Fastenal Company (FAST) Stock

Fastenal Company (FAST) is a Consumer Discretionary stock trading at $45.49 (as of 2026-07-17), with a market capitalization of $52.20B and a trailing P/E of 38.6. Figures are sourced from first-party U.S. SEC EDGAR filings and market data.

Fastenal Company, through its subsidiaries, distributes industrial and construction supplies, including fasteners and related hardware, across the United States, Canada, Mexico, and internationally. It serves manufacturing, maintenance and repair, and non-residential construction markets, as well as customers such as farmers, truckers, railroads, mining companies, schools, retail trades, and government entities.

Understand Fastenal Company: how it makes money

Fastenal distributes industrial and construction supplies, selling fasteners and related hardware through wholesale distribution in the United States, Canada, Mexico, North America, and internationally, generating revenue from product sales to customers.

Because Fastenal is a wholesale distributor of fasteners and related industrial and construction supplies, profit primarily scales with net sales from those product categories across its served geographic markets, along with how much gross margin it can earn on those sales.

Business quality (Solid): For the quarter ended 2026-03-31, Fastenal reported net sales of 2.2B with 44.6% gross margin and 20.3% operating margin, indicating the company converts a meaningful portion of wholesale product sales into operating profit.

Valuation: At 53× earnings, FAST trades 178% above the Retail average (19×). Note: one-time items can distort reported P/E.

Bull case

Wholesale product sales drive the model: Fastenal sells fasteners and related miscellaneous supplies and hardware used in manufacturing, construction projects, and maintenance and repair.
Strong profitability relative to gross-to-operating conversion: For the quarter ended 2026-03-31, the company reported 44.6% gross margin and 20.3% operating margin.
Growth and e-commerce momentum are highlighted: Fastenal shows a net sales increase of 0.22B and reports an e-commerce revenue milestone (monthly >$100M).

Bear case

Margin sensitivity: Any decline in gross margin or operating margin would directly reduce operating profitability, given the reported 44.6% gross margin and 20.3% operating margin for 2026-03-31.
Sales growth needs to keep working: The provided data highlights a net sales increase of 0.22B, so sustaining that sales momentum is important for earnings.
Execution across multiple markets: Fastenal serves the United States, Canada, Mexico, North America, and internationally, so performance depends on operations across several geographic areas.

Valuation — source: SEC EDGAR (first-party)
Price	$45.49
Market Cap	$52.20B
P/E Ratio	38.6
EV / EBITDA	26.7
Price / Book	12.83
Price / Sales	5.97
FCF Yield	2.2%
DCF Value (model)	$23.89
DCF Upside vs Price	-47.5%

Profitability & Growth — source: SEC EDGAR
Revenue (TTM)	$8.20B
Net Margin	15.3%
Revenue Growth (YoY)	14.7%
EPS Growth (YoY)	13.8%
FCF Growth (YoY)	-3.7%

Financial Health — source: SEC EDGAR
Altman Z-Score	32.68 (safe)
Piotroski F-Score	7/9 (strong)

Valuation vs Sector & Industry
Stock P/E	38.6
Sector P/E (Consumer Discretionary)	21.6
Industry P/E (Retail)	19.1
vs Sector	79.1%
vs Industry	102.4%

Smart-Money Activity — SEC Form 4 / 13F / Congressional disclosures
Top Institutional Holder	VANGUARD GROUP INC ($6.08B)
Institutional Holders Tracked	10
Congressional Trades (recent)	10

Company
Sector	Consumer Discretionary
Industry	Retail
CEO	Daniel L. Florness
Employees	21,339
Country	US
IPO Date	1987-08-20

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Data as of 2026-07-17.

Figures sourced from U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC EDGAR) filings and market data. Not personalized investment advice.