Earnings call transcript: Forward Air Q2 2025 reports revenue drop, stock slides

Forward Air Corporation (FWRD) reported its second-quarter 2025 earnings, revealing a decline in revenue and a notable drop in stock price. The company posted a consolidated revenue of $619 million, representing a 3.9% decrease year-over-year. The stock reacted by falling 5.55% to close at $30.25, amidst broader market pressures and investor concerns about future performance. According to InvestingPro data, the company operates with a significant debt burden, with a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.92x, while its overall financial health score indicates weakness. The stock is currently trading near its InvestingPro Fair Value.

Key Takeaways

• Forward Air’s Q2 2025 revenue fell by 3.9% year-over-year to $619 million.
• The company’s EPS forecast was missed, leading to a 5.2% drop in stock price during the earnings call.
• The integration of Forward Air and Omni Logistics networks has been completed.
• Strategic focus remains on margin expansion and customer-specific pricing.
• Liquidity stands strong with $368 million available.

Company Performance

Forward Air’s performance in Q2 2025 highlighted ongoing challenges within the logistics sector. Despite a decrease in revenue, the company reported an adjusted EBITDA of $74 million, maintaining a margin of 11.9%. The integration of networks and strategic pricing initiatives were key operational focuses. However, the muted transportation volumes and broader market uncertainties have posed challenges.

Financial Highlights

• Revenue: $619 million, down 3.9% year-over-year
• Adjusted EBITDA: $74 million, 11.9% margin
• Cash from operations: $14 million, a significant improvement from last year’s $97 million deficit
• Total liquidity: $368 million, comprising $95 million in cash and $273 million in revolver availability

Earnings vs. Forecast

Forward Air’s Q2 2025 earnings per share (EPS) missed forecasts, which had anticipated a figure of -$0.2317. The revenue also fell short of the $640.35 million forecast, resulting in a negative market reaction. The stock price decreased by 5.2% during the earnings call, reflecting investor disappointment.

Market Reaction

The stock closed at $30.25, a decline of 5.55% from its previous close. This movement was influenced by the earnings miss and broader sector challenges. Despite a brief aftermarket recovery, with a 1.98% increase, investor sentiment remained cautious.

Outlook & Guidance

Looking forward, Forward Air aims to complete its company transformation by the end of next year, focusing on margin expansion and strategic customer pricing. The company has set revenue forecasts for upcoming quarters, with expectations of gradual improvement. However, the EPS forecasts for the next few quarters remain modest, reflecting ongoing market pressures.

Executive Commentary

CEO Sean Stewart emphasized the company’s commitment to transforming into a world-class logistics organization. CFO Jamie Pearson highlighted the strategic focus on leveraging existing customer relationships to drive growth, stating, "The cheapest dollar to win is the customer that you already have."

Risks and Challenges

• Continued muted transportation volumes could impact revenue growth.
• Macro risks, including potential tariff impacts, may affect consumer confidence.
• The logistics sector faces uncertainty, impacting market conditions.
• Competitive pressures from other logistics providers remain a challenge.
• Maintaining profitability while expanding margins is crucial for future success.

Q&A

During the earnings call, analysts questioned Forward Air’s approach to strategic pricing and its impact on profitability. Executives reiterated their focus on disciplined business practices and the potential for incremental revenue through enhanced customer relationships. The company’s cautious approach to market conditions was a recurring theme.

Full transcript - Forward Air Corporation (FWRD) Q2 2025:

Conference Call Operator: Welcome to the Ford Air Second Quarter twenty twenty five Earnings Conference Call. At this time, all participants have been placed on a listen only mode and the floor will be open for your questions following the presentation. I would now like to turn the call over to Tony Carino, Senior Vice President of Treasury and Investor Relations.

Tony Carino, Senior Vice President of Treasury and Investor Relations, Forward Air: Thank you, operator, and good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to Forward Air’s second quarter twenty twenty five earnings conference call. With us this afternoon are Sean Stewart, Chief Executive Officer and Jamie Pearson, Chief Financial Officer. By now, you should have received the press release announcing Forward Air’s second quarter twenty twenty five results, which was also furnished to the SEC on Form eight ks. We have also furnished a slide presentation outlining second quarter twenty twenty five earnings highlights and a business update.

Both the press release and slide presentation for this call are accessible on the Investor Relations section of Forward Air’s website at forwardair.com. Please be aware that certain statements in the company’s earnings release announcement and on the conference call are forward looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. This includes statements which are based on expectations, intentions and projections regarding the company’s future performance, anticipated events or trends and other matters that are not historical facts, including statements regarding our fiscal year 2025. These statements are not a guarantee of future performance and are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward looking statements. For additional information concerning these risks and factors, please refer to our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and the press release and slide presentation relating to this earnings call.

Listeners are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward looking statements as of the date of this call. The company undertakes no obligation to update any forward looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless required by law. During the call, there may also be a discussion of financial metrics that do not S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles or GAAP.

Management uses non GAAP measures internally to understand, manage and evaluate our business and make operating decisions. Definitions and reconciliations of these non GAAP measures to their most directly comparable GAAP measures are included in today’s press release and slide presentation. I will now turn the call over to Sean.

Sean Stewart, Chief Executive Officer, Forward Air: Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining us. I would like to begin today’s call by recognizing recent awards that highlight our team’s outstanding customer service, operational excellence and unwavering commitment to our partners. Omni Logistics was honored as the 2024 International and Domestic Forwarder of the Year by doTERRA International. This marks the first time a single logistics partner has received both distinctions from doTERRA, underscoring Omni’s leadership and performance across the board. GLT Logistics selected Forward Air as the Commitment to Excellence Carrier of the Year for 2024.

This award underscores Ford’s performance, service and commitment to customer success and highlights the trust built within the strong business relationship. Our Omni Logistics team in Asia was recognized with an award from Advanced Micro Devices for their agility and responsiveness during a significant demand surge in late twenty twenty four. The team successfully managed an overflow while maintaining the high service standards that we are known for. These honors are a reminder of the belief that and trust that our customers have in our company. They reflect the dedication of our people whose efforts continue to drive our reputation for excellence.

As our global presence grows, it’s clear that our focus on service, speed and reliability is making a lasting impact. While managing through the challenges of the current freight recession, we plan to continue demonstrating our unwavering commitment to our customers by strengthening relationships and consistently delivering value added services that matter. We believe this approach will benefit our customers, employees and investors over the long term. Turning to the quarterly results. We had another solid operational quarter with consolidated EBITDA, which is calculated pursuant to our credit agreement, of $74,000,000 compared to $69,000,000 in the first quarter of this year.

Consolidated EBITDA in the second quarter of last year was $89,000,000 Going forward, the quarterly results will be more comparable as the historical quarterly pro form a and synergy savings roll off, the quality of our earnings should also continue to improve. To that point, adjusted EBITDA in the second quarter was also $74,000,000 compared to $69,000,000 in the first quarter of this year. On a year over year basis, adjusted EBITDA improved by $1,000,000 compared to $73,000,000 in the second quarter of last year. At the Expedited Freight segment, we continue to make progress. As previously communicated, one of the first steps our management team took to improve financial performance was to take corrective actions on the pricing.

After concluding the necessary diligence, we implemented those actions in the 2024 and completed them in the first quarter of this year. Following these actions, although tonnage is down, we have significantly improved reported EBITDA and margin at the Expedited Trace segment. Reported EBITDA has grown from $18,000,000 in the 2024 to $30,000,000 in the 2025, and the margin has improved by 500 basis points from 6.6% to 11.6%. The 11.6% is the highest this segment has reported since the 2023. We were able to achieve these operating efficiencies and margins in a down market by optimizing pricing and tightly managing all discretionary expenses, rationalizing every dollar and focusing on having the right type of freight in our network at the right price.

We believe the variable nature and flexibility of our network positions us incredibly well for when the market normalizes. Based on actual past results, we know there is additional opportunity to improve the expedited freight segment’s margin. We also know that we need to grow volume in the network. As with most LTL networks, our network thrives in a tighter market. There is always more we can do to reduce cost.

However, we are not willing to compromise the high quality of service that we are known for and our customers have come to expect from us. The expedited freight network includes one of the largest expedited LTL networks in North America and is an industry leader in serving time critical and high value freight. In conditions such as this, it takes discipline not to sacrifice service, and we believe the quality of service we provide will be the driver of growth and ultimately pricing and profitability in the future. At the OmniLogistics segment, we continue to build momentum, and I am excited about the progress that we are seeing. On a year over year basis, we grew revenue $16,000,000 to $328,000,000 in the second quarter.

Sequentially, from the first quarter to the second quarter of this year, reported EBITDA increased from $26,000,000 to $30,000,000 and the margin improved by 110 basis points from 7.9% to 9%. On a year over year basis, reported EBITDA improved from $20,000,000 in the second quarter of last year to $30,000,000 this year, which is a 47% increase. The margin also improved from 6.4% to 9% compared to the same period a year ago. The intermodal segment remains a consistent performer in a turbulent and unpredictable market. Reported EBITDA in the 2025 was $9,000,000 and generally in line with the 9,000,000 to $10,000,000 of reported EBITDA in each of the last four quarters.

In closing, as we begin the second half of the year, the logistics industry remains in a state of flux, shaped by macro risk, chiefly surrounded tariffs and their potential impact on consumer confidence, as well as ensuing demand on resulting global freight flows. Overall, transportation volumes remain muted as the uncertainty clouds visibility for the rest of 2025 and as long as the global uncertainty lingers. Regardless of the macro environment, we remain focused on continuing the progress we have made over the last year. We remain committed to our strategy and are on the path to transform the company into a world class logistics organization. This includes streamlining and simplifying our global structure as it positions us for future growth.

We are incredibly excited about what the long term future holds for our company, and we believe we are well positioned to outgrow the market once the freight environment normalizes. With that, I will turn this call over to Jamie to go through the results for the second quarter.

Jamie Pearson, Chief Financial Officer, Forward Air: Thanks, Sean, and good afternoon, everyone. Before jumping into the script, I just want to note that this quarter marks our first clean quarterly year over year comparison since closing the transaction of last year. It has been an absolutely crazy year, but we have accomplished a ton. And going forward, we at least will have the ability to more cleanly compare year over year results. Beginning with the consolidated revenue, in the second quarter, we reported $619,000,000 compared to $644,000,000 in the prior year.

The 3.9% decrease is primarily attributable to a decrease in revenue at the Expedited Freight segment, partially offset by an increase in revenue at the OmniLogistics segment. On a sequential basis, second quarter consolidated revenue increased 1% compared to the $613,000,000 in the first quarter of the year. As for the revenue at our three reporting segments, Expedited Freight, Omni Logistics and Intermodal, revenue at the Expedited Freight segment decreased $34,000,000 or 11.5% to $258,000,000 from the previous year’s comparable quarter of $291,000,000 The decrease was driven by a 12.7% decrease in year over year tonnage per day that was partially offset by a 1.8% increase in the revenue per hundredweight excluding fuel. At the OmniLogistics segment, revenue in the second quarter increased by $16,000,000 to $328,000,000 compared to the $312,000,000 a year ago. The increase was driven by an increase in demand for our services, specifically in the contract logistics area.

Revenue in the intermodal segment of $59,000,000 was flat compared to a year ago. An increase in revenue per shipment of 4.4 was largely offset by a 4% decrease in the number of drayage shipments. As you heard from Sean, adjusted EBITDA was $74,000,000 or an 11.9% margin in the second quarter of this year compared to the $73,000,000 or 11.3 percent margin a year ago. Consolidated EBITDA as defined in our credit agreement was $74,000,000 or again an 11.9% margin compared to $89,000,000 or 13.8% margin a year ago. On an LTM basis, consolidated EBITDA was $298,000,000 As usual, we have detailed the information used to build up adjusted and consolidated EBITDA results on Page 29 of the presentation.

Turning to cash flow, cash and liquidity. We reported $13,000,000 in cash used by operations in the second quarter, which was a $32,000,000 improvement compared to the $45,000,000 in cash used by operations a year ago. For the 2025, we reported $14,000,000 of cash provided by operations, which is in a $111,000,000 improvement compared to the $97,000,000 used by operations in the same period a year ago. As for liquidity, we ended the second quarter with $368,000,000 in total liquidity comprised of $95,000,000 in cash and $273,000,000 in availability under the revolver. The $25,000,000 sequential decrease in total liquidity from $393,000,000 in the first quarter includes a $34,000,000 semiannual interest payment on our senior secured notes that we pay in April and October of each year.

And as usual, I’d like to leave you with a few additional thoughts for the quarter. And the first one you can file under the header of beating a dead horse, but as Sean stated in his intro, the quality of earnings is continuing to improve the further we get away from the noise of transaction. We haven’t had any pro form a synergy or pro form a savings add backs in either of the last two quarters. As the historical add backs in the transaction continue to roll off, we expect a difference of what you would normally define as adjusted EBITDA and consolidated EBITDA that we had been reporting to continue to narrow. The add backs that we anticipate going forward will be more of a normal non recurring and non cash type that you would expect under a non GAAP definition of adjusted EBITDA.

Moving to the second point, which will logically lead us to the third, is our sequential quarter over quarter improvement in margins and consolidated EBITDA. Our recently enacted pricing strategy combined with our stringent cost and expense control efforts, especially at the Expedited Freight segment have led to a sequential increase in consolidated EBITDA. The logical extension of increased consolidated EBITDA leads us to 0.3, which is our continued focus on cash generation and conversion thereof. Cash provided by operations has significantly improved in the first half of the year compared to a year ago. If you’ll refer to Page 20 of the earnings presentation, you will see that on a non GAAP basis, we are consistently generating approximately $40,000,000 to $50,000,000 a quarter in unlevered operating cash flow.

Next is our unwavering commitment to service even in a soft market. When you invest in Ford, you are investing in a very unique portfolio of logistics and transportation assets, all unified by a shared dedication to customer service. We believe if you provide the world class service that we do, financial results will follow. Providing excellent service is a significant investment, often costly and time consuming. However, the good news is we have already made that investment.

It is in our DNA and it is in the core of everything that we do. We have continued to optimize our LTL network, which is known as North America’s leading expedited network. With the more optimized network and with all things being equal, each incremental shipment that we drop into the network has a higher margin than the previous one. And penultimately, as we’ve shared with you in prior calls, the integration of the networks is complete and we over delivered on the previously committed synergies. As we have also shared with you, we are transitioning from integration to the more longer term transformation of the combined companies, which we anticipate to be complete by the end of next year.

To that end, we will continue to tightly manage all expenses, inclusive of the rationalization of the systems and support that we will need once the transformation is complete. More to come in the future, but just wanted everyone to be aware of our continued effort to right size the expense base commensurate with the support needed to continue to serve our customers. And finally, the strategic alternative review launched earlier this year is progressing. As such, before you ask and I hope you’re listening, we do not plan to update the market on the details of the process advances. If and when there is anything of substance to report, we will let you know.

More importantly, we do not expect the process to take away from our commitment and focus on running the business. Our goal is to continue delivering the same award winning services and solutions to our customers as we have in the past. I will now turn the mic back over to Sean for closing comments before Q and A.

Sean Stewart, Chief Executive Officer, Forward Air: Thank you, Jamie. In closing, I am proud of our team for their continued commitment and focus on the customer, executing operationally and tightly managing cost. Amidst an uncertain macroeconomic landscape, I am confident that we possess a robust platform poised to drive sustainable growth. Together, we remain steadfast in our commitment to deliver tangible value for our customers, fostering opportunities for our team and creating lasting value for our shareholders. As Jamie said earlier, and I want to reiterate, when investing in Forward Air, you are investing in a unique portfolio of logistics assets.

I will now turn the call over to the operator to take questions. Operator?

Conference Call Operator: Our first question is coming from Bruce Chan with Stifel. Your line is open.

Matt Milasch, Analyst, Stifel: Good afternoon, gentlemen. This is Matt Milasch on for Bruce. Thanks for taking our questions this evening. Just to start here with respect to Omni, would you be able to provide an update on specific commercial synergy efforts taking place there? Perhaps what’s going right so far?

Where the key areas of focus now are? And perhaps any updated expectations that you might have on the timing of how these efforts might start to ramp more meaningfully through the P and L? Thanks.

Sean Stewart, Chief Executive Officer, Forward Air: Sure, Matt. Thank We hired a new Chief Commercial Officer earlier part of this year and Eric’s really got the team humming on both legacy organizations. And not only is everybody laser focused on their product value streams, but consistently on the omni side really working on the synergy selling of all of our great products around the world and that focus is really starting to take hold. So majority of that is coming from working with the team, enabling the sales team, supporting them with laser focused on how and where to grow in the best interest of the combined organization.

Matt Milasch, Analyst, Stifel: Great. Thanks, Sean. That’s helpful. And then I know Jamie prefaced this in his remarks, but with respect to the strategic review, is there any perhaps anything on increased activity and inbound interest in any of the lines of business? Or perhaps how the current M and A environment might be affecting your ability to transact?

Jamie Pearson, Chief Financial Officer, Forward Air: Yes. I’d say, Matt, that there’s always an interest in this collection of assets. Just proud and honored to be a part of this combined company. So in terms of increased interest, in terms of us putting a press release out there saying that we’re entertaining a strategic alternatives review, I don’t know how much more interest we could garner. If you mean about the individual assets, we believe that the value of the collective whole is greater than the sum of the individual parts.

Matt Milasch, Analyst, Stifel: Fair enough. Thanks a lot.

Conference Call Operator: We’ll move next to Stephanie Moore with Jefferies. Your line is open.

Stephanie Moore, Analyst, Jefferies: Good afternoon. Thank you. Wanted to ask maybe a bigger picture question. Clearly, a lot of work has been done over the last year or so on both the expedited side, but also omni side. You can certainly see it across the board, whether it’s margin profile, the pricing actions and the like.

So asking kind of a multiyear question here, what is your North Star and how you think about the underlying earnings contribution of the combined entity? And if it’s not from a dollar standpoint, are there certain margin aspirations that you have your eyes set on and that can be for again the whole company or as you look at the LTL business or the forwarding business? But maybe just as you run the business, what are you targeting?

Jamie Pearson, Chief Financial Officer, Forward Air: Yes. Stephanie, there is a great page in the back of the earnings pre, though, on Page 28. And what we’ve tried to do here is we’ve broken it down by our competitive set relative to us. And if you look at where the LTL carriers are, the freight ers and the call it, the truckload and intermodal, we’ve broken up the opportunity there. Omni, intermodal are crushing it.

Omni, you can see, has been growing. The margin has been steady, if not increasing. Intermodal has been at the high end of the comp set since we walked through the door. The biggest opportunity is in cost, the eight percentage points on $1,000,000,000 business that we have in the truckload business. Now I’m not saying that we’re going to go straight to 18%, but if we’re at 10% now, the market is saying that kind of 18% to 20 our premium service given what we do, given the, I guess, high value and expedited nature of the service that we deliver, there’s no reason in my mind that over the next couple of years that we can’t reach that same market margin.

Stephanie Moore, Analyst, Jefferies: Great. No, that’s really helpful. And then maybe just taking that just step further, clearly a lot of action on the pricing front. What is next? Because I think as we look at peers that one key differentiation might just be kind of scale advantage the like.

But to your point, your service is high. You’ve made corrective pricing actions. What are the next steps to close that gap over the next couple of years?

Sean Stewart, Chief Executive Officer, Forward Air: Hey, Steph, it’s Sean. So outside of just growth in general, what you see us doing, I would say, under the hood is fine tuning the organization, really getting lean. And when I say lean, lean not just meaning cost cutting, but really looking at improving quality of operations, not only just in service, but also in cost around revenues. So that’s from optimizing the LTL network to really focus on standards around the world and focus on no rework. Get it right the first time.

Let’s not do it twice, do it once. And that’s what you’re seeing even in Q2 is the team is really focused here and done a fantastic job to the revenues. And that’s probably my most proudest moment over the last year is the team’s just real confidence in what they’re doing, how they’re doing it and enjoying it in this very weird market we’re in. It’s a lot of fun to watch. Hey, Stefan, it’s Jamie.

I’ll jump

Jamie Pearson, Chief Financial Officer, Forward Air: on there. You called out the pricing. Sean talked about our ability to contain costs as

Sean Stewart, Chief Executive Officer, Forward Air: we grow this

Jamie Pearson, Chief Financial Officer, Forward Air: business. But you say what is next is right now, our net margins are solid. They’re good. We’re doing incredibly well on the line haul side of the business and on the terminal side of the business. Pricing is just starting to kick in.

You saw we actually showed a graph how it’s two points higher on a revenue per hundredweight ex fuel and a little bit more than four points higher on a revenue per shipment basis. And the what next in terms of getting it to that next level and closing the gap, I think you’re leading us to water a little bit in terms of how do you close that gap is on operating leverage. We So can hold the net margin, marginally increase it with our pricing actions, but grow the top line and not grow the SG and A portion of the business, which we have a very, very stringent line to hold, then that’s what’s going to help us close that gap.

Stephanie Moore, Analyst, Jefferies: Great. Thank you for the time.

Conference Call Operator: We’ll take our next question from Scott Group with Wolfe Research. Your line is open.

Scott Group, Analyst, Wolfe Research: Hey, thanks. Good afternoon, guys. So I know you probably can’t say too much, but what do you think is the timing to hear on this process? Is this weeks away, months away? Any thoughts at all you can share with us?

Sean Stewart, Chief Executive Officer, Forward Air: Yes. Scott, I knew you would ask it. We really can’t share anything. We are in the process and it’s moving, as I say, on track and well. So as soon as we have something more, but I don’t have a necessarily crystal ball to say timing at this point.

Scott Group, Analyst, Wolfe Research: Okay. And then maybe just can you give us an update as Q2 played out, as Q3 started, just some of the volume trends that you’re seeing so far into Q3? And then I know some of the LTLs have announced GRIs. How are you thinking about GRIs back half this year?

Jamie Pearson, Chief Financial Officer, Forward Air: Yes. I’ll take the sequential question and then let Sean give the much more eloquent GRI versus the customer specific increase. Scott, we don’t give intra quarter guidance. But all I would say is that where we ended the second quarter, we don’t see anything that’s meaningfully different as we enter the third.

Sean Stewart, Chief Executive Officer, Forward Air: And on the GRI, Scott, I’m a big fan and also talking to the customers when I arrived. I don’t believe any things in general. So I’m not a big fan of GRIs because I’ve seen multiple organizations, they’ll impose a GRI and then the volume slides. And we’re not in a market that that’s in my world, that’s not very smart. So what we do, Scott, is what we call which is more strategic.

And we’re working with each customer strategically on lane pairs that will need adjustment up. And sometimes, I can even adjust some down in exchange. As volume fluctuates on OD pairs, we work directly with the customer to exchange those on a SRI basis and we do that consistently. So I don’t just find a period of time in an annualized situation to take a GRI, more SRI, if that makes sense.

Scott Group, Analyst, Wolfe Research: No, it does. Okay. And then maybe just lastly, Jamie, small cash burn first half of the year, Any thoughts on how you’re thinking about back half cash flow?

Jamie Pearson, Chief Financial Officer, Forward Air: Yes. The way I look at it, there’s this great you’ve coached me well, Scott. There’s Page 21, we do a cash bridge. And what we’re showing here is about 45,000,000 to $50,000,000 in cash flow from ops every single quarter with a consistent, consistent regularity. And so we generate cash every other quarter.

We burn a little bit of cash every other quarter, and that burn is only in the quarter when we have the $34,000,000 senior secured note payment, which is in April and October. If you look at it over a year, I think we’re only down like $10,000,000 in cash over the last three sixty five days, and it’s in the midst of integrating these two behemoth companies in an incredibly soft freight environment. So as we sit here right now, a little bit less than $400,000,000 in liquidity, I’m feeling pretty damn good.

Scott Group, Analyst, Wolfe Research: But do you see do you think that cash operating cash flow changes much in the back half of the year?

Jamie Pearson, Chief Financial Officer, Forward Air: Yes, that’d be given guidance, Scott. But I appreciate the effort. Right.

Scott Group, Analyst, Wolfe Research: Thank you, guys.

Sean Stewart, Chief Executive Officer, Forward Air: Thank you, Scott.

Conference Call Operator: We’ll move next to Bascome Majors with Susquehanna. Your line is open.

Bascome Majors, Analyst, Susquehanna: Thanks for taking our questions here. I want to go back to some of the questions about the transition from integration to transformation. I mean you’ve called out some new services, some wins and press releases. Any way you can dimensionalize the kind of new revenue you’re bringing on even directionally in aggregate? And we realize it’s not a one for one add to what you did last quarter.

Just wanted see what you’re seeing and the opportunity to grow some of the business and where that’s happening. You.

Sean Stewart, Chief Executive Officer, Forward Air: Bethcom. Yes. So we’re the couple of press releases, they’re just really large ones that were worthy of press releases. I mean, we’re winning a lot more than what we pressed. But we’re seeing we’re seeing wins in the truckload space.

We’re seeing wins in the international airfreight space and then just in general ground. It just depends on whether it’s a new logo or organic growth with an existing logo. But it’s pretty much across the board, I would say, in general, Bescom.

Bascome Majors, Analyst, Susquehanna: And if we aggregate this, we’re talking tens of millions, hundreds of millions in incremental revenue. Just want to understand kind of what this looks like and how it could potentially help with some of the general malaise in the freight market? Thank you.

Jamie Pearson, Chief Financial Officer, Forward Air: Yes. I’d say it’s a little bit of both. We talked about customers that are lost throughout this transition and then down trading and up trading. So we’ve got as much customers that are up trading with us that are existing customers, then we have new logos. So and I hate to put it in such a crass way, but I’m almost indifferent of where the increase in revenue comes from as long as it comes.

So and we all know, everybody on this call, including yourself, know that the cheapest dollar to win is the customer that you already have. So we continue to grow revenue with certain key accounts. And with the new platform, we do have a couple of big wins that we wouldn’t have been able to win absent the combination. But given the state of the freight market, Bascome, I mean, right now is plugging it out. What we have to do is be very, very disciplined to the price that we are charging our customer that is commensurate with the expedited service delivery that we have.

And we just got to look into that discipline and sometimes make some tough decisions to not take on some business that is not profitable for our network. But from the I guess the broader perspective, a couple of big wins that we would not have been able to achieve on a standalone basis.

Bascome Majors, Analyst, Susquehanna: Thank you for that. Just one more for me. I appreciate the commentary on the earnings quality improving and the add backs getting a little more traditional in your EBITDA adjustment as we go forward certainly year to date as well. Can you give us a little color on if any of the ones this quarter were at the segment level or were they all at the corporate level? And maybe a little more on what’s running through other where I think you added back $14,000,000 this quarter and $11,000,000 last.

Thank you.

Jamie Pearson, Chief Financial Officer, Forward Air: Yes. So the vast majority of other is non cash stock comp and what was the other one? There’s two big pieces of it. Here it is right here. So it’s non cash stock comp and facility closing costs that make up over half of that.

So that’s the vast majority of it. And then you’ve got some noncash FX gain and loss. So noncash, by and large and that’s why I said in my opening comments that it is more akin to what you and I would define as traditional adjusted EBITDA because the vast majority of it is either non cash or on restructuring and facility closing costs.

Bascome Majors, Analyst, Susquehanna: And just of those larger ones this quarter or any made at the segment level or are those all at corporate?

Jamie Pearson, Chief Financial Officer, Forward Air: Well FX is at a segment. Stock based comp can be allocated to the segment, but we don’t track it that way, Vascon. Right now, roll all of those costs up at a corporate level so that I’ve got visibility into that. I don’t want it hidden down into the segments or around the smaller opcos. You don’t want the opcos doing indirect taxes as an example.

Matt Milasch, Analyst, Stifel: Thank you.

Conference Call Operator: We’ll move next to Christopher Kun with Benchmark Company. Your line is open.

Matt Milasch, Analyst, Stifel: Hey, good afternoon. Thanks for taking the questions. Sean, I know that you got some poorly priced freight out of the network business. Is that largely done? I don’t know if you talked about that this quarter.

I know last quarter Was just curious if some of that tonnage is really just market or some of the things you’ve done too?

Sean Stewart, Chief Executive Officer, Forward Air: Yes, Chris. That is primarily done. I mean, it’s always an ongoing assessment. But I would say we fixed the pricing, number one, new basis line. And with the new modeling tools on cost and pricing, I would say we make much more accurate assumptions with new logos and have fixed the existing logos.

So you would see less to fix, if that makes sense.

Matt Milasch, Analyst, Stifel: Yes. Understood. And the pricing actions

Sean Stewart, Chief Executive Officer, Forward Air: I’m sorry, go ahead. If you pointed to

Jamie Pearson, Chief Financial Officer, Forward Air: there’s a segment level profitability chart. If you look at Page 14 of the expedited material, you’ll see a 500 basis point improvement in just two quarters. So it’s not just pricing the freight like we that’s commensurate with the service that we provide that we show in the back, but it’s also getting that negative contribution margin rate out of the network. And I think that this page right now is as strong as in testament of what Sean was able to get accomplished over the last two quarters.

Matt Milasch, Analyst, Stifel: And how should we think about pricing from this level here in terms of revenue per hundredweight ex fuel?

Jamie Pearson, Chief Financial Officer, Forward Air: How do we think about it in what way?

Matt Milasch, Analyst, Stifel: Should it improve sequentially? Do you really need the market to make better improvements or kind of where is pricing going from here in terms of composition?

Sean Stewart, Chief Executive Officer, Forward Air: I would say, Chris, if nothing else changes, that’s pretty much a run here for the current market condition that we’re in. I don’t like to overcommit and under deliver. So I think as the market if and when it starts to tighten, we can make sequential improvements on that as well.

Matt Milasch, Analyst, Stifel: So really it sounds like that expedited margin you need the leverage to be back in the model in terms of volume growth from here?

Jamie Pearson, Chief Financial Officer, Forward Air: Chris, we don’t give guidance on what’s going to happen with the pricing or the margin. I think Sean’s response is spot on.

Matt Milasch, Analyst, Stifel: Okay. Just lastly, it sounds like the strategic view, I’m not going to really ask about that, but I just it sounds like there’s not going to be a lot of portfolio reshaping anymore. I thought were not any businesses that you’re kind of looking to shed now as you think the whole is bigger than the sum of the parts.

Jamie Pearson, Chief Financial Officer, Forward Air: Is that a question or a statement?

Matt Milasch, Analyst, Stifel: Yes. I’m just asking, I mean, have you is there any portfolio reshaping as or not?

Jamie Pearson, Chief Financial Officer, Forward Air: Yes. Tell you what, we have integrated these two companies. There’s only probably one that would be nonstrategic or noncore. But if you collapse the other individual entities of Omni with Forward on a network basis, we’ve already made that decision and we delivered $120,000,000 in synergy savings. So the unwanted, I think would be value destructive, but there might be one that we would consider.

Matt Milasch, Analyst, Stifel: Okay, helpful. Thanks guys. Appreciate it.

Conference Call Operator: And it does appear that there are no further questions at this time. I would now like to turn the call back to Mr. Stewart for any final remarks.

Sean Stewart, Chief Executive Officer, Forward Air: All right. Well, we really appreciate your interest and support, and we remain confident in our strategy and look forward to updating you on our progress upcoming. So with that, if you have any follow-up questions, please contact Tony directly, and he’d be happy to follow-up and or schedule follow-up calls with you guys. Appreciate it. Take care.

Conference Call Operator: This concludes today’s Ford Air second quarter twenty twenty five earnings conference call. Please disconnect your line at this time and have a wonderful day.

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