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

FORWARD AIR CORP is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($631.2M vs $501.5M, roughly 1.3× HEXCEL CORP). HEXCEL CORP runs the higher net margin — 7.4% vs -4.5%, a 11.9% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, HEXCEL CORP posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (9.9% vs -0.3%). Over the past eight quarters, FORWARD AIR CORP's revenue compounded faster (7.9% CAGR vs 0.1%).

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.

Hexcel Corporation is an American public industrial materials company, based in Stamford, Connecticut. The company develops and manufactures structural materials. Hexcel was formed from the combination of California Reinforced Plastics, Ciba Composites and Hercules Composites Products Division. The company sells its products in commercial, military and recreational markets for use in commercial and military aircraft, space launch vehicles and satellites, wind turbine blades, sports equipment ...

FWRD vs HXL — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
FWRD
FWRD
1.3× larger
FWRD
$631.2M
$501.5M
HXL
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
HXL
HXL
+10.1% gap
HXL
9.9%
-0.3%
FWRD
Higher net margin
HXL
HXL
11.9% more per $
HXL
7.4%
-4.5%
FWRD
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
FWRD
FWRD
Annualised
FWRD
7.9%
0.1%
HXL

Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q1 FY2026

Metric
FWRD
FWRD
HXL
HXL
Revenue
$631.2M
$501.5M
Net Profit
$-28.3M
$37.2M
Gross Margin
26.9%
Operating Margin
-0.5%
11.5%
Net Margin
-4.5%
7.4%
Revenue YoY
-0.3%
9.9%
Net Profit YoY
22.2%
28.7%
EPS (diluted)
$-0.90
$0.49

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
FWRD
FWRD
HXL
HXL
Q1 26
$501.5M
Q4 25
$631.2M
$491.3M
Q3 25
$631.8M
$456.2M
Q2 25
$618.8M
$489.9M
Q1 25
$613.3M
$456.5M
Q4 24
$632.8M
$473.8M
Q3 24
$655.9M
$456.5M
Q2 24
$643.7M
$500.4M
Net Profit
FWRD
FWRD
HXL
HXL
Q1 26
$37.2M
Q4 25
$-28.3M
$46.4M
Q3 25
$-16.3M
$20.6M
Q2 25
$-12.6M
$13.5M
Q1 25
$-50.6M
$28.9M
Q4 24
$-36.4M
$5.8M
Q3 24
$-73.4M
$39.8M
Q2 24
$-645.4M
$50.0M
Gross Margin
FWRD
FWRD
HXL
HXL
Q1 26
26.9%
Q4 25
24.6%
Q3 25
21.9%
Q2 25
22.8%
Q1 25
22.4%
Q4 24
25.0%
Q3 24
23.3%
Q2 24
25.3%
Operating Margin
FWRD
FWRD
HXL
HXL
Q1 26
11.5%
Q4 25
-0.5%
12.5%
Q3 25
2.4%
7.9%
Q2 25
3.2%
6.1%
Q1 25
0.8%
9.7%
Q4 24
12.0%
1.9%
Q3 24
3.5%
11.5%
Q2 24
-170.2%
14.3%
Net Margin
FWRD
FWRD
HXL
HXL
Q1 26
7.4%
Q4 25
-4.5%
9.4%
Q3 25
-2.6%
4.5%
Q2 25
-2.0%
2.8%
Q1 25
-8.3%
6.3%
Q4 24
-5.8%
1.2%
Q3 24
-11.2%
8.7%
Q2 24
-100.3%
10.0%
EPS (diluted)
FWRD
FWRD
HXL
HXL
Q1 26
$0.49
Q4 25
$-0.90
Q3 25
$-0.52
Q2 25
$-0.41
Q1 25
$-1.68
Q4 24
$-1.69
Q3 24
$-2.66
Q2 24
$-23.47

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

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

Metric
FWRD
FWRD
HXL
HXL
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$106.0M
$54.1M
Total DebtLower is stronger
$1.7B
$998.1M
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$113.3M
$1.3B
Total Assets
$2.7B
$2.7B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
14.89×
0.79×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
FWRD
FWRD
HXL
HXL
Q1 26
$54.1M
Q4 25
$106.0M
$71.0M
Q3 25
$140.4M
$90.5M
Q2 25
$95.1M
$77.2M
Q1 25
$116.3M
$89.2M
Q4 24
$104.9M
$125.4M
Q3 24
$136.6M
$98.2M
Q2 24
$84.9M
$75.4M
Total Debt
FWRD
FWRD
HXL
HXL
Q1 26
$998.1M
Q4 25
$1.7B
Q3 25
$1.7B
Q2 25
Q1 25
Q4 24
Q3 24
Q2 24
Stockholders' Equity
FWRD
FWRD
HXL
HXL
Q1 26
$1.3B
Q4 25
$113.3M
$1.3B
Q3 25
$139.8M
$1.6B
Q2 25
$151.8M
$1.6B
Q1 25
$154.6M
$1.5B
Q4 24
$201.7M
$1.5B
Q3 24
$226.1M
$1.6B
Q2 24
$283.8M
$1.6B
Total Assets
FWRD
FWRD
HXL
HXL
Q1 26
$2.7B
Q4 25
$2.7B
$2.7B
Q3 25
$2.8B
$2.8B
Q2 25
$2.8B
$2.8B
Q1 25
$2.8B
$2.8B
Q4 24
$2.8B
$2.7B
Q3 24
$3.1B
$2.9B
Q2 24
$3.1B
$2.8B
Debt / Equity
FWRD
FWRD
HXL
HXL
Q1 26
0.79×
Q4 25
14.89×
Q3 25
12.05×
Q2 25
Q1 25
Q4 24
Q3 24
Q2 24

Financial Flow Comparison

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

Revenue Breakdown by Segment

FWRD
FWRD

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

HXL
HXL

Segment breakdown not available.

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