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Item 3 — Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
Heartland Express Inc · 10-Q · Q2 FY2026 · Period ended Jun 30, 2026
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General
We are exposed to market risk changes in interest rates during periods when we have outstanding borrowings and from changes in commodity prices, primarily fuel and rubber. We do not currently use derivative financial instruments for risk management purposes, although we have used instruments in the past for fuel price risk management, and do not use them for either speculation or trading. Because substantially all of our operations are confined to the United States, we are not directly subject to a material foreign currency risk.
Interest Rate Risk
We had $134.9 million debt outstanding under the Credit Facilities at June 30, 2026 which was subject to variable interest rates. Interest rates associated with borrowings under the Credit Facilities are based on the SOFR rate plus a spread based on the Company’s net leverage ratio. Increases in interest rates would currently impact our interest expense given our outstanding borrowings subject to variable interest rates. An increase of 1.0% in the SOFR rate would drive a decrease to our income before income taxes by approximately $1.3 million annually based on the current amount of debt outstanding that is subject to variable interest rates.
Commodity Price Risk
We are subject to commodity price risk primarily with respect to purchases of fuel and rubber. We have fuel surcharge agreements with most customers that enable us to pass through most long-term price increases therefore limiting our exposure to commodity price risk. Fuel surcharges that can be collected do not always fully offset an increase in the cost of fuel as we are not able to pass through fuel costs associated with out-of-route miles, empty miles, and tractor idle time. Based on our actual fuel purchases for 2025, assuming miles driven, fuel surcharges as a percentage of revenue, percentage of unproductive miles, and miles per gallon remained consistent with 2025 amounts, a $1.00 increase in the average price of fuel per gallon, year over year, would decrease our income before income taxes by approximately $12.6 million in 2026. We use a significant amount of tires to maintain our revenue equipment. We are not able to pass through 100% of price increases from tire suppliers due to the severity and timing of increases and current rate environment. Historically, we have sought to minimize tire price increases through bulk tire purchases from our suppliers. Based on our tire purchases during 2025, a 10% increase in the price of tires would increase our tire purchase expense in 2026 by $2.2 million, resulting in a corresponding decrease in income before income taxes.
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