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Side-by-side financial comparison of FORWARD AIR CORP (FWRD) and Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, Inc. (NGVC). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

FORWARD AIR CORP is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($631.2M vs $335.6M, roughly 1.9× Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, Inc.). Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, Inc. runs the higher net margin — 3.4% vs -4.5%, a 7.9% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, Inc. posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (1.6% vs -0.3%). Over the past eight quarters, FORWARD AIR CORP's revenue compounded faster (7.9% CAGR vs 4.4%).

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.

Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, Inc. is a U.S.-based specialty retail chain that offers certified organic groceries, dietary supplements, natural personal care items, and eco-friendly household products. It serves health-conscious consumers across multiple U.S. states, following strict quality standards that exclude artificial preservatives, colors, flavors and harmful additives.

FWRD vs NGVC — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
FWRD
FWRD
1.9× larger
FWRD
$631.2M
$335.6M
NGVC
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
NGVC
NGVC
+1.9% gap
NGVC
1.6%
-0.3%
FWRD
Higher net margin
NGVC
NGVC
7.9% more per $
NGVC
3.4%
-4.5%
FWRD
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
FWRD
FWRD
Annualised
FWRD
7.9%
4.4%
NGVC

Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q1 FY2026

Metric
FWRD
FWRD
NGVC
NGVC
Revenue
$631.2M
$335.6M
Net Profit
$-28.3M
$11.3M
Gross Margin
29.5%
Operating Margin
-0.5%
4.4%
Net Margin
-4.5%
3.4%
Revenue YoY
-0.3%
1.6%
Net Profit YoY
22.2%
14.0%
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
NGVC
NGVC
Q4 25
$631.2M
$335.6M
Q3 25
$631.8M
$336.1M
Q2 25
$618.8M
$328.7M
Q1 25
$613.3M
$335.8M
Q4 24
$632.8M
$330.2M
Q3 24
$655.9M
$322.7M
Q2 24
$643.7M
$309.1M
Q1 24
$541.8M
$308.1M
Net Profit
FWRD
FWRD
NGVC
NGVC
Q4 25
$-28.3M
$11.3M
Q3 25
$-16.3M
$11.8M
Q2 25
$-12.6M
$11.6M
Q1 25
$-50.6M
$13.1M
Q4 24
$-36.4M
$9.9M
Q3 24
$-73.4M
$9.0M
Q2 24
$-645.4M
$9.2M
Q1 24
$-61.7M
$8.0M
Gross Margin
FWRD
FWRD
NGVC
NGVC
Q4 25
29.5%
Q3 25
29.5%
Q2 25
29.9%
Q1 25
30.3%
Q4 24
29.9%
Q3 24
29.6%
Q2 24
29.2%
Q1 24
29.3%
Operating Margin
FWRD
FWRD
NGVC
NGVC
Q4 25
-0.5%
4.4%
Q3 25
2.4%
4.6%
Q2 25
3.2%
4.7%
Q1 25
0.8%
5.2%
Q4 24
12.0%
4.0%
Q3 24
3.5%
3.7%
Q2 24
-170.2%
4.2%
Q1 24
-12.1%
3.7%
Net Margin
FWRD
FWRD
NGVC
NGVC
Q4 25
-4.5%
3.4%
Q3 25
-2.6%
3.5%
Q2 25
-2.0%
3.5%
Q1 25
-8.3%
3.9%
Q4 24
-5.8%
3.0%
Q3 24
-11.2%
2.8%
Q2 24
-100.3%
3.0%
Q1 24
-11.4%
2.6%
EPS (diluted)
FWRD
FWRD
NGVC
NGVC
Q4 25
$-0.90
$0.49
Q3 25
$-0.52
$0.51
Q2 25
$-0.41
$0.50
Q1 25
$-1.68
$0.56
Q4 24
$-1.69
$0.43
Q3 24
$-2.66
$0.38
Q2 24
$-23.47
$0.40
Q1 24
$-2.81
$0.35

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

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

Metric
FWRD
FWRD
NGVC
NGVC
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$106.0M
$23.2M
Total DebtLower is stronger
$1.7B
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$113.3M
$220.0M
Total Assets
$2.7B
$668.6M
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
14.89×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
FWRD
FWRD
NGVC
NGVC
Q4 25
$106.0M
$23.2M
Q3 25
$140.4M
$17.1M
Q2 25
$95.1M
$13.2M
Q1 25
$116.3M
$21.2M
Q4 24
$104.9M
$6.3M
Q3 24
$136.6M
$8.9M
Q2 24
$84.9M
$13.9M
Q1 24
$152.0M
$11.0M
Total Debt
FWRD
FWRD
NGVC
NGVC
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
NGVC
NGVC
Q4 25
$113.3M
$220.0M
Q3 25
$139.8M
$212.4M
Q2 25
$151.8M
$202.5M
Q1 25
$154.6M
$193.0M
Q4 24
$201.7M
$181.9M
Q3 24
$226.1M
$174.3M
Q2 24
$283.8M
$167.8M
Q1 24
$926.1M
$160.0M
Total Assets
FWRD
FWRD
NGVC
NGVC
Q4 25
$2.7B
$668.6M
Q3 25
$2.8B
$670.5M
Q2 25
$2.8B
$659.0M
Q1 25
$2.8B
$664.6M
Q4 24
$2.8B
$648.9M
Q3 24
$3.1B
$655.5M
Q2 24
$3.1B
$654.4M
Q1 24
$4.0B
$656.6M
Debt / Equity
FWRD
FWRD
NGVC
NGVC
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
NGVC
NGVC
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$21.1M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$11.6M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
3.4%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
1.3%
2.9%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
1.86×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$42.6M

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
FWRD
FWRD
NGVC
NGVC
Q4 25
$21.1M
Q3 25
$52.7M
$15.6M
Q2 25
$2.9M
Q1 25
$27.6M
$34.1M
Q4 24
$-23.2M
$2.7M
Q3 24
$51.2M
$24.5M
Q2 24
$-45.2M
$12.4M
Q1 24
$-51.7M
$20.2M
Free Cash Flow
FWRD
FWRD
NGVC
NGVC
Q4 25
$11.6M
Q3 25
$48.6M
$7.5M
Q2 25
$-4.2M
Q1 25
$15.7M
$27.6M
Q4 24
$-30.5M
$-6.9M
Q3 24
$40.7M
$18.0M
Q2 24
$-59.6M
$3.6M
Q1 24
$-56.7M
$9.8M
FCF Margin
FWRD
FWRD
NGVC
NGVC
Q4 25
3.4%
Q3 25
7.7%
2.2%
Q2 25
-1.3%
Q1 25
2.6%
8.2%
Q4 24
-4.8%
-2.1%
Q3 24
6.2%
5.6%
Q2 24
-9.3%
1.2%
Q1 24
-10.5%
3.2%
Capex Intensity
FWRD
FWRD
NGVC
NGVC
Q4 25
1.3%
2.9%
Q3 25
0.7%
2.4%
Q2 25
0.8%
2.2%
Q1 25
1.9%
1.9%
Q4 24
1.1%
2.9%
Q3 24
1.6%
2.0%
Q2 24
2.2%
2.9%
Q1 24
0.9%
3.4%
Cash Conversion
FWRD
FWRD
NGVC
NGVC
Q4 25
1.86×
Q3 25
1.32×
Q2 25
0.25×
Q1 25
2.60×
Q4 24
0.27×
Q3 24
2.72×
Q2 24
1.35×
Q1 24
2.54×

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%

NGVC
NGVC

Grocery$243.8M73%
Dietary Supplements$60.7M18%
Manufactured Product Other$31.0M9%

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