# Fastenal Co (FAST) — Stock CV

Fastenal Co 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.

> 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.

## Identity

- **Ticker**: FAST
- **Sector**: Consumer Cyclical
- **Industry**: Retail-Building Materials, Hardware, Garden Supply
- **Headquarters**: WINONA, MN
- **Employees**: 24 795
- **Website**: https://www.fastenal.com
- **Market cap**: $58.4B
- **Last price**: $50.90
- **Financial profile**: Strong

## Vitals (TTM)

- **Revenue**: $8.75B
- **Net income**: $1.35B
- **Free cash flow**: $1.16B
- **Net cash**: $177M
- **P/E**: 43.1
- **Revenue growth (YoY)**: 12.5%

## Skills (profile scores, 0–100)

| Pillar | Score |
|---|---|
| Valuation | 22 |
| Growth | 56 |
| Profitability | 90 |
| Health | 100 |
| Quality | 89 |
| Moat | 95 |

## Qualifications (beginner checklist) — 11 of 11 passed

- [x] Revenue growing — +12.5% YoY
- [x] Profitable — $1.35B TTM
- [x] Profit growing — +5.0% YoY
- [x] Generates cash — $1.16B TTM
- [x] Debt under control — more cash than debt
- [x] Established company — $58.4B market cap
- [x] Not printing shares — -0.1% shares over ~5y
- [x] Proven track record — 10/10 profitable years
- [x] Financially stable — Altman Z 31.9 — safe
- [x] Pays a dividend — yield 1.81%
- [x] Valuation not extreme — P/E 43.1

## Experience (career milestones)

- **FY2025** — Best year on record: $1.26B net income
- **FY2023** — Became debt-free: cash now exceeds total debt
- **FY2016** — Profitable every year on record: 10 consecutive profitable years in our data
- **FY2016** — Revenue already above $1B: $3.96B in first reported year
- **FY2016** — Positive free cash flow every year since: 10-year streak
- **2009** — Fastenal acquired parts of Holo-Krome, a socket head screw-making company
- **2006** — Fastenal has been a sponsor of NASCAR since 2006, and in 2020, they became the official MRO partner of the NHL
- **2001** — Opened in 2001, Fastenal's Singapore location was its first site outside North America
- **1967** — Fastenal Company is an American publicly traded company based in Winona, Minnesota, founded in 1967

## 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

- None stand out in the data.

## Track record

| Year | Revenue | Net income | Free cash flow |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2021 | $6.01B | $925M | $614M |
| FY2022 | $6.98B | $1.09B | $767M |
| FY2023 | $7.35B | $1.16B | $1.26B |
| FY2024 | $7.55B | $1.15B | $947M |
| FY2025 | $8.20B | $1.26B | $1.05B |

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Source: https://stockcv.com/FAST — derived from company filings; may be delayed or incomplete. Information, not investment advice.