Start here if you're new
what it is
Fastenal gets nuts, bolts, tools, and safety gear to factories and job sites before your crew runs out.
how it gets paid
Last year Fastenal made $8.2B in revenue. fasteners was the main engine at $2.7B, or 33% of sales.
why it's growing
Revenue grew 8.7% last year. 45.2% gross margin matters most because it shows Fastenal is still pricing well even as customers buy boring.
what just happened
Fastenal's latest quarter showed $6.2B in revenue and $0.84 EPS, both up about 190% vs. prior year.
At a glance
A+ balance sheet — rock-solid finances — built to survive anything
100/100 earnings predictability — you can trust these numbers
42.5x trailing p/e — you're paying up for this one
2.2% dividend yield — cash in your pocket every quarter
39.5% return on capital — every dollar works hard here
xvary composite: 89/100 — above average
What they do
Fastenal gets nuts, bolts, tools, and safety gear to factories and job sites before your crew runs out.
Fastenal puts inventory where your work happens. It had 2,031 Onsite locations and 103,367 vending machines at 12/31/25. That creates switching costs (switching costs → leaving is annoying and expensive → your plant does not want to rethink thousands of low-dollar parts orders).
How they make money
$8.2B
annual revenue · their business grew +8.7% last year
fasteners
$2.7B
+6.0%
safety supplies
$2.0B
+12.0%
tools and equipment
$1.8B
+8.0%
other mro supplies
$1.7B
+9.0%
The products that matter
industrial supply distribution
Fasteners, Tools & Safety Equipment
$8.2B revenue · 100% of sales
this is the whole $8.2B business. the point is not product novelty. the point is selling thousands of low-drama items at scale without giving up a 16.9% net margin.
core
on-site inventory programs
On-Site Vending
3,300+ location network
this sits on top of a network of more than 3,300 locations and puts inventory at the customer site. that makes reordering easy for customers and replacement harder for competitors.
stickier
inventory management services
Supply Chain Solutions
part of the same $8.2B model
this is the service layer around the same $8.2B supply business. when Fastenal manages more of the inventory flow, you own more customer relationship and less pure price competition.
service layer
Key numbers
42.5x
trailing p/e
Price-to-earnings ratio → how much you pay for each $1 of profit → you are paying a premium price for a company with projected sales growth of 2.5%.
39.5%
return on capital
Return on capital → profit earned on money invested in the business → Fastenal turns operating discipline into a very high cash-generating machine.
24.0%
operating margin
Operating margin → profit after running the business → Fastenal keeps about $0.24 from every sales dollar before taxes and interest.
2.2%
dividend yield
Dividend yield → cash paid to you each year divided by stock price → your income return is real, but it is small next to the valuation risk.
Financial health
A+
strength
- balance sheet grade A+ — near the highest rating possible
- risk rank 1 — safer than 95% of stocks
- price stability 90 / 100
- long-term debt $100M (0% of capital)
- net profit margin 22.3% — keeps 22 cents of every dollar in revenue
- return on equity 41% — $0.41 profit for every $1 investors have put in
A+ with balance sheet grade and risk rank standing out. your money faces less risk here than at most public companies.
Total return vs. market
You invested $10,000 in FAST 3 years ago → it's now worth $18,860.
The index would have given you $14,540.
source: institutional data · total return
What just happened
beat estimates
Fastenal's latest quarter showed $6.2B in revenue and $0.84 EPS, both up about 190% vs. prior year.
Gross margin reached 45.2%. The bigger story is that the business stayed highly profitable while annual revenue still rose 8.7% to $8.2B.
$6.2B
revenue
$0.84
eps
45.2%
gross margin
the number that mattered
45.2% gross margin matters most because it shows Fastenal is still pricing well even as customers buy boring, low-ticket items.
-
fastenal is a buy-and-hold stock.
-
this is exemplified by its very steady and consistent daily trading volume (see graph above).
-
the equity has tight spreads and smooth transaction execution.this is no surprise given the company’s very strong fundamentals (a highly competitive and durable business model, and strong finances). fastenal has a remarkable ability to not only survive, but prosper during economic downturns and market corrections. (over the past 17 years, the only time share earnings dropped was in 2016; and that was only by a penny). as a result, this is a stock for conservative income-minded investors with a penchant for the long term.
-
sales and earnings are very predictable.
-
the earnings predictability rating of 100 is very rare.at the top line, the company has gained an industry-wide reputation for reliability, garnering an almost cult-like loyalty from its customers. its huge reach and highly sophisticated logistics operation mean that it can buy in bulk, and thus command discounts, which it passes along to its customers. fastenal sells a huge number of industrial and construction supplies, at a wide variety of price points, to a massive client base spanning the globe. at the bottom line, fastenal has bought a great number of its suppliers, thus enabling it to rigidly control supply chain costs. long-term debt is negligible, so it pays very little interest expense, and the ongoing closure of brickand-mortar stores (see array above) means that expenses related to them are diminishing. the aforementioned attributes mean that we can be more certain that the stock price will enter our 2029-2031 target price range.
source: company earnings report, 2026
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What could go wrong
the top threat is a slowdown in manufacturing and construction activity that reduces demand for everyday industrial supplies.
med
industrial demand slowdown
Fastenal sells into maintenance, manufacturing, and construction workflows. when customers order fewer parts, gloves, tools, and consumables, the pain shows up quickly because this page only shows one $8.2B revenue engine.
100% of revenue comes from the same broad industrial supply model, so there is no unrelated segment here to absorb a demand dip.
med
the multiple leaves little room for a stumble
At 42.5x trailing earnings, the stock already prices in reliability. if growth cools or margins slip, the problem is not that the business becomes bad. the problem is that the stock stops being priced like it never misses.
the published 3–5 year target midpoint on this page is $43 versus a $46.33 stock price. that gap tells you expectations are already full.
med
on-site inventory has to stay sticky
The moat argument depends on service density and embedded inventory programs working better than simple price competition. Fastenal has more than 3,300 locations, but scale only matters if customers keep treating convenience as worth paying for.
if customers push harder on price, a 16.9% net margin is the number to watch. this business is good partly because that margin is unusually high for the category.
100% of Fastenal's $8.2B revenue depends on industrial demand, and a 42.5x multiple means even a small operational wobble can matter more to the stock than to the business.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
calendar
april 13, 2026 earnings report
this stock is priced for smooth execution. the next report needs to keep that 100 / 100 predictability reputation intact.
metric
net margin vs. the 16.9% baseline
if margins keep holding near current levels, the quality case stays intact. if they slip, the premium multiple gets harder to defend.
trend
industrial demand under the surface
you are looking for signs that manufacturing and construction customers are still buying everyday consumables at a healthy pace.
risk
valuation vs. the $43 midpoint target
a stock at $46.33 with a long-range midpoint target of $43 is being carried by business quality. that is fine until execution slips.
Analyst rankings
short-term outlook
top 20%
momentum score 2 — analysts expect above-average price performance over the next 12 months. in human-speak, they still like the stock here.
risk profile
safest 5%
stability score 1 — lower risk than almost any stock in the database. that does not mean cheap. it means durable.
chart momentum
average
technical score 3 — the chart is behaving normally. no panic, no mania, just a stock near the top of its $35–$48 range.
earnings predictability
100 / 100
few companies score this cleanly. the market is paying for that reliability every time it hands FAST a premium multiple.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
485 buyers vs. 575 sellers in 4q2025. total institutional holdings: 1.0B shares.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
$31
$55
$46
current price
$43
target midpoint · 7% from current · 3-5yr high: $65 (+40% · 11% ann'l return)
Want the deeper analysis?
The full deep dive: dcf model, scenario analysis, competitive moat breakdown, and quarterly tracking — everything on this page, taken further.
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