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

RYAN SPECIALTY HOLDINGS, INC. is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($738.0M vs $631.2M, roughly 1.2× FORWARD AIR CORP). RYAN SPECIALTY HOLDINGS, INC. runs the higher net margin — 1.1% vs -4.5%, a 5.6% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, RYAN SPECIALTY HOLDINGS, INC. posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (13.6% vs -0.3%). Over the past eight quarters, RYAN SPECIALTY HOLDINGS, INC.'s revenue compounded faster (17.1% 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.

Aon plc is a British-American professional services firm. The company operates two divisions: Risk Capital, which provides brokerage and consulting services for risk management and insurance and reinsurance, and Human Capital, which provides services for health insurance, retirement plans, pension plans, and talent advisory.

FWRD vs RYAN — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
RYAN
RYAN
1.2× larger
RYAN
$738.0M
$631.2M
FWRD
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
RYAN
RYAN
+13.9% gap
RYAN
13.6%
-0.3%
FWRD
Higher net margin
RYAN
RYAN
5.6% more per $
RYAN
1.1%
-4.5%
FWRD
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
RYAN
RYAN
Annualised
RYAN
17.1%
7.9%
FWRD

Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q4 FY2025

Metric
FWRD
FWRD
RYAN
RYAN
Revenue
$631.2M
$738.0M
Net Profit
$-28.3M
$8.0M
Gross Margin
Operating Margin
-0.5%
12.4%
Net Margin
-4.5%
1.1%
Revenue YoY
-0.3%
13.6%
Net Profit YoY
22.2%
-42.0%
EPS (diluted)
$-0.90

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
RYAN
RYAN
Q4 25
$631.2M
$738.0M
Q3 25
$631.8M
$739.6M
Q2 25
$618.8M
$840.9M
Q1 25
$613.3M
$676.1M
Q4 24
$632.8M
$649.4M
Q3 24
$655.9M
$588.1M
Q2 24
$643.7M
$680.2M
Q1 24
$541.8M
$537.9M
Net Profit
FWRD
FWRD
RYAN
RYAN
Q4 25
$-28.3M
$8.0M
Q3 25
$-16.3M
$31.1M
Q2 25
$-12.6M
$52.0M
Q1 25
$-50.6M
$-27.6M
Q4 24
$-36.4M
$13.8M
Q3 24
$-73.4M
$17.6M
Q2 24
$-645.4M
$46.8M
Q1 24
$-61.7M
$16.5M
Operating Margin
FWRD
FWRD
RYAN
RYAN
Q4 25
-0.5%
12.4%
Q3 25
2.4%
15.0%
Q2 25
3.2%
22.7%
Q1 25
0.8%
14.8%
Q4 24
12.0%
16.8%
Q3 24
3.5%
13.9%
Q2 24
-170.2%
24.2%
Q1 24
-12.1%
13.5%
Net Margin
FWRD
FWRD
RYAN
RYAN
Q4 25
-4.5%
1.1%
Q3 25
-2.6%
4.2%
Q2 25
-2.0%
6.2%
Q1 25
-8.3%
-4.1%
Q4 24
-5.8%
2.1%
Q3 24
-11.2%
3.0%
Q2 24
-100.3%
6.9%
Q1 24
-11.4%
3.1%
EPS (diluted)
FWRD
FWRD
RYAN
RYAN
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
Q1 24
$-2.81

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

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

Metric
FWRD
FWRD
RYAN
RYAN
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$106.0M
$158.3M
Total DebtLower is stronger
$1.7B
$3.3B
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$113.3M
$648.1M
Total Assets
$2.7B
$10.6B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
14.89×
5.16×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
FWRD
FWRD
RYAN
RYAN
Q4 25
$106.0M
$158.3M
Q3 25
$140.4M
$153.5M
Q2 25
$95.1M
$172.6M
Q1 25
$116.3M
$203.5M
Q4 24
$104.9M
$540.2M
Q3 24
$136.6M
$235.2M
Q2 24
$84.9M
$1.7B
Q1 24
$152.0M
$1.6B
Total Debt
FWRD
FWRD
RYAN
RYAN
Q4 25
$1.7B
$3.3B
Q3 25
$1.7B
Q2 25
Q1 25
Q4 24
$3.3B
Q3 24
Q2 24
Q1 24
$1.7B
Stockholders' Equity
FWRD
FWRD
RYAN
RYAN
Q4 25
$113.3M
$648.1M
Q3 25
$139.8M
$630.5M
Q2 25
$151.8M
$610.1M
Q1 25
$154.6M
$542.5M
Q4 24
$201.7M
$627.7M
Q3 24
$226.1M
$632.8M
Q2 24
$283.8M
$605.9M
Q1 24
$926.1M
$554.4M
Total Assets
FWRD
FWRD
RYAN
RYAN
Q4 25
$2.7B
$10.6B
Q3 25
$2.8B
$9.9B
Q2 25
$2.8B
$10.6B
Q1 25
$2.8B
$9.9B
Q4 24
$2.8B
$9.6B
Q3 24
$3.1B
$8.5B
Q2 24
$3.1B
$8.3B
Q1 24
$4.0B
$7.1B
Debt / Equity
FWRD
FWRD
RYAN
RYAN
Q4 25
14.89×
5.16×
Q3 25
12.05×
Q2 25
Q1 25
Q4 24
5.22×
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
RYAN
RYAN
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$263.2M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
1.3%
0.0%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
32.99×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
FWRD
FWRD
RYAN
RYAN
Q4 25
$263.2M
Q3 25
$52.7M
$169.7M
Q2 25
$353.6M
Q1 25
$27.6M
$-142.8M
Q4 24
$-23.2M
$259.6M
Q3 24
$51.2M
$100.9M
Q2 24
$-45.2M
$270.8M
Q1 24
$-51.7M
$-116.5M
Free Cash Flow
FWRD
FWRD
RYAN
RYAN
Q4 25
Q3 25
$48.6M
$167.3M
Q2 25
Q1 25
$15.7M
$-143.5M
Q4 24
$-30.5M
Q3 24
$40.7M
Q2 24
$-59.6M
Q1 24
$-56.7M
FCF Margin
FWRD
FWRD
RYAN
RYAN
Q4 25
Q3 25
7.7%
22.6%
Q2 25
Q1 25
2.6%
-21.2%
Q4 24
-4.8%
Q3 24
6.2%
Q2 24
-9.3%
Q1 24
-10.5%
Capex Intensity
FWRD
FWRD
RYAN
RYAN
Q4 25
1.3%
0.0%
Q3 25
0.7%
0.3%
Q2 25
0.8%
0.0%
Q1 25
1.9%
0.1%
Q4 24
1.1%
0.0%
Q3 24
1.6%
0.0%
Q2 24
2.2%
0.0%
Q1 24
0.9%
0.0%
Cash Conversion
FWRD
FWRD
RYAN
RYAN
Q4 25
32.99×
Q3 25
5.46×
Q2 25
6.80×
Q1 25
Q4 24
18.88×
Q3 24
5.74×
Q2 24
5.79×
Q1 24
-7.05×

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%

RYAN
RYAN

Wholesale Brokerage$385.7M52%
Underwriting Management$268.3M36%
Binding Authorities$84.0M11%

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