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

Pool Corporation is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($1.1B vs $631.2M, roughly 1.8× FORWARD AIR CORP). Pool Corporation runs the higher net margin — 4.7% vs -4.5%, a 9.2% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, Pool Corporation posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (6.2% vs -0.3%). Over the past eight quarters, FORWARD AIR CORP's revenue compounded faster (7.9% CAGR vs -19.8%).

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.

Pool Corporation, doing business as POOLCORP, is the largest distributor of supplies, equipment, and machinery for swimming pools worldwide. The company is organized in Delaware and headquartered in Covington, Louisiana. It serves approximately 125,000 customers and operates 439 sales centers in North America, Europe and Australia. The company receives over half of its revenue from the California, Texas, Florida, and Arizona markets and has benefited from population shifts to warmer climates....

FWRD vs POOL — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
POOL
POOL
1.8× larger
POOL
$1.1B
$631.2M
FWRD
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
POOL
POOL
+6.5% gap
POOL
6.2%
-0.3%
FWRD
Higher net margin
POOL
POOL
9.2% more per $
POOL
4.7%
-4.5%
FWRD
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
FWRD
FWRD
Annualised
FWRD
7.9%
-19.8%
POOL

Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q1 FY2026

Metric
FWRD
FWRD
POOL
POOL
Revenue
$631.2M
$1.1B
Net Profit
$-28.3M
$53.2M
Gross Margin
29.0%
Operating Margin
-0.5%
7.3%
Net Margin
-4.5%
4.7%
Revenue YoY
-0.3%
6.2%
Net Profit YoY
22.2%
-0.6%
EPS (diluted)
$-0.90
$1.45

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
POOL
POOL
Q1 26
$1.1B
Q4 25
$631.2M
$982.2M
Q3 25
$631.8M
$1.5B
Q2 25
$618.8M
$1.8B
Q1 25
$613.3M
$1.1B
Q4 24
$632.8M
$987.5M
Q3 24
$655.9M
$1.4B
Q2 24
$643.7M
$1.8B
Net Profit
FWRD
FWRD
POOL
POOL
Q1 26
$53.2M
Q4 25
$-28.3M
$31.6M
Q3 25
$-16.3M
$127.0M
Q2 25
$-12.6M
$194.3M
Q1 25
$-50.6M
$53.5M
Q4 24
$-36.4M
$37.3M
Q3 24
$-73.4M
$125.7M
Q2 24
$-645.4M
$192.4M
Gross Margin
FWRD
FWRD
POOL
POOL
Q1 26
29.0%
Q4 25
30.1%
Q3 25
29.6%
Q2 25
30.0%
Q1 25
29.2%
Q4 24
29.4%
Q3 24
29.1%
Q2 24
30.0%
Operating Margin
FWRD
FWRD
POOL
POOL
Q1 26
7.3%
Q4 25
-0.5%
5.3%
Q3 25
2.4%
12.3%
Q2 25
3.2%
15.3%
Q1 25
0.8%
7.2%
Q4 24
12.0%
6.1%
Q3 24
3.5%
12.3%
Q2 24
-170.2%
15.3%
Net Margin
FWRD
FWRD
POOL
POOL
Q1 26
4.7%
Q4 25
-4.5%
3.2%
Q3 25
-2.6%
8.8%
Q2 25
-2.0%
10.9%
Q1 25
-8.3%
5.0%
Q4 24
-5.8%
3.8%
Q3 24
-11.2%
8.8%
Q2 24
-100.3%
10.9%
EPS (diluted)
FWRD
FWRD
POOL
POOL
Q1 26
$1.45
Q4 25
$-0.90
$0.86
Q3 25
$-0.52
$3.40
Q2 25
$-0.41
$5.17
Q1 25
$-1.68
$1.42
Q4 24
$-1.69
$1.00
Q3 24
$-2.66
$3.27
Q2 24
$-23.47
$4.99

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

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

Metric
FWRD
FWRD
POOL
POOL
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$106.0M
$64.5M
Total DebtLower is stronger
$1.7B
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$113.3M
Total Assets
$2.7B
$4.0B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
14.89×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
FWRD
FWRD
POOL
POOL
Q1 26
$64.5M
Q4 25
$106.0M
Q3 25
$140.4M
Q2 25
$95.1M
Q1 25
$116.3M
Q4 24
$104.9M
Q3 24
$136.6M
Q2 24
$84.9M
Total Debt
FWRD
FWRD
POOL
POOL
Q1 26
Q4 25
$1.7B
Q3 25
$1.7B
$1.0B
Q2 25
$1.2B
Q1 25
$968.0M
Q4 24
Q3 24
$879.1M
Q2 24
$1.1B
Stockholders' Equity
FWRD
FWRD
POOL
POOL
Q1 26
Q4 25
$113.3M
$1.2B
Q3 25
$139.8M
$1.4B
Q2 25
$151.8M
$1.3B
Q1 25
$154.6M
$1.2B
Q4 24
$201.7M
$1.3B
Q3 24
$226.1M
$1.4B
Q2 24
$283.8M
$1.4B
Total Assets
FWRD
FWRD
POOL
POOL
Q1 26
$4.0B
Q4 25
$2.7B
$3.6B
Q3 25
$2.8B
$3.5B
Q2 25
$2.8B
$3.7B
Q1 25
$2.8B
$3.7B
Q4 24
$2.8B
$3.4B
Q3 24
$3.1B
$3.4B
Q2 24
$3.1B
$3.6B
Debt / Equity
FWRD
FWRD
POOL
POOL
Q1 26
Q4 25
14.89×
Q3 25
12.05×
0.76×
Q2 25
0.93×
Q1 25
0.78×
Q4 24
Q3 24
0.61×
Q2 24
0.75×

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
POOL
POOL
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$25.7M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
1.3%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
0.48×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
FWRD
FWRD
POOL
POOL
Q1 26
$25.7M
Q4 25
$80.1M
Q3 25
$52.7M
$287.3M
Q2 25
$-28.8M
Q1 25
$27.6M
$27.2M
Q4 24
$-23.2M
$170.6M
Q3 24
$51.2M
$316.5M
Q2 24
$-45.2M
$26.7M
Free Cash Flow
FWRD
FWRD
POOL
POOL
Q1 26
Q4 25
$71.9M
Q3 25
$48.6M
$266.6M
Q2 25
$-42.9M
Q1 25
$15.7M
$13.9M
Q4 24
$-30.5M
$157.0M
Q3 24
$40.7M
$305.5M
Q2 24
$-59.6M
$8.8M
FCF Margin
FWRD
FWRD
POOL
POOL
Q1 26
Q4 25
7.3%
Q3 25
7.7%
18.4%
Q2 25
-2.4%
Q1 25
2.6%
1.3%
Q4 24
-4.8%
15.9%
Q3 24
6.2%
21.3%
Q2 24
-9.3%
0.5%
Capex Intensity
FWRD
FWRD
POOL
POOL
Q1 26
Q4 25
1.3%
0.8%
Q3 25
0.7%
1.4%
Q2 25
0.8%
0.8%
Q1 25
1.9%
1.2%
Q4 24
1.1%
1.4%
Q3 24
1.6%
0.8%
Q2 24
2.2%
1.0%
Cash Conversion
FWRD
FWRD
POOL
POOL
Q1 26
0.48×
Q4 25
2.54×
Q3 25
2.26×
Q2 25
-0.15×
Q1 25
0.51×
Q4 24
4.57×
Q3 24
2.52×
Q2 24
0.14×

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%

POOL
POOL

Segment breakdown not available.

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