Marten Transport Ltd (MRTN)

Pretax margin

		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
Earnings before tax but after interest (EBT) (ttm)	US$ in thousands	93,916	110,694	126,477	138,160	144,171	141,561	136,035	123,589	111,732	106,610	102,523	99,265	93,386	86,864	82,736	77,806	77,688	78,411	77,235	75,257
Revenue (ttm)	US$ in thousands	1,131,455	1,185,817	1,230,727	1,274,620	1,263,878	1,208,170	1,135,002	1,037,879	973,644	934,101	898,832	878,774	874,374	864,226	863,188	862,894	843,271	830,047	814,723	799,657
Pretax margin		8.30%	9.33%	10.28%	10.84%	11.41%	11.72%	11.99%	11.91%	11.48%	11.41%	11.41%	11.30%	10.68%	10.05%	9.58%	9.02%	9.21%	9.45%	9.48%	9.41%

December 31, 2023 calculation

Pretax margin = EBT (ttm) ÷ Revenue (ttm)
= $93,916K ÷ $1,131,455K
= 8.30%

Marten Transport, Ltd.'s pretax margin has shown a gradual decline over the past eight quarters, from 11.41% in Q4 2022 to 8.30% in Q4 2023. This downward trend indicates a decrease in the company's profitability before accounting for taxes. Although there was a slight increase in Q3 2023, the overall trend suggests that the company may be facing challenges in maintaining its profit margins. Further analysis is recommended to identify the root causes of this declining trend and to explore potential strategies for improvement.