Marten Transport Ltd. Common Stock (MRTN)

FairStock Score: 15/100 — RISKY

Key Financials

AI Analysis

AI-generated, general educational analysis — not personal investment advice.

As a value investor, I start with the business: Marten hauls temperature-sensitive freight, which can create sticky dedicated routes and service advantages, but trucking is fundamentally cyclical and capital-intensive, and I would not call the moat wide. The numbers show the cycle clearly. In fiscal 2023, revenue was $1.1B and net income was $70.4M. By fiscal 2024, net income fell to $26.9M on revenue of $963.7M. In fiscal 2025, revenue was $883.7M and net income only $17.4M. In the latest filed quarter, fiscal Q2 2026 ended June 30, 2026, revenue was $223.5M and net income $5.3M, or $0.07 per diluted share, down from fiscal Q2 2025 net income of $7.2M on $229.9M of revenue. The trend is not our friend. The balance sheet is the bright spot: the provided figures show D/E of 0.00, an Altman Z-score of 4.73, and a Piotroski F-score of 8/9. But returns are poor: FairStock calculations show ROE of 1.65%, ROCE of 0.48%, and trailing free cash flow of only $1.1M, a 0.1% FCF yield. At the close on 2026-10-13, the price was $12.62. FairStock's P/E is 84.13, P/B is 1.35, and Graham Number is $5.63, implying a negative margin of safety of 124.16%. EV/EBITDA is 8.59. Mr. Market is not paying much for current earnings, but he is also not giving away the assets. Without a durable earnings recovery, this is a cyclical speculation rather than a clear bargain.

In plain English: Marten Transport is a trucking company that moves temperature-controlled and other freight across the U.S., Mexico, and Canada. Its sales and profits have fallen, and recent profit is very thin, so the business looks weak right now even though it has almost no debt. At the recent price of $12.62, the stock looks expensive compared with its recent earnings and the value suggested by its books, though asset value gives some support.

The full AI analysis, bull and bear case and key monitorables are in FairStock Pro.

Data as of 2026-10-13 close · note generated 2026-10-15 · model deepseek-flash

Sources (SEC EDGAR): fiscal Q2 2026 10-Q (period ended 2026-06-30) · fiscal Q1 2026 10-Q (period ended 2026-03-31) · fiscal Q3 2025 10-Q (period ended 2025-09-30) · fiscal Q2 2025 10-Q (period ended 2025-06-30) · FY2025 10-K (period ended 2025-12-31) · FY2024 10-K (period ended 2024-12-31) · FY2023 10-K (period ended 2023-12-31)

Fundamentals from company filings and market-data providers; prices are end-of-day, not real-time. AI-generated analysis is general and educational — not personal investment advice. Scoring methodology · Score test · Disclaimer