At a glance
Fastenal Company is worth $60.29B, about 48 times its fiscal 2025 earnings. Revenue grew 8.7% to $8.20B in fiscal 2025, with 15.3% kept as profit; over 5 years it has grown 7.7% a year. It pays a 1.9% dividend yield, and returned $4.51B to shareholders in dividends and buybacks over FY2021–FY2025. The stock returned +30.5% over the past year with dividends reinvested and +15.6% a year over five years, against +11.5% and +11.7% for the S&P 500. At its worst it fell 25.4% in the 2022 bear market (S&P 500: 24.5%), and was back at its earlier high 12 months after the low.
The business in plain English
Fastenal distributes industrial and construction supplies, mostly to other businesses. It began in 1967 with one branch in Winona, Minnesota, selling threaded fasteners such as bolts and screws. It now sells more than nine major product lines. At the end of fiscal 2025 (December 31, 2025), it had 1,595 branch locations in 25 countries, 15 distribution centers and 24,489 employees.
Fastenal makes money by buying supplies and reselling them at a markup. Its gross margin, the share of sales left after paying for the goods, was 45% in fiscal 2025. Its approach centers on keeping stock inside or near customer sites. Its Fastenal Managed Inventory (FMI) programs include about 124,000 FASTVend vending machines, FASTBin smart bins that signal when to reorder and FASTStock scanned bins. FASTBin and FASTVend produced 32.2% of fiscal 2025 sales, and FASTStock produced 12.5%. Manufacturers buy most of its products. The company focuses on customer sites that could spend $50,000 or more a month.
Fiscal 2025 revenue was $8.2 billion. The U.S. segment brought in $6.8 billion, or 83.2%. Canada and Mexico added 13.5%, and all other countries added 3.3%.
Price history
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FAST +30.5% over the year to Nov 2, 2026, total return with dividends reinvested.
How it makes money
By business segment
| U.S. reportable segment | $6.82B | 83.2% |
| Other operating segment | $1.38B | 16.8% |
By geography
| United States | $6.82B | 83.2% |
| Canada and Mexico | $1.11B | 13.5% |
| All other foreign countries | $271.4M | 3.3% |
Latest results
- In Q3 FY2026 (ended Sep 30, 2026), revenue was $2.46B, up 15.5% from a year earlier, and net income was $401.6M (+19.7%).
- For fiscal 2025, revenue was $8.20B (+8.7% year over year; +7.7% a year from FY2020 to FY2025) with a 15.3% net margin.
Financial health check
| Revenue growth a year (FY2020–FY2025) | +7.7% good |
|---|---|
| Operating margin | 20.2% good |
| Free cash flow margin | 12.8% good |
| Return on equity (FY2025) | 31.9% good |
| Return on assets (FY2025) | 24.9% good |
| Net cash (cash minus debt) | $111.9M good |
| Fiscal year | Revenue | Net income | Free cash flow |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2020 | $5.65B | $859.1M | $933.7M |
| FY2021 | $6.01B | $925.0M | $613.5M |
| FY2022 | $6.98B | $1.09B | $767.2M |
| FY2023 | $7.35B | $1.16B | $1.26B |
| FY2024 | $7.55B | $1.15B | $946.8M |
| FY2025 | $8.20B | $1.26B | $1.05B |
Valuation snapshot
| Market value | $60.29B |
|---|---|
| P/E ratio | 48.2 |
| Dividend yield | 1.9% |
Rank among 1514 US companies
Market value at each year end
Fastenal’s market value went from $28.03B at the end of 2020 to $60.29B on Nov 2, 2026, about 2.2 times as much; since the end of 2025 it is up 31%.
Show as a table
| Year end | Market value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 2, 2026 | $60.29B | +30.9% |
| 2025 | $46.07B | +11.8% |
| 2024 | $41.20B | +11.3% |
| 2023 | $37.01B | +36.6% |
| 2022 | $27.10B | -26.4% |
| 2021 | $36.84B | +31.4% |
| 2020 | $28.03B |
Price behavior
| YTD | 1 yr | 3 yr | 5 yr | 10 yr | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FAST price data to Nov 2, 2026 | +33.8% | +30.5% | +23.5% | +15.6% | — |
Show as a table
| Year | Price data |
|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | +33.8% |
| 2025 | +14.0% |
| 2024 | +13.5% |
| 2023 | +41.3% |
| 2022 | -24.3% |
| 2021 | +34.0% |
| 2008 financial crisis stocks fell Oct 9, 2007 – Mar 9, 2009 | Before this security existed |
|---|---|
| 2020 COVID crash stocks fell Feb 19, 2020 – Mar 23, 2020 | Before this security existed |
| 2022 bear market stocks fell Jan 3, 2022 – Oct 12, 2022 | Lost 25% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 25.4%, back to its old high 12 months after the low |
Insider activity
Form 4 filings from 2025-10-27 to 2026-10-27 (25 read): 2 open-market purchases ($2K) and 8 sales ($5.0M).
| Date | Insider | Type | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 5, 2026 | Reyne K Wisecup Director | sell | $1.7M |
| Aug 5, 2026 | Rita J. Heise Director | sell | $1.2M |
| Jan 23, 2026 | Scott Satterlee Director | sell | $705K |
| Aug 5, 2026 | Rita J. Heise Director | sell | $501K |
| Aug 13, 2026 | Donnalee Kathleen Papenfuss EVP-Strategy and Communication | sell | $406K |
Who owns it
Large shareholders (13G filings)
| Vanguard Capital Management | 7.51% | Mar 31, 2026 |
| Vanguard Portfolio Management | 5.63% | Mar 31, 2026 |
ETFs with the most weight in FAST
| RSHO Tema American Reshoring ETF | 4.99% |
| BEEZ Honeytree U.S. Equity ETF | 4.59% |
| IYM iShares U.S. Basic Materials ETF | 4.48% |
| DIVL Madison Dividend Value ETF | 3.96% |
| PAVE Global X US Infrastructure Development ETF | 3.67% |
| QQLV Invesco QQQ Low Volatility ETF | 3.57% |
| TMFM Motley Fool Mid-Cap Growth ETF | 3.43% |
| KONG Formidable Fortress ETF | 3.4% |
What could go wrong
- Growth plan leans on vending and bins. Fastenal's growth depends on placing vending machines and bins inside large customer sites. Signings of new devices fell 7.5% in 2025, and its estimate of a 1.7-million-unit vending market could prove wrong.
- Tariffs could squeeze its 45% gross margin. Fastenal stocks products made abroad. Tariffs can raise its costs, and it may not always pass them on. Price pressure and shifts in customer or product mix have caused swings before.
- Exposed to a manufacturing slowdown. Manufacturers accounted for about $6.2 billion of 2025 revenue. When the economy or factory activity weakens, customers order fewer supplies, which can cut Fastenal's sales and profits.
- Liability if products fail in risky industries. Some customers work in industries prone to catastrophic accidents, and Fastenal aims to grow with them. If its products are linked to injury or damage, insurance and claims against suppliers may not cover all losses.
- Industry consolidation could sharpen competition. Industrial, construction and maintenance supply distributors are consolidating into larger rivals, and Fastenal also faces non-traditional competitors. Either trend could cost it market share or squeeze its gross and operating profit margins.
- Valuation multiple may not hold. As of October 28, 2026, the shares traded at 47.2 times 2025 earnings. Fastenal warns the stock may not keep that multiple; if it shrinks, the price could fall even if profits rise.
Recent events
- Quarterly results released
- Quarterly results released
- Major agreement signed; New debt or financial obligation
- Executive or board change
- Executive or board change
- Shareholder vote results
- Quarterly results released
- Quarterly results released
- Executive or board change; Investor presentation or announcement
- Executive or board change; Investor presentation or announcement
For income and retirement investors
Fastenal pays out most of its free cash flow (cash left after capital spending) as dividends. Adjusted for stock splits, dividends per share were $0.875 in 2025, up from $0.78 in 2024, and the yield was 1.94% as of October 28, 2026. Payments have moved unevenly ($0.89 in 2023), so the streak of yearly increases is one year, though regular dividends grew about 4.6% a year from 2020 to 2025. The 2025 dividend used 79.8% of earnings and 95.6% of free cash flow, leaving little cushion if profits dip. Buybacks are small: $237.8 million from 2021 through 2025, and the share count fell just 0.3% from January 2022 to October 2026.
In the 2022 bear market (a prolonged, broad market decline), the shares fell 25.4% from January to October, then took 12 months to recover. Single stocks carry more risk than diversified funds, since one company's setbacks are not offset by others.
Questions investors ask
How does Fastenal make money?
Fastenal buys industrial and construction supplies and resells them to businesses at a markup. In fiscal 2025 its gross margin was 45%, so it kept about 45 cents of each sales dollar after paying for the goods. Much of its selling happens through vending machines and smart bins inside customer sites. FASTBin and FASTVend produced 32.2% of fiscal 2025 sales, and FASTStock scanned bins produced 12.5%. Manufacturers make up most of its customer base.
Does Fastenal raise its dividend every year?
No, not by this measure. Adjusted for its stock splits, dividends per share fell in fiscal 2021 and fiscal 2024, then rose to $0.875 in fiscal 2025. From fiscal 2020 to fiscal 2025, regular dividends grew about 4.6% a year. In fiscal 2025 the dividend used 79.8% of earnings and 95.6% of free cash flow (cash left after capital spending). The yield was 1.9% as of October 29, 2026. The 10-K says future dividends are not guaranteed.
Is Fastenal stock expensive?
Measured by earnings, the shares carry a high price. As of October 29, 2026, Fastenal traded at a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 48.2 based on fiscal 2025 earnings, with a market value of about $60.3 billion. In fiscal 2025 revenue grew 8.7% and net income grew 9.4%. In the third quarter of fiscal 2026, revenue rose 15.5% from a year earlier. Fastenal's 10-K warns there is no assurance the stock will keep trading at such a multiple.
How did Fastenal stock hold up in the 2022 bear market?
It fell sharply but recovered within about a year. The share price dropped 25.4% from January 4 to October 12, 2022, and was back at its earlier peak by October 12, 2023. The largest drop across 6.6 years of price history was 30.7%. In the year to October 29, 2026, the price rose 30.6%, and over five years it gained 15.7% a year. Its one-year beta of 0.44 means it has moved less than the broad market.
Does Fastenal have a lot of debt?
No. As of September 30, 2026, Fastenal reported $100 million of total debt and $211.9 million of cash and investments, which left it with net cash of $111.9 million. Shareholders' equity was about $4.15 billion. On June 23, 2026, it filed an 8-K reporting a major agreement and a new debt or financial obligation, and that filing has the details. Its 10-K lists tight credit markets and interest rate changes among its risks.