WD-40 Company

WD-40 Company, founded in 1953 and based in San Diego, mainly sells maintenance products that lubricate, loosen stuck parts, prevent rust and drive out moisture. For more than four decades it sold one product: WD-40 Multi-Use Product, the blue and yellow can with the little red top. It still dominates, bringing in $532.7 million, or 77% of the $688.0 million in net sales for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2026. The professional-grade WD-40 Specialist line added 14%, and other maintenance brands such as 3-IN-ONE oil and GT85 added 5%.

The company calls itself a marketing organization. It relies on outside contract manufacturers. It sells through hardware stores, auto parts outlets, industrial distributors, home centers, mass retailers, warehouse clubs and online sellers in more than 176 countries and territories. In fiscal 2026 it kept 55.3% of sales as gross profit after product costs. It kept 15.8% as operating profit after marketing and other running costs.

About 66% of sales came from outside the US. By segment, the Americas supplied 47%, EIMEA (Europe, India, the Middle East and Africa) 38% and Asia-Pacific 15%. Homecare and cleaning brands such as 2000 Flushes, Spot Shot and Lava made up about 3%. Management calls them "harvest brands." They still earn positive returns but get less marketing money as they become a smaller part of the business.

• In Q4 FY2026 (ended Aug 31, 2026), revenue was $176.8M, up 8.1% from a year earlier, and net income was $14.4M (-32.4%).
• For fiscal 2026, revenue was $688.0M (+11.0% year over year; +7.1% a year from FY2021 to FY2026) with a 12% net margin.

• Over FY2022–FY2026: $89.6M in buybacks and $238.1M in dividends.
• At least 9 consecutive annual increases: every fiscal year in the SEC data (FY2017–FY2026) shows an increase; the true streak may be longer.
• Regular dividends per share grew +7.5% a year over 5 years (FY2021–FY2026).
• Dividends took 65.6% of earnings and 55.4% of free cash flow in the latest fiscal year.
• Shares outstanding changed -2.2% from Jan 3, 2022 to Oct 20, 2026.

Rank among 1514 US companies

Market value at each year end

WD-40’s market value went from $1.66B at the end of 2016 to $2.87B on Oct 28, 2026, up 73%; since the end of 2025 it is up 8%.

Form 4 filings from 2025-10-29 to 2026-10-29 (25 read): 1 open-market purchases ($105K) and 2 sales ($117K).

Large shareholders (13G filings)

ETFs with the most weight in WDFC

1. One product brings in most sales. WD-40 Multi-Use Product brought in 77% of net sales in fiscal 2026. If its reputation slipped, or buyers switched to cheaper or unbranded products in hard times, results could suffer.
2. Reliance on a few outside manufacturers. The company depends on a limited group of contract manufacturers, logistics providers and raw material suppliers. Financial trouble or a breakdown at any of them could interrupt the supply of finished products.
3. Dependence on key customers and distributors. Key retail customers and outside marketing distributors carry its products to market. Losing a key customer or mishandling a distributor change could cut sales. The timing of their orders also makes results uneven.
4. Swings in material and shipping costs. Past inflation and supply chain problems raised raw material costs. Future jumps in materials, packaging, components or freight could shrink the 55.3% of sales it kept after product costs in fiscal 2026.
5. Tariffs, conflicts and foreign markets. About 66% of fiscal 2026 sales came from outside the US. Tariffs, trade disputes and political instability can raise costs or hurt demand. Middle East conflict has disrupted supply chains in its EIMEA segment.
6. High expectations built into the price. The shares traded at 35 times fiscal 2026 earnings as of October 28, 2026. Results that miss expectations can hit a highly valued stock hard. It lost 33% in calendar 2022 and 17% in 2025.

• Oct 21, 2026 Quarterly results released
• Sep 3, 2026 Executive or board change; Investor presentation or announcement
• Jul 9, 2026 Quarterly results released
• Jun 4, 2026 Executive or board change; Investor presentation or announcement
• Apr 9, 2026 Quarterly results released
• Feb 19, 2026 Executive or board change; Investor presentation or announcement
• Jan 8, 2026 Quarterly results released
• Dec 16, 2025 Shareholder vote results; Other company announcement

WD-40 Company has raised its dividend at least 9 years in a row through fiscal 2026, and possibly longer. Regular dividends grew from $2.78 a share in fiscal 2021 to $4.00 in fiscal 2026, or 7.5% a year. Fiscal 2026 dividends used 66% of net income and 55% of free cash flow (the cash left after running and investing in the business). The yield was 1.91% as of October 28, 2026. Over fiscal 2022–2026, the company paid $238 million in dividends and spent $90 million repurchasing its own shares. The share count fell 2.2% from early 2022 to October 2026.

In the 2008 financial crisis the shares fell as much as 46%. They took about 19 months from the March 2009 low to recover. In the 2022 bear market they fell up to 35% and only recovered in January 2024. In the 2020 COVID crash they rose about 5.5% from the market's peak to its low. Single stocks carry more risk than diversified funds.