Fastenal vs Watsco
Fastenal reported revenue of $8.2 billion in fiscal 2025, about the same as Watsco's $7.2 billion in fiscal 2025. Fastenal's revenue grew 8.7% in its latest year, and Watsco's fell 5.0%. Fastenal had an operating margin of 20.2%, against 9.9% at Watsco. Free cash flow was $1.1 billion at Fastenal and $535 million at Watsco.
Side by side
| Fastenal | Watsco | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest fiscal year | FY2025, Dec 31, 2025 | FY2025, Dec 31, 2025 |
| Revenue | $8.2B | $7.2B |
| Revenue growth | 8.7% | −5.0% |
| Revenue growth a year, last 5 years | 7.7% | 7.4% |
| Gross margin | 45.0% | 28.1% |
| Operating margin | 20.2% | 9.9% |
| Net margin | 15.3% | 6.9% |
| Free cash flow | $1.1B | $535M |
| Free cash flow margin | 12.8% | 7.4% |
| Return on capital | 34.2% | 20.1% |
| Net debt to EBITDA | −0.1x | −0.3x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $1.0B | $474M |
| Change in diluted share count | 0.1% | 1.0% |
| Last close | $52.47 | $305.33 |
| P/E at the last close | 42.7× | 26.3× |
| Insider trades, last 12 months | bought $170,440, sold $5.0 million | — |
| Piotroski F-score | 7 of 9 | 6 of 9 |
Amounts in each company's own currency, US$ 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
FastenalWatsco
Operating margin
Percent of revenue
FastenalWatsco
Free cash flow
US$ billions. Cash from operations minus capital expenditure.
FastenalWatsco