# W.W. Grainger, Inc. (GWW) — Stock CV

W.W. Grainger, Inc. is a $60.8B industrial company. Revenue grew 7.8% over the last year, it keeps 10¢ of every dollar of sales as profit, and its net debt equals ~1.2 years of free cash flow. It trades at 32.5× earnings — near the highest of its own history.

> Founded in 1927, W.W. Grainger originally distributed various motors via a mail-order catalog.

## Identity

- **Ticker**: GWW
- **Sector**: Industrials
- **Industry**: Wholesale-Durable Goods
- **Headquarters**: LAKE FOREST, IL
- **Employees**: 25 000
- **Website**: https://www.grainger.com
- **Market cap**: $60.8B
- **Last price**: $1 289.79
- **Financial profile**: Mixed

## Vitals (TTM)

- **Revenue**: $18.8B
- **Net income**: $1.87B
- **Free cash flow**: $1.51B
- **Net debt**: $1.78B
- **P/E**: 32.5
- **Revenue growth (YoY)**: 7.8%

## Skills (profile scores, 0–100)

| Pillar | Score |
|---|---|
| Valuation | 37 |
| Growth | 77 |
| Profitability | 75 |
| Health | 62 |
| Quality | 87 |
| Moat | 81 |

## Qualifications (beginner checklist) — 10 of 11 passed

- [x] Revenue growing — +7.8% YoY
- [x] Profitable — $1.87B TTM
- [x] Profit growing — +5.4% YoY
- [x] Generates cash — $1.51B TTM
- [x] Debt under control — ~1.2y of cash flow to repay
- [x] Established company — $60.8B market cap
- [x] Not printing shares — -10.6% shares over ~5y
- [x] Proven track record — 10/10 profitable years
- [ ] Financially stable — health score 50/100
- [x] Pays a dividend — yield 0.81%
- [x] Valuation not extreme — P/E 32.5

## Experience (career milestones)

- **FY2024** — Best year on record: $1.91B net income
- **FY2016** — Profitable every year on record: 10 consecutive profitable years in our data
- **FY2016** — Revenue already above $10B: $10.1B in first reported year
- **FY2016** — Positive free cash flow every year since: 10-year streak
- **Sep 1, 2015** — September 1, 2015: Cromwell Group Holdings (UK) Ltd The initial aggregate purchase price for the acquisition under…
- **Aug 23, 2013** — The purchase price is $30 million, less cash acquired. * August 23, 2013: E&R Industrial Sales Inc
- **Dec 31, 2012** — The purchase price is $116 million, less cash acquired. * December 31, 2012: Techni-tool, Inc
- **1995** — The grainger.com website was launched with an electronic catalog, later evolving to an eCommerce platform
- **1927** — Grainger, Inc. is an American Fortune 500 industrial supply company founded in 1927 in Chicago by the company's…

## Strengths

- Interest covered 31.0× by operating earnings
- High returns on invested capital (ROIC 30.9%)

## Watch-outs

- None stand out in the data.

## Track record

| Year | Revenue | Net income | Free cash flow |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2021 | $13.0B | $1.04B | $682M |
| FY2022 | $15.2B | $1.55B | $1.08B |
| FY2023 | $16.5B | $1.83B | $1.59B |
| FY2024 | $17.2B | $1.91B | $1.57B |
| FY2025 | $17.9B | $1.71B | $1.33B |

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