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Side-by-side financial comparison of BRIGHT HORIZONS FAMILY SOLUTIONS INC. (BFAM) and FORWARD AIR CORP (FWRD). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

BRIGHT HORIZONS FAMILY SOLUTIONS INC. is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($733.7M vs $631.2M, roughly 1.2× FORWARD AIR CORP). On growth, BRIGHT HORIZONS FAMILY SOLUTIONS INC. posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (8.8% vs -0.3%). Over the past eight quarters, BRIGHT HORIZONS FAMILY SOLUTIONS INC.'s revenue compounded faster (8.5% CAGR vs 7.9%).

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. is a United States–based child-care provider and is the largest provider of employer-sponsored child care. It also provides back-up child care and elder care, tuition program management, education advising, and student loan repayment programs. It is headquartered in Newton, Massachusetts.

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.

BFAM vs FWRD — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
BFAM
BFAM
1.2× larger
BFAM
$733.7M
$631.2M
FWRD
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
BFAM
BFAM
+9.1% gap
BFAM
8.8%
-0.3%
FWRD
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
BFAM
BFAM
Annualised
BFAM
8.5%
7.9%
FWRD

Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q4 FY2025

Metric
BFAM
BFAM
FWRD
FWRD
Revenue
$733.7M
$631.2M
Net Profit
$-28.3M
Gross Margin
19.3%
Operating Margin
6.2%
-0.5%
Net Margin
-4.5%
Revenue YoY
8.8%
-0.3%
Net Profit YoY
22.2%
EPS (diluted)
$0.38
$-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
BFAM
BFAM
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
$733.7M
$631.2M
Q3 25
$802.8M
$631.8M
Q2 25
$731.6M
$618.8M
Q1 25
$665.5M
$613.3M
Q4 24
$674.1M
$632.8M
Q3 24
$719.1M
$655.9M
Q2 24
$670.1M
$643.7M
Q1 24
$622.7M
$541.8M
Net Profit
BFAM
BFAM
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
$-28.3M
Q3 25
$78.6M
$-16.3M
Q2 25
$54.8M
$-12.6M
Q1 25
$38.0M
$-50.6M
Q4 24
$-36.4M
Q3 24
$54.9M
$-73.4M
Q2 24
$39.2M
$-645.4M
Q1 24
$17.0M
$-61.7M
Gross Margin
BFAM
BFAM
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
19.3%
Q3 25
27.0%
Q2 25
25.0%
Q1 25
23.4%
Q4 24
20.8%
Q3 24
25.2%
Q2 24
24.2%
Q1 24
21.7%
Operating Margin
BFAM
BFAM
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
6.2%
-0.5%
Q3 25
15.1%
2.4%
Q2 25
11.8%
3.2%
Q1 25
9.4%
0.8%
Q4 24
7.2%
12.0%
Q3 24
12.4%
3.5%
Q2 24
10.3%
-170.2%
Q1 24
6.4%
-12.1%
Net Margin
BFAM
BFAM
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
-4.5%
Q3 25
9.8%
-2.6%
Q2 25
7.5%
-2.0%
Q1 25
5.7%
-8.3%
Q4 24
-5.8%
Q3 24
7.6%
-11.2%
Q2 24
5.8%
-100.3%
Q1 24
2.7%
-11.4%
EPS (diluted)
BFAM
BFAM
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
$0.38
$-0.90
Q3 25
$1.37
$-0.52
Q2 25
$0.95
$-0.41
Q1 25
$0.66
$-1.68
Q4 24
$0.50
$-1.69
Q3 24
$0.94
$-2.66
Q2 24
$0.67
$-23.47
Q1 24
$0.29
$-2.81

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

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

Metric
BFAM
BFAM
FWRD
FWRD
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$140.1M
$106.0M
Total DebtLower is stronger
$747.6M
$1.7B
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$1.3B
$113.3M
Total Assets
$3.9B
$2.7B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
0.56×
14.89×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
BFAM
BFAM
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
$140.1M
$106.0M
Q3 25
$116.6M
$140.4M
Q2 25
$179.2M
$95.1M
Q1 25
$112.0M
$116.3M
Q4 24
$110.3M
$104.9M
Q3 24
$109.9M
$136.6M
Q2 24
$140.2M
$84.9M
Q1 24
$63.7M
$152.0M
Total Debt
BFAM
BFAM
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
$747.6M
$1.7B
Q3 25
$747.5M
$1.7B
Q2 25
$797.0M
Q1 25
$872.7M
Q4 24
$918.4M
Q3 24
$925.7M
Q2 24
$931.9M
Q1 24
$938.1M
$1.7B
Stockholders' Equity
BFAM
BFAM
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
$1.3B
$113.3M
Q3 25
$1.4B
$139.8M
Q2 25
$1.4B
$151.8M
Q1 25
$1.3B
$154.6M
Q4 24
$1.3B
$201.7M
Q3 24
$1.4B
$226.1M
Q2 24
$1.3B
$283.8M
Q1 24
$1.2B
$926.1M
Total Assets
BFAM
BFAM
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
$3.9B
$2.7B
Q3 25
$3.9B
$2.8B
Q2 25
$3.9B
$2.8B
Q1 25
$3.8B
$2.8B
Q4 24
$3.9B
$2.8B
Q3 24
$3.9B
$3.1B
Q2 24
$3.8B
$3.1B
Q1 24
$3.8B
$4.0B
Debt / Equity
BFAM
BFAM
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
0.56×
14.89×
Q3 25
0.52×
12.05×
Q2 25
0.57×
Q1 25
0.66×
Q4 24
0.72×
Q3 24
0.66×
Q2 24
0.73×
Q1 24
0.76×
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
BFAM
BFAM
FWRD
FWRD
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$350.7M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$258.5M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
35.2%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
12.6%
1.3%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$402.4M

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
BFAM
BFAM
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
$350.7M
Q3 25
$-17.6M
$52.7M
Q2 25
$134.2M
Q1 25
$86.2M
$27.6M
Q4 24
$337.5M
$-23.2M
Q3 24
$-8.9M
$51.2M
Q2 24
$109.4M
$-45.2M
Q1 24
$116.3M
$-51.7M
Free Cash Flow
BFAM
BFAM
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
$258.5M
Q3 25
$-42.4M
$48.6M
Q2 25
$115.4M
Q1 25
$70.9M
$15.7M
Q4 24
$240.2M
$-30.5M
Q3 24
$-32.2M
$40.7M
Q2 24
$86.8M
$-59.6M
Q1 24
$96.9M
$-56.7M
FCF Margin
BFAM
BFAM
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
35.2%
Q3 25
-5.3%
7.7%
Q2 25
15.8%
Q1 25
10.7%
2.6%
Q4 24
35.6%
-4.8%
Q3 24
-4.5%
6.2%
Q2 24
13.0%
-9.3%
Q1 24
15.6%
-10.5%
Capex Intensity
BFAM
BFAM
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
12.6%
1.3%
Q3 25
3.1%
0.7%
Q2 25
2.6%
0.8%
Q1 25
2.3%
1.9%
Q4 24
14.4%
1.1%
Q3 24
3.2%
1.6%
Q2 24
3.4%
2.2%
Q1 24
3.1%
0.9%
Cash Conversion
BFAM
BFAM
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
Q3 25
-0.22×
Q2 25
2.45×
Q1 25
2.26×
Q4 24
Q3 24
-0.16×
Q2 24
2.79×
Q1 24
6.85×

Financial Flow Comparison

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

Revenue Breakdown by Segment

BFAM
BFAM

Segment breakdown not available.

FWRD
FWRD

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

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