Core & Main vs MSC Industrial Direct
Core & Main reported revenue of $7.6 billion in fiscal 2025, 1.9 times MSC Industrial Direct's $4.0 billion in fiscal 2026. Core & Main's revenue grew 2.8% in its latest year, and MSC Industrial Direct's grew 6.4%. Core & Main had an operating margin of 9.4%, against 8.0% at MSC Industrial Direct. Free cash flow was $604 million at Core & Main and $225 million at MSC Industrial Direct. Their fiscal years end in different months (February 1 and August 29), so the periods don't line up exactly.
Side by side
| Core & Main | MSC Industrial Direct | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest fiscal year | FY2025, Feb 1, 2026 | FY2026, Aug 29, 2026 |
| Revenue | $7.6B | $4.0B |
| Revenue growth | 2.8% | 6.4% |
| Revenue growth a year, last 5 years | 16.0% | 4.3% |
| Gross margin | 26.9% | 40.9% |
| Operating margin | 9.4% | 8.0% |
| Net margin | 5.8% | 5.5% |
| Free cash flow | $604M | $225M |
| Free cash flow margin | 7.9% | 5.6% |
| Return on capital | 13.7% | 13.2% |
| Net debt to EBITDA | 2.1x | 1.0x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $155M | $208M |
| Change in diluted share count | −1.8% | 0.2% |
| Last close | $42.38 | $118.72 |
| P/E at the last close | 17.4× | 29.8× |
| Insider trades, last 12 months | bought $195,083, sold $262,718 | bought $18.0 million, sold $156,294 |
| Piotroski F-score | 7 of 9 | 8 of 9 |
Amounts in each company's own currency, US$ unless marked (a foreign company may report in another), each company's latest fiscal year from its 10-K, or 20-F or 40-F for a foreign company. Growth rates compare with the year before; the five-year rate is the average a year. Free cash flow is cash from operations minus capital spending; return on capital is after-tax operating income over the money invested in the business; P/E is the last close over the latest earnings per share. Banks are measured differently (return on equity, efficiency ratio), so some rows apply to one company only.
Ten years
Revenue
US$ billions, fiscal years
Core & MainMSC Industrial Direct
Operating margin
Percent of revenue
Core & MainMSC Industrial Direct
Free cash flow
US$ billions. Cash from operations minus capital expenditure.
Core & MainMSC Industrial Direct
Source: the companies' Form 10-K filings, from SEC EDGAR, and the last close. For information only, not investment advice: the figures describe results, not which company is the better investment. The Filing Desk is not affiliated with either company. Full figures on the Core & Main and MSC Industrial Direct pages.