vs
Side-by-side financial comparison of Essex Property Trust (ESS) 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 $479.6M, roughly 1.3× Essex Property Trust). Essex Property Trust runs the higher net margin — 17.9% vs -4.5%, a 22.4% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, Essex Property Trust posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (5.5% vs -0.3%). Over the past eight quarters, FORWARD AIR CORP's revenue compounded faster (7.9% CAGR vs 6.0%).
Essex Property Trust is a publicly traded real estate investment trust that invests in apartments in California and in the Seattle metropolitan area.
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.
ESS vs FWRD — Head-to-Head
Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q4 FY2025
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $479.6M | $631.2M |
| Net Profit | $85.7M | $-28.3M |
| Gross Margin | 70.0% | — |
| Operating Margin | 31.7% | -0.5% |
| Net Margin | 17.9% | -4.5% |
| Revenue YoY | 5.5% | -0.3% |
| Net Profit YoY | -71.6% | 22.2% |
| EPS (diluted) | $1.24 | $-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.
| Q4 25 | $479.6M | $631.2M | ||
| Q3 25 | $473.3M | $631.8M | ||
| Q2 25 | $469.8M | $618.8M | ||
| Q1 25 | $464.6M | $613.3M | ||
| Q4 24 | $454.5M | $632.8M | ||
| Q3 24 | $450.7M | $655.9M | ||
| Q2 24 | $442.4M | $643.7M | ||
| Q1 24 | $426.9M | $541.8M |
| Q4 25 | $85.7M | $-28.3M | ||
| Q3 25 | $172.7M | $-16.3M | ||
| Q2 25 | $231.5M | $-12.6M | ||
| Q1 25 | $212.8M | $-50.6M | ||
| Q4 24 | $301.7M | $-36.4M | ||
| Q3 24 | $125.5M | $-73.4M | ||
| Q2 24 | $99.0M | $-645.4M | ||
| Q1 24 | $285.1M | $-61.7M |
| Q4 25 | 70.0% | — | ||
| Q3 25 | 69.2% | — | ||
| Q2 25 | 70.7% | — | ||
| Q1 25 | 69.6% | — | ||
| Q4 24 | 70.0% | — | ||
| Q3 24 | 69.5% | — | ||
| Q2 24 | 70.8% | — | ||
| Q1 24 | 69.7% | — |
| Q4 25 | 31.7% | -0.5% | ||
| Q3 25 | 44.5% | 2.4% | ||
| Q2 25 | 59.5% | 3.2% | ||
| Q1 25 | 55.3% | 0.8% | ||
| Q4 24 | 67.0% | 12.0% | ||
| Q3 24 | 28.6% | 3.5% | ||
| Q2 24 | 31.1% | -170.2% | ||
| Q1 24 | 31.0% | -12.1% |
| Q4 25 | 17.9% | -4.5% | ||
| Q3 25 | 36.5% | -2.6% | ||
| Q2 25 | 49.3% | -2.0% | ||
| Q1 25 | 45.8% | -8.3% | ||
| Q4 24 | 66.4% | -5.8% | ||
| Q3 24 | 27.8% | -11.2% | ||
| Q2 24 | 22.4% | -100.3% | ||
| Q1 24 | 66.8% | -11.4% |
| Q4 25 | $1.24 | $-0.90 | ||
| Q3 25 | $2.56 | $-0.52 | ||
| Q2 25 | $3.44 | $-0.41 | ||
| Q1 25 | $3.16 | $-1.68 | ||
| Q4 24 | $4.00 | $-1.69 | ||
| Q3 24 | $1.84 | $-2.66 | ||
| Q2 24 | $1.45 | $-23.47 | ||
| Q1 24 | $4.25 | $-2.81 |
Balance Sheet & Financial Strength
Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest quarter.
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand | $76.2M | $106.0M |
| Total DebtLower is stronger | — | $1.7B |
| Stockholders' EquityBook value | $5.5B | $113.3M |
| Total Assets | $13.2B | $2.7B |
| Debt / EquityLower = less leverage | — | 14.89× |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q4 25 | $76.2M | $106.0M | ||
| Q3 25 | $66.0M | $140.4M | ||
| Q2 25 | $58.7M | $95.1M | ||
| Q1 25 | $98.7M | $116.3M | ||
| Q4 24 | $66.8M | $104.9M | ||
| Q3 24 | $71.3M | $136.6M | ||
| Q2 24 | $55.2M | $84.9M | ||
| Q1 24 | $499.0M | $152.0M |
| Q4 25 | — | $1.7B | ||
| Q3 25 | $6.4B | $1.7B | ||
| Q2 25 | $6.4B | — | ||
| Q1 25 | $6.8B | — | ||
| Q4 24 | — | — | ||
| Q3 24 | $6.4B | — | ||
| Q2 24 | $6.2B | — | ||
| Q1 24 | $6.6B | $1.7B |
| Q4 25 | $5.5B | $113.3M | ||
| Q3 25 | $5.6B | $139.8M | ||
| Q2 25 | $5.6B | $151.8M | ||
| Q1 25 | $5.6B | $154.6M | ||
| Q4 24 | $5.5B | $201.7M | ||
| Q3 24 | $5.4B | $226.1M | ||
| Q2 24 | $5.5B | $283.8M | ||
| Q1 24 | $5.5B | $926.1M |
| Q4 25 | $13.2B | $2.7B | ||
| Q3 25 | $13.2B | $2.8B | ||
| Q2 25 | $13.2B | $2.8B | ||
| Q1 25 | $13.2B | $2.8B | ||
| Q4 24 | $12.9B | $2.8B | ||
| Q3 24 | $12.6B | $3.1B | ||
| Q2 24 | $12.5B | $3.1B | ||
| Q1 24 | $12.9B | $4.0B |
| Q4 25 | — | 14.89× | ||
| Q3 25 | 1.15× | 12.05× | ||
| Q2 25 | 1.14× | — | ||
| Q1 25 | 1.22× | — | ||
| Q4 24 | — | — | ||
| Q3 24 | 1.18× | — | ||
| Q2 24 | 1.13× | — | ||
| Q1 24 | 1.19× | 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 | | |
|---|---|---|
| Operating Cash FlowLast quarter | $1.1B | — |
| Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex | — | — |
| FCF MarginFCF / Revenue | — | — |
| Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue | — | 1.3% |
| Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit | 12.53× | — |
| TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters | — | — |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q4 25 | $1.1B | — | ||
| Q3 25 | $342.6M | $52.7M | ||
| Q2 25 | $216.1M | — | ||
| Q1 25 | $281.5M | $27.6M | ||
| Q4 24 | $1.1B | $-23.2M | ||
| Q3 24 | $316.2M | $51.2M | ||
| Q2 24 | $218.9M | $-45.2M | ||
| Q1 24 | $314.9M | $-51.7M |
| Q4 25 | — | — | ||
| Q3 25 | — | $48.6M | ||
| Q2 25 | — | — | ||
| Q1 25 | — | $15.7M | ||
| Q4 24 | — | $-30.5M | ||
| Q3 24 | — | $40.7M | ||
| Q2 24 | — | $-59.6M | ||
| Q1 24 | — | $-56.7M |
| Q4 25 | — | — | ||
| Q3 25 | — | 7.7% | ||
| Q2 25 | — | — | ||
| Q1 25 | — | 2.6% | ||
| Q4 24 | — | -4.8% | ||
| Q3 24 | — | 6.2% | ||
| Q2 24 | — | -9.3% | ||
| Q1 24 | — | -10.5% |
| Q4 25 | — | 1.3% | ||
| Q3 25 | — | 0.7% | ||
| Q2 25 | — | 0.8% | ||
| Q1 25 | — | 1.9% | ||
| Q4 24 | — | 1.1% | ||
| Q3 24 | — | 1.6% | ||
| Q2 24 | — | 2.2% | ||
| Q1 24 | — | 0.9% |
| Q4 25 | 12.53× | — | ||
| Q3 25 | 1.98× | — | ||
| Q2 25 | 0.93× | — | ||
| Q1 25 | 1.32× | — | ||
| Q4 24 | 3.54× | — | ||
| Q3 24 | 2.52× | — | ||
| Q2 24 | 2.21× | — | ||
| Q1 24 | 1.10× | — |
Financial Flow Comparison
Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.
Revenue Breakdown by Segment
ESS
Segment breakdown not available.
FWRD
| Omni Logistics Segment | $359.8M | 57% |
| Network | $183.9M | 29% |
| Intermodal Segment | $50.2M | 8% |
| Truckload | $41.6M | 7% |
