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Side-by-side financial comparison of FORWARD AIR CORP (FWRD) and Warner Music Group Corp. (WMG). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

FORWARD AIR CORP is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($631.2M vs $353.0M, roughly 1.8× Warner Music Group Corp.). Warner Music Group Corp. runs the higher net margin — 51.3% vs -4.5%, a 55.8% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, Warner Music Group Corp. posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (16.7% vs -0.3%). Over the past eight quarters, FORWARD AIR CORP's revenue compounded faster (7.9% CAGR vs -52.3%).

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.

Warner Music Group Corp., commonly abbreviated as WMG, is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the "Big Three" recording companies and the third-largest in the global music industry, after Universal Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment.

FWRD vs WMG — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
FWRD
FWRD
1.8× larger
FWRD
$631.2M
$353.0M
WMG
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
WMG
WMG
+17.0% gap
WMG
16.7%
-0.3%
FWRD
Higher net margin
WMG
WMG
55.8% more per $
WMG
51.3%
-4.5%
FWRD
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
FWRD
FWRD
Annualised
FWRD
7.9%
-52.3%
WMG

Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q2 FY2026

Metric
FWRD
FWRD
WMG
WMG
Revenue
$631.2M
$353.0M
Net Profit
$-28.3M
$181.0M
Gross Margin
363.5%
Operating Margin
-0.5%
74.8%
Net Margin
-4.5%
51.3%
Revenue YoY
-0.3%
16.7%
Net Profit YoY
22.2%
402.8%
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
WMG
WMG
Q1 26
$353.0M
Q4 25
$631.2M
$1.8B
Q3 25
$631.8M
$1.9B
Q2 25
$618.8M
$1.7B
Q1 25
$613.3M
$1.5B
Q4 24
$632.8M
$1.7B
Q3 24
$655.9M
$1.6B
Q2 24
$643.7M
$1.6B
Net Profit
FWRD
FWRD
WMG
WMG
Q1 26
$181.0M
Q4 25
$-28.3M
$176.0M
Q3 25
$-16.3M
$109.0M
Q2 25
$-12.6M
$-16.0M
Q1 25
$-50.6M
$36.0M
Q4 24
$-36.4M
$236.0M
Q3 24
$-73.4M
$41.0M
Q2 24
$-645.4M
$139.0M
Gross Margin
FWRD
FWRD
WMG
WMG
Q1 26
363.5%
Q4 25
46.4%
Q3 25
44.6%
Q2 25
45.9%
Q1 25
46.7%
Q4 24
46.3%
Q3 24
47.6%
Q2 24
46.6%
Operating Margin
FWRD
FWRD
WMG
WMG
Q1 26
74.8%
Q4 25
-0.5%
15.7%
Q3 25
2.4%
7.7%
Q2 25
3.2%
10.0%
Q1 25
0.8%
11.3%
Q4 24
12.0%
12.8%
Q3 24
3.5%
8.8%
Q2 24
-170.2%
13.3%
Net Margin
FWRD
FWRD
WMG
WMG
Q1 26
51.3%
Q4 25
-4.5%
9.6%
Q3 25
-2.6%
5.8%
Q2 25
-2.0%
-0.9%
Q1 25
-8.3%
2.4%
Q4 24
-5.8%
14.2%
Q3 24
-11.2%
2.5%
Q2 24
-100.3%
8.9%
EPS (diluted)
FWRD
FWRD
WMG
WMG
Q1 26
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

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

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

Metric
FWRD
FWRD
WMG
WMG
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$106.0M
$741.0M
Total DebtLower is stronger
$1.7B
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$113.3M
$839.0M
Total Assets
$2.7B
$10.6B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
14.89×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
FWRD
FWRD
WMG
WMG
Q1 26
$741.0M
Q4 25
$106.0M
$751.0M
Q3 25
$140.4M
$532.0M
Q2 25
$95.1M
$527.0M
Q1 25
$116.3M
$637.0M
Q4 24
$104.9M
$802.0M
Q3 24
$136.6M
$694.0M
Q2 24
$84.9M
$607.0M
Total Debt
FWRD
FWRD
WMG
WMG
Q1 26
Q4 25
$1.7B
$4.4B
Q3 25
$1.7B
$4.4B
Q2 25
$4.4B
Q1 25
$4.3B
Q4 24
$4.0B
Q3 24
$4.0B
Q2 24
$4.0B
Stockholders' Equity
FWRD
FWRD
WMG
WMG
Q1 26
$839.0M
Q4 25
$113.3M
$720.0M
Q3 25
$139.8M
$647.0M
Q2 25
$151.8M
$589.0M
Q1 25
$154.6M
$567.0M
Q4 24
$201.7M
$545.0M
Q3 24
$226.1M
$518.0M
Q2 24
$283.8M
$483.0M
Total Assets
FWRD
FWRD
WMG
WMG
Q1 26
$10.6B
Q4 25
$2.7B
$10.0B
Q3 25
$2.8B
$9.8B
Q2 25
$2.8B
$9.8B
Q1 25
$2.8B
$9.6B
Q4 24
$2.8B
$9.1B
Q3 24
$3.1B
$9.2B
Q2 24
$3.1B
$8.8B
Debt / Equity
FWRD
FWRD
WMG
WMG
Q1 26
Q4 25
14.89×
6.07×
Q3 25
12.05×
6.75×
Q2 25
7.41×
Q1 25
7.57×
Q4 24
7.26×
Q3 24
7.75×
Q2 24
8.24×

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
WMG
WMG
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$126.0M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$99.0M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
28.0%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
1.3%
7.6%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
0.70×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$729.0M

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
FWRD
FWRD
WMG
WMG
Q1 26
$126.0M
Q4 25
$440.0M
Q3 25
$52.7M
$231.0M
Q2 25
$46.0M
Q1 25
$27.6M
$69.0M
Q4 24
$-23.2M
$332.0M
Q3 24
$51.2M
$304.0M
Q2 24
$-45.2M
$188.0M
Free Cash Flow
FWRD
FWRD
WMG
WMG
Q1 26
$99.0M
Q4 25
$420.0M
Q3 25
$48.6M
$203.0M
Q2 25
$7.0M
Q1 25
$15.7M
$33.0M
Q4 24
$-30.5M
$296.0M
Q3 24
$40.7M
$271.0M
Q2 24
$-59.6M
$160.0M
FCF Margin
FWRD
FWRD
WMG
WMG
Q1 26
28.0%
Q4 25
22.8%
Q3 25
7.7%
10.9%
Q2 25
0.4%
Q1 25
2.6%
2.2%
Q4 24
-4.8%
17.8%
Q3 24
6.2%
16.6%
Q2 24
-9.3%
10.3%
Capex Intensity
FWRD
FWRD
WMG
WMG
Q1 26
7.6%
Q4 25
1.3%
1.1%
Q3 25
0.7%
1.5%
Q2 25
0.8%
2.3%
Q1 25
1.9%
2.4%
Q4 24
1.1%
2.2%
Q3 24
1.6%
2.0%
Q2 24
2.2%
1.8%
Cash Conversion
FWRD
FWRD
WMG
WMG
Q1 26
0.70×
Q4 25
2.50×
Q3 25
2.12×
Q2 25
Q1 25
1.92×
Q4 24
1.41×
Q3 24
7.41×
Q2 24
1.35×

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%

WMG
WMG

Music Publishing Digital$224.0M63%
Other$129.0M37%

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