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Side-by-side financial comparison of ASHLAND INC. (ASH) 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 $386.0M, roughly 1.6× ASHLAND INC.). ASHLAND INC. runs the higher net margin — -3.1% vs -4.5%, a 1.4% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, FORWARD AIR CORP posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (-0.3% vs -4.7%). Over the past eight quarters, FORWARD AIR CORP's revenue compounded faster (7.9% CAGR vs -18.1%).
Ashland, Inc., is an American chemical company headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware. The company began as an oil refinery in the city of Ashland, Kentucky, in 1924, before moving to Wilmington in 1994. The company has five wholly owned divisions, which include Chemical Intermediates and Solvents, composites, industrial specialties, personal and home care, pharmaceuticals, food and beverage, and agriculture. Until 2017, the company was the primary manufacturer of Valvoline.
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.
ASH vs FWRD — Head-to-Head
Income Statement — Q1 FY2026 vs Q4 FY2025
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $386.0M | $631.2M |
| Net Profit | $-12.0M | $-28.3M |
| Gross Margin | 27.2% | — |
| Operating Margin | -1.6% | -0.5% |
| Net Margin | -3.1% | -4.5% |
| Revenue YoY | -4.7% | -0.3% |
| Net Profit YoY | 92.7% | 22.2% |
| EPS (diluted) | $-0.26 | $-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.
| Q4 25 | $386.0M | $631.2M | ||
| Q3 25 | $477.0M | $631.8M | ||
| Q2 25 | $463.0M | $618.8M | ||
| Q1 25 | $479.0M | $613.3M | ||
| Q4 24 | $405.0M | $632.8M | ||
| Q3 24 | $521.0M | $655.9M | ||
| Q2 24 | $544.0M | $643.7M | ||
| Q1 24 | $575.0M | $541.8M |
| Q4 25 | $-12.0M | $-28.3M | ||
| Q3 25 | $31.0M | $-16.3M | ||
| Q2 25 | $-742.0M | $-12.6M | ||
| Q1 25 | $31.0M | $-50.6M | ||
| Q4 24 | $-165.0M | $-36.4M | ||
| Q3 24 | $17.0M | $-73.4M | ||
| Q2 24 | $6.0M | $-645.4M | ||
| Q1 24 | $120.0M | $-61.7M |
| Q4 25 | 27.2% | — | ||
| Q3 25 | 33.3% | — | ||
| Q2 25 | 28.5% | — | ||
| Q1 25 | 30.7% | — | ||
| Q4 24 | 27.4% | — | ||
| Q3 24 | 33.2% | — | ||
| Q2 24 | 34.2% | — | ||
| Q1 24 | 28.0% | — |
| Q4 25 | -1.6% | -0.5% | ||
| Q3 25 | 12.8% | 2.4% | ||
| Q2 25 | -152.9% | 3.2% | ||
| Q1 25 | 10.6% | 0.8% | ||
| Q4 24 | -44.2% | 12.0% | ||
| Q3 24 | 6.1% | 3.5% | ||
| Q2 24 | -11.2% | -170.2% | ||
| Q1 24 | 3.7% | -12.1% |
| Q4 25 | -3.1% | -4.5% | ||
| Q3 25 | 6.5% | -2.6% | ||
| Q2 25 | -160.3% | -2.0% | ||
| Q1 25 | 6.5% | -8.3% | ||
| Q4 24 | -40.7% | -5.8% | ||
| Q3 24 | 3.3% | -11.2% | ||
| Q2 24 | 1.1% | -100.3% | ||
| Q1 24 | 20.9% | -11.4% |
| Q4 25 | $-0.26 | $-0.90 | ||
| Q3 25 | $0.83 | $-0.52 | ||
| Q2 25 | $-16.21 | $-0.41 | ||
| Q1 25 | $0.65 | $-1.68 | ||
| Q4 24 | $-3.50 | $-1.69 | ||
| Q3 24 | $0.34 | $-2.66 | ||
| Q2 24 | $0.12 | $-23.47 | ||
| Q1 24 | $2.39 | $-2.81 |
Balance Sheet & Financial Strength
Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest quarter.
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand | $304.0M | $106.0M |
| Total DebtLower is stronger | $1.4B | $1.7B |
| Stockholders' EquityBook value | $1.9B | $113.3M |
| Total Assets | $4.5B | $2.7B |
| Debt / EquityLower = less leverage | 0.74× | 14.89× |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q4 25 | $304.0M | $106.0M | ||
| Q3 25 | $215.0M | $140.4M | ||
| Q2 25 | $207.0M | $95.1M | ||
| Q1 25 | $168.0M | $116.3M | ||
| Q4 24 | $219.0M | $104.9M | ||
| Q3 24 | $300.0M | $136.6M | ||
| Q2 24 | $399.0M | $84.9M | ||
| Q1 24 | $439.0M | $152.0M |
| Q4 25 | $1.4B | $1.7B | ||
| Q3 25 | $1.4B | $1.7B | ||
| Q2 25 | $1.4B | — | ||
| Q1 25 | $1.3B | — | ||
| Q4 24 | $1.3B | — | ||
| Q3 24 | $1.3B | — | ||
| Q2 24 | $1.3B | — | ||
| Q1 24 | $1.3B | $1.7B |
| Q4 25 | $1.9B | $113.3M | ||
| Q3 25 | $1.9B | $139.8M | ||
| Q2 25 | $1.9B | $151.8M | ||
| Q1 25 | $2.6B | $154.6M | ||
| Q4 24 | $2.6B | $201.7M | ||
| Q3 24 | $2.9B | $226.1M | ||
| Q2 24 | $3.0B | $283.8M | ||
| Q1 24 | $3.1B | $926.1M |
| Q4 25 | $4.5B | $2.7B | ||
| Q3 25 | $4.6B | $2.8B | ||
| Q2 25 | $4.6B | $2.8B | ||
| Q1 25 | $5.2B | $2.8B | ||
| Q4 24 | $5.2B | $2.8B | ||
| Q3 24 | $5.6B | $3.1B | ||
| Q2 24 | $5.7B | $3.1B | ||
| Q1 24 | $5.9B | $4.0B |
| Q4 25 | 0.74× | 14.89× | ||
| Q3 25 | 0.73× | 12.05× | ||
| Q2 25 | 0.73× | — | ||
| Q1 25 | 0.52× | — | ||
| Q4 24 | 0.51× | — | ||
| Q3 24 | 0.47× | — | ||
| Q2 24 | 0.45× | — | ||
| Q1 24 | 0.42× | 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 | | |
|---|---|---|
| Operating Cash FlowLast quarter | $125.0M | — |
| Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex | $111.0M | — |
| FCF MarginFCF / Revenue | 28.8% | — |
| Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue | 3.6% | 1.3% |
| Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit | — | — |
| TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters | $200.0M | — |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q4 25 | $125.0M | — | ||
| Q3 25 | $40.0M | $52.7M | ||
| Q2 25 | $115.0M | — | ||
| Q1 25 | $9.0M | $27.6M | ||
| Q4 24 | $-30.0M | $-23.2M | ||
| Q3 24 | $80.0M | $51.2M | ||
| Q2 24 | $127.0M | $-45.2M | ||
| Q1 24 | $54.0M | $-51.7M |
| Q4 25 | $111.0M | — | ||
| Q3 25 | $6.0M | $48.6M | ||
| Q2 25 | $95.0M | — | ||
| Q1 25 | $-12.0M | $15.7M | ||
| Q4 24 | $-53.0M | $-30.5M | ||
| Q3 24 | $42.0M | $40.7M | ||
| Q2 24 | $98.0M | $-59.6M | ||
| Q1 24 | $20.0M | $-56.7M |
| Q4 25 | 28.8% | — | ||
| Q3 25 | 1.3% | 7.7% | ||
| Q2 25 | 20.5% | — | ||
| Q1 25 | -2.5% | 2.6% | ||
| Q4 24 | -13.1% | -4.8% | ||
| Q3 24 | 8.1% | 6.2% | ||
| Q2 24 | 18.0% | -9.3% | ||
| Q1 24 | 3.5% | -10.5% |
| Q4 25 | 3.6% | 1.3% | ||
| Q3 25 | 7.1% | 0.7% | ||
| Q2 25 | 4.3% | 0.8% | ||
| Q1 25 | 4.4% | 1.9% | ||
| Q4 24 | 5.7% | 1.1% | ||
| Q3 24 | 7.3% | 1.6% | ||
| Q2 24 | 5.3% | 2.2% | ||
| Q1 24 | 5.9% | 0.9% |
| Q4 25 | — | — | ||
| Q3 25 | 1.29× | — | ||
| Q2 25 | — | — | ||
| Q1 25 | 0.29× | — | ||
| Q4 24 | — | — | ||
| Q3 24 | 4.71× | — | ||
| Q2 24 | 21.17× | — | ||
| Q1 24 | 0.45× | — |
Financial Flow Comparison
Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.
Revenue Breakdown by Segment
ASH
| Personal Care And Household | $123.0M | 32% |
| Other | $120.0M | 31% |
| Specialty Additives | $36.0M | 9% |
| Intermediates And Solvents | $31.0M | 8% |
| Personal Care | $30.0M | 8% |
| Life Sciences | $27.0M | 7% |
| Intermediates | $19.0M | 5% |
FWRD
| Omni Logistics Segment | $359.8M | 57% |
| Network | $183.9M | 29% |
| Intermodal Segment | $50.2M | 8% |
| Truckload | $41.6M | 7% |
