Fastenal Co (FAST) stock analysis

P/E above its 5-year median

Fastenal's P/E of 44.8 is above its own 5-year median of 35.8.

P/E above the industry

Fastenal's P/E of 44.8 is above the Consumer discretionary median of 19.6.

EV/EBITDA above its 5-year median

Fastenal's EV/EBITDA of 34.1 is above its 5-year median of 27.0.

P/B above the industry

Fastenal's price-to-book of 15.34 is above the Consumer discretionary median of 4.67.

Trading above fair value

The share price of $55.49 is above our fair value estimate of $28.89.

Margin of safety under 20%

The price is 92.1% above fair value, so there is no margin of safety.

Revenue growing under 10% a year

Revenue grew 5.5% a year over the last three fiscal years, short of the 10% we look for.

EPS growing under 10% a year

Diluted EPS grew 4.9% a year over the last three fiscal years.

Earnings growth accelerating

Net income grew 15.6% over the last twelve months, against a 5-year average of 7.9% a year.

Growing faster than the industry

Revenue grew 13.5% over the last twelve months; the Consumer discretionary median is 2.5%.

Guidance lowered

Fastenal lowered its 2026 weighted FASTBin and FASTVend device signings outlook on Jul 14, 2026.

Gross margin slipping

Gross margin was 44.6% over the last twelve months, against 45.1% a year earlier.

Return on equity over 15%

Return on equity was 35.3% over the last twelve months and averaged 33.8% over five years.

Return on capital over 10%

Return on invested capital was 36.1%, above the 10% that usually covers the cost of capital.

Return on equity above the industry

Fastenal's return on equity of 35.3% is above the Consumer discretionary median of 9.9%.

Earnings grew over 5 years

Net income grew 7.9% a year on average over the last five fiscal years.

Net margin above its 5-year average

Net margin was 15.6% over the last twelve months, against a 5-year average of 15.5%.

Net margin above the industry

Fastenal's net margin of 15.6% is above the Consumer discretionary median of 6.2%.

Low debt

Debt is 2.4% of shareholders' equity, under the 40% we consider low.

Debt falling against equity

Debt to equity fell from 14.8% five years ago to 2.4%.

Debt covered by cash flow

Operating cash flow over the last twelve months equals 1434% of total debt.

Interest well covered

Operating income covers interest expense 503.9 times.

Short-term assets cover short-term debts

Current assets are 3.93 times current liabilities.

Low bankruptcy risk

The Altman Z-score is 32.85; above 3 is the safe zone and below 1.8 the distress zone.

Pays a dividend

Fastenal paid dividends worth 1.8% of the share price over the last twelve months.

Yield below Treasuries

The 1.8% yield is below the 4.4% on a 1-year Treasury.

Yield below the top quarter

The top quarter of US dividend payers yield 3.8% or more; Fastenal yields 1.8%.

Dividend was cut

The dividend per share fell by more than 10% at least once in the last 10 fiscal years.

Covered by earnings

Dividends take 77.7% of net income.

Not covered by free cash flow

Dividends take 93.6% of free cash flow.