vs

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

MUELLER INDUSTRIES INC is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($962.4M vs $631.2M, roughly 1.5× FORWARD AIR CORP). MUELLER INDUSTRIES INC runs the higher net margin — 16.0% vs -4.5%, a 20.5% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, MUELLER INDUSTRIES INC posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (4.2% vs -0.3%). Over the past eight quarters, FORWARD AIR CORP's revenue compounded faster (7.9% CAGR vs 6.4%).

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.

Mueller Industries is an American manufacturing company that specializes in piping, industrial metals and climate machinery. It was founded in 1917 and is included on the Fortune 1000 list in 2022. The head office of the company is located in Memphis, Tennessee. Mueller Industries, Inc. is a multi-billion dollar revenue company that is publicly traded.

FWRD vs MLI — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
MLI
MLI
1.5× larger
MLI
$962.4M
$631.2M
FWRD
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
MLI
MLI
+4.5% gap
MLI
4.2%
-0.3%
FWRD
Higher net margin
MLI
MLI
20.5% more per $
MLI
16.0%
-4.5%
FWRD
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
FWRD
FWRD
Annualised
FWRD
7.9%
6.4%
MLI

Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q4 FY2025

Metric
FWRD
FWRD
MLI
MLI
Revenue
$631.2M
$962.4M
Net Profit
$-28.3M
$153.7M
Gross Margin
Operating Margin
-0.5%
17.9%
Net Margin
-4.5%
16.0%
Revenue YoY
-0.3%
4.2%
Net Profit YoY
22.2%
11.7%
EPS (diluted)
$-0.90
$1.37

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
MLI
MLI
Q4 25
$631.2M
$962.4M
Q3 25
$631.8M
$1.1B
Q2 25
$618.8M
$1.1B
Q1 25
$613.3M
$1.0B
Q4 24
$632.8M
$923.5M
Q3 24
$655.9M
$997.8M
Q2 24
$643.7M
$997.7M
Q1 24
$541.8M
$849.7M
Net Profit
FWRD
FWRD
MLI
MLI
Q4 25
$-28.3M
$153.7M
Q3 25
$-16.3M
$208.1M
Q2 25
$-12.6M
$245.9M
Q1 25
$-50.6M
$157.4M
Q4 24
$-36.4M
$137.7M
Q3 24
$-73.4M
$168.7M
Q2 24
$-645.4M
$160.2M
Q1 24
$-61.7M
$138.4M
Gross Margin
FWRD
FWRD
MLI
MLI
Q4 25
Q3 25
Q2 25
Q1 25
Q4 24
Q3 24
27.6%
Q2 24
27.3%
Q1 24
28.4%
Operating Margin
FWRD
FWRD
MLI
MLI
Q4 25
-0.5%
17.9%
Q3 25
2.4%
25.6%
Q2 25
3.2%
26.7%
Q1 25
0.8%
20.6%
Q4 24
12.0%
18.4%
Q3 24
3.5%
20.7%
Q2 24
-170.2%
21.0%
Q1 24
-12.1%
21.6%
Net Margin
FWRD
FWRD
MLI
MLI
Q4 25
-4.5%
16.0%
Q3 25
-2.6%
19.3%
Q2 25
-2.0%
21.6%
Q1 25
-8.3%
15.7%
Q4 24
-5.8%
14.9%
Q3 24
-11.2%
16.9%
Q2 24
-100.3%
16.1%
Q1 24
-11.4%
16.3%
EPS (diluted)
FWRD
FWRD
MLI
MLI
Q4 25
$-0.90
$1.37
Q3 25
$-0.52
$1.88
Q2 25
$-0.41
$2.22
Q1 25
$-1.68
$1.39
Q4 24
$-1.69
$1.21
Q3 24
$-2.66
$1.48
Q2 24
$-23.47
$1.41
Q1 24
$-2.81
$1.21

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

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

Metric
FWRD
FWRD
MLI
MLI
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$106.0M
$1.4B
Total DebtLower is stronger
$1.7B
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$113.3M
$3.2B
Total Assets
$2.7B
$3.7B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
14.89×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
FWRD
FWRD
MLI
MLI
Q4 25
$106.0M
$1.4B
Q3 25
$140.4M
$1.3B
Q2 25
$95.1M
$1.1B
Q1 25
$116.3M
$873.6M
Q4 24
$104.9M
$1.1B
Q3 24
$136.6M
$969.6M
Q2 24
$84.9M
$825.7M
Q1 24
$152.0M
$1.4B
Total Debt
FWRD
FWRD
MLI
MLI
Q4 25
$1.7B
Q3 25
$1.7B
Q2 25
Q1 25
Q4 24
Q3 24
Q2 24
Q1 24
$1.7B
Stockholders' Equity
FWRD
FWRD
MLI
MLI
Q4 25
$113.3M
$3.2B
Q3 25
$139.8M
$3.1B
Q2 25
$151.8M
$2.9B
Q1 25
$154.6M
$2.7B
Q4 24
$201.7M
$2.8B
Q3 24
$226.1M
$2.7B
Q2 24
$283.8M
$2.5B
Q1 24
$926.1M
$2.4B
Total Assets
FWRD
FWRD
MLI
MLI
Q4 25
$2.7B
$3.7B
Q3 25
$2.8B
$3.7B
Q2 25
$2.8B
$3.5B
Q1 25
$2.8B
$3.2B
Q4 24
$2.8B
$3.3B
Q3 24
$3.1B
$3.2B
Q2 24
$3.1B
$3.1B
Q1 24
$4.0B
$2.9B
Debt / Equity
FWRD
FWRD
MLI
MLI
Q4 25
14.89×
Q3 25
12.05×
Q2 25
Q1 25
Q4 24
Q3 24
Q2 24
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
FWRD
FWRD
MLI
MLI
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$141.2M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$121.4M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
12.6%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
1.3%
2.1%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
0.92×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$686.6M

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
FWRD
FWRD
MLI
MLI
Q4 25
$141.2M
Q3 25
$52.7M
$310.1M
Q2 25
$190.6M
Q1 25
$27.6M
$113.6M
Q4 24
$-23.2M
$140.1M
Q3 24
$51.2M
$231.4M
Q2 24
$-45.2M
$100.8M
Q1 24
$-51.7M
$173.6M
Free Cash Flow
FWRD
FWRD
MLI
MLI
Q4 25
$121.4M
Q3 25
$48.6M
$291.8M
Q2 25
$176.5M
Q1 25
$15.7M
$97.0M
Q4 24
$-30.5M
$111.2M
Q3 24
$40.7M
$205.7M
Q2 24
$-59.6M
$91.6M
Q1 24
$-56.7M
$157.2M
FCF Margin
FWRD
FWRD
MLI
MLI
Q4 25
12.6%
Q3 25
7.7%
27.1%
Q2 25
15.5%
Q1 25
2.6%
9.7%
Q4 24
-4.8%
12.0%
Q3 24
6.2%
20.6%
Q2 24
-9.3%
9.2%
Q1 24
-10.5%
18.5%
Capex Intensity
FWRD
FWRD
MLI
MLI
Q4 25
1.3%
2.1%
Q3 25
0.7%
1.7%
Q2 25
0.8%
1.2%
Q1 25
1.9%
1.7%
Q4 24
1.1%
3.1%
Q3 24
1.6%
2.6%
Q2 24
2.2%
0.9%
Q1 24
0.9%
1.9%
Cash Conversion
FWRD
FWRD
MLI
MLI
Q4 25
0.92×
Q3 25
1.49×
Q2 25
0.78×
Q1 25
0.72×
Q4 24
1.02×
Q3 24
1.37×
Q2 24
0.63×
Q1 24
1.25×

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%

MLI
MLI

Tube And Fittings$484.6M50%
Industrial Metals$252.2M26%
Valves And Plumbing Specialties$122.5M13%
Flex Duct And Other HVAC Components$80.8M8%
Other Products$14.9M2%

Related Comparisons