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

Crown Castle is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($1.0B vs $631.2M, roughly 1.6× FORWARD AIR CORP). FORWARD AIR CORP runs the higher net margin — -4.5% vs -45.9%, a 41.5% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, FORWARD AIR CORP posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (-0.3% vs -4.8%). Over the past eight quarters, FORWARD AIR CORP's revenue compounded faster (7.9% CAGR vs -4.5%).

Crown Castle Inc. is a real estate investment trust and provider of shared communications infrastructure in the United States headquartered in Houston, Texas. Operating with 100 offices worldwide, its network includes over 40,000 cell towers and approximately 85,000 route miles of fiber supporting small cells and fiber systems.

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.

CCI vs FWRD — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
CCI
CCI
1.6× larger
CCI
$1.0B
$631.2M
FWRD
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
FWRD
FWRD
+4.6% gap
FWRD
-0.3%
-4.8%
CCI
Higher net margin
FWRD
FWRD
41.5% more per $
FWRD
-4.5%
-45.9%
CCI
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
FWRD
FWRD
Annualised
FWRD
7.9%
-4.5%
CCI

Income Statement — Q1 FY2026 vs Q4 FY2025

Metric
CCI
CCI
FWRD
FWRD
Revenue
$1.0B
$631.2M
Net Profit
$-464.0M
$-28.3M
Gross Margin
Operating Margin
46.0%
-0.5%
Net Margin
-45.9%
-4.5%
Revenue YoY
-4.8%
-0.3%
Net Profit YoY
22.2%
EPS (diluted)
$1.48
$-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
CCI
CCI
FWRD
FWRD
Q1 26
$1.0B
Q4 25
$1.1B
$631.2M
Q3 25
$1.1B
$631.8M
Q2 25
$1.1B
$618.8M
Q1 25
$1.1B
$613.3M
Q4 24
$1.1B
$632.8M
Q3 24
$1.1B
$655.9M
Q2 24
$1.1B
$643.7M
Net Profit
CCI
CCI
FWRD
FWRD
Q1 26
$-464.0M
Q4 25
$294.0M
$-28.3M
Q3 25
$323.0M
$-16.3M
Q2 25
$291.0M
$-12.6M
Q1 25
$-464.0M
$-50.6M
Q4 24
$-36.4M
Q3 24
$303.0M
$-73.4M
Q2 24
$251.0M
$-645.4M
Gross Margin
CCI
CCI
FWRD
FWRD
Q1 26
Q4 25
97.4%
Q3 25
97.2%
Q2 25
97.5%
Q1 25
97.4%
Q4 24
97.7%
Q3 24
97.6%
Q2 24
97.7%
Operating Margin
CCI
CCI
FWRD
FWRD
Q1 26
46.0%
Q4 25
48.8%
-0.5%
Q3 25
49.0%
2.4%
Q2 25
47.7%
3.2%
Q1 25
49.1%
0.8%
Q4 24
51.0%
12.0%
Q3 24
47.5%
3.5%
Q2 24
44.7%
-170.2%
Net Margin
CCI
CCI
FWRD
FWRD
Q1 26
-45.9%
Q4 25
27.5%
-4.5%
Q3 25
30.1%
-2.6%
Q2 25
27.5%
-2.0%
Q1 25
-43.7%
-8.3%
Q4 24
-5.8%
Q3 24
27.1%
-11.2%
Q2 24
22.7%
-100.3%
EPS (diluted)
CCI
CCI
FWRD
FWRD
Q1 26
$1.48
Q4 25
$0.67
$-0.90
Q3 25
$0.74
$-0.52
Q2 25
$0.67
$-0.41
Q1 25
$-1.07
$-1.68
Q4 24
$-1.69
Q3 24
$0.70
$-2.66
Q2 24
$0.58
$-23.47

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

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

Metric
CCI
CCI
FWRD
FWRD
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$55.0M
$106.0M
Total DebtLower is stronger
$1.7B
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$113.3M
Total Assets
$31.4B
$2.7B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
14.89×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
CCI
CCI
FWRD
FWRD
Q1 26
$55.0M
Q4 25
$99.0M
$106.0M
Q3 25
$57.0M
$140.4M
Q2 25
$94.0M
$95.1M
Q1 25
$60.0M
$116.3M
Q4 24
$100.0M
$104.9M
Q3 24
$194.0M
$136.6M
Q2 24
$155.0M
$84.9M
Total Debt
CCI
CCI
FWRD
FWRD
Q1 26
Q4 25
$21.6B
$1.7B
Q3 25
$21.6B
$1.7B
Q2 25
$22.0B
Q1 25
$22.9B
Q4 24
$23.5B
Q3 24
$23.5B
Q2 24
$22.9B
Stockholders' Equity
CCI
CCI
FWRD
FWRD
Q1 26
Q4 25
$-1.6B
$113.3M
Q3 25
$-1.5B
$139.8M
Q2 25
$-1.4B
$151.8M
Q1 25
$-1.3B
$154.6M
Q4 24
$-133.0M
$201.7M
Q3 24
$5.3B
$226.1M
Q2 24
$5.7B
$283.8M
Total Assets
CCI
CCI
FWRD
FWRD
Q1 26
$31.4B
Q4 25
$31.5B
$2.7B
Q3 25
$31.5B
$2.8B
Q2 25
$31.6B
$2.8B
Q1 25
$31.8B
$2.8B
Q4 24
$32.7B
$2.8B
Q3 24
$38.0B
$3.1B
Q2 24
$38.2B
$3.1B
Debt / Equity
CCI
CCI
FWRD
FWRD
Q1 26
Q4 25
14.89×
Q3 25
12.05×
Q2 25
Q1 25
Q4 24
Q3 24
4.43×
Q2 24
4.04×

Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency

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

Metric
CCI
CCI
FWRD
FWRD
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$-43.0M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
-4.3%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
1.0%
1.3%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$4.3B

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
CCI
CCI
FWRD
FWRD
Q1 26
Q4 25
$3.1B
Q3 25
$714.0M
$52.7M
Q2 25
$832.0M
Q1 25
$641.0M
$27.6M
Q4 24
$2.9B
$-23.2M
Q3 24
$699.0M
$51.2M
Q2 24
$768.0M
$-45.2M
Free Cash Flow
CCI
CCI
FWRD
FWRD
Q1 26
$-43.0M
Q4 25
$2.9B
Q3 25
$671.0M
$48.6M
Q2 25
$792.0M
Q1 25
$601.0M
$15.7M
Q4 24
$2.8B
$-30.5M
Q3 24
$661.0M
$40.7M
Q2 24
$729.0M
$-59.6M
FCF Margin
CCI
CCI
FWRD
FWRD
Q1 26
-4.3%
Q4 25
268.4%
Q3 25
62.6%
7.7%
Q2 25
74.7%
Q1 25
56.6%
2.6%
Q4 24
247.3%
-4.8%
Q3 24
59.0%
6.2%
Q2 24
65.9%
-9.3%
Capex Intensity
CCI
CCI
FWRD
FWRD
Q1 26
1.0%
Q4 25
17.0%
1.3%
Q3 25
4.0%
0.7%
Q2 25
3.8%
0.8%
Q1 25
3.8%
1.9%
Q4 24
15.7%
1.1%
Q3 24
3.4%
1.6%
Q2 24
3.5%
2.2%
Cash Conversion
CCI
CCI
FWRD
FWRD
Q1 26
Q4 25
10.40×
Q3 25
2.21×
Q2 25
2.86×
Q1 25
Q4 24
Q3 24
2.31×
Q2 24
3.06×

Financial Flow Comparison

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

Revenue Breakdown by Segment

CCI
CCI

Site rental$961.0M95%
Services and other$49.0M5%

FWRD
FWRD

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

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