vs

Side-by-side financial comparison of FORWARD AIR CORP (FWRD) and STEVEN MADDEN, LTD. (SHOO). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

STEVEN MADDEN, LTD. is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($749.8M vs $631.2M, roughly 1.2× FORWARD AIR CORP). STEVEN MADDEN, LTD. runs the higher net margin — 3.3% vs -4.5%, a 7.8% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, STEVEN MADDEN, LTD. posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (29.5% vs -0.3%). Over the past eight quarters, STEVEN MADDEN, LTD.'s revenue compounded faster (16.7% 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.

Steven Madden, Ltd. is a publicly traded company that designs and markets shoes and fashion accessories. Based in Long Island City, New York, the company's brands include Dolce Vita, Betsey Johnson, Blondo, BB Dakota and Mad Love. Steve Madden is also a licensee of various brands, including Anne Klein and Superga.

FWRD vs SHOO — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
SHOO
SHOO
1.2× larger
SHOO
$749.8M
$631.2M
FWRD
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
SHOO
SHOO
+29.8% gap
SHOO
29.5%
-0.3%
FWRD
Higher net margin
SHOO
SHOO
7.8% more per $
SHOO
3.3%
-4.5%
FWRD
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
SHOO
SHOO
Annualised
SHOO
16.7%
7.9%
FWRD

Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q4 FY2025

Metric
FWRD
FWRD
SHOO
SHOO
Revenue
$631.2M
$749.8M
Net Profit
$-28.3M
$24.7M
Gross Margin
42.6%
Operating Margin
-0.5%
4.8%
Net Margin
-4.5%
3.3%
Revenue YoY
-0.3%
29.5%
Net Profit YoY
22.2%
-34.8%
EPS (diluted)
$-0.90
$0.33

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
SHOO
SHOO
Q4 25
$631.2M
$749.8M
Q3 25
$631.8M
$664.2M
Q2 25
$618.8M
$556.1M
Q1 25
$613.3M
$551.4M
Q4 24
$632.8M
$578.8M
Q3 24
$655.9M
$621.2M
Q2 24
$643.7M
$521.7M
Q1 24
$541.8M
$550.6M
Net Profit
FWRD
FWRD
SHOO
SHOO
Q4 25
$-28.3M
$24.7M
Q3 25
$-16.3M
$20.5M
Q2 25
$-12.6M
$-38.7M
Q1 25
$-50.6M
$41.3M
Q4 24
$-36.4M
$37.8M
Q3 24
$-73.4M
$55.3M
Q2 24
$-645.4M
$36.9M
Q1 24
$-61.7M
$44.6M
Gross Margin
FWRD
FWRD
SHOO
SHOO
Q4 25
42.6%
Q3 25
41.8%
Q2 25
40.6%
Q1 25
41.0%
Q4 24
40.7%
Q3 24
41.8%
Q2 24
41.6%
Q1 24
40.8%
Operating Margin
FWRD
FWRD
SHOO
SHOO
Q4 25
-0.5%
4.8%
Q3 25
2.4%
4.7%
Q2 25
3.2%
-7.2%
Q1 25
0.8%
9.7%
Q4 24
12.0%
8.1%
Q3 24
3.5%
12.0%
Q2 24
-170.2%
9.0%
Q1 24
-12.1%
10.3%
Net Margin
FWRD
FWRD
SHOO
SHOO
Q4 25
-4.5%
3.3%
Q3 25
-2.6%
3.1%
Q2 25
-2.0%
-7.0%
Q1 25
-8.3%
7.5%
Q4 24
-5.8%
6.5%
Q3 24
-11.2%
8.9%
Q2 24
-100.3%
7.1%
Q1 24
-11.4%
8.1%
EPS (diluted)
FWRD
FWRD
SHOO
SHOO
Q4 25
$-0.90
$0.33
Q3 25
$-0.52
$0.29
Q2 25
$-0.41
$-0.56
Q1 25
$-1.68
$0.57
Q4 24
$-1.69
$0.49
Q3 24
$-2.66
$0.77
Q2 24
$-23.47
$0.49
Q1 24
$-2.81
$0.60

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

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

Metric
FWRD
FWRD
SHOO
SHOO
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$106.0M
$112.4M
Total DebtLower is stronger
$1.7B
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$113.3M
$866.4M
Total Assets
$2.7B
$1.9B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
14.89×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
FWRD
FWRD
SHOO
SHOO
Q4 25
$106.0M
$112.4M
Q3 25
$140.4M
$140.0K
Q2 25
$95.1M
$111.9M
Q1 25
$116.3M
$147.2M
Q4 24
$104.9M
$203.4M
Q3 24
$136.6M
$11.1M
Q2 24
$84.9M
$192.2M
Q1 24
$152.0M
$143.1M
Total Debt
FWRD
FWRD
SHOO
SHOO
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
SHOO
SHOO
Q4 25
$113.3M
$866.4M
Q3 25
$139.8M
$850.8M
Q2 25
$151.8M
$833.2M
Q1 25
$154.6M
$875.3M
Q4 24
$201.7M
$847.7M
Q3 24
$226.1M
$833.9M
Q2 24
$283.8M
$808.3M
Q1 24
$926.1M
$825.2M
Total Assets
FWRD
FWRD
SHOO
SHOO
Q4 25
$2.7B
$1.9B
Q3 25
$2.8B
$2.0B
Q2 25
$2.8B
$1.9B
Q1 25
$2.8B
$1.4B
Q4 24
$2.8B
$1.4B
Q3 24
$3.1B
$1.5B
Q2 24
$3.1B
$1.4B
Q1 24
$4.0B
$1.3B
Debt / Equity
FWRD
FWRD
SHOO
SHOO
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
SHOO
SHOO
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$91.1M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$80.8M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
10.8%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
1.3%
1.4%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
3.70×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$119.5M

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
FWRD
FWRD
SHOO
SHOO
Q4 25
$91.1M
Q3 25
$52.7M
$23.4M
Q2 25
$66.5M
Q1 25
$27.6M
$-18.8M
Q4 24
$-23.2M
$103.9M
Q3 24
$51.2M
$444.0K
Q2 24
$-45.2M
$109.5M
Q1 24
$-51.7M
$-15.7M
Free Cash Flow
FWRD
FWRD
SHOO
SHOO
Q4 25
$80.8M
Q3 25
$48.6M
$8.6M
Q2 25
$58.8M
Q1 25
$15.7M
$-28.7M
Q4 24
$-30.5M
$94.6M
Q3 24
$40.7M
$-6.9M
Q2 24
$-59.6M
$104.2M
Q1 24
$-56.7M
$-19.7M
FCF Margin
FWRD
FWRD
SHOO
SHOO
Q4 25
10.8%
Q3 25
7.7%
1.3%
Q2 25
10.6%
Q1 25
2.6%
-5.2%
Q4 24
-4.8%
16.3%
Q3 24
6.2%
-1.1%
Q2 24
-9.3%
20.0%
Q1 24
-10.5%
-3.6%
Capex Intensity
FWRD
FWRD
SHOO
SHOO
Q4 25
1.3%
1.4%
Q3 25
0.7%
2.2%
Q2 25
0.8%
1.4%
Q1 25
1.9%
1.8%
Q4 24
1.1%
1.6%
Q3 24
1.6%
1.2%
Q2 24
2.2%
1.0%
Q1 24
0.9%
0.7%
Cash Conversion
FWRD
FWRD
SHOO
SHOO
Q4 25
3.70×
Q3 25
1.14×
Q2 25
Q1 25
-0.46×
Q4 24
2.75×
Q3 24
0.01×
Q2 24
2.96×
Q1 24
-0.35×

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%

SHOO
SHOO

Segment breakdown not available.

Related Comparisons