MSC Industrial Direct vs Watsco
Watsco reported revenue of $7.2 billion in fiscal 2025, 1.8 times MSC Industrial Direct's $4.0 billion in fiscal 2026. MSC Industrial Direct's revenue grew 6.4% in its latest year, and Watsco's fell 5.0%. MSC Industrial Direct had an operating margin of 8.0%, against 9.9% at Watsco. Free cash flow was $225 million at MSC Industrial Direct and $535 million at Watsco. Their fiscal years end in different months (August 29 and December 31), so the periods don't line up exactly.
Side by side
| MSC Industrial Direct | Watsco | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest fiscal year | FY2026, Aug 29, 2026 | FY2025, Dec 31, 2025 |
| Revenue | $4.0B | $7.2B |
| Revenue growth | 6.4% | −5.0% |
| Revenue growth a year, last 5 years | 4.3% | 7.4% |
| Gross margin | 40.9% | 28.1% |
| Operating margin | 8.0% | 9.9% |
| Net margin | 5.5% | 6.9% |
| Free cash flow | $225M | $535M |
| Free cash flow margin | 5.6% | 7.4% |
| Return on capital | 13.2% | 20.1% |
| Net debt to EBITDA | 1.0x | −0.3x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $208M | $474M |
| Change in diluted share count | 0.2% | 1.0% |
| Last close | $118.72 | $305.33 |
| P/E at the last close | 29.8× | 26.3× |
| Insider trades, last 12 months | bought $18.0 million, sold $156,294 | — |
| Piotroski F-score | 8 of 9 | 6 of 9 |
Amounts in each company's own currency, US$ 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
MSC Industrial DirectWatsco
Operating margin
Percent of revenue
MSC Industrial DirectWatsco
Free cash flow
US$ billions. Cash from operations minus capital expenditure.
MSC Industrial DirectWatsco
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 MSC Industrial Direct and Watsco pages.