Forensic Analysis · General / Diversified · as of Jun 28, 2026
FORWARD AIR CORP (FWRD)
A forensic read on FORWARD AIR CORP built from its complete SEC filings — financial-health screens, earnings quality, red flags and a price-aware rating. Reproducible math, not opinion.
B · Sound & dependable
Forensic grade
Distress
Financial health
-0.2
Altman Z-score
Clean
Earnings quality
4
Forensic signals
-75.3%
ROE
$470M
Market cap
1.48%
Dividend yield
FORWARD AIR CORP earns a B (Sound & dependable) forensic quality grade, and its Altman Z-score is -0.2, placing it in the Distress zone. 4 forensic signals were flagged in its latest SEC filings, led by return on invested capital.
What the filings flag
1%Return on invested capital.Return on invested capital is 1% and slipping from 18% — well below its ~9% cost of capital, so reinvested dollars may be destroying value, not building it.
+4.7%/yrShare-count dilution.Diluted share count changed +14% over the last 3 years to FY2025 (+4.7%/yr). The count is GROWING — existing holders are being diluted. That's ~4.7% shaved off per-share growth every year — total profit has to grow that much just to keep earnings-per-share flat, and a stake held since FY2022 has been diluted ~14%.
suspendedDividend — suspended.The dividend has been SUSPENDED — $25M paid in FY2023, then $0 in FY2025. A suspension is a major signal the board is conserving cash; the prior payment history doesn't offset it.
$1.0BGoodwill impairments.Took $1.0B of goodwill writedowns across 1 year(s) (FY2024 ($1.0B)). Writedowns mean past acquisitions underperformed what was paid for them — worth weighing on capital-allocation skill.
Key fundamentals
Net Margin-4.3%
Free Cash Flow$129.9M
Latest Revenue$2.50B
Revenue Growth YoY+0.8%
Go deeper — free with an account
The forensic grade and screens above are free — no account needed. An account adds the full interactive deep-dive on FORWARD AIR CORP:
🔒The written investment read — what the numbers mean, in plain English
🔒Ask anything about FWRD's filings — AI Q&A across the 10-K, 10-Qs & 8-Ks
🔒Interactive valuation — reverse-DCF sliders, Monte Carlo & scenario stress
🔒Calibrated 12-month price forecast, with the math shown