Transactions in BIST transportation sector multi-criteria decision making of companies that see financial performance analysis with techniques

This study aims to analyze the financial performance of the top 10 firms operating in Turkey's transportation sector. The evaluation focuses on six financial criteria: total assets, short-term financial investments, sales revenue, current ratio, operating profit, and net profit for the period. The entropy and ARAS (Additive Ratio Assessment) models were employed to determine the relative weights of these criteria and rank the firms based on their optimal performance scores. The financial statements of each firm were examined, revealing that large-scale companies such as THY and Pegasus dominate the sector in terms of total assets and sales revenue. In contrast, smaller firms demonstrated strong performance in liquidity and current ratio indicators. The entropy analysis indicated that short-term financial investments carry the highest weight (0.294), highlighting the critical importance of liquidity management in the transportation sector. Meanwhile, indicators such as the current ratio and operating profit were found to have lower weights, indicating their relatively minor influence in the decision-making process. The ARAS model results ranked the firms based on their benefit scores, with THY achieving the highest score (1.0000), confirming its leadership in the sector. Pegasus followed closely with strong net profit and operating profit figures, while Çelebi Hava Servisi also stood out with its robust performance. However, firms such as Horoz Lojistik and Trabzon Liman İşletmeciliği ranked lower due to their relatively limited resources and profitability indicators. The findings suggest that large-scale firms leverage their size advantage to enhance profitability, while small and medium-sized firms achieve competitive strength through effective cash flow and liquidity management. The study provides strategic recommendations for improving decision-making processes within the transportation sector. It emphasizes the need for firms to prioritize liquidity management, develop strategies to enhance profitability, and build resilient structures to adapt to macroeconomic fluctuations. This research contributes to the literature by demonstrating the potential of ARAS and entropy models for conducting multi-dimensional performance analysis in the transportation sector. The comprehensive evaluation framework offers valuable insights for both practitioners and academics, helping firms identify strengths and weaknesses and informing strategic planning processes. Keywords: Multi-Criteria Decision Making, ARAS, Entropy, BIST, Transportation Sector