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October 14 , 2021 For Immediate Release Press Release Heartland Express , Inc. Reports Revenues and Earnings for the Third Quarter of 2021 NORTH LIBERTY , IOWA - October 14 , 2021 - Heartland Express , Inc. ( Nasdaq : HTLD ) announced today financial results for the three and nine months ended September 30 , 2021 . • • • • • • • Three months ended September 30 , 2021 : Net Income of $ 24.5 million , and Basic Earnings per Share of $ 0.31 , Operating Revenue of $ 152.6 million , Operating Income of $ 33.3 million , Operating Ratio of 78.2 % and 75.0 % Non - GAAP Adjusted Operating Ratio ( ¹ ) Cash Balance of $ 180.4 million and Total Assets of $ 958.3 million , Stockholders ' Equity of $ 708.8 million ( after special dividend of $ 39.5 million ) , Debt - Free Balance Sheet . Nine months ended September 30 , 2021 : Net Income of $ 58.9 million , and Basic Earnings per Share of $ 0.74 , Operating Revenue of $ 459.1 million , Operating Income of $ 78.9 million , Operating Ratio of 82.8 % and 80.5 % Non - GAAP Adjusted Operating Ratio ( 1 ) Heartland Express Chief Executive Officer Mike Gerdin , commented on the quarterly operating results and ongoing initiatives of the Company , " Our operating results for the three and nine months ended September 30 , 2021 showed strength in terms of profit , overall operating efficiency , and our continued ability to grow our cash balance . At the end of the quarter we had $ 180 million in cash with no debt on our balance sheet . Further , these quarterly operating results and financial strength allowed us to reward our shareholders with a special dividend of $ 0.50 per common share ( $ 39.5 million ) , paid on October 1 , 2021 . " Freight demand has continued to be strong and has reached unprecedented levels throughout the third quarter of 2021 and we expect these trends to continue for the remainder of 2021 and well into 2022. We also believe that hiring and retention of employees has reached levels of unprecedented challenge across our industry for both carriers and shippers . We continue to partner with our customers who have had to navigate their own employment related disruptions in order to deliver our strong operating results during the quarter . We believe that this shared challenge of hiring and retaining both drivers and other supply chain critical employees will continue in the year ahead . To address that challenge , we have increased wages and enhanced the compensation features for our drivers multiple times in the last twelve months . We will continue to invest in our drivers , our fleet of revenue equipment , our terminal locations , and technology to ensure our drivers receive a rewarding level of compensation along with the tools to have a safe and successful career at Heartland Express . " Mr. Gerdin continued , “ From a financial perspective , we were able to improve our operating income and control costs to deliver an operating ratio of 78.2 % and a non - GAAP adjusted operating ratio ( ¹ ) of 75.0 % , an improvement to the same quarter of 2020 where we delivered an operating ratio of 83.2 % and a non- GAAP adjusted operating ratio ( 1 ) of 81.5 % . The operating ratio delivered was also better sequentially to the first and second quarters of 2021 and was our best consolidated operating ratio delivered since the 2nd quarter of 2013 ( prior to the acquisitions of Gordon Trucking ( 2013 ) , Interstate Distributor ( 2017 ) and Millis Transfer ( 2019 ) ) . Specifically , the Heartland Express fleet produced an operating ratio in the mid 70's , during the third quarter of 2021 , while the Millis Transfer fleet has shown continued improvement over the two years since the acquisition . Millis delivered an operating ratio in the upper 80's and is