Forward Air Locks In Two-Year Deal To Keep Bulk Of $250M Account

Forward Air has signed a two-year agreement keeping "a significant portion of the services currently provided" to a contract logistics customer that accounts for roughly $250 million, or 10%, of its annual revenue. Shares of Forward (NASDAQ: FWRD) climbed 8.7% in premarket trading on the Wednesday the deal was announced.

The agreement, disclosed in a news release, keeps the customer on Forward's network for certain services through 2028. It also permits the customer to move some of its business to other providers between November and March, a transition window that will reveal exactly how much of the account survives.

What does the deal actually secure?

The account's size explains the market reaction. At about $250 million a year, one customer represents a tenth of Forward's total revenue — a concentration risk the company has now largely neutralized, though the precise retained percentage was not disclosed in the announcement.

Forward had previously framed the potential loss as a vendor-diversification move by the customer, not a service failure. On its second-quarter earnings call in August, management said it had entered a non-binding agreement to save 50% of the business, with potential upside to 75%.

The final binding agreement announced Wednesday appears consistent with that range, describing only "a significant portion" being retained.

What happens to the revenue?

According to the company, revenue from the retained portion of the account has continued to grow this year and is expected to increase again next year. Forward projects that revenue in each remaining contract year — 2026 through 2028 — will exceed the revenue the account generated in 2025.

That trajectory suggests the retained business is not a static legacy arrangement but a base with growth attached. Forward did not provide a margin profile for the retained work, leaving open the question of how profitable the preserved revenue will be relative to the business the customer takes elsewhere.

How did leadership frame it?

CEO Shawn Stewart tied the deal to both relationship history and financial visibility.

"We are pleased to finalize this Agreement and believe it reflects the strength of our longstanding 20-year partnership and the exceptional service our team continues to provide," Stewart said. "By signing this Agreement, we should bring both greater visibility and predictability to our business and the associated profitability and resulting cash flow."

The emphasis on visibility and cash flow points to what was at stake. A full loss of a $250 million account would have blown a hole in Forward's revenue base overnight; instead, the company heads into 2026 with the majority of that revenue contracted and growing.

Why it matters beyond Forward Air

The episode is a case study in customer concentration for mid-size freight and logistics providers. A single account worth 10% of enterprise revenue can move the stock by high single digits in either direction — Forward's shares plummeted when the potential loss was first flagged, and rebounded 8.7% on the fix.

For shippers, the outcome is a reminder that diversifying vendor lists has real costs on the carrier side, where incumbent providers will negotiate hard to defend revenue anchors. For Forward's competitors, the November-to-March transition window marks the period when any displaced volume — potentially tens of millions of dollars' worth of logistics spend — goes to bid.

With the agreement running through 2028 and retained revenue expected to exceed 2025 levels in each contract year, Forward enters the new bidding season with its largest account question answered rather than hanging over the business.