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Fastenal Company
(NASDAQ:FAST)
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Rating:75Outperform
Price Target:
$53.00
â–²(12.72% Upside)
Action:Reiterated
Date:07/14/26
FAST scores well on financial quality (strong margins, rising earnings, low leverage) and a supportive trend with price above key moving averages. The score is held back primarily by premium valuation (high P/E) and, secondarily, near-term margin/cash-conversion pressures highlighted on the earnings call (gross margin headwinds and working-capital variability).
Positive Factors
High Profitability
Sustained high gross and operating margins indicate durable pricing power and efficient distribution. This margin profile supports strong free cash generation, funds reinvestment, and shareholder returns even if top-line growth moderates, underpinning long-term earnings resilience.
Negative Factors
Gross Margin Headwinds
Ongoing price-versus-cost pressure compresses incremental margins and slows profit-dollar conversion from sales growth. If price-cost neutrality takes longer, the company must rely on SG&A leverage or productivity to protect operating margins, creating execution risk to sustain returns.
Read all positive and negative factors
Positive Factors
Negative Factors
High Profitability
Sustained high gross and operating margins indicate durable pricing power and efficient distribution. This margin profile supports strong free cash generation, funds reinvestment, and shareholder returns even if top-line growth moderates, underpinning long-term earnings resilience.
Read all positive factors
Fastenal Company Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Any
Revenue By Geography
Breaks down revenue across different regions, revealing where the company is strongest and where it may face risk or growth potential due to local economic conditions or market share shifts.
Breaks down revenue across different regions, revealing where the company is strongest and where it may face risk or growth potential due to local economic conditions or market share shifts.
Data provided by:
The Fly
The FlyFastenal Company (FAST) vs. SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY)
Market Cap
$54.75B
Dividend Yield2.01%
Average Volume (3M)8.11M
Price to Earnings (P/E)40.4
Beta (1Y)0.55
Revenue Growth12.54%
EPS Growth13.58%
CountryUS
Employees21,339
SectorIndustrials
Sector Strength72
IndustryIndustrial - Distribution
Share Statistics
EPS (TTM)1.18
Shares Outstanding1,147,497,600
10 Day Avg. Volume9,682,093
30 Day Avg. Volume8,106,391
Financial Highlights & Ratios
PEG Ratio3.65
Price to Book (P/B)11.68
Price to Sales (P/S)5.62
P/FCF Ratio43.84
Enterprise Value/Market Cap<0.01
Enterprise Value/Revenue<0.01
Enterprise Value/Gross Profit<0.01
Enterprise Value/Ebitda<0.01
Forecast
1Y Price Target
$49.36Price Target Upside4.98% Upside
Rating ConsensusHold
Number of Analyst Covering14
EPS Forecast (FY)1.26
Revenue Forecast (FY)$9.29B
Fastenal Company Business Overview & Revenue Model
Company Description
Fastenal Company, along with its associated entities, operates as a global wholesale supplier of industrial and construction materials, with significant operations throughout North America, including the United States, Canada, and Mexico, and othe...
How the Company Makes Money
Fastenal makes money primarily by selling industrial and construction supplies to business customers, generating revenue from product sales rather than subscriptions. Its key revenue streams include (1) fasteners and industrial consumables sold in...
Fastenal Company Earnings Call Summary
Earnings Call Date:Jul 14, 2026
(Q2-2026)
| % Change Since: |
Next Earnings Date:Oct 14, 2026
Earnings Call Sentiment Positive
The call was broadly positive: the company reported strong, broad-based top-line growth (14.7% daily sales growth), meaningful share gains, sustained operating margin through SG&A leverage, ROIC expansion and strong cash generation with disciplined capital allocation and shareholder returns. The main near-term negatives were gross margin compression from price/cost headwinds, higher accounts receivable impacting quarter cash conversion, and continued freight/fuel and inflation volatility—items management is actively chipping away at but did not fully neutralize in the quarter.Positive Updates
Strong Top-Line Growth
Daily sales grew 14.7% in Q2 (up from 12.4% in Q1), reflecting continued market outperformance driven by share gains, new customer wins and deeper penetration across end markets.
Negative Updates
Gross Margin Compression and Price/Cost Headwinds
Gross margin contracted approximately 75 basis points year-over-year with price-cost headwinds representing roughly 40 basis points; management noted they improved price-cost by ~10 bps QoQ but still face a net negative impact affecting incremental margins.
Read all updates
Q2-2026 Updates
Positive
Negative
Strong Top-Line Growth
Daily sales grew 14.7% in Q2 (up from 12.4% in Q1), reflecting continued market outperformance driven by share gains, new customer wins and deeper penetration across end markets.
Read all positive updates
Company Guidance
Management's guidance emphasized continued execution and quantified near‑term targets: Q2 daily sales grew 14.7% (vs 12.4% in Q1) with contract counts up >7% YoY and customer sites spending ≥$50k/month rising 16.5% (revenues +26%); digital sales are estimated to be 63–64% of total in 2026 (vs prior 66% target) with FMI now 44.6% of sales and 109 weighted devices signed per day (~7k devices in Q2); realized pricing was ~2.9% in Q2 (~4.5% stacked vs ~3.5% in Q1) as management works toward price‑cost neutrality, noting gross margin contraction of ~75 bps YoY (price‑cost ~40 bps, improved ~10 bps sequentially) offset by SG&A leverage (SG&A 23.5% of sales vs 24.4% LY) to keep operating margin roughly flat (≈ +5 bps) and ROIC +180 bps TTM; cash/CapEx guidance: Q2 operating cash flow $266M (~70% of net income), Q2 net CapEx ~$60M, full‑year 2026 net CapEx ~ $320M (≈3.5% of sales), and $350M returned to shareholders in the quarter (~80% of net income).Fastenal Company Financial Statement Overview
Summary
Income Statement
86
Very Positive
Balance Sheet
90
Very Positive
Cash Flow
78
Positive
| Breakdown | TTM | Dec 2025 | Dec 2024 | Dec 2023 | Dec 2022 | Dec 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Income Statement | ||||||
| Total Revenue | 8.75B | 8.20B | 7.55B | 7.35B | 6.98B | 6.01B |
| Gross Profit | 3.91B | 3.69B | 3.40B | 3.35B | 3.22B | 2.78B |
| EBITDA | 1.91B | 1.84B | 1.69B | 1.71B | 1.63B | 1.39B |
| Net Income | 1.35B | 1.26B | 1.15B | 1.16B | 1.09B | 925.00M |
Balance Sheet | ||||||
| Total Assets | 5.29B | 5.05B | 4.70B | 4.46B | 4.55B | 4.30B |
| Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments | 204.70M | 276.80M | 255.80M | 221.30M | 230.10M | 236.20M |
| Total Debt | 441.50M | 441.90M | 485.40M | 535.00M | 802.10M | 636.80M |
| Total Liabilities | 1.22B | 1.11B | 1.08B | 1.11B | 1.39B | 1.26B |
| Stockholders Equity | 4.07B | 3.94B | 3.62B | 3.35B | 3.16B | 3.04B |
Cash Flow | ||||||
| Free Cash Flow | 1.03B | 1.05B | 946.80M | 1.26B | 767.20M | 613.50M |
| Operating Cash Flow | 1.28B | 1.30B | 1.17B | 1.43B | 941.00M | 770.10M |
| Investing Cash Flow | -232.80M | -231.00M | -214.50M | -161.20M | -163.00M | -148.50M |
| Financing Cash Flow | -1.23B | -1.05B | -913.70M | -1.28B | -774.90M | -627.10M |
Fastenal Company Technical Analysis
Positive
47.02
Price Trends
45.93
Positive
45.34
Positive
43.77
Positive
Market Momentum
-0.08
Positive
55.20
Neutral
42.56
Neutral
Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For FAST, the sentiment is Positive. The current price of 47.02 is above the 20-day moving average (MA) of 46.36, above the 50-day MA of 45.93, and above the 200-day MA of 43.77, indicating a bullish trend. The MACD of -0.08 indicates Positive momentum. The RSI at 55.20 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 42.56 is Neutral, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Positive sentiment for FAST.
Fastenal Company Risk Analysis
Fastenal Company disclosed 34 risk factors in its most recent earnings report. Fastenal Company reported the most risks in the "Finance & Corporate" category.
Finance & Corporate - Financial and accounting risks. Risks related to the execution of corporate activity and strategy
Latest Risks Added 0 New Risks
Fastenal Company Peers Comparison
UnderperformOutperform
Sector (63)
Name | Overall Rating | Market Cap | P/E Ratio | ROE | Dividend Yield | Revenue Growth | EPS Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
81 Outperform | $65.26B | 37.04 | 47.84% | 0.67% | 6.61% | -4.69% | |
77 Outperform | $12.76B | 32.17 | 21.64% | 0.56% | 7.54% | 6.04% | |
75 Outperform | $54.75B | 40.43 | 34.03% | 1.96% | 12.54% | 13.58% | |
72 Outperform | $6.89B | 29.81 | 16.55% | 2.77% | 4.41% | 16.62% | |
66 Neutral | $16.74B | 23.56 | 14.07% | 0.57% | 12.51% | 13.23% | |
63 Neutral | $10.79B | 15.43 | 7.44% | 2.01% | 2.89% | -14.66% | |
55 Neutral | $17.15B | 478.35 | 0.72% | 3.37% | 5.47% | -95.54% |
* Industrials Sector Average
FAST
Fastenal Company
47.71
3.30
7.44%
AIT
Applied Industrial Technologies
345.21
79.90
30.12%
GPC
Genuine Parts Company
124.37
-2.35
-1.85%
MSM
MSC Industrial
123.40
41.06
49.87%
GWW
WW Grainger
1,382.22
452.04
48.60%
WCC
Wesco International
343.49
135.90
65.46%
Fastenal Company Corporate Events
Business Operations and StrategyPrivate Placements and Financing
Fastenal Expands Credit Facility and Amends Note Agreement
Positive
Jun 23, 2026
On June 18, 2026, Fastenal Company renewed and expanded its unsecured revolving credit facility, securing an $835 million commitment with an accordion feature that could raise total capacity to $1.335 billion and extending the facility’s mat...
Business Operations and StrategyExecutive/Board Changes
Fastenal Appoints Vishal Talwar to Board, Boosts Governance
Positive
Jun 12, 2026
On June 12, 2026, Fastenal Company expanded its board of directors from eleven to twelve members and elected Vishal Talwar as an independent director, with his term running until the next annual shareholders’ meeting or until a successor is ...
Glossary
BuyA stock rated as a "Buy" is expected to perform better than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock is likely to deliver higher returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
HoldA stock rated as a "Hold" is expected to perform in line with the overall market or a specific benchmark. This rating indicates that the stock is neither particularly compelling nor unfavorable for investment. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
SellA stock rated as a "Sell" is expected to perform worse than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock may deliver lower returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
Disclaimer
This AI Analyst Stock Report is automatically generated by our AI systems using advanced algorithms and publicly available financial, technical, and market data. While the information provided aims to be accurate and insightful, it is intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Any content created by an AI (Artificial Intelligence) system may contain inaccuracies and/or contain errors. Investing in stocks carries inherent risks, and past performance is not indicative of future results. This report does not account for your personal financial circumstances, objectives, or risk tolerance. Always conduct your own research or consult with a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions. The analysis and recommendations provided are based on historical and current data and may not fully reflect future market conditions or unexpected developments. Neither the creators of this report nor its affiliated entities guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the information presented. Use this report at your own discretion and risk.