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Side-by-side financial comparison of Alkermes plc. (ALKS) 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 $384.5M, roughly 1.6× Alkermes plc.). Alkermes plc. runs the higher net margin — 12.8% vs -4.5%, a 17.3% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, FORWARD AIR CORP posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (-0.3% vs -10.6%). Over the past eight quarters, FORWARD AIR CORP's revenue compounded faster (7.9% CAGR vs 4.8%).

Alkermes plc is a fully-integrated biopharmaceutical company that focuses on developing medicines for psychiatric and neurological disorders. The company was founded in 1987 by Michael Wall. In September 2011 Alkermes, Inc. merged with Elan Drug Technologies (EDT), the former drug formulation and manufacturing division of Élan Corporation, plc. The company is headquartered in Dublin, and has an R&D center in Waltham, Massachusetts, and a manufacturing facility in Wilmington, Ohio.

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.

ALKS vs FWRD — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
FWRD
FWRD
1.6× larger
FWRD
$631.2M
$384.5M
ALKS
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
FWRD
FWRD
+10.3% gap
FWRD
-0.3%
-10.6%
ALKS
Higher net margin
ALKS
ALKS
17.3% more per $
ALKS
12.8%
-4.5%
FWRD
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
FWRD
FWRD
Annualised
FWRD
7.9%
4.8%
ALKS

Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q4 FY2025

Metric
ALKS
ALKS
FWRD
FWRD
Revenue
$384.5M
$631.2M
Net Profit
$49.3M
$-28.3M
Gross Margin
88.0%
Operating Margin
15.1%
-0.5%
Net Margin
12.8%
-4.5%
Revenue YoY
-10.6%
-0.3%
Net Profit YoY
-66.3%
22.2%
EPS (diluted)
$0.29
$-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
ALKS
ALKS
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
$384.5M
$631.2M
Q3 25
$394.2M
$631.8M
Q2 25
$390.7M
$618.8M
Q1 25
$306.5M
$613.3M
Q4 24
$430.0M
$632.8M
Q3 24
$378.1M
$655.9M
Q2 24
$399.1M
$643.7M
Q1 24
$350.4M
$541.8M
Net Profit
ALKS
ALKS
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
$49.3M
$-28.3M
Q3 25
$82.8M
$-16.3M
Q2 25
$87.1M
$-12.6M
Q1 25
$22.5M
$-50.6M
Q4 24
$146.5M
$-36.4M
Q3 24
$92.4M
$-73.4M
Q2 24
$91.4M
$-645.4M
Q1 24
$36.8M
$-61.7M
Gross Margin
ALKS
ALKS
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
88.0%
Q3 25
86.9%
Q2 25
87.3%
Q1 25
83.9%
Q4 24
85.6%
Q3 24
83.3%
Q2 24
84.6%
Q1 24
83.3%
Operating Margin
ALKS
ALKS
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
15.1%
-0.5%
Q3 25
22.6%
2.4%
Q2 25
23.8%
3.2%
Q1 25
4.5%
0.8%
Q4 24
37.8%
12.0%
Q3 24
27.7%
3.5%
Q2 24
27.5%
-170.2%
Q1 24
12.4%
-12.1%
Net Margin
ALKS
ALKS
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
12.8%
-4.5%
Q3 25
21.0%
-2.6%
Q2 25
22.3%
-2.0%
Q1 25
7.3%
-8.3%
Q4 24
34.1%
-5.8%
Q3 24
24.4%
-11.2%
Q2 24
22.9%
-100.3%
Q1 24
10.5%
-11.4%
EPS (diluted)
ALKS
ALKS
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
$0.29
$-0.90
Q3 25
$0.49
$-0.52
Q2 25
$0.52
$-0.41
Q1 25
$0.13
$-1.68
Q4 24
$0.88
$-1.69
Q3 24
$0.55
$-2.66
Q2 24
$0.53
$-23.47
Q1 24
$0.21
$-2.81

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

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

Metric
ALKS
ALKS
FWRD
FWRD
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$388.6M
$106.0M
Total DebtLower is stronger
$1.7B
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$1.8B
$113.3M
Total Assets
$2.5B
$2.7B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
14.89×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
ALKS
ALKS
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
$388.6M
$106.0M
Q3 25
$616.4M
$140.4M
Q2 25
$521.2M
$95.1M
Q1 25
$399.8M
$116.3M
Q4 24
$291.1M
$104.9M
Q3 24
$396.3M
$136.6M
Q2 24
$535.1M
$84.9M
Q1 24
$420.8M
$152.0M
Total Debt
ALKS
ALKS
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
ALKS
ALKS
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
$1.8B
$113.3M
Q3 25
$1.7B
$139.8M
Q2 25
$1.6B
$151.8M
Q1 25
$1.5B
$154.6M
Q4 24
$1.5B
$201.7M
Q3 24
$1.3B
$226.1M
Q2 24
$1.3B
$283.8M
Q1 24
$1.3B
$926.1M
Total Assets
ALKS
ALKS
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
$2.5B
$2.7B
Q3 25
$2.3B
$2.8B
Q2 25
$2.3B
$2.8B
Q1 25
$2.1B
$2.8B
Q4 24
$2.1B
$2.8B
Q3 24
$2.2B
$3.1B
Q2 24
$2.2B
$3.1B
Q1 24
$2.1B
$4.0B
Debt / Equity
ALKS
ALKS
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
ALKS
ALKS
FWRD
FWRD
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$170.1M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$170.0M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
44.2%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
0.0%
1.3%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
3.45×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$480.3M

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
ALKS
ALKS
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
$170.1M
Q3 25
$101.7M
$52.7M
Q2 25
$150.2M
Q1 25
$98.8M
$27.6M
Q4 24
$190.4M
$-23.2M
Q3 24
$81.6M
$51.2M
Q2 24
$146.0M
$-45.2M
Q1 24
$21.1M
$-51.7M
Free Cash Flow
ALKS
ALKS
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
$170.0M
Q3 25
$84.4M
$48.6M
Q2 25
$137.2M
Q1 25
$88.7M
$15.7M
Q4 24
$180.6M
$-30.5M
Q3 24
$73.3M
$40.7M
Q2 24
$138.9M
$-59.6M
Q1 24
$12.8M
$-56.7M
FCF Margin
ALKS
ALKS
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
44.2%
Q3 25
21.4%
7.7%
Q2 25
35.1%
Q1 25
28.9%
2.6%
Q4 24
42.0%
-4.8%
Q3 24
19.4%
6.2%
Q2 24
34.8%
-9.3%
Q1 24
3.6%
-10.5%
Capex Intensity
ALKS
ALKS
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
0.0%
1.3%
Q3 25
4.4%
0.7%
Q2 25
3.3%
0.8%
Q1 25
3.3%
1.9%
Q4 24
2.3%
1.1%
Q3 24
2.2%
1.6%
Q2 24
1.8%
2.2%
Q1 24
2.4%
0.9%
Cash Conversion
ALKS
ALKS
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
3.45×
Q3 25
1.23×
Q2 25
1.72×
Q1 25
4.40×
Q4 24
1.30×
Q3 24
0.88×
Q2 24
1.60×
Q1 24
0.57×

Financial Flow Comparison

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

Revenue Breakdown by Segment

ALKS
ALKS

Vivitrol$124.1M32%
Aristada And Aristada Initio$97.2M25%
LYBALVI$94.1M24%
Royalty$65.7M17%
Manufacturing Revenue$3.3M1%

FWRD
FWRD

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

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