Fastenal Co

Retail-Building Materials, Hardware, Garden Supply

FASTStrong11 of 11 basics passed

$50.90

+0.81%

Market cap $58.4B

$50.90

+0.81%

Market cap $58.4B

Fastenal began as an industrial retailer, expanding its product portfolio from nuts and bolts to cutting tools, safety equipment, and janitorial supplies. It transitioned into a distributor by building out a dense network of branches close to its business customers.

It is a $58.4B consumer company. Revenue grew 12.5% over the last year, it keeps 15¢ of every dollar of sales as profit, and it holds more cash than debt. It trades at 43.1× earnings — near the highest of its own history.

Website: fastenal.com
Location: Winona, MN
Employees: 24 795
Sector: Consumer Cyclical
Founded: 1967

Share price · 3 years

$27.93 → $50.90+82.3%

price only — dividends excluded

Key facts · TTM

Revenue: total sales; $8.75B
Profit: keeps 15¢ of every $1 sold; $1.35B
Free cash flow: cash left after running the business; $1.16B
Net cash: more cash than debt; $177M
P/E: years of profit in the price; 43.1
EPS: earnings per share, TTM; $1.18
Dividend: pays out 78% of profit · 92% of FCF; 1.81%
Shares: shares outstanding; 1.15B
Volatility: beta vs the market — under 1 swings less; 0.67

Revenue, last 10 years

52-week range

Low $39.15$50.90High $52.38

Today's price is 89% of the way from the year's low to its high.

P/E vs its history5y

43.1×median 35.5×

Higher than 92% of past days — near the highest of its own history.

Valuation vs own history

P/E

43.1×

P/S

6.7×

EV/EBITDA

32.9×

P/B

14.3×

FCF yield

2.0%

27%

Share of the last ~5 years that was pricier than today (unusually expensive vs its own history). Based on the daily valuation record.

Insider activity · 90 days

-$2.38Mnet selling

Purchases$0

Sales$2.38M

Insiders trading, last 14d0 buy · 0 sell

Standing in Consumer Cyclical

Size$58.4Btop 20%
Revenue growth+6%top 57%
Net margin15%top 14%
Return on equity34%top 40%
P/E43.1×top 86%
Dividend yield1.81%top 52%

Ranked against 99 Consumer Cyclical companies with a full CV — for P/E, lower ranks higher.

Skills

Six independent scores, 0–100, built from reported numbers and valuation history. Click a row to see how it was scored.

Strong profitability, health, quality and moat; Valuation lags behind.

Valuation22

P/E vs own history92th pct · 0/25
FCF yield2.0% · 5/25
P/S6.7x · 12/25
EV/EBITDA29.9x · 5/25

Growth56

Revenue CAGR8.1% · 12/25
Net income CAGR8.0% · 12/25
EPS CAGR ~5Y8.0% · 12/25
Fwd implied growth17.5% · 20/25

Profitability90

ROIC33.4% · 25/25
ROE34.0% · 25/25
Net margin15.5% · 20/25
Operating margin20.3% · 20/25

Health100

Altman Z31.85 · 25/25
Current ratio4.18 · 25/25
Interest coverage2365.3x · 25/25
Net cash / debtNet cash · 25/25

Quality89

Piotroski F7/9 · 22/25
Beneish M-2.37 · 20/25
FCF conversion85% · 22/25
Margin stabilityσ 2.1% · 25/25

Moat95

ROIC >12% years10/10 yrs · 25/25
Median gross margin46.1% · 20/25
FCF-positive years10/10 yrs · 25/25
Worst-year net marginworst 12.6% · 25/25

How the scores work →

Experience

The company's career so far — founding, the IPO, landmark products and acquisitions, plus revenue milestones and insider buying.

FY2025Financial
Best year on record
$1.26B net income
FY2023Financial
Became debt-free
cash now exceeds total debt
FY2016Financial
Profitable every year on record
10 consecutive profitable years in our data
FY2016Financial
Revenue already above $1B
$3.96B in first reported year
FY2016Financial
Positive free cash flow every year since
10-year streak
2009Acquisition
Fastenal acquired parts of Holo-Krome, a socket head screw-making company
2006Milestone
Fastenal has been a sponsor of NASCAR since 2006, and in 2020, they became the official MRO partner of the NHL
2001Milestone
Opened in 2001, Fastenal's Singapore location was its first site outside North America
1967Founded
Fastenal Company is an American publicly traded company based in Winona, Minnesota, founded in 1967

Achievements

Verifiable track record, straight from the reported numbers.

#21 largest of 99 Consumer Cyclical companies by market cap

$10 000 invested in 2021 would be worth ~$19 000 today — price return only

$8.2B revenue in FY2025

Revenue up 12.5% year over year

Profitable 10 years in a row

Positive free cash flow 10 years in a row

24 795 employees

ROIC of 33.4%

Strengths & watch-outs

What a bull and a bear would each point to. Both lists come from the reported numbers, not opinions.

Strengths

High gross margin (44.7%)
Revenue growing 12.5% year over year
Net cash position after subtracting debt from cash
Could repay net debt from ~0.2 years of free cash flow
Interest covered 2365.3× by operating earnings

Watch-outs

Nothing stands out as a concern in the available data.

Qualifications

The basics a company should meet before you research it further. Each check uses the reported numbers.

11 of 11 checks passed

Revenue growing — the company sells more than a year ago+12.5% YoY
Profitable — makes more than it spends$1.35B TTM
Profit growing — earnings are higher than last year+5.0% YoY
Generates cash — cash left after running and investing$1.16B TTM
Debt under control — could handle its obligationsmore cash than debt
Established company — not a micro-cap — lower blow-up risk$58.4B market cap
Not printing shares — share count not ballooning — you keep your slice-0.1% shares over ~5y
Proven track record — years of profitability behind it10/10 profitable years
Financially stable — balance sheet not near distressAltman Z 31.9 — safe
Pays a dividend — returns cash to shareholdersyield 1.81%
Valuation not extreme — price not wildly above earningsP/E 43.1

Peer comparisonFastenal Co vs 6 largest consumer cyclical peers — cap, P/E, growth and margin side by sideOpen ▾

Company	Market cap	P/E	Revenue growth	Net margin	Profile
FAST this company	$58.4B	43.1	+12.5%	15.5%	Strong
AMZN Amazon.Com Inc	$2.8T	20.9	+15.8%	17.4%	Mixed
TSLA Tesla, Inc.	$1.5T	397.1	+11.8%	3.7%	Strong
NFLX NetFlix Inc	$292.8B	21.4	+16.0%	28.2%	Solid
HD Home Depot, Inc.	$290.4B	20.4	-16.0%	8.7%	Solid
DIS The Walt Disney Company	$186.5B	21.7	+4.6%	8.7%	Solid
MCD McDonald's Corporation	$166.9B	18.9	+6.3%	31.7%	Strained

Head-to-head: FAST vs AMZN · FAST vs TSLA · FAST vs NFLX

References

What covering analysts publish about the company — information only, not a recommendation.

Strong buy 7Buy 4Hold 10Sell 3Strong sell 2

Appendix · Financial records

The full statements behind this CV, FY2016–FY2025. For readers who want to check the numbers.

Profit & lossRevenue $8.75B · net income $1.35B (TTM)Open ▾

Profit & loss

Revenue and profit over the company's career — the income statement, visualised.

How FY2025 revenue flows to profit

RevenueNet income

Revenue (TTM)

$8.75B

YoY 12.5%

Net income (TTM)

$1.35B

Margin 15.5%

Gross margin

44.7%

Operating margin

20.3%

P/E ratio

43.1

Dividend yield

1.81%

Income statement — full detail

Figures in USD billions · EPS in USD

	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025
Revenue	5.6	6.0	7.0	7.3	7.5	8.2
Gross profit	2.6	2.8	3.2	3.4	3.4	3.7
Operating income (EBIT)	1.1	1.2	1.5	1.5	1.5	1.7
Net income	0.9	0.9	1.1	1.2	1.2	1.3
EPS (diluted)	0.75	0.80	0.94	1.01	1.00	1.09

Cash flowFree cash flow $1.16B · operating cash flow $1.40B (TTM)Open ▾

Cash flow statement

Cash generated by the business and what is left after investment — year by year.

Operating cash flowFree cash flow

Free cash flow (TTM)

$1.16B

Margin 13.2%

Operating cash flow (TTM)

$1.40B

FCF margin

13.2%

Cash flow statement — full detail

Figures in USD billions

	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025
Operating cash flow	1.1	0.8	0.9	1.4	1.2	1.3
Capital expenditure	-0.2	-0.2	-0.2	-0.2	-0.2	-0.2
Free cash flow	0.9	0.6	0.8	1.3	0.9	1.1
FCF margin	16.5%	10.2%	11.0%	17.1%	12.5%	12.8%

Balance sheetAssets $5.05B · net cash $177M (FY2025)Open ▾

Balance sheet

How the balance sheet is built — what it owns versus how it is financed.

How $5.05B of assets is financed

22%

78%

Liabilities $1.11B — borrowed moneyEquity $3.94B — owners' stake

Cash vs debt

Total debt $100M − cash $277M = net cash $177M

Cash on hand covers all debt.

Altman Z-Score

31.85

Safe zone

Debt repayment

Not needed

Cash already covers all debt

Interest coverage

2365.3x

EBIT ÷ interest expense

ROE

34.0%

Profit per $1 of equity

Balance sheet — full detail

Figures in USD billions

	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025
Cash & equivalents	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.3	0.3
Total assets	4.0	4.3	4.5	4.5	4.7	5.1
Total liabilities	1.2	1.3	1.4	1.1	1.1	1.1
Total debt	0.4	0.3	0.4	0.2	0.1	0.1
Equity	2.7	3.0	3.2	3.3	3.6	3.9
Net debt	0.1	0.1	0.1	-0.0	-0.1	-0.2

Want the live picture — intraday moves, valuation history and full analysis?

Deeper analysis of FAST on PreMarketPrice

Figures are derived from company filings (quarterly values normalised from as-filed year-to-date data where applicable) and may be delayed, restated or incomplete. This page is information, not investment advice. Latest price $50.90 · market cap $58.4B.