htld-20231231

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

(Mark One)

[X] ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2023

[ ] TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from to

Commission file number 0-15087

HEARTLAND EXPRESS, INC.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)


Nevada						93-0926999
(State or Other Jurisdiction						(I.R.S. Employer
of Incorporation or organization)						Identification No.)

901 Heartland Way, North Liberty, Iowa						52317
(Address of Principal Executive Offices)						(Zip Code)

319-645-7060

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

Securities Registered Pursuant to section 12(b) of the Act:


Title of each class	Trading Symbol(s)	Name of each exchange on which registered
Common Stock, $0.01 par value	HTLD	NASDAQ

Securities Registered Pursuant to section 12(g) of the Act: None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.


Yes			[X]			No [ ]

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 of Section 15(d) of the Act.


Yes [ ]			No			[X]

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.


Yes			[X]			No [ ]

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files).


Yes			[X]			No [ ]

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and "emerging growth company" in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

Large accelerated filer [X]

Accelerated filer [ ]

Non-accelerated filer [ ]

Smaller reporting company

[ ]

Emerging growth company

[ ]

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. [ ]

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. [X]

If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements. [ ]

Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b). [ ]

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).


Yes			[ ]			No [X]

The aggregate market value of voting common stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant as of June 30, 2023 was $0.8 billion. In making this calculation the registrant has assumed, without admitting for any purpose, that the Gerdin family, our directors, and our executive officers, as a group, and no other persons, are affiliates. As of February 26, 2024 there were 79,050,323 shares of the Company’s common stock ($0.01 par value) outstanding, excluding 73,768 shares of unvested restricted stock.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Portions of the registrant's definitive proxy statement relating to its 2024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders are incorporated by reference into Part III of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, where indicated. The registrant's definitive proxy statement will be filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission within 120 days after December 31, 2023.

HEARTLAND EXPRESS, INC.

AND SUBSIDIARIES

TABLE OF CONTENTS


PART I			Page
	Item 1.	Business	1
	Item 1A.	Risk Factors	17
	Item 1B.	Unresolved Staff Comments	31
	Item 1C.	Cybersecurity	31
	Item 2.	Properties	33
	Item 3.	Legal Proceedings	34
	Item 4.	Mine Safety Disclosures	34
PART II
	Item 5.	Market for the Registrant's Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters, and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities	35
	Item 6.	[Reserved]	35
	Item 7.	Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations	36
	Item 7A.	Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk	47
	Item 8.	Financial Statements and Supplementary Data	48
	Item 9.	Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure	48
	Item 9A.	Controls and Procedures	48
	Item 9B.	Other Information	49
	Item 9C.	Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections

SEC Form 10-K filed by Heartland Express Inc.