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Side-by-side financial comparison of ACCO BRANDS Corp (ACCO) and FORWARD AIR CORP (FWRD). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

FORWARD AIR CORP is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($631.2M vs $428.8M, roughly 1.5× ACCO BRANDS Corp). ACCO BRANDS Corp runs the higher net margin — 5.0% vs -4.5%, a 9.5% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, FORWARD AIR CORP posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (-0.3% vs -4.3%). Over the past eight quarters, ACCO BRANDS Corp's revenue compounded faster (9.3% CAGR vs 7.9%).

ACCO Brands Corporation is an American multinational company. It was created by the merger of ACCO World from Fortune Brands with General Binding Corporation (GBC). As of 2025, its president and CEO is Thomas W. Tedford.

Forward Air Corp is a leading North American asset-light logistics and transportation provider. It offers core services including expedited less-than-truckload freight delivery, final-mile logistics, intermodal transport, warehousing, and supply chain solutions, serving key sectors such as e-commerce, retail, manufacturing, and automotive across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.

ACCO vs FWRD — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
FWRD
FWRD
1.5× larger
FWRD
$631.2M
$428.8M
ACCO
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
FWRD
FWRD
+4.1% gap
FWRD
-0.3%
-4.3%
ACCO
Higher net margin
ACCO
ACCO
9.5% more per $
ACCO
5.0%
-4.5%
FWRD
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
ACCO
ACCO
Annualised
ACCO
9.3%
7.9%
FWRD

Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q4 FY2025

Metric
ACCO
ACCO
FWRD
FWRD
Revenue
$428.8M
$631.2M
Net Profit
$21.3M
$-28.3M
Gross Margin
33.6%
Operating Margin
9.3%
-0.5%
Net Margin
5.0%
-4.5%
Revenue YoY
-4.3%
-0.3%
Net Profit YoY
3.4%
22.2%
EPS (diluted)
$0.23
$-0.90

Green = leading value per metric. Periods may differ when fiscal calendars don't align.

8-Quarter Revenue & Profit Trend

Side-by-side quarterly history. Quarters aligned by calendar period so offset fiscal years line up.

Revenue
ACCO
ACCO
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
$428.8M
$631.2M
Q3 25
$383.7M
$631.8M
Q2 25
$394.8M
$618.8M
Q1 25
$317.4M
$613.3M
Q4 24
$448.1M
$632.8M
Q3 24
$420.9M
$655.9M
Q2 24
$438.3M
$643.7M
Q1 24
$358.9M
$541.8M
Net Profit
ACCO
ACCO
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
$21.3M
$-28.3M
Q3 25
$4.0M
$-16.3M
Q2 25
$29.2M
$-12.6M
Q1 25
$-13.2M
$-50.6M
Q4 24
$20.6M
$-36.4M
Q3 24
$9.3M
$-73.4M
Q2 24
$-125.2M
$-645.4M
Q1 24
$-6.3M
$-61.7M
Gross Margin
ACCO
ACCO
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
33.6%
Q3 25
33.0%
Q2 25
32.9%
Q1 25
31.4%
Q4 24
34.7%
Q3 24
32.5%
Q2 24
34.8%
Q1 24
30.8%
Operating Margin
ACCO
ACCO
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
9.3%
-0.5%
Q3 25
6.8%
2.4%
Q2 25
8.4%
3.2%
Q1 25
-2.1%
0.8%
Q4 24
9.4%
12.0%
Q3 24
6.2%
3.5%
Q2 24
-25.4%
-170.2%
Q1 24
1.6%
-12.1%
Net Margin
ACCO
ACCO
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
5.0%
-4.5%
Q3 25
1.0%
-2.6%
Q2 25
7.4%
-2.0%
Q1 25
-4.2%
-8.3%
Q4 24
4.6%
-5.8%
Q3 24
2.2%
-11.2%
Q2 24
-28.6%
-100.3%
Q1 24
-1.8%
-11.4%
EPS (diluted)
ACCO
ACCO
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
$0.23
$-0.90
Q3 25
$0.04
$-0.52
Q2 25
$0.31
$-0.41
Q1 25
$-0.14
$-1.68
Q4 24
$0.21
$-1.69
Q3 24
$0.09
$-2.66
Q2 24
$-1.29
$-23.47
Q1 24
$-0.07
$-2.81

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest quarter.

Metric
ACCO
ACCO
FWRD
FWRD
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$106.0M
Total DebtLower is stronger
$1.7B
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$664.6M
$113.3M
Total Assets
$2.3B
$2.7B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
14.89×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
ACCO
ACCO
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
$106.0M
Q3 25
$140.4M
Q2 25
$95.1M
Q1 25
$116.3M
Q4 24
$104.9M
Q3 24
$136.6M
Q2 24
$84.9M
Q1 24
$152.0M
Total Debt
ACCO
ACCO
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
$1.7B
Q3 25
$1.7B
Q2 25
Q1 25
Q4 24
Q3 24
Q2 24
Q1 24
$1.7B
Stockholders' Equity
ACCO
ACCO
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
$664.6M
$113.3M
Q3 25
$644.0M
$139.8M
Q2 25
$637.3M
$151.8M
Q1 25
$606.1M
$154.6M
Q4 24
$606.1M
$201.7M
Q3 24
$615.5M
$226.1M
Q2 24
$617.1M
$283.8M
Q1 24
$758.5M
$926.1M
Total Assets
ACCO
ACCO
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
$2.3B
$2.7B
Q3 25
$2.3B
$2.8B
Q2 25
$2.4B
$2.8B
Q1 25
$2.3B
$2.8B
Q4 24
$2.2B
$2.8B
Q3 24
$2.4B
$3.1B
Q2 24
$2.4B
$3.1B
Q1 24
$2.5B
$4.0B
Debt / Equity
ACCO
ACCO
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
14.89×
Q3 25
12.05×
Q2 25
Q1 25
Q4 24
Q3 24
Q2 24
Q1 24
1.81×

Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency

How much cash each business actually produces after reinvestment. Cash flow is harder to manipulate than net income.

Metric
ACCO
ACCO
FWRD
FWRD
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$30.6M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
1.3%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
1.44×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
ACCO
ACCO
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
$30.6M
Q3 25
$71.5M
$52.7M
Q2 25
$-38.9M
Q1 25
$5.5M
$27.6M
Q4 24
$52.7M
$-23.2M
Q3 24
$92.9M
$51.2M
Q2 24
$-25.6M
$-45.2M
Q1 24
$28.2M
$-51.7M
Free Cash Flow
ACCO
ACCO
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
Q3 25
$48.6M
Q2 25
Q1 25
$15.7M
Q4 24
$-30.5M
Q3 24
$40.7M
Q2 24
$-59.6M
Q1 24
$-56.7M
FCF Margin
ACCO
ACCO
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
Q3 25
7.7%
Q2 25
Q1 25
2.6%
Q4 24
-4.8%
Q3 24
6.2%
Q2 24
-9.3%
Q1 24
-10.5%
Capex Intensity
ACCO
ACCO
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
1.3%
Q3 25
0.7%
Q2 25
0.8%
Q1 25
1.9%
Q4 24
1.1%
Q3 24
1.6%
Q2 24
2.2%
Q1 24
0.9%
Cash Conversion
ACCO
ACCO
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
1.44×
Q3 25
17.88×
Q2 25
-1.33×
Q1 25
Q4 24
2.56×
Q3 24
9.99×
Q2 24
Q1 24

Financial Flow Comparison

Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.

Revenue Breakdown by Segment

ACCO
ACCO

Transferred At Point In Time$421.6M98%
Transferred Over Time$7.2M2%

FWRD
FWRD

Omni Logistics Segment$359.8M57%
Network$183.9M29%
Intermodal Segment$50.2M8%
Truckload$41.6M7%

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