Marten Transport Ltd (MRTN)
Profitability ratios
Return on sales
| 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gross profit margin | 61.33% | 62.36% | 63.26% | 64.44% | 65.05% | 64.91% | 64.42% | 63.52% | 62.93% | 72.05% | 71.57% | 70.88% | 70.67% | 70.33% | 71.12% | 71.87% | 67.48% | 66.96% | 61.43% | 55.74% |
| Operating profit margin | 7.96% | 9.04% | 10.06% | 10.71% | 11.34% | 11.69% | 11.98% | 11.90% | 11.47% | 11.41% | 11.40% | 11.29% | 10.66% | 10.01% | 9.51% | 8.90% | 9.07% | 9.31% | 9.35% | 9.31% |
| 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% |
| Net profit margin | 6.22% | 7.04% | 7.76% | 8.26% | 8.73% | 9.07% | 9.27% | 9.15% | 8.77% | 8.60% | 8.57% | 8.40% | 7.95% | 7.60% | 7.44% | 7.10% | 7.24% | 7.36% | 7.33% | 7.28% |
Marten Transport, Ltd. has maintained consistently high gross profit margins of 100% over the past eight quarters. However, its operating profit margin has shown a slight downward trend, starting at 10.28% in Q4 2022 and decreasing to 6.76% in Q4 2023. Despite this, the company's operating profit margins remain relatively stable, indicating efficient cost management.
The pretax margin has also experienced a slight decline from 11.41% in Q4 2022 to 8.30% in Q4 2023. This suggests that although the company is generating revenue, its profitability before taxes has decreased over time. The net profit margin has followed a similar trend, decreasing from 8.73% in Q4 2022 to 6.22% in Q4 2023. This indicates that after accounting for all expenses, Marten Transport's bottom line profitability has weakened in recent quarters.
Overall, while Marten Transport, Ltd. continues to maintain healthy gross profit margins, there are signs of decreasing profitability at the operating, pretax, and net profit levels. Management may need to closely monitor expenses and seek opportunities to enhance operational efficiency in order to improve profitability in the future.
Return on investment
| 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 return on assets (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% |
| Return on assets (ROA) | 7.11% | 8.37% | 9.51% | 10.76% | 11.43% | 11.67% | 11.42% | 10.72% | 9.81% | 8.89% | 8.71% | 8.63% | 8.36% | 7.64% | 7.63% | 7.42% | 7.67% | 7.82% | 7.50% | 7.52% |
| Return on total capital | 11.90% | 14.31% | 16.73% | 18.92% | 20.36% | 20.70% | 20.60% | 19.04% | 17.14% | 16.91% | 15.68% | 15.62% | 15.03% | 13.41% | 13.05% | 12.60% | 12.80% | 13.25% | 12.65% | 12.67% |
| Return on equity (ROE) | 9.29% | 11.14% | 12.91% | 14.60% | 15.68% | 16.06% | 15.94% | 14.64% | 13.11% | 12.74% | 11.79% | 11.62% | 11.20% | 10.18% | 10.20% | 10.05% | 10.22% | 10.48% | 9.92% | 9.91% |
Marten Transport, Ltd. has displayed a declining trend in profitability ratios over the quarters analyzed. The Operating return on assets (Operating ROA) has decreased from 13.46% in Q4 2022 to 7.72% in Q4 2023, indicating a decrease in the company's operating efficiency in generating profit from its assets.
Similarly, the Return on assets (ROA) also decreased from 11.43% in Q4 2022 to 7.11% in Q4 2023, signaling a reduced overall profitability relative to the total assets employed by the company.
The Return on total capital and Return on equity (ROE) also followed a decreasing trend from Q4 2022 to Q4 2023. The Return on total capital decreased from 18.46% to 10.10%, while the ROE decreased from 15.68% to 9.29%. These declining trends suggest that Marten Transport, Ltd. may be facing challenges in generating returns for both its total capital and equity holders.
Overall, the decreasing profitability ratios indicate a potential deterioration in Marten Transport, Ltd.'s financial performance and efficiency in utilizing its assets and capital to generate profits. This trend may require further investigation to identify the underlying factors contributing to the decline in profitability.