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Side-by-side financial comparison of DELUXE CORP (DLX) 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 $535.2M, roughly 1.2× DELUXE CORP). DELUXE CORP runs the higher net margin — 2.2% vs -4.5%, a 6.7% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, DELUXE CORP posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (2.8% vs -0.3%). Over the past eight quarters, FORWARD AIR CORP's revenue compounded faster (7.9% CAGR vs 0.0%).

Deluxe Corporation is an American company that provides payment processing, data services, checks and promotional products, and merchant services. It operates in four divisions: B2B payments, data, print, and merchant services. As of 2025, the company serves millions of small businesses and thousands of financial institutions, processing more than $2.8 trillion in payments annually. While its legacy business centers on check printing and other printed products, payments and data services now ...

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.

DLX vs FWRD — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
FWRD
FWRD
1.2× larger
FWRD
$631.2M
$535.2M
DLX
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
DLX
DLX
+3.1% gap
DLX
2.8%
-0.3%
FWRD
Higher net margin
DLX
DLX
6.7% more per $
DLX
2.2%
-4.5%
FWRD
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
FWRD
FWRD
Annualised
FWRD
7.9%
0.0%
DLX

Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q4 FY2025

Metric
DLX
DLX
FWRD
FWRD
Revenue
$535.2M
$631.2M
Net Profit
$12.0M
$-28.3M
Gross Margin
52.2%
Operating Margin
8.9%
-0.5%
Net Margin
2.2%
-4.5%
Revenue YoY
2.8%
-0.3%
Net Profit YoY
-5.0%
22.2%
EPS (diluted)
$0.25
$-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
DLX
DLX
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
$535.2M
$631.2M
Q3 25
$540.2M
$631.8M
Q2 25
$521.3M
$618.8M
Q1 25
$536.5M
$613.3M
Q4 24
$520.6M
$632.8M
Q3 24
$528.4M
$655.9M
Q2 24
$537.8M
$643.7M
Q1 24
$535.0M
$541.8M
Net Profit
DLX
DLX
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
$12.0M
$-28.3M
Q3 25
$33.7M
$-16.3M
Q2 25
$22.4M
$-12.6M
Q1 25
$14.0M
$-50.6M
Q4 24
$12.6M
$-36.4M
Q3 24
$8.9M
$-73.4M
Q2 24
$20.5M
$-645.4M
Q1 24
$10.8M
$-61.7M
Gross Margin
DLX
DLX
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
52.2%
Q3 25
53.9%
Q2 25
53.6%
Q1 25
52.4%
Q4 24
52.3%
Q3 24
53.3%
Q2 24
53.7%
Q1 24
53.0%
Operating Margin
DLX
DLX
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
8.9%
-0.5%
Q3 25
14.0%
2.4%
Q2 25
11.7%
3.2%
Q1 25
9.0%
0.8%
Q4 24
9.0%
12.0%
Q3 24
7.9%
3.5%
Q2 24
11.0%
-170.2%
Q1 24
8.3%
-12.1%
Net Margin
DLX
DLX
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
2.2%
-4.5%
Q3 25
6.2%
-2.6%
Q2 25
4.3%
-2.0%
Q1 25
2.6%
-8.3%
Q4 24
2.4%
-5.8%
Q3 24
1.7%
-11.2%
Q2 24
3.8%
-100.3%
Q1 24
2.0%
-11.4%
EPS (diluted)
DLX
DLX
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
$0.25
$-0.90
Q3 25
$0.74
$-0.52
Q2 25
$0.50
$-0.41
Q1 25
$0.31
$-1.68
Q4 24
$0.28
$-1.69
Q3 24
$0.20
$-2.66
Q2 24
$0.46
$-23.47
Q1 24
$0.24
$-2.81

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

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

Metric
DLX
DLX
FWRD
FWRD
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$36.9M
$106.0M
Total DebtLower is stronger
$1.7B
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$680.7M
$113.3M
Total Assets
$2.9B
$2.7B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
14.89×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
DLX
DLX
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
$36.9M
$106.0M
Q3 25
$25.8M
$140.4M
Q2 25
$26.0M
$95.1M
Q1 25
$30.3M
$116.3M
Q4 24
$34.4M
$104.9M
Q3 24
$41.3M
$136.6M
Q2 24
$23.1M
$84.9M
Q1 24
$23.5M
$152.0M
Total Debt
DLX
DLX
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
DLX
DLX
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
$680.7M
$113.3M
Q3 25
$664.1M
$139.8M
Q2 25
$638.7M
$151.8M
Q1 25
$622.5M
$154.6M
Q4 24
$620.9M
$201.7M
Q3 24
$612.7M
$226.1M
Q2 24
$620.5M
$283.8M
Q1 24
$608.4M
$926.1M
Total Assets
DLX
DLX
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
$2.9B
$2.7B
Q3 25
$2.6B
$2.8B
Q2 25
$2.5B
$2.8B
Q1 25
$2.6B
$2.8B
Q4 24
$2.8B
$2.8B
Q3 24
$2.6B
$3.1B
Q2 24
$2.7B
$3.1B
Q1 24
$2.7B
$4.0B
Debt / Equity
DLX
DLX
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
DLX
DLX
FWRD
FWRD
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$102.1M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
1.3%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
8.53×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
DLX
DLX
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
$102.1M
Q3 25
$67.1M
$52.7M
Q2 25
$51.1M
Q1 25
$50.3M
$27.6M
Q4 24
$60.2M
$-23.2M
Q3 24
$67.9M
$51.2M
Q2 24
$39.6M
$-45.2M
Q1 24
$26.6M
$-51.7M
Free Cash Flow
DLX
DLX
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
Q3 25
$48.6M
Q2 25
$27.8M
Q1 25
$24.3M
$15.7M
Q4 24
$-30.5M
Q3 24
$46.7M
$40.7M
Q2 24
$11.4M
$-59.6M
Q1 24
$6.1M
$-56.7M
FCF Margin
DLX
DLX
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
Q3 25
7.7%
Q2 25
5.3%
Q1 25
4.5%
2.6%
Q4 24
-4.8%
Q3 24
8.8%
6.2%
Q2 24
2.1%
-9.3%
Q1 24
1.1%
-10.5%
Capex Intensity
DLX
DLX
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
1.3%
Q3 25
0.7%
Q2 25
4.5%
0.8%
Q1 25
4.8%
1.9%
Q4 24
1.1%
Q3 24
4.0%
1.6%
Q2 24
5.2%
2.2%
Q1 24
3.8%
0.9%
Cash Conversion
DLX
DLX
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
8.53×
Q3 25
1.99×
Q2 25
2.28×
Q1 25
3.59×
Q4 24
4.77×
Q3 24
7.60×
Q2 24
1.94×
Q1 24
2.46×

Financial Flow Comparison

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

Revenue Breakdown by Segment

DLX
DLX

Services$247.9M46%
B2B Payments$76.3M14%
Datadrivenmarketingsolutions$68.5M13%
Promotional Solutions Revenue$60.9M11%
Treasurymanagementsolutions$59.8M11%
Other$17.3M3%
Other Web Based Solutions$4.6M1%

FWRD
FWRD

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

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