Q1 Maintenance and Repair Distributors Earnings: Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Impresses
As the craze of earnings season draws to a close, here's a look back at some of the most exciting (and some less so) results from Q1. Today, we are looking at maintenance and repair distributors stocks, starting with Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST).
Supply chain and inventory management are themes that grew in focus after COVID wreaked havoc on the global movement of raw materials and components. Maintenance and repair distributors that boast reliable selection and quickly deliver products to customers can benefit from this theme. While e-commerce hasn’t disrupted industrial distribution as much as consumer retail, it is still a real threat, forcing investment in omnichannel capabilities to serve customers everywhere. Additionally, maintenance and repair distributors are at the whim of economic cycles that impact the capital spending and construction projects that can juice demand.
The 4 maintenance and repair distributors stocks we track reported a weak Q1; on average, revenues missed analyst consensus estimates by 0.6%. Stocks, especially growth stocks where cash flows further in the future are more important to the story, had a good end of 2023. But the beginning of 2024 has seen more volatile stock performance due to mixed inflation data, and maintenance and repair distributors stocks have had a rough stretch, with share prices down 6.1% on average since the previous earnings results.
Best Q1: Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)
Founded in 1967, Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) provides industrial and construction supplies, including fasteners, tools, safety products, and many other product categories to businesses globally.
Fastenal reported revenues of $1.90 billion, up 1.9% year on year, falling short of analysts' expectations by 1%. It was a slower quarter for the company, with a miss of analysts' earnings and operating margin estimates.
The stock is down 14.3% since the results and currently trades at $64.06.
Is now the time to buy Fastenal? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it's free.
W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW)
Founded as a supplier of motors, W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) provides maintenance, repair, and operating (MRO) supplies and services to businesses and institutions.
W.W. Grainger reported revenues of $4.24 billion, up 3.5% year on year, falling short of analysts' expectations by 0.5%. It was a slower quarter for the company, with a miss of analysts' earnings estimates.
W.W. Grainger scored the fastest revenue growth among its peers. The stock is down 8.3% since the results and currently trades at $879.03.
Is now the time to buy W.W. Grainger? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it's free.
Weakest Q1: MSC Industrial (NYSE:MSM)
Founded in NYC’s Little Italy, MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) provides industrial supplies and equipment, offering vast and reliable selection for customers such as contractors
MSC Industrial reported revenues of $935.3 million, down 2.7% year on year, falling short of analysts' expectations by 1.6%. It was a weak quarter for the company, with a miss of analysts' operating margin and organic revenue estimates.
MSC Industrial had the weakest performance against analyst estimates in the group. The stock is down 14.5% since the results and currently trades at $85.1.
Read our full analysis of MSC Industrial's results here.
WESCO (NYSE:WCC)
Based in Pittsburgh, WESCO (NYSE:WCC) provides electrical, industrial, and communications products and augments them with services such as supply chain management.
WESCO reported revenues of $5.35 billion, down 3.1% year on year, in line with analysts' expectations. It was a weak quarter for the company, with a miss of analysts' operating margin and earnings estimates.
WESCO pulled off the biggest analyst estimates beat but had the slowest revenue growth among its peers. The stock is up 13.6% since the results and currently trades at $175.39.
Read our full, actionable report on WESCO here, it's free.
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