vs

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

BELDEN INC. is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($720.1M vs $631.2M, roughly 1.1× FORWARD AIR CORP). BELDEN INC. runs the higher net margin — 9.4% vs -4.5%, a 13.9% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, BELDEN INC. posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (8.1% vs -0.3%). Over the past eight quarters, BELDEN INC.'s revenue compounded faster (9.2% CAGR vs 7.9%).

Belden Inc. is an American, multinational, publicly traded company specializing in the design, manufacture, and distribution of end-to-end networking, security and connectivity products. The company serves the Industrial Automation Solutions, Smart Buildings and Broadband & 5G markets.

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.

BDC vs FWRD — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
BDC
BDC
1.1× larger
BDC
$720.1M
$631.2M
FWRD
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
BDC
BDC
+8.4% gap
BDC
8.1%
-0.3%
FWRD
Higher net margin
BDC
BDC
13.9% more per $
BDC
9.4%
-4.5%
FWRD
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
BDC
BDC
Annualised
BDC
9.2%
7.9%
FWRD

Income Statement — Q1 FY2026 vs Q4 FY2025

Metric
BDC
BDC
FWRD
FWRD
Revenue
$720.1M
$631.2M
Net Profit
$67.9M
$-28.3M
Gross Margin
36.6%
Operating Margin
12.2%
-0.5%
Net Margin
9.4%
-4.5%
Revenue YoY
8.1%
-0.3%
Net Profit YoY
16.3%
22.2%
EPS (diluted)
$1.70
$-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
BDC
BDC
FWRD
FWRD
Q1 26
$720.1M
Q4 25
$720.1M
$631.2M
Q3 25
$698.2M
$631.8M
Q2 25
$672.0M
$618.8M
Q1 25
$624.9M
$613.3M
Q4 24
$666.0M
$632.8M
Q3 24
$654.9M
$655.9M
Q2 24
$604.3M
$643.7M
Net Profit
BDC
BDC
FWRD
FWRD
Q1 26
$67.9M
Q4 25
$67.9M
$-28.3M
Q3 25
$56.7M
$-16.3M
Q2 25
$61.0M
$-12.6M
Q1 25
$51.9M
$-50.6M
Q4 24
$58.4M
$-36.4M
Q3 24
$53.7M
$-73.4M
Q2 24
$49.0M
$-645.4M
Gross Margin
BDC
BDC
FWRD
FWRD
Q1 26
36.6%
Q4 25
36.6%
Q3 25
37.7%
Q2 25
38.5%
Q1 25
39.3%
Q4 24
37.5%
Q3 24
37.3%
Q2 24
37.5%
Operating Margin
BDC
BDC
FWRD
FWRD
Q1 26
12.2%
Q4 25
12.2%
-0.5%
Q3 25
10.9%
2.4%
Q2 25
11.8%
3.2%
Q1 25
11.6%
0.8%
Q4 24
10.4%
12.0%
Q3 24
11.5%
3.5%
Q2 24
11.4%
-170.2%
Net Margin
BDC
BDC
FWRD
FWRD
Q1 26
9.4%
Q4 25
9.4%
-4.5%
Q3 25
8.1%
-2.6%
Q2 25
9.1%
-2.0%
Q1 25
8.3%
-8.3%
Q4 24
8.8%
-5.8%
Q3 24
8.2%
-11.2%
Q2 24
8.1%
-100.3%
EPS (diluted)
BDC
BDC
FWRD
FWRD
Q1 26
$1.70
Q4 25
$1.70
$-0.90
Q3 25
$1.41
$-0.52
Q2 25
$1.53
$-0.41
Q1 25
$1.27
$-1.68
Q4 24
$1.41
$-1.69
Q3 24
$1.30
$-2.66
Q2 24
$1.19
$-23.47

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

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

Metric
BDC
BDC
FWRD
FWRD
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$389.9M
$106.0M
Total DebtLower is stronger
$1.3B
$1.7B
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$1.3B
$113.3M
Total Assets
$2.7B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
1.02×
14.89×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
BDC
BDC
FWRD
FWRD
Q1 26
$389.9M
Q4 25
$389.9M
$106.0M
Q3 25
$314.3M
$140.4M
Q2 25
$301.5M
$95.1M
Q1 25
$259.0M
$116.3M
Q4 24
$370.3M
$104.9M
Q3 24
$323.0M
$136.6M
Q2 24
$564.8M
$84.9M
Total Debt
BDC
BDC
FWRD
FWRD
Q1 26
$1.3B
Q4 25
$1.7B
Q3 25
$1.7B
Q2 25
Q1 25
Q4 24
Q3 24
Q2 24
Stockholders' Equity
BDC
BDC
FWRD
FWRD
Q1 26
$1.3B
Q4 25
$1.3B
$113.3M
Q3 25
$1.2B
$139.8M
Q2 25
$1.2B
$151.8M
Q1 25
$1.2B
$154.6M
Q4 24
$1.3B
$201.7M
Q3 24
$1.2B
$226.1M
Q2 24
$1.2B
$283.8M
Total Assets
BDC
BDC
FWRD
FWRD
Q1 26
Q4 25
$3.5B
$2.7B
Q3 25
$3.4B
$2.8B
Q2 25
$3.4B
$2.8B
Q1 25
$3.3B
$2.8B
Q4 24
$3.3B
$2.8B
Q3 24
$3.3B
$3.1B
Q2 24
$3.5B
$3.1B
Debt / Equity
BDC
BDC
FWRD
FWRD
Q1 26
1.02×
Q4 25
14.89×
Q3 25
12.05×
Q2 25
Q1 25
Q4 24
Q3 24
Q2 24

Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency

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

Metric
BDC
BDC
FWRD
FWRD
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$354.9M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$121.3M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
16.8%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
18.9%
1.3%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
5.23×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$364.7M

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
BDC
BDC
FWRD
FWRD
Q1 26
$354.9M
Q4 25
$160.4M
Q3 25
$105.0M
$52.7M
Q2 25
$82.0M
Q1 25
$7.4M
$27.6M
Q4 24
$174.7M
$-23.2M
Q3 24
$91.7M
$51.2M
Q2 24
$83.0M
$-45.2M
Free Cash Flow
BDC
BDC
FWRD
FWRD
Q1 26
$121.3M
Q4 25
$121.3M
Q3 25
$65.3M
$48.6M
Q2 25
$56.9M
Q1 25
$-24.8M
$15.7M
Q4 24
$116.4M
$-30.5M
Q3 24
$67.2M
$40.7M
Q2 24
$61.0M
$-59.6M
FCF Margin
BDC
BDC
FWRD
FWRD
Q1 26
16.8%
Q4 25
16.8%
Q3 25
9.4%
7.7%
Q2 25
8.5%
Q1 25
-4.0%
2.6%
Q4 24
17.5%
-4.8%
Q3 24
10.3%
6.2%
Q2 24
10.1%
-9.3%
Capex Intensity
BDC
BDC
FWRD
FWRD
Q1 26
18.9%
Q4 25
5.4%
1.3%
Q3 25
5.7%
0.7%
Q2 25
3.7%
0.8%
Q1 25
5.2%
1.9%
Q4 24
8.8%
1.1%
Q3 24
3.7%
1.6%
Q2 24
3.6%
2.2%
Cash Conversion
BDC
BDC
FWRD
FWRD
Q1 26
5.23×
Q4 25
2.36×
Q3 25
1.85×
Q2 25
1.34×
Q1 25
0.14×
Q4 24
2.99×
Q3 24
1.71×
Q2 24
1.69×

Financial Flow Comparison

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

Revenue Breakdown by Segment

BDC
BDC

Segment breakdown not available.

FWRD
FWRD

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

Related Comparisons