vs

Side-by-side financial comparison of FORWARD AIR CORP (FWRD) and OLYMPIC STEEL INC (ZEUS). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

FORWARD AIR CORP is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($631.2M vs $490.7M, roughly 1.3× OLYMPIC STEEL INC). OLYMPIC STEEL INC runs the higher net margin — 0.4% vs -4.5%, a 4.9% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, OLYMPIC STEEL INC posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (4.4% vs -0.3%). Over the past eight quarters, FORWARD AIR CORP's revenue compounded faster (7.9% CAGR vs 0.1%).

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.

Olympic Steel, Inc. is a metals service center based in Cleveland, Ohio. The company processes and distributes carbon, coated and stainless flat-rolled sheet, coil and plate steel, aluminium alloy, tin plate, and metal-intensive branded products primarily in the United States. Metals processing and value added services include tempering, stretch leveling, cutting-to-length, slitting, edging, shearing, blanking, burning, forming, shot blasting, laser punching, plate rolling, fabricating, machi...

FWRD vs ZEUS — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
FWRD
FWRD
1.3× larger
FWRD
$631.2M
$490.7M
ZEUS
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
ZEUS
ZEUS
+4.7% gap
ZEUS
4.4%
-0.3%
FWRD
Higher net margin
ZEUS
ZEUS
4.9% more per $
ZEUS
0.4%
-4.5%
FWRD
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
FWRD
FWRD
Annualised
FWRD
7.9%
0.1%
ZEUS

Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q3 FY2025

Metric
FWRD
FWRD
ZEUS
ZEUS
Revenue
$631.2M
$490.7M
Net Profit
$-28.3M
$2.2M
Gross Margin
Operating Margin
-0.5%
1.5%
Net Margin
-4.5%
0.4%
Revenue YoY
-0.3%
4.4%
Net Profit YoY
22.2%
-21.2%
EPS (diluted)
$-0.90
$0.18

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
ZEUS
ZEUS
Q4 25
$631.2M
Q3 25
$631.8M
$490.7M
Q2 25
$618.8M
$496.5M
Q1 25
$613.3M
$492.9M
Q4 24
$632.8M
$418.8M
Q3 24
$655.9M
$470.0M
Q2 24
$643.7M
$526.3M
Q1 24
$541.8M
$526.6M
Net Profit
FWRD
FWRD
ZEUS
ZEUS
Q4 25
$-28.3M
Q3 25
$-16.3M
$2.2M
Q2 25
$-12.6M
$5.2M
Q1 25
$-50.6M
$2.5M
Q4 24
$-36.4M
$3.9M
Q3 24
$-73.4M
$2.7M
Q2 24
$-645.4M
$7.7M
Q1 24
$-61.7M
$8.7M
Operating Margin
FWRD
FWRD
ZEUS
ZEUS
Q4 25
-0.5%
Q3 25
2.4%
1.5%
Q2 25
3.2%
2.3%
Q1 25
0.8%
1.6%
Q4 24
12.0%
2.1%
Q3 24
3.5%
1.7%
Q2 24
-170.2%
2.9%
Q1 24
-12.1%
3.0%
Net Margin
FWRD
FWRD
ZEUS
ZEUS
Q4 25
-4.5%
Q3 25
-2.6%
0.4%
Q2 25
-2.0%
1.1%
Q1 25
-8.3%
0.5%
Q4 24
-5.8%
0.9%
Q3 24
-11.2%
0.6%
Q2 24
-100.3%
1.5%
Q1 24
-11.4%
1.7%
EPS (diluted)
FWRD
FWRD
ZEUS
ZEUS
Q4 25
$-0.90
Q3 25
$-0.52
$0.18
Q2 25
$-0.41
$0.45
Q1 25
$-1.68
$0.21
Q4 24
$-1.69
$0.33
Q3 24
$-2.66
$0.23
Q2 24
$-23.47
$0.66
Q1 24
$-2.81
$0.75

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

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

Metric
FWRD
FWRD
ZEUS
ZEUS
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$106.0M
$7.5M
Total DebtLower is stronger
$1.7B
$240.9M
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$113.3M
$579.1M
Total Assets
$2.7B
$1.1B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
14.89×
0.42×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
FWRD
FWRD
ZEUS
ZEUS
Q4 25
$106.0M
Q3 25
$140.4M
$7.5M
Q2 25
$95.1M
$14.8M
Q1 25
$116.3M
$13.3M
Q4 24
$104.9M
$11.9M
Q3 24
$136.6M
$11.1M
Q2 24
$84.9M
$9.4M
Q1 24
$152.0M
$10.3M
Total Debt
FWRD
FWRD
ZEUS
ZEUS
Q4 25
$1.7B
Q3 25
$1.7B
$240.9M
Q2 25
$233.2M
Q1 25
$235.4M
Q4 24
$272.5M
Q3 24
$197.3M
Q2 24
$209.2M
Q1 24
$1.7B
$196.8M
Stockholders' Equity
FWRD
FWRD
ZEUS
ZEUS
Q4 25
$113.3M
Q3 25
$139.8M
$579.1M
Q2 25
$151.8M
$578.2M
Q1 25
$154.6M
$574.2M
Q4 24
$201.7M
$573.9M
Q3 24
$226.1M
$570.6M
Q2 24
$283.8M
$569.5M
Q1 24
$926.1M
$563.0M
Total Assets
FWRD
FWRD
ZEUS
ZEUS
Q4 25
$2.7B
Q3 25
$2.8B
$1.1B
Q2 25
$2.8B
$1.1B
Q1 25
$2.8B
$1.1B
Q4 24
$2.8B
$1.0B
Q3 24
$3.1B
$1.0B
Q2 24
$3.1B
$1.0B
Q1 24
$4.0B
$1.0B
Debt / Equity
FWRD
FWRD
ZEUS
ZEUS
Q4 25
14.89×
Q3 25
12.05×
0.42×
Q2 25
0.40×
Q1 25
0.41×
Q4 24
0.47×
Q3 24
0.35×
Q2 24
0.37×
Q1 24
1.81×
0.35×

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
ZEUS
ZEUS
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$-5.4M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$-12.9M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
-2.6%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
1.3%
1.5%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
-2.50×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$41.9M

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
FWRD
FWRD
ZEUS
ZEUS
Q4 25
Q3 25
$52.7M
$-5.4M
Q2 25
$15.5M
Q1 25
$27.6M
$49.4M
Q4 24
$-23.2M
$14.6M
Q3 24
$51.2M
$24.6M
Q2 24
$-45.2M
$-2.9M
Q1 24
$-51.7M
$-2.6M
Free Cash Flow
FWRD
FWRD
ZEUS
ZEUS
Q4 25
Q3 25
$48.6M
$-12.9M
Q2 25
$6.8M
Q1 25
$15.7M
$40.6M
Q4 24
$-30.5M
$7.4M
Q3 24
$40.7M
$15.6M
Q2 24
$-59.6M
$-11.3M
Q1 24
$-56.7M
$-7.4M
FCF Margin
FWRD
FWRD
ZEUS
ZEUS
Q4 25
Q3 25
7.7%
-2.6%
Q2 25
1.4%
Q1 25
2.6%
8.2%
Q4 24
-4.8%
1.8%
Q3 24
6.2%
3.3%
Q2 24
-9.3%
-2.2%
Q1 24
-10.5%
-1.4%
Capex Intensity
FWRD
FWRD
ZEUS
ZEUS
Q4 25
1.3%
Q3 25
0.7%
1.5%
Q2 25
0.8%
1.7%
Q1 25
1.9%
1.8%
Q4 24
1.1%
1.7%
Q3 24
1.6%
1.9%
Q2 24
2.2%
1.6%
Q1 24
0.9%
0.9%
Cash Conversion
FWRD
FWRD
ZEUS
ZEUS
Q4 25
Q3 25
-2.50×
Q2 25
2.96×
Q1 25
19.70×
Q4 24
3.75×
Q3 24
9.01×
Q2 24
-0.38×
Q1 24
-0.30×

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%

ZEUS
ZEUS

Carbon Flat Products$268.2M55%
Specialty Metals Flat Products$140.9M29%
Tubular And Pipe Products$81.6M17%

Related Comparisons