Fastenal (FAST) Q2 Earnings Match Estimates

Core Viewpoint - Fastenal's recent earnings report showed a slight miss in earnings per share and revenues, raising concerns about its future performance in the market [1][2][8]. Company Performance - Fastenal reported earnings of $0.51 per share, which was in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate, but a decrease from $0.52 per share a year ago [8]. - The company's revenues for the quarter ended June 2024 were $1.92 billion, slightly below the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.29%, and an increase from $1.88 billion year-over-year [2]. - Fastenal has only surpassed consensus revenue estimates once in the last four quarters [2]. Stock Performance - Fastenal shares have declined approximately 0.9% since the beginning of the year, contrasting with the S&P 500's gain of 17.1% [3]. - The stock currently holds a Zacks Rank of 4 (Sell), indicating expectations of underperformance in the near future [12]. Earnings Outlook - The current consensus EPS estimate for the upcoming quarter is $0.52 on revenues of $1.93 billion, and for the current fiscal year, it is $2.07 on revenues of $7.61 billion [5]. - The trend of estimate revisions for Fastenal has been unfavorable leading up to the earnings release [12]. Industry Context - Fastenal operates within the Zacks Building Products - Retail industry, which is currently ranked in the bottom 13% of over 250 Zacks industries [13]. - The performance of Fastenal's stock may be influenced by the overall outlook of the industry, as historically, the top 50% of Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by more than 2 to 1 [13].