FWRD vs CHRW vs RBA Stock Comparison

Forward Air, C. H. Robinson Worldwide and Rb Global Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
FWRD Forward Air Corp
$17.87 +19.1% 1M -7.1% 1Y
Market cap
$602.86M
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$2.52B
Div. yield
–
Logistics Industrials
1 win
RBA Rb Global Inc.
$88.29 +8.5% 1M -11.6% 1Y
Market cap
$16.34B
P/E
37.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$4.85B
Div. yield
1.43%
Logistics Industrials
5 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

C. H. Robinson Worldwide leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (C. H. Robinson Worldwide 6, Rb Global 5, Forward Air 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionFWRDCHRWRBALeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $602.86M $14.92B $16.34B RBA
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -2.0x 22.6x 37.6x CHRW
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — 20.8x 21.2x CHRW
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months -0.1% +10.4% +9.7% CHRW
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -11.4% — 9.0% RBA
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital -9.8% — 7.4% RBA
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -115.3x — 1.8x FWRD
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 1.98% 1.43% CHRW
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -7.1% -1.5% -11.6% CHRW
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -29.2%/yr +5.6%/yr +5.3%/yr CHRW
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 93.5% 48.4% 33.9% RBA
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 20/100 36/100 43/100 RBA

Percentile Scorecard

FWRDCHRWRBA

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisFWRDCHRWRBA
Valuation 32 #93 of 136 27 #100 of 136 22 #107 of 136
Growth 19 #98 of 121 53 #58 of 121 74 #32 of 121
Profitability 18 #92 of 112 41 #66 of 112 46 #61 of 112
Financial Health 12 #123 of 140 22 #110 of 140 48 #74 of 140
Shareholder Returns – 35 #52 of 80 27 #59 of 80
Overall 20 36 43
  • FWRD ranked among 150 companies in Transportation
  • CHRW ranked among 150 companies in Transportation
  • RBA ranked among 150 companies in Transportation

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodFWRDCHRWRBASPY
1 month +19.1%-14.9%+8.5% +0.7%
3 months +25.9%-13.3%-19.8% +3.7%
6 months -15.1%-29.9%-15.3% +7.1%
Year to date -28.5%-20.7%-14.2% +12.8%
1 year -7.1%-1.5%-11.6% +11.9%
3 years -74.8%+58.1%+38.7% +85.2%
3 years, per year -36.9%+16.5%+11.5% +22.8%
5 years -82.2%+31.4%+29.2% +67.6%
5 years, per year -29.2%+5.6%+5.3% +10.9%
10 years -56.0%+88.5%+156.1% +262.0%
10 years, per year -7.9%+6.5%+9.9% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureFWRDCHRWRBASPY
Volatility, 1Y 93.5%48.4%33.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 114.8%53.1%40.3% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.540.550.77 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.08-0.03-0.34 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -93.3%-43.2%-33.0% -25.4%
From 52-week high -40.9%-39.2%-25.9% -1.2%
52-week high $30.23$209.42$119.14 $779.14
52-week low $8.31$127.43$79.80 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleFWRDCHRWRBA
P/E now vs peer median -2.0xmedian 16.5x 22.6xmedian 16.5x 37.6xmedian 16.5x
P/S now vs peer median 0.2xmedian 0.9x 0.8xmedian 0.9x 3.4xmedian 0.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median -160.0xmedian 8.8x —median 8.8x 14.5xmedian 8.8x
P/FCF now vs peer median 12.5xmedian 11.9x 26.2xmedian 11.9x 26.7xmedian 11.9x
P/B now vs peer median -4.9xmedian 1.2x 9.4xmedian 1.2x 2.9xmedian 1.2x
PEG now vs peer median 0.04median 0.84 1.15median 0.84 0.78median 0.84

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsFWRDCHRWRBA
Revenue $2.52B $18.22B $4.85B
Gross profit – – $1.18B
Operating income -$168.73M $884.59M $777.60M
Net income -$330.71M $668.81M $484.40M
Free cash flow $48.22M – $611.20M
EPS (diluted) $-8.81 $5.58 $2.33
Cash & equivalents $139.45M $193.13M $524.90M
Total debt $1.69B – $2.90B
Shares (diluted) 32.48M 119.75M 186.90M
Enterprise value $68.81M $14.92B $13.94B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricFWRDCHRWRBA
P/E -2.0x 22.6x 37.6x
P/FCF 12.5x 26.2x 26.7x
P/Operating cash flow 8.5x 27.9x 19.0x
P/S 0.2x 0.8x 3.4x
P/B -4.9x 9.4x 2.9x
P/Tangible book -0.6x 9.4x 5.1x
EV/EBITDA -160.0x – 14.5x
EV/EBIT -12.8x – 24.1x
EV/Revenue 0.9x 0.8x 3.9x
EV/FCF 44.7x – 30.6x
EV/Operating cash flow 30.4x 27.9x 21.8x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.04 1.15 0.78

Growth

14 metrics
MetricFWRDCHRWRBA
Revenue growth (1Y) -0.1% 10.4% 9.7%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 18.1% -0.4% 25.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – -41.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – -2.8%
Operating income growth (1Y) -237.4% 10.9% 5.3%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -42.5% 15.7% 39.9%
Net income growth (1Y) -72.8% 11.5% 15.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -61.1% 19.7% 48.8%
EPS growth (1Y) -54.9% 12.9% 15.5%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -52.0% 19.7% 48.1%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 67.4% -39.1% -9.7%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -34.7% -28.5% 39.8%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 503.2% – -15.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -39.4% – 46.3%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricFWRDCHRWRBA
Gross margin – – 24.3%
EBITDA margin -0.5% – 26.6%
Operating margin -6.7% – 16.0%
Pretax margin -13.9% – 12.5%
Net margin -11.4% – 9.0%
FCF margin 1.9% – 12.6%
Operating cash flow margin 2.8% 2.9% 17.8%
Return on equity – – 8.6%
Return on assets -13.6% – 3.9%
Return on invested capital -9.8% – 7.4%
Return on capital employed -8.0% – 7.1%
Asset turnover 1.0x 3.0x 0.4x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -0.2x 0.8x 1.8x
Stock comp / revenue 0.4% 0.5% 1.2%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricFWRDCHRWRBA
Debt / assets 70.2% – 23.3%
Debt / equity -13.8x – 0.5x
Net debt / EBITDA -115.3x – 1.8x
Debt / FCF 35.1x – 4.8x
Liabilities / assets 105.1% 75.3% 55.4%
Equity / assets -5.1% 24.7% 44.6%
Interest coverage -1.0x – 4.3x
Current ratio 1.3x 1.3x 1.3x
Quick ratio 1.2x – 1.0x
Cash ratio 0.3x – 0.4x
Altman Z-score 0.63 – 2.21

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricFWRDCHRWRBA
Dividend yield – 2.0% 1.4%
Net buyback yield – – 0.6%
Shareholder yield 0.0% 2.0% 2.0%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – 55.0%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – 43.6%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – 0.3%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – 0.9%

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusFWRDCHRWRBA
Forward P/E – 20.8xFY2026 21.2xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $-0.86FY2026 $6.12FY2026 $4.17FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – +20.2%FY2026 +4.8%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after – +19.0% +22.1%
Revenue, next fiscal year $2.49BFY2026 $18.98BFY2026 $5.33BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -0.3%FY2026 +16.9%FY2026 +16.7%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +9.5% +1.5% -6.9%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersFWRDCHRWRBA
Held by institutions 90.3% 100.0% 96.6%
Institutions holding 189 892 557
Change in shares held, QoQ +3.5% -1.7% +2.6%
Institutions buying 118 445 276
Institutions selling 45 319 185
Buyers to sellers 2.62 1.39 1.49

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

FWRDCHRWRBA
FWRD 1.00 0.22 0.16
CHRW 0.22 1.00 0.32
RBA 0.16 0.32 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, FWRD, CHRW and RBA?

Rb Global (RBA) is the largest by market capitalisation: Forward Air (FWRD) $602.86M, C. H. Robinson Worldwide (CHRW) $14.92B, Rb Global (RBA) $16.34B.

Which stock is cheaper, FWRD, CHRW and RBA?

C. H. Robinson Worldwide (CHRW) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Forward Air (FWRD) -2.0x, C. H. Robinson Worldwide (CHRW) 22.6x, Rb Global (RBA) 37.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, C. H. Robinson Worldwide (CHRW) is cheapest (C. H. Robinson Worldwide (CHRW) 20.8x, Rb Global (RBA) 21.2x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

C. H. Robinson Worldwide (CHRW) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Forward Air (FWRD) -0.1%, C. H. Robinson Worldwide (CHRW) +10.4%, Rb Global (RBA) +9.7%.

Which company is more profitable?

Rb Global (RBA) has the highest net margin (Forward Air (FWRD) -11.4%, Rb Global (RBA) 9.0%). On return on invested capital, Rb Global (RBA) leads (Forward Air (FWRD) -9.8%, Rb Global (RBA) 7.4%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year C. H. Robinson Worldwide (CHRW) returned the most: Forward Air (FWRD) -7.1%, C. H. Robinson Worldwide (CHRW) -1.5%, Rb Global (RBA) -11.6%. Over five years, C. H. Robinson Worldwide (CHRW) compounded fastest (Forward Air (FWRD) -29.2%/yr, C. H. Robinson Worldwide (CHRW) +5.6%/yr, Rb Global (RBA) +5.3%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

C. H. Robinson Worldwide (CHRW) has the highest dividend yield: Forward Air (FWRD) 0.00%, C. H. Robinson Worldwide (CHRW) 1.98%, Rb Global (RBA) 1.43%. Forward Air (FWRD) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Rb Global (RBA) has been the steadiest (Forward Air (FWRD) 93.5%, C. H. Robinson Worldwide (CHRW) 48.4%, Rb Global (RBA) 33.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, FWRD, CHRW and RBA?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, C. H. Robinson Worldwide (CHRW) leads on 6. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.