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

CALERES INC is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($790.1M vs $631.2M, roughly 1.3× FORWARD AIR CORP). CALERES INC runs the higher net margin — 0.3% vs -4.5%, a 4.8% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, CALERES INC posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (6.6% vs -0.3%). Over the past eight quarters, FORWARD AIR CORP's revenue compounded faster (7.9% CAGR vs 6.5%).

Caleres Inc. is an American footwear company that owns and operates a variety of footwear brands. Its headquarters is located in Clayton, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis. The company was founded in 1878 as Bryan, Brown & Company in St. Louis, though it underwent several name changes. The Hamilton-Brown Shoe Company was the largest manufacturer of shoes in America in the early 20th century, but it went bankrupt in June 1939.

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.

CAL vs FWRD — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
CAL
CAL
1.3× larger
CAL
$790.1M
$631.2M
FWRD
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
CAL
CAL
+6.9% gap
CAL
6.6%
-0.3%
FWRD
Higher net margin
CAL
CAL
4.8% more per $
CAL
0.3%
-4.5%
FWRD
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
FWRD
FWRD
Annualised
FWRD
7.9%
6.5%
CAL

Income Statement — Q3 FY2026 vs Q4 FY2025

Metric
CAL
CAL
FWRD
FWRD
Revenue
$790.1M
$631.2M
Net Profit
$2.4M
$-28.3M
Gross Margin
41.8%
Operating Margin
1.5%
-0.5%
Net Margin
0.3%
-4.5%
Revenue YoY
6.6%
-0.3%
Net Profit YoY
-94.2%
22.2%
EPS (diluted)
$0.07
$-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
CAL
CAL
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
$790.1M
$631.2M
Q3 25
$658.5M
$631.8M
Q2 25
$614.2M
$618.8M
Q1 25
$639.2M
$613.3M
Q4 24
$740.9M
$632.8M
Q3 24
$683.3M
$655.9M
Q2 24
$659.2M
$643.7M
Q1 24
$697.1M
$541.8M
Net Profit
CAL
CAL
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
$2.4M
$-28.3M
Q3 25
$6.7M
$-16.3M
Q2 25
$6.9M
$-12.6M
Q1 25
$4.9M
$-50.6M
Q4 24
$41.4M
$-36.4M
Q3 24
$30.0M
$-73.4M
Q2 24
$30.9M
$-645.4M
Q1 24
$55.7M
$-61.7M
Gross Margin
CAL
CAL
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
41.8%
Q3 25
43.4%
Q2 25
45.4%
Q1 25
43.0%
Q4 24
44.1%
Q3 24
45.5%
Q2 24
46.9%
Q1 24
43.9%
Operating Margin
CAL
CAL
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
1.5%
-0.5%
Q3 25
1.4%
2.4%
Q2 25
1.9%
3.2%
Q1 25
1.2%
0.8%
Q4 24
7.7%
12.0%
Q3 24
6.2%
3.5%
Q2 24
6.5%
-170.2%
Q1 24
4.4%
-12.1%
Net Margin
CAL
CAL
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
0.3%
-4.5%
Q3 25
1.0%
-2.6%
Q2 25
1.1%
-2.0%
Q1 25
0.8%
-8.3%
Q4 24
5.6%
-5.8%
Q3 24
4.4%
-11.2%
Q2 24
4.7%
-100.3%
Q1 24
8.0%
-11.4%
EPS (diluted)
CAL
CAL
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
$0.07
$-0.90
Q3 25
$0.20
$-0.52
Q2 25
$0.21
$-0.41
Q1 25
$0.17
$-1.68
Q4 24
$1.19
$-1.69
Q3 24
$0.85
$-2.66
Q2 24
$0.88
$-23.47
Q1 24
$1.56
$-2.81

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

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

Metric
CAL
CAL
FWRD
FWRD
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$34.0M
$106.0M
Total DebtLower is stronger
$1.7B
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$616.8M
$113.3M
Total Assets
$2.1B
$2.7B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
14.89×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
CAL
CAL
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
$34.0M
$106.0M
Q3 25
$191.5M
$140.4M
Q2 25
$33.1M
$95.1M
Q1 25
$29.6M
$116.3M
Q4 24
$33.7M
$104.9M
Q3 24
$51.8M
$136.6M
Q2 24
$30.7M
$84.9M
Q1 24
$21.4M
$152.0M
Total Debt
CAL
CAL
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
CAL
CAL
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
$616.8M
$113.3M
Q3 25
$613.3M
$139.8M
Q2 25
$605.2M
$151.8M
Q1 25
$599.0M
$154.6M
Q4 24
$598.3M
$201.7M
Q3 24
$606.1M
$226.1M
Q2 24
$570.3M
$283.8M
Q1 24
$560.6M
$926.1M
Total Assets
CAL
CAL
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
$2.1B
$2.7B
Q3 25
$2.2B
$2.8B
Q2 25
$1.9B
$2.8B
Q1 25
$1.9B
$2.8B
Q4 24
$2.0B
$2.8B
Q3 24
$2.0B
$3.1B
Q2 24
$1.9B
$3.1B
Q1 24
$1.8B
$4.0B
Debt / Equity
CAL
CAL
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
CAL
CAL
FWRD
FWRD
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$-1.2M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$-12.4M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
-1.6%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
1.4%
1.3%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
-0.50×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$14.4M

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
CAL
CAL
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
$-1.2M
Q3 25
$47.3M
$52.7M
Q2 25
$-5.7M
Q1 25
$28.7M
$27.6M
Q4 24
$-39.8M
$-23.2M
Q3 24
$79.6M
$51.2M
Q2 24
$36.1M
$-45.2M
Q1 24
$43.0M
$-51.7M
Free Cash Flow
CAL
CAL
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
$-12.4M
Q3 25
$35.0M
$48.6M
Q2 25
$-26.2M
Q1 25
$18.0M
$15.7M
Q4 24
$-57.4M
$-30.5M
Q3 24
$68.5M
$40.7M
Q2 24
$26.3M
$-59.6M
Q1 24
$32.4M
$-56.7M
FCF Margin
CAL
CAL
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
-1.6%
Q3 25
5.3%
7.7%
Q2 25
-4.3%
Q1 25
2.8%
2.6%
Q4 24
-7.7%
-4.8%
Q3 24
10.0%
6.2%
Q2 24
4.0%
-9.3%
Q1 24
4.6%
-10.5%
Capex Intensity
CAL
CAL
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
1.4%
1.3%
Q3 25
1.9%
0.7%
Q2 25
3.3%
0.8%
Q1 25
1.7%
1.9%
Q4 24
2.4%
1.1%
Q3 24
1.6%
1.6%
Q2 24
1.5%
2.2%
Q1 24
1.5%
0.9%
Cash Conversion
CAL
CAL
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
-0.50×
Q3 25
7.05×
Q2 25
-0.81×
Q1 25
5.82×
Q4 24
-0.96×
Q3 24
2.66×
Q2 24
1.17×
Q1 24
0.77×

Financial Flow Comparison

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

Revenue Breakdown by Segment

CAL
CAL

Brand Portfolio$383.7M49%
Landed Wholesale$148.1M19%
Wholesale E Commerce$75.0M9%
Ecommerce$68.8M9%
Stuart Weitzman Brand$45.8M6%
Landed Wholesale Ecommerce Drop Ship$30.6M4%
First Cost Wholesale$14.9M2%
Clt Brand Solutions$10.2M1%
License And Royalty$2.1M0%

FWRD
FWRD

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

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