Core Viewpoint - Fastenal Company reported mixed third-quarter 2024 results, with earnings meeting expectations while net sales fell short of consensus estimates. Year-over-year, net sales increased, but earnings remained flat [1][4]. Financial Performance - Earnings per share (EPS) was 52 cents, matching the Zacks Consensus Estimate and unchanged from the previous year [4]. - Net sales reached $1.91 billion, slightly missing the consensus by 0.3% but showing a 3.5% increase year-over-year [4]. - Daily sales averaged $29.8 million, reflecting a 1.9% year-over-year increase [5]. Sales Breakdown - Daily sales of Fasteners, which accounted for approximately 30.2% of net sales, declined by 4% year-over-year [6]. - Sales of Safety Supplies (22.5% of net sales) grew by 6.8% year-over-year, while Other Product Lines (47.3%) increased by 3.7% [6]. - Daily sales in Heavy Manufacturing (43.3% of net sales) rose by 1.8% year-over-year, and Other Manufacturing (32.2%) grew by 4% [7]. Market Trends - Daily sales in Non-Residential Construction and Reseller segments declined by 3.6% and 11.3%, respectively, while Other End-Markets saw a 5.6% increase [8]. - Daily sales to National Account customers (63.6% of total net sales) increased by 5.6% year-over-year, while sales to Non-National Account customers (36.4%) fell by 4.1% [9]. Growth Drivers - Fastenal opened 93 new Onsite locations in the third quarter, bringing the total to 1,986 active sites, an 11.7% increase from the previous year [10]. - Daily sales through Onsite locations increased at a low-single-digit rate year-over-year, supported by new locations activated in 2023 and 2024 [11]. Margin Analysis - Gross margin was 44.9%, down 100 basis points year-over-year, while operating margin decreased to 20.3%, down 70 basis points [12]. - Selling, general, and administrative expenses as a percentage of net sales decreased to 24.6% from 25% in the prior year [12]. Financial Position - As of September 30, 2024, cash and cash equivalents were $292.2 million, up from $221.3 million at the end of 2023. Long-term debt decreased to $125 million from $200 million [13]. - The company returned $223.4 million to shareholders in dividends during the quarter, with net cash from operating activities totaling $890.5 million, down from $1.08 billion in the previous year [13].

Fastenal (FAST) reported $1.91 billion in revenue for the quarter ended September 2024, representing a yearover-year increase of 3.5%. EPS of $0.52 for the same period compares to $0.52 a year ago. The reported revenue represents a surprise of -0.26% over the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.92 billion. With the consensus EPS estimate being $0.52, the company has not delivered EPS surprise. While investors closely watch year-over-year changes in headline numbers -- revenue and earnings -- and how they compare ...

Group 1: Earnings Performance - Fastenal reported quarterly earnings of $0.52 per share, matching the Zacks Consensus Estimate and remaining unchanged from the previous year [1] - The company posted revenues of $1.91 billion for the quarter ended September 2024, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.26% and showing a year-over-year increase from $1.85 billion [2] - Over the last four quarters, Fastenal has surpassed consensus EPS estimates only once and has topped consensus revenue estimates just once [2][1] Group 2: Stock Performance and Outlook - Fastenal shares have increased approximately 8.1% since the beginning of the year, while the S&P 500 has gained 21.2% [3] - The company's earnings outlook is crucial for investors, as it includes current consensus earnings expectations for upcoming quarters and any recent changes to these expectations [4] - The current consensus EPS estimate for the upcoming quarter is $0.49 on revenues of $1.84 billion, and for the current fiscal year, it is $2.04 on revenues of $7.57 billion [7] Group 3: Industry Context - The Building Products - Retail industry, to which Fastenal belongs, is currently ranked in the bottom 14% of over 250 Zacks industries, indicating potential challenges for stock performance [8] - Empirical research suggests a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions, which can impact Fastenal's stock performance [5]

The upcoming report from Fastenal (FAST) is expected to reveal quarterly earnings of $0.52 per share, indicating no change from the year-ago quarter compared to the year-ago period. Analysts forecast revenues of $1.92 billion, representing an increase of 3.8% year over year. The consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has remained unchanged over the last 30 days. This represents how the covering analysts, as a whole, have reassessed their initial estimates during this timeframe. Prior to a company's earnings ...

Fastenal Company (FAST) is scheduled to report third-quarter 2024 results on Oct. 11, before the opening bell. Stay up-to-date with all quarterly releases: See Zacks Earnings Calendar. In the last reported quarter, Fastenal reported mixed results, with earnings meeting the Zacks Consensus Estimate and net sales missing the same by 0.3%. On a year-over-year basis, net sales rose 1.8% but the bottom line declined 2%. Fastenal's earnings topped the consensus mark in two of the last four quarters, met on one an ...

Top Wall Street analysts changed their outlook on these top names. For a complete view of all analyst rating changes, including upgrades and downgrades, please see our analyst ratings page. Considering buying FAST stock? Here's what analysts think: Fastenal Co has a consensus price target of $64.21 based on the ratings of 14 analysts. The high is $85 issued by B of A Securities on October 7, 2024. The low is $42 issued by Morgan Stanley on January 6, 2023. The 3 most-recent analyst ratings were released by ...

Fastenal (FAST) is expected to deliver flat earnings compared to the year-ago quarter on higher revenues when it reports results for the quarter ended September 2024. This widely-known consensus outlook gives a good sense of the company's earnings picture, but how the actual results compare to these estimates is a powerful factor that could impact its near-term stock price. The earnings report, which is expected to be released on October 11, 2024, might help the stock move higher if these key numbers are be ...

Investors in Fastenal Company (FAST) need to pay close attention to the stock based on moves in the options market lately. That is because the Nov 15, 2025 $90 Call had some of the highest implied volatility of all equity options today. What is Implied Volatility? Implied volatility shows how much movement the market is expecting in the future. Options with high levels of implied volatility suggest that investors in the underlying stocks are expecting a big move in one direction or the other. It could also ...

Buy-and-hold dividend growth investors know something about the best dividend stocks to buy that less experienced yield-hunters don't: it pays to be patient when you're investing for income. Shares in companies that raise their payouts like clockwork decade after decade can produce superior total returns (price change plus dividends) over the long run, even if they sport apparently ho-hum yields to begin with. That's partly because regular dividend increases lift the yield on an investor's original cost bas ...

Generally, when investing in stocks we look for companies with strong brand power, differentiation and significant barriers to entry. This is not the case with Fastenal Co. (FAST, Financial). As the company operates in the industrial supplies distribution sector, there is little differentiation and a low barrier to entry. The company makes up for this, however, by being very efficient in executing its business model, offering diversified solutions, inventory solutions and has a large distribution network, w ...