Grainger(US:GWW)2024-10-31 20:32Financial Performance - Net sales for Q3 2024 reached $4,388 million, a 4.3% increase from $4,208 million in Q3 2023[5] - Gross profit for Q3 2024 was $1,720 million, up from $1,655 million in Q3 2023, reflecting a gross margin of 39.2%[5] - Operating earnings increased to $686 million in Q3 2024, compared to $667 million in Q3 2023, with an operating margin of 15.6%[5] - Net earnings attributable to W.W. Grainger, Inc. for Q3 2024 were $486 million, a rise from $476 million in Q3 2023, resulting in diluted earnings per share of $9.87[5] - Comprehensive earnings attributable to W.W. Grainger, Inc. for Q3 2024 were $524 million, compared to $441 million in Q3 2023[7] - Net earnings for the three months ended September 30, 2023, were $493 million, compared to $490 million for the same period in 2022, representing a year-over-year increase of 0.6%[14] - Diluted earnings per share for Q3 2024 were $9.87, a 4.7% increase from $9.43 in Q3 2023[105] - For the nine months ended September 30, 2024, net earnings attributable to W.W. Grainger, Inc. were $1,446 million, reflecting a 0.8% increase compared to the prior year[107] - Diluted earnings per share for the same period increased by 3.3% to $29.25[107] Cash and Liquidity - Cash and cash equivalents at the end of Q3 2024 were $1,448 million, significantly higher than $660 million at the end of 2023[10] - Net cash provided by operating activities for the nine months ended September 30, 2024, was $1,683 million, compared to $1,427 million for the same period in 2023[12] - The company reported a decrease in cash used in financing activities to $615 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2024, from $839 million in the prior year, primarily due to the issuance of long-term debt[113] - Working capital as of September 30, 2024, was $3,112 million, an increase of $34 million compared to $3,078 million as of December 31, 2023[114] - The company plans to return excess cash to shareholders through cash dividends and share repurchases, funded by cash flows generated from operations[109] Debt and Capital Structure - Total debt increased from $2,300 million as of December 31, 2023, to $2,776 million as of September 30, 2024, reflecting the issuance of $500 million in unsecured 4.45% senior notes[36][38] - Total debt as a percent of total capitalization increased to 41.9% as of September 30, 2024, from 40.1% as of December 31, 2023[115] - The company incurred debt issuance costs related to its Senior Notes, with cumulative unamortized costs of $23 million as of September 30, 2024[39] Shareholder Returns - The company declared a quarterly dividend of $2.05 per share, payable on December 1, 2024[57] - The company reported a total of $739 million in treasury stock purchases during Q3 2024[12] - Grainger repurchased a total of 233,609 shares in Q3 2024 at an average price of $961.49 per share[132] - The company has 4,746,710 shares remaining under its share repurchase program authorized on April 24, 2024[134] Operational Metrics - Daily net sales for Q3 2024 were $67.5 million, a slight decrease of 2.6% from $67.9 million in Q3 2023[69] - The revenue breakdown for the three months ended September 30, 2024, shows that manufacturing accounted for 30% of total company revenue, consistent with the previous year[26] - High-Touch Solutions N.A. segment reported net sales of $3,515 million, a 3.3% increase from $3,403 million in Q3 2023[76] - Endless Assortment segment achieved net sales of $791 million, up from $732 million, marking an increase of 8.1%[53] Expenses - Selling, general and administrative expenses rose to $1,034 million, a 4.7% increase compared to $988 million in the same quarter last year[72] - SG&A expenses for the nine months ended September 30, 2024, were $3,078 million, an increase of $153 million, or 5%, with SG&A leverage decreasing 40 basis points compared to the same period in 2023[88] Taxation - The effective tax rate for Q3 2024 was 24.8%, compared to 24.4% in Q3 2023[73] - Grainger's effective tax rate for the nine months ended September 30, 2024, was 24.0%[107] Corporate Governance and Risk Management - There were no material changes in Grainger's internal control over financial reporting for the quarter ended September 30, 2024[128] - Grainger's disclosure controls and procedures were evaluated as effective by the CEO and CFO as of the end of the reporting period[127] - There have been no material changes to the risk factors previously disclosed in the 2023 Form 10-K[131] - The company has not reported any legal proceedings updates in this quarter[130]