The Effect of Profitability, Debt, and Asset Efficiency on Stock Returns in the Transportation and Logistics Sector 2022–2024

Illustration by AI

FORMOSA NEWS

Financial performances such as Return on Assets (ROA), Debt to Equity Ratio (DER), and Total Asset Turnover (TATO) play a crucial role in determining the direction of stock returns for transportation and logistics sector companies on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) during the 2022–2024 period. This in-depth analysis was conducted by Rizky Nur Ramdhani and Erwin Budianto from Universitas Swadaya Gunung Jati to uncover the financial signals most closely watched by market participants amid supply chain industry uncertainty.

The transportation and logistics sector faces post-pandemic macroeconomic pressures, spikes in fuel costs, and an overall decline in industry net profit that caused the sector's index (IDXTRANS) to stagnate. Amid contrasting variations in issuer performance—ranging from sharply soaring companies to steeply declining ones—understanding internal fundamental factors is crucial for investors to read market direction.

This research uses a quantitative approach with a causal associative method. Through a purposive sampling technique, 15 companies were selected with a total of 39 to 45 observations of annual financial report data and stock price movements from 2022 to 2024. All data were tested using descriptive statistics, classical assumption tests, and multiple linear regression analysis to ensure the objectivity of the results.

Based on the data testing, several main findings were discovered:

• Significant Effect of ROA: Return on Assets (ROA) is proven to have a positive and significant effect on stock returns with a significance value of 0.007 ($t = 2.827$). The company's high ability to generate net income from total assets serves as a strong signal responded to positively by investors.
• Limited Impact of DER and TATO: Debt to Equity Ratio (DER) and Total Asset Turnover (TATO) partially have no significant effect on stock returns. High debt ratios are considered common within the characteristics of capital-intensive industries, while asset turnover efficiency is not yet sufficient to attract market attention without real profit growth.
• Simultaneous Effect: Together, the ROA, DER, and TATO variables are able to explain 16.6% of the variation in stock returns ($R^2 = 0.166$), while the remaining 83.4% is influenced by external factors such as macroeconomic conditions, interest rates, and inflation.

According to Rizky Nur Ramdhani and Erwin Budianto from Universitas Swadaya Gunung Jati, company management in the transportation and logistics sector needs to focus on optimizing profitability through efficient utilization of operational assets to become a primary attraction for investors. From the perspective of Signaling Theory, the market is proven to be more rational in reading net profit signals rather than just capital structure or asset turnover alone. For investors, this research highlights the importance of deeply examining the profitability aspect alongside factoring in external macroeconomic variables.

Author Profiles:

Rizky Nur Ramdhani and Erwin Budianto are academics and researchers at Universitas Swadaya Gunung Jati who focus their expertise in financial management, business analysis, and capital market issuer performance.

Research Source:

Ramdhani, R. N., & Budianto, E. (2026). The Effect of Return on Assets, Debt to Equity Ratio, and Total Assets Turnover on Stock Returns in Companies in the Transport and Logistics Sector Listed on the IDX in 2022-2024. Indonesian Journal of Business Analytics (IJBA), 6(4), 1106–1125. DOI: https://doi.org/10.55927/ijba.v6i4.16683