Better Stock-Split Stock: Fastenal, O'Reilly Automotive, or Interactive Brokers?

Core Viewpoint - Fastenal, O'Reilly Automotive, and Interactive Brokers have all announced stock splits this year, prompting a comparison of their financial metrics, growth prospects, and valuations to determine the best investment choice among them [2][14]. Financials - O'Reilly Automotive generated revenue of $16.87 billion over the last 12 months, significantly higher than Fastenal's $7.61 billion and Interactive Brokers' $5.4 billion [4]. - In terms of net profit margin, Fastenal leads slightly with 15.1%, followed by Interactive Brokers at 14.7% and O'Reilly at 14.1% [5]. - Interactive Brokers has the strongest balance sheet, with a cash position of nearly $89.7 billion compared to its debt of $17.15 billion, while both Fastenal and O'Reilly have larger debt loads than their cash reserves [6]. Growth - Interactive Brokers experienced a revenue increase of 18.6% year over year in Q1 2025, with earnings rising by 21.7% [7]. - Fastenal's net sales grew by 3.4% year over year, with earnings up only 0.3%, while O'Reilly reported a revenue growth of 4% but a decline in earnings by 1.6% [8]. - Analysts project O'Reilly to deliver the highest earnings growth next year at 12.5%, compared to Fastenal's 9.8% and Interactive Brokers' 7.3% [9]. Valuation - Interactive Brokers has the lowest trailing 12-month price-to-earnings ratio and forward P/E multiple [10]. - O'Reilly has a lower price-to-earnings-to-growth (PEG) ratio than Fastenal, indicating a more attractive valuation based on future earnings growth projections [11]. Dividends - Fastenal is the dividend winner with a forward dividend yield of 2.13% and has increased its dividend for 27 consecutive years [12]. - Interactive Brokers has a forward dividend yield of 0.63% and has only increased its dividend for two years, while O'Reilly does not currently offer a dividend [12]. Best Stock-Split Stock - The best choice among these stocks depends on the investor's style; Fastenal is recommended for income investors, while O'Reilly is viewed as the most attractively valued for growth investors [13][14].