Forward Air Q2 Earnings Call Highlights

Forward Air reported a strong second quarter: Operating revenue rose to a record $673 million from $619 million, while consolidated EBITDA increased to $93 million from $79 million. Expedited Freight led the improvement, with EBITDA up more than 40% year over year to $43 million and margins expanding to 13.6%. Omni Logistics showed underlying improvement despite a major impairment: A non-cash $244 million goodwill impairment produced a reported EBITDA loss, but adjusted EBITDA reached $38 million with an 11.2% margin. A customer memorandum of understanding could preserve at least 50%—and potentially up to 75%—of approximately $250 million in annual revenue. Management is focused on liquidity and restructuring: Forward Air ended the quarter with $401 million in liquidity, completed $27 million of legacy Omni asset sales and remains on track to sell Intermodal by year-end 2026. Executives see improving freight-market conditions but warned that geopolitical risks and diesel-price volatility could delay recovery.

Forward Air NASDAQ: FWRD reported record quarterly operating revenue and its strongest consolidated EBITDA performance in more than two years during the second quarter of 2026, as its Expedited Freight, Omni Logistics and Intermodal operations improved. Operating revenue rose to $673 million from $619 million in the second quarter of 2025, while consolidated EBITDA, calculated under the company’s credit agreement, increased to $93 million from $79 million. Chief Executive Officer Shawn Stewart said the company delivered its best operating revenue in its history and its best consolidated EBITDA result in two and a half years.

The Expedited Freight segment led the quarter, producing its best operating revenue, operating income, reported EBITDA and margin since the beginning of 2024, according to Stewart. Segment EBITDA increased more than 40% year over year to $43 million from $30 million, while the EBITDA margin expanded to 13.6% from 11.6%. Chief Financial Officer Jamie Pierson said the segment benefited from gains in tonnage per day, shipments per day, weight per shipment and revenue per shipment excluding fuel. Revenue per hundredweight excluding fuel declined because shipment weights rose significantly, he said. Management described the change in freight mix as intentional. Pierson said the company lowered pricing on certain higher-weight shipments to improve network density, while Stewart said Forward Air added lane pairs and sought to fill available capacity on dedicated lanes. The result was higher load factors, fewer empty miles and improved profitability, management said. Stewart also said he believes some freight has shifted back to less-than-truckload networks as truckload pricing has increased. Customers that had previously consolidated shipments into full truckloads may be moving freight back into LTL channels as truckload rates per pound rise, he said.

At Omni Logistics, the company reported a goodwill impairment charge of $244 million that resulted in reported EBITDA loss of $206 million for the segment. Excluding the impairment, Omni generated $38 million in reported EBITDA and an 11.2% margin, compared with $30 million and a 9% margin a year earlier. Pierson said those adjusted results represented the segment’s best performance since the transaction in early 2024. The impairment was non-cash and did not affect EBITDA, cash or liquidity, Pierson said. The charge was tied to uncertainty su...