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Side-by-side financial comparison of FORWARD AIR CORP (FWRD) and Shake Shack Inc. (SHAK). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

FORWARD AIR CORP is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($631.2M vs $400.5M, roughly 1.6× Shake Shack Inc.). Shake Shack Inc. runs the higher net margin — 3.0% vs -4.5%, a 7.4% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, Shake Shack Inc. posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (21.9% vs -0.3%). Over the past eight quarters, Shake Shack Inc.'s revenue compounded faster (17.4% 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.

Shake Shack is an American multinational fast casual restaurant chain based in New York City. It started out as a hot dog cart inside Madison Square Park in 2001, and its popularity steadily grew. In 2004, it received a permit to open a permanent kiosk within the park, expanding its menu from New York–style hot dogs to one with hamburgers, hot dogs, fries and its namesake milkshakes.

FWRD vs SHAK — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
FWRD
FWRD
1.6× larger
FWRD
$631.2M
$400.5M
SHAK
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
SHAK
SHAK
+22.1% gap
SHAK
21.9%
-0.3%
FWRD
Higher net margin
SHAK
SHAK
7.4% more per $
SHAK
3.0%
-4.5%
FWRD
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
SHAK
SHAK
Annualised
SHAK
17.4%
7.9%
FWRD

Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q4 FY2025

Metric
FWRD
FWRD
SHAK
SHAK
Revenue
$631.2M
$400.5M
Net Profit
$-28.3M
$11.8M
Gross Margin
Operating Margin
-0.5%
4.7%
Net Margin
-4.5%
3.0%
Revenue YoY
-0.3%
21.9%
Net Profit YoY
22.2%
35.8%
EPS (diluted)
$-0.90
$0.28

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
SHAK
SHAK
Q4 25
$631.2M
$400.5M
Q3 25
$631.8M
$367.4M
Q2 25
$618.8M
$356.5M
Q1 25
$613.3M
$320.9M
Q4 24
$632.8M
$328.7M
Q3 24
$655.9M
$316.9M
Q2 24
$643.7M
$316.5M
Q1 24
$541.8M
$290.5M
Net Profit
FWRD
FWRD
SHAK
SHAK
Q4 25
$-28.3M
$11.8M
Q3 25
$-16.3M
$12.5M
Q2 25
$-12.6M
$17.1M
Q1 25
$-50.6M
$4.2M
Q4 24
$-36.4M
$8.7M
Q3 24
$-73.4M
$-10.2M
Q2 24
$-645.4M
$9.7M
Q1 24
$-61.7M
$2.0M
Operating Margin
FWRD
FWRD
SHAK
SHAK
Q4 25
-0.5%
4.7%
Q3 25
2.4%
5.0%
Q2 25
3.2%
6.3%
Q1 25
0.8%
0.9%
Q4 24
12.0%
3.1%
Q3 24
3.5%
-5.7%
Q2 24
-170.2%
3.4%
Q1 24
-12.1%
0.0%
Net Margin
FWRD
FWRD
SHAK
SHAK
Q4 25
-4.5%
3.0%
Q3 25
-2.6%
3.4%
Q2 25
-2.0%
4.8%
Q1 25
-8.3%
1.3%
Q4 24
-5.8%
2.6%
Q3 24
-11.2%
-3.2%
Q2 24
-100.3%
3.1%
Q1 24
-11.4%
0.7%
EPS (diluted)
FWRD
FWRD
SHAK
SHAK
Q4 25
$-0.90
$0.28
Q3 25
$-0.52
$0.30
Q2 25
$-0.41
$0.41
Q1 25
$-1.68
$0.10
Q4 24
$-1.69
$0.22
Q3 24
$-2.66
$-0.26
Q2 24
$-23.47
$0.23
Q1 24
$-2.81
$0.05

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

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

Metric
FWRD
FWRD
SHAK
SHAK
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$106.0M
$360.1M
Total DebtLower is stronger
$1.7B
$247.7M
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$113.3M
$525.3M
Total Assets
$2.7B
$1.9B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
14.89×
0.47×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
FWRD
FWRD
SHAK
SHAK
Q4 25
$106.0M
$360.1M
Q3 25
$140.4M
$357.8M
Q2 25
$95.1M
$336.8M
Q1 25
$116.3M
$312.9M
Q4 24
$104.9M
$320.7M
Q3 24
$136.6M
$310.9M
Q2 24
$84.9M
$304.4M
Q1 24
$152.0M
$284.8M
Total Debt
FWRD
FWRD
SHAK
SHAK
Q4 25
$1.7B
$247.7M
Q3 25
$1.7B
$247.5M
Q2 25
$247.2M
Q1 25
$246.9M
Q4 24
$246.7M
Q3 24
$246.4M
Q2 24
$246.2M
Q1 24
$1.7B
$245.9M
Stockholders' Equity
FWRD
FWRD
SHAK
SHAK
Q4 25
$113.3M
$525.3M
Q3 25
$139.8M
$509.0M
Q2 25
$151.8M
$494.1M
Q1 25
$154.6M
$473.3M
Q4 24
$201.7M
$470.0M
Q3 24
$226.1M
$456.1M
Q2 24
$283.8M
$462.4M
Q1 24
$926.1M
$446.4M
Total Assets
FWRD
FWRD
SHAK
SHAK
Q4 25
$2.7B
$1.9B
Q3 25
$2.8B
$1.8B
Q2 25
$2.8B
$1.8B
Q1 25
$2.8B
$1.7B
Q4 24
$2.8B
$1.7B
Q3 24
$3.1B
$1.7B
Q2 24
$3.1B
$1.7B
Q1 24
$4.0B
$1.6B
Debt / Equity
FWRD
FWRD
SHAK
SHAK
Q4 25
14.89×
0.47×
Q3 25
12.05×
0.49×
Q2 25
0.50×
Q1 25
0.52×
Q4 24
0.52×
Q3 24
0.54×
Q2 24
0.53×
Q1 24
1.81×
0.55×

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
SHAK
SHAK
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$63.1M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$4.0M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
1.0%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
1.3%
14.8%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
5.34×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$56.5M

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
FWRD
FWRD
SHAK
SHAK
Q4 25
$63.1M
Q3 25
$52.7M
$63.0M
Q2 25
$65.0M
Q1 25
$27.6M
$31.2M
Q4 24
$-23.2M
$45.1M
Q3 24
$51.2M
$41.9M
Q2 24
$-45.2M
$53.5M
Q1 24
$-51.7M
$30.7M
Free Cash Flow
FWRD
FWRD
SHAK
SHAK
Q4 25
$4.0M
Q3 25
$48.6M
$23.7M
Q2 25
$26.9M
Q1 25
$15.7M
$1.9M
Q4 24
$-30.5M
$10.4M
Q3 24
$40.7M
$7.1M
Q2 24
$-59.6M
$20.6M
Q1 24
$-56.7M
$-2.4M
FCF Margin
FWRD
FWRD
SHAK
SHAK
Q4 25
1.0%
Q3 25
7.7%
6.5%
Q2 25
7.5%
Q1 25
2.6%
0.6%
Q4 24
-4.8%
3.2%
Q3 24
6.2%
2.2%
Q2 24
-9.3%
6.5%
Q1 24
-10.5%
-0.8%
Capex Intensity
FWRD
FWRD
SHAK
SHAK
Q4 25
1.3%
14.8%
Q3 25
0.7%
10.7%
Q2 25
0.8%
10.7%
Q1 25
1.9%
9.1%
Q4 24
1.1%
10.6%
Q3 24
1.6%
11.0%
Q2 24
2.2%
10.4%
Q1 24
0.9%
11.4%
Cash Conversion
FWRD
FWRD
SHAK
SHAK
Q4 25
5.34×
Q3 25
5.04×
Q2 25
3.79×
Q1 25
7.36×
Q4 24
5.18×
Q3 24
Q2 24
5.54×
Q1 24
15.03×

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%

SHAK
SHAK

Segment breakdown not available.

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