Forward Air Corporation
Assessment
Our Rating
A journalistic assessment by our editorial team at the time of the deep dive — it rates the company, not the entry point. Not investment advice and not a solicitation to buy or sell.
We found at least one documented issue that threatens the company itself — regardless of how the stock is currently valued.
Why this colour
Red, because two hard substance criteria are documented as met. First, shareholders' equity is negative: as of June 30, 2026 assets of $2,410.8 million stood against liabilities of $2,533.5 million, a deficit of $122.7 million, after positive equity of $161.7 million six months earlier; the accumulated deficit is $690.3 million. Second, interest coverage is below one: in the first half of 2026 operating income before goodwill impairment of $63.1 million faced interest expense of $87.3 million, a ratio of 0.72; across 2025 it was $36.4 million against $180.7 million. The business therefore does not earn its own interest from ordinary operations. Two aggravating circumstances come on top: the contractual leverage cap falls from 6.00 to 5.50 at December 31, 2026 against a reported 5.2 — roughly 5.5 percent of earnings headroom by our own calculation — and that is exactly the month in which part of the largest customer's business begins to move away, a customer worth roughly $250 million of 2025 revenue sitting concentrated in the segment with the thinnest margin cushion. Explicitly not relevant to the rating is the valuation: a price-to-sales ratio of 0.18 is a price argument and justifies neither red nor green. Nor is the goodwill impairment itself a reason for red — it costs no cash and cannot repeat, because the balance stands at zero. What would argue for amber rather than red is the operating picture: record quarterly revenue, adjusted operating income more than doubled, $40.9 million of cash inflow in the first half of 2026, $401 million of liquidity, no maturity on the drawn debt before December 2030 and an untouched credit facility. Between two levels the more cautious one applies, however, and negative equity combined with interest coverage below one is a documented substance risk, not a single open question. Amber would come into view once equity turns positive again or interest coverage exceeds one across a full reporting period. The decision is yours.
What the thesis turns on
Assessment: Opportunities & Risks
Forward Air runs an asset-light freight forwarding business that is growing operationally: $673.0 million of quarterly revenue in the second quarter of 2026 was the highest in company history, and adjusted operating income rose from $19.5 million to $42.7 million. Underneath sits a balance sheet that leaves shareholders little: minus $122.7 million of equity, $1,770.0 million of debt at face value and interest expense that exceeds operating earnings. The $1,272.4 million of goodwill from the Omni deal is fully written off. A tighter credit covenant applies from December 31, 2026 — the same month in which part of the largest customer's business starts to move away. Not investment advice.
Balance sheet and equity
As of June 30, 2026 assets of $2,410.8 million stood against liabilities of $2,533.5 million — equity is negative at minus $122.7 million, after positive $161.7 million at December 31, 2025. The accumulated deficit is $690.3 million. The buffer for further losses is used up.
Interest burden and funding
In the first half of 2026 interest expense of $87.3 million faced operating income before goodwill impairment of $63.1 million — interest coverage of 0.72. In 2025 it was $180.7 million of interest against $36.4 million of operating income. Before the Omni deal, in 2023, the ratio was $31.6 million against $88.2 million.
Operating business
At $673.0 million, Forward Air posted the highest quarterly revenue in its history in the second quarter of 2026, up 8.8 percent. Operating income before goodwill impairment rose from $19.5 million to $42.7 million, consolidated EBITDA from $79.1 million to $93.0 million. Operating activities produced $40.9 million of inflow in the first half of 2026.
Credit covenants
The contractual leverage cap falls 0.25 turns at the end of each quarter in 2026 and stands at 5.50 instead of 6.00 from December 31, 2026. The reported figure at June 30, 2026 was 5.2. On last-twelve-months earnings of $319 million that leaves headroom of roughly $17 million, or 5.5 percent, by our own calculation, before the limit is breached.
Customer concentration
The largest customer generated roughly $250 million of revenue in 2025 and about 12 percent of consolidated operating revenues in the first quarter of 2026, and sits concentrated in Omni Logistics. Under the non-binding memorandum of understanding of July 20, 2026 at least 50 and possibly 75 percent remains; the transition of the rest begins mostly in December 2026 — the same quarter in which the tighter covenant first applies.
Ownership and dilution
Alongside 33,780,862 shares (July 29, 2026) sit 6,568 thousand units in the intermediate entity Clue Opco, exchangeable one for one into stock — roughly 19.5 percent of additional shares measured against the 33,736 thousand outstanding at June 30, 2026, against 50,000 thousand authorized. The two largest holders together owned about 27 percent at the end of 2025. The Tax Receivable Agreement with the Omni sellers accelerates in a change of ownership.
Worth Noting
Forward Air reached the research list via the in-house stock scanner "Reddit hype", which flags stocks with unusually high attention in retail investor forums. The scanner measures attention, not quality; it is a reason to look something up, not an argument.
Currency of the data: the most recent periodic report evaluated is the Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2026, filed on August 5, 2026, together with the earnings release (Form 8-K, Item 2.02) of the same day. Every filing submitted after that was reviewed: two Schedule 13G ownership filings dated August 6 and August 13, 2026. They do not change the picture and therefore do not appear in the article. Review date: September 19, 2026 — no later filing had been submitted by then.
Data basis: every figure in this analysis comes from SEC filings. The valuation anchor is deliberately not a live quote but the $13.40 Nasdaq average price of June 22, 2026 documented in the filing fee table of the Form S-8 dated June 25, 2026 — which keeps the valuation arithmetic verifiable over time. Cross-check on September 19, 2026 against fundamental data: the share count reported there, 33,780,862, matches the cover page of the quarterly report exactly; the market capitalization of roughly $521 million shown there (as of September 18, 2026) sits about 15 percent above the $453 million anchor derived from the filing price, and therefore within the permitted deviation. The ratios displayed in the fact box (among them the equity ratio and price-to-book) rest on the 2025 annual accounts, when equity was still positive — the article text works from the balance sheet as of June 30, 2026.
Company history: the registrant was called Landair Services Inc. until August 14, 1998; the SEC identifier CIK 0000912728 has been unchanged since 1995. The 2023 result includes $124.5 million of income from the Final Mile business sold on December 20, 2023 — the after-tax result of that discontinued operation, which contains a $155.8 million pre-tax gain on sale. The 2023 figures are therefore not comparable with later years.
Stock Watch
This analysis is as of September 19, 2026. Stock Watch will tell you what's changed at FWRD since then.
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Price history
Chart
Interactive price chart (TradingView).
52-week range: 8.30 $ to 30.20 $ · Last price: 17.60 $ (As of: October 30, 2026)
Key figures
Key figures at a glance
Every figure we hold for this stock, grouped by topic. The question mark next to a label explains what the number means.
Basics
Performance
Technical Indicators
Calculated from the price history · as of 10/30/2026
Valuation
Profitability
Balance Sheet & Safety
Growth
Dividend
This stock currently pays no dividend.
Quality & Screener
Highlighted are things our editorial team noticed: green = stands out as strong, red = deserves a closer look. No single metric is a verdict on its own — always read it in context.
Comparison
Industry comparison
The stock alongside the largest companies in the same group. The median row is the middle value of the companies shown above — not of the whole industry.
Industry: Integrated Freight & Logistics
| Company | Market cap ($B) | P/E | EV/EBITDA | Gross Margin % | EBIT Margin % | Sales Growth (Year) % | Perf. 1Y % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forward Air Corporation FWRD | 0.6 | – | 13.2 | 21.5 | 6.3 | 0.8 | -7.1 |
| United Parcel Service Inc UPS | 93.3 | 17.2 | 9.8 | 22.4 | 6.3 | -2.5 | 21.4 |
| FedEx Corporation FDX | 77.5 | 16.4 | 9.3 | 27.3 | 11.1 | 7.7 | 58.8 |
| Expeditors International of Washington, Inc. EXPD | 26.3 | 32.1 | 20.2 | 13.6 | 10.6 | 4.4 | 67.2 |
| JB Hunt Transport Services Inc JBHT | 21.2 | 34.7 | 23.2 | 17.9 | 6.8 | -0.7 | 33.8 |
| FedEx Freight Holding Company, Inc. FDXF | 18.8 | 29.2 | 16.1 | 29.3 | -5.8 | -1.0 | – |
| ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc ZTO | 15.3 | 11.9 | 7.4 | 25.1 | 19.2 | 7.9 | 9.2 |
| CH Robinson Worldwide Inc CHRW | 14.7 | 25.1 | 19.4 | 8.5 | 4.9 | -8.4 | -18.3 |
| GXO Logistics Inc GXO | 5.9 | 45.3 | 13.4 | 15.3 | 2.6 | 12.6 | -7.6 |
| Median of companies shown | 18.8 | 27.1 | 13.4 | 21.5 | 6.3 | 0.8 | 15.3 |
Based on the most recently reported figures. Only stocks from the same trading venue are lined up, so the market caps are counted in one currency. Compare in a chart →
Fiscal years
Annual Figures
Fiscal years from the audited annual reports, oldest first. EBIT is the operating profit before interest and taxes; total assets are everything the company owns.
Revenue, operating income and net income per fiscal year $M
Revenue Operating income Net income
| Fiscal Year | Revenue ($M) | EBIT ($M) | Net Income ($M) | EPS ($) | Operating Cash Flow ($M) | Equity ($M) | Total Assets ($M) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 983 | 60 | 28 | 0.90 | 130 | 499 | 641 |
| 2017 | 1,101 | 109 | 87 | 2.89 | 103 | 533 | 688 |
| 2018 | 1,321 | 122 | 92 | 3.15 | 153 | 553 | 760 |
| 2019 | 1,215 | 112 | 87 | 3.08 | 161 | 577 | 991 |
| 2020 | 1,270 | 74 | 24 | 0.86 | 84 | 547 | 1,047 |
| 2021 | 1,387 | 147 | 106 | 3.88 | 120 | 594 | 1,118 |
| 2022 | 1,680 | 248 | 193 | 7.17 | 259 | 707 | 1,208 |
| 2023 | 1,371 | 88 | 167 | 6.44 | 181 | 764 | 2,980 |
| 2024 | 2,474 | -1,063 | -817 | -29.66 | -75 | 202 | 2,803 |
| 2025 | 2,495 | 36 | -108 | -3.48 | 44 | 113 | 2,745 |
Quarters
Quarterly Figures
Each bar is one quarter, the last one is the most recent. Use the switch to step through the individual figures.
Revenue & Profit
Cash Flow
Balance Sheet
Margins
Per Share
Click the chart or tab into it, then use ← and → to step through the periods.
None of the selected stocks reports this metric. Pick another metric or switch between annual and quarterly.
· Total · per year
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The figures could not be loaded right now.
Source: fundamental data
| Quarter | EPS (Earnings Per Share) | EPS YoY (%) | Sales ($M) | Sales YoY (%) | Net Margin (%) | OCF ($M) | FCF ($M) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024: Q3 | -1.49 | -250.50 | 656 | 92.40 | -11.20 | 50 | 40 |
| 2024: Q4 | -1.24 | -253.10 | 633 | 394.30 | -5.80 | -24 | -31 |
| 2025: Q1 | -1.13 | -76.60 | 613 | 13.20 | -8.30 | 28 | 16 |
| 2025: Q2 | 0.06 | -99.70 | 619 | -3.90 | -2.00 | -13 | -18 |
| 2025: Q3 | -0.52 | 65.10 | 632 | -3.70 | -2.60 | 53 | 49 |
| 2025: Q4 | -0.91 | 26.60 | 631 | -0.30 | -4.50 | -23 | -31 |
| 2026: Q1 | -0.20 | 82.30 | 582 | -5.10 | -5.90 | 46 | 39 |
| 2026: Q2 | 1.27 | 2,016.70 | 673 | 8.80 | -30.80 | -5 | -8 |
What Do These Terms Mean?
- EPS (Earnings Per Share):
- Quarterly profit divided by the total share count — how much of the profit works out to a single share.
- YoY (Year over Year):
- Change versus the same quarter a year ago — this is how you compare without seasonal distortion (e.g. the holiday shopping season).
- Sales:
- All revenue for the quarter, before any costs are deducted — the top line of the income statement.
- Net Margin:
- What percentage of sales is left over as profit in the end. Negative means the company is posting a loss.
- OCF (Operating Cash Flow):
- The cash that actually flows into the till from the core business during the quarter — harder to dress up than book profit.
- FCF (Free Cash Flow):
- Operating cash flow minus capital expenditures — the money that's genuinely free to use, say for paying down debt, buybacks, or dividends.
Screening
Appears in These Scanners
This stock currently matches 5 of our scanner strategies — each hit links to the scanner.
Growth
Quality & Balance Sheet
Momentum & Trend
Research
Only genuine hits from verified scanners count; pure ranking metrics (P/E, P/S, and similar, which just sort the whole universe) don't count as a hit. View all scanners
Outlook
Analysts & Price Target
Combined picture of the price targets and recommendations of every analyst covering the stock. Price targets are expectations for the next 12 months, not promises — and they often follow the price rather than predict it.
Distribution of Recommendations
Estimates by Fiscal Year
| Fiscal Year | EPS Estimate ($) | EPS Range ($) | Revenue Estimate ($M) | Expected Growth | Analysts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12/31/2026 | -1.01 | -2.02 – 0.00 | 2,584 | -61.3% | 2 |
| 12/31/2027 | 0.43 | 0.33 – 0.53 | 2,597 | 142.6% | 2 |
Average of the analyst estimates for the coming fiscal years. The range shows how far the most optimistic and the most cautious estimate sit apart — the wider it is, the less certain the expectation.
Valuation
What is priced in?
Instead of guessing what the stock is worth, we turn the question around: what free cash flow growth has to happen for today’s market value to add up? The assumptions behind it can be moved.
Today’s market value implies roughly 1.7% growth in free cash flow per year over ten years (assumptions: discount rate 10.0%, terminal growth 2.5%).
| Free cash flow (last twelve months) | $48.2M |
|---|---|
| Market cap | $622.0M |
| Free cash flow in year ten | $57.1M |
| Terminal value as a share of market value | 48.4% |
For comparison: over the past five years free cash flow shrank by 24.9% per year.
It shows which assumption is built into today’s price, not whether that assumption will hold. Every assumption can be changed with the sliders; the figures move with them.
A simplified model calculation — not a forecast and not a recommendation.
AI classification
AI Rating
Forward Air setzt künstliche Intelligenz laut den eigenen Geschäftsberichten (10-K) intern ein, um den eigenen Speditionsbetrieb zu verbessern — wortgleich bereits im Bericht für 2024 und erneut im Bericht für 2025 —, verkauft aber keine KI-Produkte und weist keine KI-Umsätze aus; KI taucht ansonsten nur als Beispiel für den allgemeinen Technologiewettbewerb und in den üblichen Cyber-Risikohinweisen auf.
View the full file — quotes, sources, reviewed filings
„For instance, we have implemented artificial intelligence applications to enhance our operations, but we may be unable to accurately determine the needs of our customers and the trends in the transportation services industry or to design and implement the appropriate features and functionality of our information technology systems in a timely and cost-effective manner, which could put us at a competitive disadvantage and result in a decline in our efficiency, decreased demand for our services and a corresponding decrease in our revenues."
Zum Beispiel haben wir Anwendungen künstlicher Intelligenz eingeführt, um unseren Betrieb zu verbessern; wir könnten jedoch außerstande sein, die Bedürfnisse unserer Kunden und die Trends der Transportbranche zutreffend zu bestimmen oder die passenden Funktionen und Leistungsmerkmale unserer IT-Systeme rechtzeitig und kostengünstig zu entwerfen und umzusetzen, was uns in einen Wettbewerbsnachteil bringen und zu sinkender Effizienz, geringerer Nachfrage nach unseren Dienstleistungen und entsprechend rückläufigen Umsätzen führen könnte.
10-K · 2026-03-11 · View SEC filing
„In addition, competitors may pursue other strategies to gain a competitive advantage such as developing superior information technology systems, including artificial intelligence applications, or establishing cooperative relationships to increase their ability to address customer needs."
Darüber hinaus könnten Wettbewerber andere Strategien verfolgen, um sich einen Wettbewerbsvorteil zu verschaffen, etwa die Entwicklung überlegener IT-Systeme einschließlich Anwendungen künstlicher Intelligenz oder den Aufbau von Kooperationen, um Kundenbedürfnisse besser bedienen zu können.
10-K · 2026-03-11 · View SEC filing
„For instance, we have implemented artificial intelligence applications to enhance our operations"
Zum Beispiel haben wir Anwendungen künstlicher Intelligenz eingeführt, um unseren Betrieb zu verbessern
10-K · 2025-03-24 · View SEC filing
Filings Reviewed: 10-Q 2026-08-05 · 10-Q 2026-05-11 · 10-Q 2025-11-05 · 10-Q 2025-08-11 · 10-K 2026-03-11 · 10-K 2025-03-24
Rated on September 19, 2026 · How the Rating Is Built
Growth
Growth Score
Ten checks against the annual reports — each one passed counts a point.
- Revenue grows by more than 15% a year over three years 14.1%
- More than 10% revenue growth is expected for the coming year -72.9%
- Share count grows by less than 3% a year 4.8%
- Revenue growth plus cash-flow margin add up to at least 40 ("Rule of 40") 1.5%
- Gross margin at 40% or higher and without meaningful erosion 20.5%
- Goodwill from acquisitions does not grow faster than revenue 19.0%
- Net debt below twice EBITDA 11.0 x EBITDA
- Operating cash flow covers the profits of the last three years 908 m
- Return on capital at 15% or higher, or up versus two years ago 1.6%
- Insiders hold at least 10% or are net buyers 1.9%
A criterion without figures counts neither as passed nor as failed; a score is only produced from 7 judgeable criteria upwards. Source: fundamental data. All ten criteria in detail
Quality check
AAQS
1/10The AAQS (AlleAktien Quality Score) checks 10 quality criteria on growth, profitability, and balance-sheet strength — per the methodology developed and published by AlleAktien, calculated by us from our own fundamental data. A stock counts as a quality stock from 9 out of 10 points. Where a company has a shorter listing history, we calculate over the fiscal years available (at least five).
- Sales growth 10Y > 5% 10.9%
- Exp. sales growth 3Y > 5% 2.0%
- EBIT growth 10Y > 5% -5.4%
- Exp. EBIT growth 3Y > 5% 2.0%
- Net debt < 4x EBIT 56.4x
- EBIT positive, 10Y straight 9
- Max. EBIT decline < 50% 100.0%
- Return on equity > 15% –
- ROCE > 15% 1.6%
- Expected return > 10% 4.5%
View stocks with the full AAQS score · Read the methodology at AlleAktien
Source: fundamental data
The company
About the Company
Forward Air Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an asset-light freight and logistics company in the United States, Mexico, Europe, Asia, and Canada. The company operates through three segments: Expedited Freight, Omni Logistics, and Intermodal. Its Expedited Freight segment provides expedited regional, inter-regional, and national less-than-truckload services; local pick-up and delivery services; and other services, which include shipment consolidation and deconsolidation, warehousing, customs brokerage, and other handling. This segment offers expedited truckload brokerage, dedicated fleet, and high security and temperature-controlled logistics services. The Omni Logistics segment offers full suite of global logistics services, such as air and ocean freight consolidation and forwarding, customs brokerage, warehousing and distribution, value-added services, time-definite transportation services, and other supply chain solutions. Its Intermodal segment provides intermodal container drayage services; and contract and container freight station warehouse and handling services. The company serves freight forwarders, third-party logistics companies, integrated air cargo carriers and passenger, passenger and cargo airlines, steamship lines, and retailers. Forward Air Corporation was incorporated in 1981 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.
- Employees
- 6,062
- Headquarters
- Dallas, TX
- Address
- 3200 Olympus Boulevard, 75019 Dallas, United States
- Phone
- 817 552 5270
- Website
- forwardair.com
- IPO Date
- 11/16/1993
- ISIN
- US34986A1043
- Stock Split
- 3:2 on 04/04/2005
- Stock Split
- 3:2 on 01/31/2000
- Stock Split
- 2:1 on 03/22/1999
Management
| Name | Title | Birth Year |
|---|---|---|
| Shawn Stewart | President, CEO & Director | 1974 |
| Jamie G. Pierson | Chief Financial Officer | 1970 |
| Michael L. Hance J.D. | Chief Legal Officer & Secretary | 1972 |
| Eric Brandt | Chief Commercial Officer | 1981 |
| James R. Faught | Chief Accounting Officer | 1981 |
| Lance Sons | Chief Information Officer | – |
| Anthony Carreno | Senior Vice President of Treasury & Investor Relations | – |
| Douglas J. Smith | Chief People Officer | 1970 |
| Fábio Mendunekas | President of Latin America (LATAM) | – |
| Karl Khambatta | Chief Transformation Officer | – |
Executives per the latest required filings; titles kept in their original language. Source: fundamental data.
Filings
Company Filings (8-K)
An 8-K is the filing a US company must use to disclose material events immediately — takeovers, changes at the top, major contracts or payment troubles, for instance. The links open the original document at the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
- 10/28/2026 FORWARD AIR CORP (FWRD): Other Events; Financial Statements and Exhibits SEC ↗
- 08/05/2026 FORWARD AIR CORP (FWRD): Results of Operations and Financial Condition; Financial Statements and Exhibits SEC ↗
- 07/21/2026 FORWARD AIR CORP (FWRD): Regulation FD Disclosure; Financial Statements and Exhibits SEC ↗
- 07/10/2026 FORWARD AIR CORP (FWRD): Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers: Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers; Financial Statements and Exhibits SEC ↗
Data as of: October 30, 2026 · Source: fundamental data & SEC filings (annual and quarterly reports, 10-K/10-Q)
Note: pure fact-based analysis, not investment advice and not a solicitation to buy or sell. All figures without guarantee.