Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.21 EPS

Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday. The transportation company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.21, FiscalAI reports. The firm had revenue of $673.86 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $673.40 million. Forward Air had a positive return on equity of 19.03% and a negative net margin of 10.10%.

Here are the key takeaways from Forward Air’s conference call:

• Forward Air reported record quarterly revenue of $674 million and operating income of $44 million, up from $632 million and $15 million, respectively, a year earlier. Credit-agreement EBITDA rose nearly 30% to $101 million, its best result in nearly three years.
• Results improved across all three segments: Expedited Freight’s operating ratio improved to 89.2%, Omni Logistics expanded its EBITDA margin to 11.3%, and Intermodal delivered its highest revenue in more than three years. Management said demand and operating trends remained similar early in the fourth quarter, while noting typical seasonality and fewer working days.
• A new two-year agreement with a major customer retains a significant portion of the services Forward Air provides. The company said revenue from the retained services grew in 2026 and is expected to exceed the total revenue from that customer in 2025, although some services are transitioning through March 2027.
• Liquidity increased to $446 million, and leverage ended the quarter below 5x—nearly a full turn lower year over year and its lowest level in nearly three years. Operating cash flow was $35 million for the quarter, down from $53 million a year earlier, but year-to-date operating cash flow improved by $9 million.
• Forward Air paused the planned sale of its Intermodal business, saying recent performance and the sale process did not reflect its view of the business’s value. Management may revisit a sale if market conditions better support that valuation.

Forward Air Price Performance

FWRD stock opened at $18.33 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $16.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $17.38. The stock has a market cap of $579.59 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.28 and a beta of 1.31. Forward Air has a 1 year low of $7.86 and a 1 year high of $31.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.98, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.32.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on FWRD shares. Zacks Research upgraded Forward Air from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on Forward Air from $29.00 to $25.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $28.00 price objective (up from $27.00) on shares of Forward Air in a research report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings raised Forward Air from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Forward Air from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Forward Air has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $26.50.

Forward Air Company Profile

Forward Air Corporation is a transportation and logistics company that specializes in expedited freight and time-sensitive shipments. Its services include less-than-truckload transportation, truckload services, intermodal drayage, freight forwarding and other logistics solutions. The company’s ground transportation network connects major North American markets and includes services supporting air cargo shipments. Following its acquisition of Omni Logistics, Forward Air also offers international freight forwarding, customs brokerage and related supply-chain services.