vs

Side-by-side financial comparison of FORWARD AIR CORP (FWRD) and West Pharmaceutical Services (WST). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

West Pharmaceutical Services is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($805.0M vs $631.2M, roughly 1.3× FORWARD AIR CORP). West Pharmaceutical Services runs the higher net margin — 16.4% vs -4.5%, a 20.9% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, West Pharmaceutical Services posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (7.5% vs -0.3%). Over the past eight quarters, FORWARD AIR CORP's revenue compounded faster (7.9% CAGR vs 7.6%).

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.

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. is a designer and manufacturer of injectable pharmaceutical packaging and delivery systems. Founded in 1923 by Herman O. West and J.R. Wike of Philadelphia, the company is headquartered in Exton, Pennsylvania. In its early years of development, West produced rubber components for packaging injectable drugs, providing a sterile environment for the producers of penicillin and insulin.

FWRD vs WST — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
WST
WST
1.3× larger
WST
$805.0M
$631.2M
FWRD
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
WST
WST
+7.8% gap
WST
7.5%
-0.3%
FWRD
Higher net margin
WST
WST
20.9% more per $
WST
16.4%
-4.5%
FWRD
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
FWRD
FWRD
Annualised
FWRD
7.9%
7.6%
WST

Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q4 FY2025

Metric
FWRD
FWRD
WST
WST
Revenue
$631.2M
$805.0M
Net Profit
$-28.3M
$132.1M
Gross Margin
37.8%
Operating Margin
-0.5%
19.5%
Net Margin
-4.5%
16.4%
Revenue YoY
-0.3%
7.5%
Net Profit YoY
22.2%
1.5%
EPS (diluted)
$-0.90
$1.82

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
WST
WST
Q4 25
$631.2M
$805.0M
Q3 25
$631.8M
$804.6M
Q2 25
$618.8M
$766.5M
Q1 25
$613.3M
$698.0M
Q4 24
$632.8M
$748.8M
Q3 24
$655.9M
$746.9M
Q2 24
$643.7M
$702.1M
Q1 24
$541.8M
$695.4M
Net Profit
FWRD
FWRD
WST
WST
Q4 25
$-28.3M
$132.1M
Q3 25
$-16.3M
$140.0M
Q2 25
$-12.6M
$131.8M
Q1 25
$-50.6M
$89.8M
Q4 24
$-36.4M
$130.1M
Q3 24
$-73.4M
$136.0M
Q2 24
$-645.4M
$111.3M
Q1 24
$-61.7M
$115.3M
Gross Margin
FWRD
FWRD
WST
WST
Q4 25
37.8%
Q3 25
36.6%
Q2 25
35.7%
Q1 25
33.2%
Q4 24
36.5%
Q3 24
35.4%
Q2 24
32.8%
Q1 24
33.1%
Operating Margin
FWRD
FWRD
WST
WST
Q4 25
-0.5%
19.5%
Q3 25
2.4%
20.8%
Q2 25
3.2%
20.1%
Q1 25
0.8%
15.3%
Q4 24
12.0%
21.3%
Q3 24
3.5%
21.6%
Q2 24
-170.2%
18.0%
Q1 24
-12.1%
17.7%
Net Margin
FWRD
FWRD
WST
WST
Q4 25
-4.5%
16.4%
Q3 25
-2.6%
17.4%
Q2 25
-2.0%
17.2%
Q1 25
-8.3%
12.9%
Q4 24
-5.8%
17.4%
Q3 24
-11.2%
18.2%
Q2 24
-100.3%
15.9%
Q1 24
-11.4%
16.6%
EPS (diluted)
FWRD
FWRD
WST
WST
Q4 25
$-0.90
$1.82
Q3 25
$-0.52
$1.92
Q2 25
$-0.41
$1.82
Q1 25
$-1.68
$1.23
Q4 24
$-1.69
$1.78
Q3 24
$-2.66
$1.85
Q2 24
$-23.47
$1.51
Q1 24
$-2.81
$1.55

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

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

Metric
FWRD
FWRD
WST
WST
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$106.0M
$791.3M
Total DebtLower is stronger
$1.7B
$202.8M
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$113.3M
$3.2B
Total Assets
$2.7B
$4.3B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
14.89×
0.06×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
FWRD
FWRD
WST
WST
Q4 25
$106.0M
$791.3M
Q3 25
$140.4M
$628.5M
Q2 25
$95.1M
$509.7M
Q1 25
$116.3M
$404.2M
Q4 24
$104.9M
$484.6M
Q3 24
$136.6M
$490.9M
Q2 24
$84.9M
$446.2M
Q1 24
$152.0M
$601.8M
Total Debt
FWRD
FWRD
WST
WST
Q4 25
$1.7B
$202.8M
Q3 25
$1.7B
$202.7M
Q2 25
$202.6M
Q1 25
$202.6M
Q4 24
$202.6M
Q3 24
$202.6M
Q2 24
$205.8M
Q1 24
$1.7B
$206.2M
Stockholders' Equity
FWRD
FWRD
WST
WST
Q4 25
$113.3M
$3.2B
Q3 25
$139.8M
$3.1B
Q2 25
$151.8M
$2.9B
Q1 25
$154.6M
$2.7B
Q4 24
$201.7M
$2.7B
Q3 24
$226.1M
$2.8B
Q2 24
$283.8M
$2.6B
Q1 24
$926.1M
$2.7B
Total Assets
FWRD
FWRD
WST
WST
Q4 25
$2.7B
$4.3B
Q3 25
$2.8B
$4.1B
Q2 25
$2.8B
$4.0B
Q1 25
$2.8B
$3.6B
Q4 24
$2.8B
$3.6B
Q3 24
$3.1B
$3.7B
Q2 24
$3.1B
$3.5B
Q1 24
$4.0B
$3.6B
Debt / Equity
FWRD
FWRD
WST
WST
Q4 25
14.89×
0.06×
Q3 25
12.05×
0.07×
Q2 25
0.07×
Q1 25
0.08×
Q4 24
0.08×
Q3 24
0.07×
Q2 24
0.08×
Q1 24
1.81×
0.08×

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
WST
WST
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$251.1M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$175.0M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
21.7%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
1.3%
9.5%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
1.90×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$468.9M

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
FWRD
FWRD
WST
WST
Q4 25
$251.1M
Q3 25
$52.7M
$197.2M
Q2 25
$177.1M
Q1 25
$27.6M
$129.4M
Q4 24
$-23.2M
$190.1M
Q3 24
$51.2M
$180.1M
Q2 24
$-45.2M
$165.0M
Q1 24
$-51.7M
$118.2M
Free Cash Flow
FWRD
FWRD
WST
WST
Q4 25
$175.0M
Q3 25
$48.6M
$133.9M
Q2 25
$101.9M
Q1 25
$15.7M
$58.1M
Q4 24
$-30.5M
$85.2M
Q3 24
$40.7M
$98.8M
Q2 24
$-59.6M
$64.8M
Q1 24
$-56.7M
$27.6M
FCF Margin
FWRD
FWRD
WST
WST
Q4 25
21.7%
Q3 25
7.7%
16.6%
Q2 25
13.3%
Q1 25
2.6%
8.3%
Q4 24
-4.8%
11.4%
Q3 24
6.2%
13.2%
Q2 24
-9.3%
9.2%
Q1 24
-10.5%
4.0%
Capex Intensity
FWRD
FWRD
WST
WST
Q4 25
1.3%
9.5%
Q3 25
0.7%
7.9%
Q2 25
0.8%
9.8%
Q1 25
1.9%
10.2%
Q4 24
1.1%
14.0%
Q3 24
1.6%
10.9%
Q2 24
2.2%
14.3%
Q1 24
0.9%
13.0%
Cash Conversion
FWRD
FWRD
WST
WST
Q4 25
1.90×
Q3 25
1.41×
Q2 25
1.34×
Q1 25
1.44×
Q4 24
1.46×
Q3 24
1.32×
Q2 24
1.48×
Q1 24
1.03×

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%

WST
WST

Proprietary Products$661.8M82%
Contract Manufactured Products$143.2M18%
Affiliated Entity$3.3M0%

Related Comparisons