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Side-by-side financial comparison of FORWARD AIR CORP (FWRD) and LAUREATE EDUCATION, INC. (LAUR). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

FORWARD AIR CORP is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($631.2M vs $541.4M, roughly 1.2× LAUREATE EDUCATION, INC.). LAUREATE EDUCATION, INC. runs the higher net margin — 31.7% vs -4.5%, a 36.2% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, LAUREATE EDUCATION, INC. posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (27.9% vs -0.3%). Over the past eight quarters, LAUREATE EDUCATION, INC.'s revenue compounded faster (40.2% CAGR vs 7.9%).

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.

Laureate Education, Inc. is a company based in Miami, Florida, United States. The firm owns and operates Laureate International Universities, with campuses in Mexico and Peru. The company is publicly traded on the Nasdaq.

FWRD vs LAUR — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
FWRD
FWRD
1.2× larger
FWRD
$631.2M
$541.4M
LAUR
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
LAUR
LAUR
+28.1% gap
LAUR
27.9%
-0.3%
FWRD
Higher net margin
LAUR
LAUR
36.2% more per $
LAUR
31.7%
-4.5%
FWRD
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
LAUR
LAUR
Annualised
LAUR
40.2%
7.9%
FWRD

Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q4 FY2025

Metric
FWRD
FWRD
LAUR
LAUR
Revenue
$631.2M
$541.4M
Net Profit
$-28.3M
$171.6M
Gross Margin
35.8%
Operating Margin
-0.5%
33.2%
Net Margin
-4.5%
31.7%
Revenue YoY
-0.3%
27.9%
Net Profit YoY
22.2%
83.2%
EPS (diluted)
$-0.90
$1.14

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
LAUR
LAUR
Q4 25
$631.2M
$541.4M
Q3 25
$631.8M
$400.2M
Q2 25
$618.8M
$524.2M
Q1 25
$613.3M
$236.2M
Q4 24
$632.8M
$423.4M
Q3 24
$655.9M
$368.6M
Q2 24
$643.7M
$499.2M
Q1 24
$541.8M
$275.4M
Net Profit
FWRD
FWRD
LAUR
LAUR
Q4 25
$-28.3M
$171.6M
Q3 25
$-16.3M
$34.5M
Q2 25
$-12.6M
$95.1M
Q1 25
$-50.6M
$-19.5M
Q4 24
$-36.4M
$93.6M
Q3 24
$-73.4M
$85.5M
Q2 24
$-645.4M
$128.1M
Q1 24
$-61.7M
$-10.8M
Gross Margin
FWRD
FWRD
LAUR
LAUR
Q4 25
35.8%
Q3 25
20.9%
Q2 25
39.5%
Q1 25
-0.9%
Q4 24
32.0%
Q3 24
22.4%
Q2 24
36.1%
Q1 24
7.8%
Operating Margin
FWRD
FWRD
LAUR
LAUR
Q4 25
-0.5%
33.2%
Q3 25
2.4%
17.9%
Q2 25
3.2%
36.9%
Q1 25
0.8%
-5.6%
Q4 24
12.0%
29.3%
Q3 24
3.5%
19.5%
Q2 24
-170.2%
33.4%
Q1 24
-12.1%
4.0%
Net Margin
FWRD
FWRD
LAUR
LAUR
Q4 25
-4.5%
31.7%
Q3 25
-2.6%
8.6%
Q2 25
-2.0%
18.1%
Q1 25
-8.3%
-8.3%
Q4 24
-5.8%
22.1%
Q3 24
-11.2%
23.2%
Q2 24
-100.3%
25.7%
Q1 24
-11.4%
-3.9%
EPS (diluted)
FWRD
FWRD
LAUR
LAUR
Q4 25
$-0.90
$1.14
Q3 25
$-0.52
$0.23
Q2 25
$-0.41
$0.65
Q1 25
$-1.68
$-0.13
Q4 24
$-1.69
$0.60
Q3 24
$-2.66
$0.56
Q2 24
$-23.47
$0.83
Q1 24
$-2.81
$-0.07

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

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

Metric
FWRD
FWRD
LAUR
LAUR
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$106.0M
$146.7M
Total DebtLower is stronger
$1.7B
$73.1M
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$113.3M
$1.2B
Total Assets
$2.7B
$2.2B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
14.89×
0.06×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
FWRD
FWRD
LAUR
LAUR
Q4 25
$106.0M
$146.7M
Q3 25
$140.4M
$241.0M
Q2 25
$95.1M
$135.3M
Q1 25
$116.3M
$109.8M
Q4 24
$104.9M
$91.3M
Q3 24
$136.6M
$134.4M
Q2 24
$84.9M
$128.8M
Q1 24
$152.0M
$126.2M
Total Debt
FWRD
FWRD
LAUR
LAUR
Q4 25
$1.7B
$73.1M
Q3 25
$1.7B
$70.6M
Q2 25
$78.1M
Q1 25
$91.0M
Q4 24
$59.0M
Q3 24
$129.8M
Q2 24
$203.0M
Q1 24
$1.7B
$176.6M
Stockholders' Equity
FWRD
FWRD
LAUR
LAUR
Q4 25
$113.3M
$1.2B
Q3 25
$139.8M
$1.1B
Q2 25
$151.8M
$1.1B
Q1 25
$154.6M
$908.5M
Q4 24
$201.7M
$959.5M
Q3 24
$226.1M
$897.7M
Q2 24
$283.8M
$918.0M
Q1 24
$926.1M
$933.6M
Total Assets
FWRD
FWRD
LAUR
LAUR
Q4 25
$2.7B
$2.2B
Q3 25
$2.8B
$2.1B
Q2 25
$2.8B
$2.0B
Q1 25
$2.8B
$1.9B
Q4 24
$2.8B
$1.9B
Q3 24
$3.1B
$1.9B
Q2 24
$3.1B
$2.1B
Q1 24
$4.0B
$2.2B
Debt / Equity
FWRD
FWRD
LAUR
LAUR
Q4 25
14.89×
0.06×
Q3 25
12.05×
0.06×
Q2 25
0.07×
Q1 25
0.10×
Q4 24
0.06×
Q3 24
0.14×
Q2 24
0.22×
Q1 24
1.81×
0.19×

Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency

How much cash each business actually produces after reinvestment. Cash flow is harder to manipulate than net income.

Metric
FWRD
FWRD
LAUR
LAUR
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$93.4M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$26.4M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
4.9%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
1.3%
12.4%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
0.54×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$263.1M

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
FWRD
FWRD
LAUR
LAUR
Q4 25
$93.4M
Q3 25
$52.7M
$141.0M
Q2 25
$74.1M
Q1 25
$27.6M
$57.8M
Q4 24
$-23.2M
$40.7M
Q3 24
$51.2M
$118.7M
Q2 24
$-45.2M
$40.2M
Q1 24
$-51.7M
$33.2M
Free Cash Flow
FWRD
FWRD
LAUR
LAUR
Q4 25
$26.4M
Q3 25
$48.6M
$122.8M
Q2 25
$60.8M
Q1 25
$15.7M
$53.2M
Q4 24
$-30.5M
$3.4M
Q3 24
$40.7M
$110.7M
Q2 24
$-59.6M
$29.5M
Q1 24
$-56.7M
$17.3M
FCF Margin
FWRD
FWRD
LAUR
LAUR
Q4 25
4.9%
Q3 25
7.7%
30.7%
Q2 25
11.6%
Q1 25
2.6%
22.5%
Q4 24
-4.8%
0.8%
Q3 24
6.2%
30.0%
Q2 24
-9.3%
5.9%
Q1 24
-10.5%
6.3%
Capex Intensity
FWRD
FWRD
LAUR
LAUR
Q4 25
1.3%
12.4%
Q3 25
0.7%
4.5%
Q2 25
0.8%
2.5%
Q1 25
1.9%
2.0%
Q4 24
1.1%
8.8%
Q3 24
1.6%
2.2%
Q2 24
2.2%
2.1%
Q1 24
0.9%
5.8%
Cash Conversion
FWRD
FWRD
LAUR
LAUR
Q4 25
0.54×
Q3 25
4.09×
Q2 25
0.78×
Q1 25
Q4 24
0.43×
Q3 24
1.39×
Q2 24
0.31×
Q1 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%

LAUR
LAUR

Mexico Segment$275.9M51%
Peru Segment$265.5M49%

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