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

FLOWERS FOODS INC is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($1.2B vs $631.2M, roughly 2.0× FORWARD AIR CORP). On growth, FLOWERS FOODS INC posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (11.0% vs -0.3%). Over the past eight quarters, FORWARD AIR CORP's revenue compounded faster (7.9% CAGR vs -11.6%).

Flowers Foods, headquartered in Thomasville, Georgia, is a producer and marketer of packaged bakery foods in the United States. The company operates 44 bakeries across 19 states that produce a variety of products, including bread, buns, rolls, snack cakes, pastries, and tortillas. As of February 2013, Flowers Foods had grown to be the "second-largest baking company in the United States."

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.

FLO vs FWRD — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
FLO
FLO
2.0× larger
FLO
$1.2B
$631.2M
FWRD
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
FLO
FLO
+11.2% gap
FLO
11.0%
-0.3%
FWRD
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
FWRD
FWRD
Annualised
FWRD
7.9%
-11.6%
FLO

Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q4 FY2025

Metric
FLO
FLO
FWRD
FWRD
Revenue
$1.2B
$631.2M
Net Profit
$-28.3M
Gross Margin
Operating Margin
-0.5%
Net Margin
-4.5%
Revenue YoY
11.0%
-0.3%
Net Profit YoY
22.2%
EPS (diluted)
$-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
FLO
FLO
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
$1.2B
$631.2M
Q3 25
$1.2B
$631.8M
Q2 25
$1.6B
$618.8M
Q1 25
$613.3M
Q4 24
$1.2B
$632.8M
Q3 24
$1.2B
$655.9M
Q2 24
$1.6B
$643.7M
Q1 24
$541.8M
Net Profit
FLO
FLO
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
$39.5M
$-28.3M
Q3 25
$58.4M
$-16.3M
Q2 25
$53.0M
$-12.6M
Q1 25
$-50.6M
Q4 24
$65.0M
$-36.4M
Q3 24
$67.0M
$-73.4M
Q2 24
$73.0M
$-645.4M
Q1 24
$-61.7M
Operating Margin
FLO
FLO
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
5.4%
-0.5%
Q3 25
7.5%
2.4%
Q2 25
5.5%
3.2%
Q1 25
0.8%
Q4 24
7.6%
12.0%
Q3 24
7.8%
3.5%
Q2 24
6.4%
-170.2%
Q1 24
-12.1%
Net Margin
FLO
FLO
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
3.2%
-4.5%
Q3 25
4.7%
-2.6%
Q2 25
3.4%
-2.0%
Q1 25
-8.3%
Q4 24
5.5%
-5.8%
Q3 24
5.5%
-11.2%
Q2 24
4.6%
-100.3%
Q1 24
-11.4%
EPS (diluted)
FLO
FLO
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
$0.19
$-0.90
Q3 25
$0.28
$-0.52
Q2 25
$0.25
$-0.41
Q1 25
$-1.68
Q4 24
$0.31
$-1.69
Q3 24
$0.32
$-2.66
Q2 24
$0.34
$-23.47
Q1 24
$-2.81

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

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

Metric
FLO
FLO
FWRD
FWRD
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$12.1M
$106.0M
Total DebtLower is stronger
$1.7B
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$113.3M
Total Assets
$4.2B
$2.7B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
14.89×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
FLO
FLO
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
$16.7M
$106.0M
Q3 25
$11.0M
$140.4M
Q2 25
$7.3M
$95.1M
Q1 25
$116.3M
Q4 24
$15.0M
$104.9M
Q3 24
$6.9M
$136.6M
Q2 24
$15.8M
$84.9M
Q1 24
$152.0M
Total Debt
FLO
FLO
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
$1.8B
$1.7B
Q3 25
$1.7B
$1.7B
Q2 25
$1.8B
Q1 25
Q4 24
$1.1B
Q3 24
$1.1B
Q2 24
$1.0B
Q1 24
$1.7B
Stockholders' Equity
FLO
FLO
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
$1.4B
$113.3M
Q3 25
$1.4B
$139.8M
Q2 25
$1.4B
$151.8M
Q1 25
$154.6M
Q4 24
$1.4B
$201.7M
Q3 24
$1.4B
$226.1M
Q2 24
$1.4B
$283.8M
Q1 24
$926.1M
Total Assets
FLO
FLO
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
$4.3B
$2.7B
Q3 25
$4.3B
$2.8B
Q2 25
$4.3B
$2.8B
Q1 25
$2.8B
Q4 24
$3.4B
$2.8B
Q3 24
$3.4B
$3.1B
Q2 24
$3.4B
$3.1B
Q1 24
$4.0B
Debt / Equity
FLO
FLO
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
1.25×
14.89×
Q3 25
1.23×
12.05×
Q2 25
1.26×
Q1 25
Q4 24
0.75×
Q3 24
0.77×
Q2 24
0.76×
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
FLO
FLO
FWRD
FWRD
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$125.4M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
1.3%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
FLO
FLO
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
$54.4M
Q3 25
$130.8M
$52.7M
Q2 25
$135.6M
Q1 25
$27.6M
Q4 24
$113.9M
$-23.2M
Q3 24
$63.3M
$51.2M
Q2 24
$105.1M
$-45.2M
Q1 24
$-51.7M
Free Cash Flow
FLO
FLO
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
$30.4M
Q3 25
$100.0M
$48.6M
Q2 25
$110.1M
Q1 25
$15.7M
Q4 24
$88.6M
$-30.5M
Q3 24
$35.4M
$40.7M
Q2 24
$71.8M
$-59.6M
Q1 24
$-56.7M
FCF Margin
FLO
FLO
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
2.5%
Q3 25
8.0%
7.7%
Q2 25
7.1%
Q1 25
2.6%
Q4 24
7.4%
-4.8%
Q3 24
2.9%
6.2%
Q2 24
4.6%
-9.3%
Q1 24
-10.5%
Capex Intensity
FLO
FLO
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
2.0%
1.3%
Q3 25
2.5%
0.7%
Q2 25
1.6%
0.8%
Q1 25
1.9%
Q4 24
2.1%
1.1%
Q3 24
2.3%
1.6%
Q2 24
2.1%
2.2%
Q1 24
0.9%
Cash Conversion
FLO
FLO
FWRD
FWRD
Q4 25
1.38×
Q3 25
2.24×
Q2 25
2.56×
Q1 25
Q4 24
1.75×
Q3 24
0.94×
Q2 24
1.44×
Q1 24

Financial Flow Comparison

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

Revenue Breakdown by Segment

FLO
FLO

Segment breakdown not available.

FWRD
FWRD

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

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