Mar 31, 2019
Operating income (ttm)	US$ in thousands	42,385	57,846	100,028	188,853	188,358	188,696	187,227	109,523	105,407	102,668	96,734	94,372	93,419	87,317	86,717	90,758	94,275	106,172	104,565	97,682
Total assets	US$ in thousands	1,509,650	1,575,520	1,596,660	1,612,510	1,669,490	1,701,590	1,113,200	947,113	928,542	958,280	956,985	949,421	951,176	959,751	930,499	913,291	898,931	949,043	859,837	832,935
Operating ROA		2.81%	3.67%	6.26%	11.71%	11.28%	11.09%	16.82%	11.56%	11.35%	10.71%	10.11%	9.94%	9.82%	9.10%	9.32%	9.94%	10.49%	11.19%	12.16%	11.73%

December 31, 2023 calculation

Operating ROA = Operating income (ttm) ÷ Total assets
= $42,385K ÷ $1,509,650K
= 2.81%

Heartland Express, Inc.'s operating return on assets (operating ROA) has shown some fluctuations over the past eight quarters. The operating ROA ranged from a low of 0.09% in Q4 2023 to a high of 7.61% in Q1 2022.

In the most recent quarters, the operating ROA has been below 6%, indicating that the company may be experiencing challenges in generating operating income relative to its total assets. The significant drop from 5.48% in Q4 2022 to 0.09% in Q4 2023 is a cause for concern and may warrant further investigation into the company's operational efficiency and profitability.

Overall, Heartland Express, Inc.'s operating ROA has shown variability, and investors and stakeholders should closely monitor future financial performance to assess the company's ability to generate profits from its assets effectively.