MRTN
Marten Transport, Ltd.
MRTN's fundamentals are mixed, but it looks expensive: trading at 70x earnings, about three times its usual 21x. Analysts expect strong earnings growth.
MRTN Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Stable | |
| Stable | |
| Strong |
MRTN's balance sheet is currently strong, and its revenue, profitability and cash flow are stable.
MRTN PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 16x | $2.77 | -77% |
| Fair | 21x | $3.54 | -70% |
| Forward | 28x | $11.93 | — |
| Expensive | 50x | $8.45 | -29% |
| Current | 70x | $11.93 | — |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
MRTN's PE is in its expensive range at 70x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 28x next year's earnings.
MRTN Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for MRTN, with profitability improving.
MRTN Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $0.43 | +155% |
| Q3 2026 | $0.17 | -26% |
| Q2 2026 | $0.16 | -36% |
| Q1 2026 | $0.18 | -31% |
| Q4 2025 | $0.21 | -36% |
| Q3 2025 | $0.23 | -44% |
| Q2 2025 | $0.25 | -53% |
| Q1 2025 | $0.26 | -63% |
| Q4 2024 | $0.33 | -62% |
MRTN's earnings per share have fallen from their peak: $0.17 over the past year, against $1.35 in late 2022.
MRTN Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $223.2M | +1.3% |
| Q2 2026 | $223.5M | -2.8% |
| Q1 2026 | $203.5M | -8.8% |
| Q4 2025 | $210.1M | -8.8% |
| Q3 2025 | $220.5M | -7.1% |
| Q2 2025 | $229.9M | -6.6% |
| Q1 2025 | $223.2M | -11% |
| Q4 2024 | $230.4M | -14% |
MRTN's revenue has slid since its 2022 peak: $223M last quarter, up 1.3% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 1.4% | +0.1 points |
| Q2 2026 | 3.1% | -1.1 points |
| Q1 2026 | 0.8% | -1.8 points |
| Q4 2025 | 2.2% | -0.7 points |
| Q3 2025 | 1.2% | -0.6 points |
| Q2 2025 | 4.2% | +0.2 points |
| Q1 2025 | 2.6% | -2.3 points |
| Q4 2024 | 2.9% | -2.9 points |
MRTN's operating margin was 1.4% last quarter, about level with the same quarter a year ago, near the bottom of its range since 2019.
MRTN Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $22.6M | +22% |
| Q2 2026 | $27.7M | -17% |
| Q1 2026 | $33M | -8.7% |
| Q4 2025 | $5.6M | -77% |
| Q3 2025 | $18.5M | -37% |
| Q2 2025 | $33.2M | -7.4% |
| Q1 2025 | $36.2M | -21% |
| Q4 2024 | $23.8M | -37% |
MRTN's free cash flow has been positive every quarter for seven years: $89M over the past year, down 20% from the year before.
MRTN Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | 0% | +30K shares |
| 1 year | +0.2% | +137K shares |
| 3 years | +0.3% | +210K shares |
| 5 years | -2% | -1.7M shares |
| Available history | -1.2% | -1M shares |
MRTN has 82M diluted shares, about the same as a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q4 2023 | — |
| Q3 2023 | — |
| Q2 2023 | — |
| Q1 2023 | — |
| Q4 2022 | — |
| Q3 2022 | — |
| Q2 2022 | $16.8M |
| Q1 2022 | $25M |
MRTN Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -0.8x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | -0.9x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -0.6x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | -0.3x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | -0.4x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | -0.3x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -0.3x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | -0.1x | Net Cash |
MRTN has more cash than debt.
MRTN Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 34.3 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 18.3 | Oversold |
MRTN's weekly RSI is 34 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 18 (oversold).
MRTN PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | MRTN | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 70x | 24x | 192% above |
| PE % | 93 | 58 | 35 pts above |
MRTN is trading at 70x earnings, a 192% premium to the Industrials sector's median of 24x.
MRTN Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $12.4 | 3.6% below |
| 20 week MA | $14.2 | 16% below |
| 50 week MA | $14.1 | 15% below |
| 100 week MA | $13.5 | 11% below |
| 200 week MA | $16.4 | 27% below |
MRTN is in a downtrend: it's below all five of its weekly moving averages, and 27% below its 200-week average.
MRTN Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $14.4 | $17.2 | +19% |
| 2021 | $17.2 | $16.6 | -3.2% |
| 2022 | $16.6 | $20.0 | +20% |
| 2023 | $20.0 | $21.0 | +4.8% |
| 2024 | $21.0 | $15.6 | -26% |
| 2025 | $15.6 | $11.4 | -27% |
| 2026 YTD | $11.4 | $11.9 | +4.4% |
MRTN has finished lower in three of the last six years. It's up 4.4% so far in 2026.