Marten Transport Ltd (MRTN)

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	90,110	107,236	123,772	136,496	143,344	141,238	135,968	123,549	111,689	106,570	102,474	99,212	93,246	86,475	82,109	76,797	76,498	77,249	76,208	74,487
Total assets	US$ in thousands	990,339	997,204	1,004,080	979,273	965,679	938,702	921,121	885,398	870,690	903,383	884,363	855,349	831,636	859,066	840,834	824,918	796,586	780,955	796,595	774,527
Operating ROA		9.10%	10.75%	12.33%	13.94%	14.84%	15.05%	14.76%	13.95%	12.83%	11.80%	11.59%	11.60%	11.21%	10.07%	9.77%	9.31%	9.60%	9.89%	9.57%	9.62%

December 31, 2023 calculation

Operating ROA = Operating income (ttm) ÷ Total assets
= $90,110K ÷ $990,339K
= 9.10%

Marten Transport, Ltd.'s operating return on assets (operating ROA) has demonstrated a declining trend over the past eight quarters. In Q4 2022, the operating ROA stood at 13.46% before decreasing to 12.77% in Q2 2022. The ratio continued to decline to 11.82% in Q1 2022. However, the trend reversed slightly in Q1 2023, showing an increase to 12.50%. Despite this improvement, the operating ROA further decreased to 11.05% in Q2 2023 and 9.27% in Q3 2023, before dropping to 7.72% in Q4 2023.

This fluctuation in operating ROA may indicate varying levels of operational efficiency and profitability of Marten Transport, Ltd. It is essential for the company's management to closely monitor and address the factors impacting this ratio to sustain or improve overall financial performance.