vs
Side-by-side financial comparison of Element Solutions Inc (ESI) and FORWARD AIR CORP (FWRD). Click either name above to swap in a different company.
Element Solutions Inc is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($840.0M vs $631.2M, roughly 1.3× FORWARD AIR CORP). Element Solutions Inc runs the higher net margin — 6.7% vs -4.5%, a 11.2% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, Element Solutions Inc posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (41.0% vs -0.3%). Over the past eight quarters, Element Solutions Inc's revenue compounded faster (17.1% CAGR vs 7.9%).
Element Solutions Inc is an American specialty chemicals production corporation listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
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.
ESI vs FWRD — Head-to-Head
Income Statement — Q1 FY2026 vs Q4 FY2025
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $840.0M | $631.2M |
| Net Profit | $56.0M | $-28.3M |
| Gross Margin | 38.4% | — |
| Operating Margin | 13.3% | -0.5% |
| Net Margin | 6.7% | -4.5% |
| Revenue YoY | 41.0% | -0.3% |
| Net Profit YoY | -43.0% | 22.2% |
| EPS (diluted) | $0.23 | $-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.
| Q1 26 | $840.0M | — | ||
| Q4 25 | $676.2M | $631.2M | ||
| Q3 25 | $656.1M | $631.8M | ||
| Q2 25 | $625.2M | $618.8M | ||
| Q1 25 | $593.7M | $613.3M | ||
| Q4 24 | $624.2M | $632.8M | ||
| Q3 24 | $645.0M | $655.9M | ||
| Q2 24 | $612.7M | $643.7M |
| Q1 26 | $56.0M | — | ||
| Q4 25 | $6.2M | $-28.3M | ||
| Q3 25 | $39.3M | $-16.3M | ||
| Q2 25 | $47.4M | $-12.6M | ||
| Q1 25 | $98.0M | $-50.6M | ||
| Q4 24 | $54.7M | $-36.4M | ||
| Q3 24 | $40.3M | $-73.4M | ||
| Q2 24 | $93.2M | $-645.4M |
| Q1 26 | 38.4% | — | ||
| Q4 25 | 40.9% | — | ||
| Q3 25 | 42.2% | — | ||
| Q2 25 | 42.6% | — | ||
| Q1 25 | 42.2% | — | ||
| Q4 24 | 41.0% | — | ||
| Q3 24 | 41.5% | — | ||
| Q2 24 | 43.6% | — |
| Q1 26 | 13.3% | — | ||
| Q4 25 | 10.3% | -0.5% | ||
| Q3 25 | 15.4% | 2.4% | ||
| Q2 25 | 15.1% | 3.2% | ||
| Q1 25 | 13.0% | 0.8% | ||
| Q4 24 | 12.0% | 12.0% | ||
| Q3 24 | 14.7% | 3.5% | ||
| Q2 24 | 15.7% | -170.2% |
| Q1 26 | 6.7% | — | ||
| Q4 25 | 0.9% | -4.5% | ||
| Q3 25 | 6.0% | -2.6% | ||
| Q2 25 | 7.6% | -2.0% | ||
| Q1 25 | 16.5% | -8.3% | ||
| Q4 24 | 8.8% | -5.8% | ||
| Q3 24 | 6.2% | -11.2% | ||
| Q2 24 | 15.2% | -100.3% |
| Q1 26 | $0.23 | — | ||
| Q4 25 | $0.03 | $-0.90 | ||
| Q3 25 | $0.16 | $-0.52 | ||
| Q2 25 | $0.20 | $-0.41 | ||
| Q1 25 | $0.40 | $-1.68 | ||
| Q4 24 | $0.22 | $-1.69 | ||
| Q3 24 | $0.17 | $-2.66 | ||
| Q2 24 | $0.39 | $-23.47 |
Balance Sheet & Financial Strength
Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest quarter.
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand | $177.3M | $106.0M |
| Total DebtLower is stronger | — | $1.7B |
| Stockholders' EquityBook value | $2.7B | $113.3M |
| Total Assets | $5.7B | $2.7B |
| Debt / EquityLower = less leverage | — | 14.89× |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q1 26 | $177.3M | — | ||
| Q4 25 | $626.5M | $106.0M | ||
| Q3 25 | $594.3M | $140.4M | ||
| Q2 25 | $529.9M | $95.1M | ||
| Q1 25 | $499.2M | $116.3M | ||
| Q4 24 | $359.4M | $104.9M | ||
| Q3 24 | $376.0M | $136.6M | ||
| Q2 24 | $309.3M | $84.9M |
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| Q4 25 | $1.6B | $1.7B | ||
| Q3 25 | $1.6B | $1.7B | ||
| Q2 25 | $1.6B | — | ||
| Q1 25 | $1.6B | — | ||
| Q4 24 | $1.8B | — | ||
| Q3 24 | $1.9B | — | ||
| Q2 24 | $1.9B | — |
| Q1 26 | $2.7B | — | ||
| Q4 25 | $2.7B | $113.3M | ||
| Q3 25 | $2.7B | $139.8M | ||
| Q2 25 | $2.6B | $151.8M | ||
| Q1 25 | $2.5B | $154.6M | ||
| Q4 24 | $2.4B | $201.7M | ||
| Q3 24 | $2.4B | $226.1M | ||
| Q2 24 | $2.4B | $283.8M |
| Q1 26 | $5.7B | — | ||
| Q4 25 | $5.1B | $2.7B | ||
| Q3 25 | $5.0B | $2.8B | ||
| Q2 25 | $5.0B | $2.8B | ||
| Q1 25 | $4.8B | $2.8B | ||
| Q4 24 | $4.9B | $2.8B | ||
| Q3 24 | $5.1B | $3.1B | ||
| Q2 24 | $5.0B | $3.1B |
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| Q4 25 | 0.61× | 14.89× | ||
| Q3 25 | 0.61× | 12.05× | ||
| Q2 25 | 0.62× | — | ||
| Q1 25 | 0.64× | — | ||
| Q4 24 | 0.76× | — | ||
| Q3 24 | 0.78× | — | ||
| Q2 24 | 0.81× | — |
Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency
How much cash each business actually produces after reinvestment. Cash flow is harder to manipulate than net income.
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Operating Cash FlowLast quarter | — | — |
| Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex | $-74.2M | — |
| FCF MarginFCF / Revenue | -8.8% | — |
| Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue | 3.0% | 1.3% |
| Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit | — | — |
| TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters | — | — |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| Q4 25 | — | — | ||
| Q3 25 | $100.1M | $52.7M | ||
| Q2 25 | — | — | ||
| Q1 25 | $26.0M | $27.6M | ||
| Q4 24 | — | $-23.2M | ||
| Q3 24 | $98.5M | $51.2M | ||
| Q2 24 | — | $-45.2M |
| Q1 26 | $-74.2M | — | ||
| Q4 25 | — | — | ||
| Q3 25 | $83.6M | $48.6M | ||
| Q2 25 | — | — | ||
| Q1 25 | $15.0M | $15.7M | ||
| Q4 24 | — | $-30.5M | ||
| Q3 24 | $85.9M | $40.7M | ||
| Q2 24 | — | $-59.6M |
| Q1 26 | -8.8% | — | ||
| Q4 25 | — | — | ||
| Q3 25 | 12.7% | 7.7% | ||
| Q2 25 | — | — | ||
| Q1 25 | 2.5% | 2.6% | ||
| Q4 24 | — | -4.8% | ||
| Q3 24 | 13.3% | 6.2% | ||
| Q2 24 | — | -9.3% |
| Q1 26 | 3.0% | — | ||
| Q4 25 | 2.5% | 1.3% | ||
| Q3 25 | 2.5% | 0.7% | ||
| Q2 25 | 2.8% | 0.8% | ||
| Q1 25 | 1.9% | 1.9% | ||
| Q4 24 | 3.6% | 1.1% | ||
| Q3 24 | 2.0% | 1.6% | ||
| Q2 24 | 2.4% | 2.2% |
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| Q4 25 | — | — | ||
| Q3 25 | 2.55× | — | ||
| Q2 25 | — | — | ||
| Q1 25 | 0.27× | — | ||
| Q4 24 | — | — | ||
| Q3 24 | 2.44× | — | ||
| Q2 24 | — | — |
Financial Flow Comparison
Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.
Revenue Breakdown by Segment
ESI
| Electronics ex-Metals | $377.8M | 45% |
| Pass-through Metals | $255.7M | 30% |
| Other | $206.5M | 25% |
FWRD
| Omni Logistics Segment | $359.8M | 57% |
| Network | $183.9M | 29% |
| Intermodal Segment | $50.2M | 8% |
| Truckload | $41.6M | 7% |
