FWRD vs EXPD vs LSTR Stock Comparison

Forward Air, Expeditors International Of Washington and Landstar System Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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FWRD Forward Air Corp
$17.87 +19.1% 1M -7.1% 1Y
Market cap
$581.09M
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$2.52B
Div. yield
–
Logistics Industrials
1 win
LSTR Landstar System Inc
$141.37 -16.1% 1M +13.6% 1Y
Market cap
$4.82B
P/E
30.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$5.29B
Div. yield
–
Logistics Industrials
4 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Expeditors International Of Washington leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Expeditors International Of Washington 6, Landstar System 4, Forward Air 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionFWRDEXPDLSTRLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $581.09M $26.05B $4.82B EXPD
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -2.0x 28.3x 30.0x EXPD
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — 26.9x 23.0x LSTR
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months -0.1% +6.8% +10.7% LSTR
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -11.4% 7.6% 3.0% EXPD
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital -9.8% — 17.9% LSTR
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -115.3x — -1.1x FWRD
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.01% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -7.1% +68.7% +13.6% EXPD
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -29.2%/yr +10.0%/yr -4.3%/yr EXPD
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 93.5% 30.9% 40.1% EXPD
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 20/100 43/100 51/100 LSTR

Percentile Scorecard

FWRDEXPDLSTR

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

AxisFWRDEXPDLSTR
Valuation 32 #93 of 136 13 #119 of 136 26 #101 of 136
Growth 19 #98 of 121 33 #82 of 121 24 #92 of 121
Profitability 18 #92 of 112 62 #43 of 112 56 #50 of 112
Financial Health 12 #123 of 140 60 #57 of 140 86 #21 of 140
Shareholder Returns – 46 #44 of 80 63 #30 of 80
Overall 20 43 51
  • FWRD ranked among 150 companies in Transportation
  • EXPD ranked among 150 companies in Transportation
  • LSTR ranked among 150 companies in Transportation

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodFWRDEXPDLSTRSPY
1 month +19.1%+5.4%-16.1% +0.7%
3 months +25.9%+18.7%-16.5% +3.7%
6 months -15.1%+34.1%-23.2% +7.1%
Year to date -28.5%+33.1%-1.6% +12.8%
1 year -7.1%+68.7%+13.6% +11.9%
3 years -74.8%+82.0%-14.2% +85.2%
3 years, per year -36.9%+22.1%-5.0% +22.8%
5 years -82.2%+60.9%-19.6% +67.6%
5 years, per year -29.2%+10.0%-4.3% +10.9%
10 years -56.0%+286.6%+100.5% +262.0%
10 years, per year -7.9%+14.5%+7.2% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureFWRDEXPDLSTRSPY
Volatility, 1Y 93.5%30.9%40.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 114.8%33.2%46.4% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.540.490.67 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.082.220.34 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -93.3%-36.0%-41.2% -25.4%
From 52-week high -40.9%-0.7%-37.3% -1.2%
52-week high $30.23$199.65$225.37 $779.14
52-week low $8.31$117.57$121.51 $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.

MultipleFWRDEXPDLSTR
P/E now vs peer median -2.0xmedian 16.5x 28.3xmedian 16.5x 29.9xmedian 16.5x
P/S now vs peer median 0.2xmedian 0.9x 2.1xmedian 0.9x 0.9xmedian 0.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median -160.0xmedian 8.8x 20.0xmedian 8.8x 17.5xmedian 8.8x
P/FCF now vs peer median 12.5xmedian 11.9x 27.9xmedian 11.9x 30.2xmedian 11.9x
P/B now vs peer median -4.9xmedian 1.2x 12.2xmedian 1.2x 5.7xmedian 1.2x
PEG now vs peer median 0.04median 0.84 241.31median 0.84 -1.74median 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 monthsFWRDEXPDLSTR
Revenue $2.52B $12.04B $5.29B
Gross profit – $3.94B –
Operating income -$168.73M $1.18B $214.56M
Net income -$330.71M $921.33M $160.38M
Free cash flow $48.22M $923.86M $157.62M
EPS (diluted) $-8.81 $6.99 $4.73
Cash & equivalents $139.45M $1.03B $297.32M
Total debt $1.69B – $68.71M
Shares (diluted) 32.48M 131.37M 33.87M
Enterprise value $54.27M $21.19B $3.26B

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
MetricFWRDEXPDLSTR
P/E -2.0x 28.3x 29.9x
P/FCF 12.5x 27.9x 30.2x
P/Operating cash flow 8.5x 26.5x 27.8x
P/S 0.2x 2.1x 0.9x
P/B -4.9x 12.2x 5.7x
P/Tangible book -0.6x 12.2x 5.7x
EV/EBITDA -160.0x 20.0x 17.5x
EV/EBIT -12.8x 20.9x 20.9x
EV/Revenue 0.9x 2.1x 0.8x
EV/FCF 44.7x 26.8x 28.4x
EV/Operating cash flow 30.4x 25.5x 26.2x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.04 241.31 -1.74

Growth

14 metrics
MetricFWRDEXPDLSTR
Revenue growth (1Y) -0.1% 6.8% 10.7%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 18.1% -1.6% -2.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 8.5% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 0.5% –
Operating income growth (1Y) -237.4% 6.0% 19.3%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -42.5% -5.0% -18.3%
Net income growth (1Y) -72.8% 7.9% 16.8%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -61.1% -4.3% -18.8%
EPS growth (1Y) -54.9% 12.0% 19.3%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -52.0% 0.1% -17.2%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 67.4% 12.9% -19.6%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -34.7% -19.5% -29.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 503.2% 14.0% -20.7%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -39.4% -20.0% -30.5%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricFWRDEXPDLSTR
Gross margin – 32.7% –
EBITDA margin -0.5% 10.3% 4.8%
Operating margin -6.7% 9.8% 4.1%
Pretax margin -13.9% 10.2% 4.0%
Net margin -11.4% 7.6% 3.0%
FCF margin 1.9% 7.7% 3.0%
Operating cash flow margin 2.8% 8.1% 3.2%
Return on equity – 41.8% 19.2%
Return on assets -13.6% 18.6% 9.0%
Return on invested capital -9.8% – 17.9%
Return on capital employed -8.0% 49.3% 21.3%
Asset turnover 1.0x 2.4x 3.0x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -0.2x 1.1x 1.1x
Stock comp / revenue 0.4% 0.6% 0.2%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricFWRDEXPDLSTR
Debt / assets 70.2% – 3.8%
Debt / equity -13.8x – 0.1x
Net debt / EBITDA -115.3x – -1.1x
Debt / FCF 35.1x – 0.4x
Liabilities / assets 105.1% 58.7% 54.1%
Equity / assets -5.1% 41.3% 45.9%
Interest coverage -1.0x – 111.1x
Current ratio 1.3x 1.6x 1.8x
Quick ratio 1.2x 1.4x 1.7x
Cash ratio 0.3x 0.4x 0.5x
Altman Z-score 0.63 9.21 8.93

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricFWRDEXPDLSTR
Dividend yield – 0.8% 2.6%
Net buyback yield – 3.2% 2.1%
Shareholder yield 0.0% 4.0% 4.7%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 34.0% –
Payout ratio (FCF) – 33.9% –
Dividend growth (1Y) – 1.6% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – -0.3% –

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.

ConsensusFWRDEXPDLSTR
Forward P/E – 26.9xFY2026 23.0xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $-0.86FY2026 $7.38FY2026 $6.15FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – +24.0%FY2026 +85.8%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after – +6.9% +27.8%
Revenue, next fiscal year $2.49BFY2026 $12.65BFY2026 $5.45BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -0.3%FY2026 +14.3%FY2026 +15.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +9.5% +10.2% +17.6%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersFWRDEXPDLSTR
Held by institutions 90.3% 96.4% 100.0%
Institutions holding 189 960 544
Change in shares held, QoQ +3.5% -0.7% -2.8%
Institutions buying 118 449 297
Institutions selling 45 356 153
Buyers to sellers 2.62 1.26 1.94

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.

FWRDEXPDLSTR
FWRD 1.00 0.14 0.17
EXPD 0.14 1.00 0.53
LSTR 0.17 0.53 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, FWRD, EXPD and LSTR?

Expeditors International Of Washington (EXPD) is the largest by market capitalisation: Forward Air (FWRD) $581.09M, Expeditors International Of Washington (EXPD) $26.05B, Landstar System (LSTR) $4.82B.

Which stock is cheaper, FWRD, EXPD and LSTR?

Expeditors International Of Washington (EXPD) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Forward Air (FWRD) -2.0x, Expeditors International Of Washington (EXPD) 28.3x, Landstar System (LSTR) 30.0x). On next year's consensus earnings, Landstar System (LSTR) is cheapest (Expeditors International Of Washington (EXPD) 26.9x, Landstar System (LSTR) 23.0x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Landstar System (LSTR) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Forward Air (FWRD) -0.1%, Expeditors International Of Washington (EXPD) +6.8%, Landstar System (LSTR) +10.7%.

Which company is more profitable?

Expeditors International Of Washington (EXPD) has the highest net margin (Forward Air (FWRD) -11.4%, Expeditors International Of Washington (EXPD) 7.6%, Landstar System (LSTR) 3.0%). On return on invested capital, Landstar System (LSTR) leads (Forward Air (FWRD) -9.8%, Landstar System (LSTR) 17.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Expeditors International Of Washington (EXPD) returned the most: Forward Air (FWRD) -7.1%, Expeditors International Of Washington (EXPD) +68.7%, Landstar System (LSTR) +13.6%. Over five years, Expeditors International Of Washington (EXPD) compounded fastest (Forward Air (FWRD) -29.2%/yr, Expeditors International Of Washington (EXPD) +10.0%/yr, Landstar System (LSTR) -4.3%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Forward Air (FWRD) 0.00%, Expeditors International Of Washington (EXPD) 0.01%, Landstar System (LSTR) 0.00%. Forward Air (FWRD) and Landstar System (LSTR) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Expeditors International Of Washington (EXPD) has been the steadiest (Forward Air (FWRD) 93.5%, Expeditors International Of Washington (EXPD) 30.9%, Landstar System (LSTR) 40.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, FWRD, EXPD and LSTR?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Expeditors International Of Washington (EXPD) 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.