FWRD vs R vs CHRW Stock Comparison

Forward Air, Ryder System and C. H. Robinson Worldwide Prices as of Nov 4, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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FWRD Forward Air Corp
$19.08 +26.6% 1M +5.2% 1Y
Market cap
$643.68M
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$2.52B
Div. yield
–
Logistics Industrials
1 win
R Ryder System Inc
$283.13 +20.0% 1M +69.2% 1Y
Market cap
$10.82B
P/E
20.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$13.08B
Div. yield
1.32%
Logistics Industrials
7 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Ryder System leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Ryder System 7, C. H. Robinson Worldwide 4, Forward Air 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionFWRDRCHRWLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $643.68M $10.82B $15.52B CHRW
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -2.2x 20.8x 23.7x R
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — 19.6x 21.9x R
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months -0.1% +3.2% +10.4% CHRW
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -11.4% 4.0% 3.7% R
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital -9.8% 7.9% 21.3% CHRW
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -115.3x 2.5x 1.7x FWRD
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 1.32% 1.88% CHRW
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +5.2% +69.2% -12.5% R
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -29.0%/yr +26.6%/yr +7.4%/yr R
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 93.5% 32.2% 45.2% R
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 19/100 52/100 43/100 R

Percentile Scorecard

FWRDRCHRW

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

AxisFWRDRCHRW
Valuation 32 #94 of 137 58 #58 of 137 25 #103 of 137
Growth 18 #105 of 127 64 #46 of 127 41 #76 of 127
Profitability 17 #104 of 125 52 #61 of 125 51 #62 of 125
Financial Health 12 #130 of 147 14 #127 of 147 37 #93 of 147
Shareholder Returns – 71 #26 of 88 63 #33 of 88
Overall 19 52 43
  • FWRD ranked among 150 companies in Transportation
  • R ranked among 150 companies in Transportation
  • CHRW ranked among 150 companies in Transportation

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodFWRDRCHRWSPY
1 month +26.6%+20.0%-4.8% -1.0%
3 months +23.8%+6.7%-12.9% -0.4%
6 months +3.9%+17.2%-20.6% +4.5%
Year to date -23.7%+47.9%-16.7% +12.4%
1 year +5.2%+69.2%-12.5% +13.6%
3 years -71.2%+180.9%+63.8% +76.4%
3 years, per year -34.0%+41.1%+17.9% +20.8%
5 years -82.0%+225.1%+42.7% +63.7%
5 years, per year -29.0%+26.6%+7.4% +10.4%
10 years -54.8%+310.6%+94.8% +267.7%
10 years, per year -7.6%+15.2%+6.9% +13.9%

Risk

MeasureFWRDRCHRWSPY
Volatility, 1Y 93.5%32.2%45.2% 12.8%
Downside volatility, 1Y 115.1%29.4%53.4% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.530.970.70 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.062.15-0.28 1.06
Max drawdown, 5Y -93.3%-28.4%-43.2% -25.4%
From 52-week high -36.9%-0.9%-36.1% -1.6%
52-week high $30.23$285.61$209.42 $779.14
52-week low $8.31$162.50$124.61 $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.

MultipleFWRDRCHRW
P/E now vs peer median -2.2xmedian 14.5x 20.8xmedian 14.5x 23.7xmedian 14.5x
P/S now vs peer median 0.3xmedian 1.0x 0.8xmedian 1.0x 0.9xmedian 1.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median -163.1xmedian 8.2x 6.4xmedian 8.2x 17.5xmedian 8.2x
P/FCF now vs peer median 13.3xmedian 12.9x 11.3xmedian 12.9x 29.9xmedian 12.9x
P/B now vs peer median -5.2xmedian 1.2x 3.6xmedian 1.2x 9.8xmedian 1.2x
PEG now vs peer median 0.04median 0.64 2.50median 0.64 1.21median 0.64

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 monthsFWRDRCHRW
Revenue $2.52B $13.08B $18.22B
Gross profit – $2.56B $2.86B
Operating income -$168.73M $1.10B $884.59M
Net income -$330.71M $520.00M $668.81M
Free cash flow $48.22M $954.00M $519.78M
EPS (diluted) $-8.81 $13.41 $5.58
Cash & equivalents $139.45M $198.00M $193.13M
Total debt $1.69B $7.21B $1.87B
Shares (diluted) 32.48M 38.79M 119.75M
Enterprise value $109.63M $10.02B $14.85B

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
MetricFWRDRCHRW
P/E -2.2x 20.8x 23.7x
P/FCF 13.3x 11.3x 29.9x
P/Operating cash flow 9.1x 4.0x 29.1x
P/S 0.3x 0.8x 0.9x
P/B -5.2x 3.6x 9.8x
P/Tangible book -0.7x 4.1x 10.1x
EV/EBITDA -163.1x 6.4x 17.5x
EV/EBIT -13.0x 16.3x 19.4x
EV/Revenue 0.9x 1.4x 0.9x
EV/FCF 45.6x 18.7x 33.1x
EV/Operating cash flow 31.0x 6.5x 32.2x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.04 2.50 1.21

Growth

14 metrics
MetricFWRDRCHRW
Revenue growth (1Y) -0.1% 3.2% 10.4%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 18.1% 3.4% -0.4%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – -0.4% 3.9%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 3.6% 1.3%
Operating income growth (1Y) -237.4% 0.3% 10.9%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -42.5% 2.3% 15.7%
Net income growth (1Y) -72.8% 3.6% 11.5%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -61.1% 2.1% 19.7%
EPS growth (1Y) -54.9% 11.2% 12.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -52.0% 8.3% 19.7%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 67.4% 13.8% -39.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -34.7% 4.9% -28.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 503.2% 1,184% -39.4%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -39.4% 47.1% -28.5%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricFWRDRCHRW
Gross margin – 19.6% 15.7%
EBITDA margin -0.5% 21.4% 5.4%
Operating margin -6.7% 8.4% 4.9%
Pretax margin -13.9% 5.4% 4.5%
Net margin -11.4% 4.0% 3.7%
FCF margin 1.9% 7.3% 2.9%
Operating cash flow margin 2.8% 20.9% 2.9%
Return on equity – 17.8% 41.7%
Return on assets -13.6% 3.2% 10.9%
Return on invested capital -9.8% 7.9% 21.3%
Return on capital employed -8.0% 8.9% 29.2%
Asset turnover 1.0x 0.8x 3.0x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -0.2x 5.3x 0.8x
Stock comp / revenue 0.4% – 0.5%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricFWRDRCHRW
Debt / assets 70.2% 44.6% 29.3%
Debt / equity -13.8x 2.4x 1.2x
Net debt / EBITDA -115.3x 2.5x 1.7x
Debt / FCF 35.1x 7.6x 3.6x
Liabilities / assets 105.1% 81.6% 75.3%
Equity / assets -5.1% 18.4% 24.7%
Interest coverage -1.0x 2.8x –
Current ratio 1.3x 0.7x 1.3x
Quick ratio 1.2x 0.6x 1.3x
Cash ratio 0.3x 0.1x 0.1x
Altman Z-score 0.64 1.65 6.84

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricFWRDRCHRW
Dividend yield – 1.3% 1.9%
Net buyback yield – 5.1% 4.1%
Shareholder yield 0.0% 6.4% 6.0%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 28.8% –
Payout ratio (FCF) – 15.7% –
Dividend growth (1Y) – 5.6% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 6.3% –

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.

ConsensusFWRDRCHRW
Forward P/E – 19.6xFY2026 21.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $-0.86FY2026 $14.45FY2026 $6.12FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – +11.8%FY2026 +20.2%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after – +30.6% +19.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $2.49BFY2026 $14.12BFY2026 $18.98BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -0.3%FY2026 +11.5%FY2026 +16.9%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +9.5% +2.3% +1.5%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersFWRDRCHRW
Held by institutions 90.3% 90.8% 100.0%
Institutions holding 189 581 893
Change in shares held, QoQ +3.5% -0.6% -1.7%
Institutions buying 118 309 446
Institutions selling 45 177 319
Buyers to sellers 2.62 1.75 1.40

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.

FWRDRCHRW
FWRD 1.00 0.36 0.22
R 0.36 1.00 0.39
CHRW 0.22 0.39 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, FWRD, R and CHRW?

C. H. Robinson Worldwide (CHRW) is the largest by market capitalisation: Forward Air (FWRD) $643.68M, Ryder System (R) $10.82B, C. H. Robinson Worldwide (CHRW) $15.52B.

Which stock is cheaper, FWRD, R and CHRW?

Ryder System (R) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Forward Air (FWRD) -2.2x, Ryder System (R) 20.8x, C. H. Robinson Worldwide (CHRW) 23.7x). On next year's consensus earnings, Ryder System (R) is cheapest (Ryder System (R) 19.6x, C. H. Robinson Worldwide (CHRW) 21.9x). 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%, Ryder System (R) +3.2%, C. H. Robinson Worldwide (CHRW) +10.4%.

Which company is more profitable?

Ryder System (R) has the highest net margin (Forward Air (FWRD) -11.4%, Ryder System (R) 4.0%, C. H. Robinson Worldwide (CHRW) 3.7%). On return on invested capital, C. H. Robinson Worldwide (CHRW) leads (Forward Air (FWRD) -9.8%, Ryder System (R) 7.9%, C. H. Robinson Worldwide (CHRW) 21.3%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Ryder System (R) returned the most: Forward Air (FWRD) +5.2%, Ryder System (R) +69.2%, C. H. Robinson Worldwide (CHRW) -12.5%. Over five years, Ryder System (R) compounded fastest (Forward Air (FWRD) -29.0%/yr, Ryder System (R) +26.6%/yr, C. H. Robinson Worldwide (CHRW) +7.4%/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%, Ryder System (R) 1.32%, C. H. Robinson Worldwide (CHRW) 1.88%. Forward Air (FWRD) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Ryder System (R) has been the steadiest (Forward Air (FWRD) 93.5%, Ryder System (R) 32.2%, C. H. Robinson Worldwide (CHRW) 45.2%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Ryder System (R) leads on 7. 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.