FAST

FASTENAL CO

NASDAQ · CONSUMER DISCRETIONARY · RETAIL-BUILDING MATERIALS, HARDWARE, GARDEN SUPPLY

52.47

+0.56 +1.08%

USD · close Oct 26

A free account adds a watchlist, alerts when insiders, Congress or short sellers move on your tickers, and a morning brief. Sign up

Work order

FLAG · shorts 25

Insiders, 90 days

no open-market filings in 90 days

Congress, 90 days

0 / 0

no disclosures naming it

Big money

0 / 15

none of the tracked funds disclose it

Calls on record

nobody we score has called it yet

MKT CAP $60.2BP/E 44.8DIV YIELD 1.75%FCF YIELD 1.92%REV TTM $8.7B +12.5%NET INCOME $1.4B +13.7%NET CASH $84.7M52W 39.15 – 52.73SEC XBRL · TTM TO Invalid Date

How FAST rewrote its risk factors

10-K ITEM 1A · FY2024 → FY2025

Text kept

74%

of sentences unchanged

Added

new sentences

Dropped

sentences removed

Length

+156

words, now 7,555

New in FY2025

Our ability to process orders, maintain proper levels of inventories, collect accounts receivable, pay expenses, and maintain the security of Fastenal and customer data, as well as the success of our growth drivers, is dependent in varying degrees on the effective and timely operation and support of our IT systems.
We may not be successful in adopting and integrating emerging technologies.
Our ability to maintain and enhance our competitive position depends in part on our capacity to adopt and integrate emerging technologies, including AI and advanced analytics, into our operations, customer solutions, and supply chain management.
If we fail to identify, develop, or implement relevant technologies in a timely and cost-effective manner, or if such technologies do not deliver the anticipated benefits, our business operations, customer experience, and financial performance could be adversely affected.
Additionally, our competitors may leverage these technologies more effectively, which could result in a loss of market share.
The evolving regulatory landscape surrounding AI and data usage may also introduce compliance risks and additional costs.
These factors could materially and adversely impact our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
Our success depends in part on our ability to attract, motivate, and retain a sufficient number of qualified employees, including inside and outside branch associates, Onsite managers, contract account sales representatives, and logistical and administrative support personnel, who understand and appreciate our culture and are able to adequately represent this culture to our customers.
Changes in customer or product mix, downward pressure on sales prices, an inability to capture price increases in response to increased costs associated with tariffs, and changes in volume or timing of orders have caused and could continue to cause our gross profit percentage to fluctuate or decline in the future.
For example, we have experienced a sustained increase in the proportion of our sales attributable to both non-fastener products and contract accounts and Onsite customers.
Similarly, contract accounts and Onsite customers typically have a lower gross profit percentage than smaller customers by virtue of their scale, available business, and broader offering of products which typically have lower gross profit percentages.
In 2025, tariff rates increased on many of the parts we sell.
In 2025, the softer manufacturing economy continued to cause relative weakness in our more cyclical and higher gross margin fastener product line versus our non-fastener product lines.
Similarly, we continued to execute initiatives aimed at accelerating key account penetration, which resulted in relative growth in our lower gross margin contract accounts.
The combination of these two events produced pressure on our product gross profit percentage in 2025 from product and customer mix.
Over time, we have generally experienced an increase in our SG&A expenses, including costs related to payroll, occupancy, freight, and IT, among others, as our net sales have grown.
In 2025, our incentive compensation programs did not leverage during the year due to increased sales and pretax profit growth compared to contraction or very low growth in most periods of 2024.
As previously disclosed, on December 19, 2025, Mr.
Florness informed our board of directors of his decision to voluntarily step out of his role as our chief executive officer, effective as of the CEO Transition Date, and his decision to resign from our board of directors, effective as of the CEO Transition Date.
On December 19, 2025, our board of directors also appointed Mr.
Watts, our current president and chief sales officer, as the next chief executive officer of Fastenal, effective as of the CEO Transition Date.
If we are unable to manage this transition effectively, our operations may be disrupted.
In recent years, we have increased the resources devoted to developing a multi-dimensional, differentiated service offering, including our Digital Footprint (which incorporates our FMI and eBusiness capabilities), contract accounts, international capabilities, and process and consumption analytics.
Failure to achieve any of our goals regarding our Digital Footprint, contract accounts, international capabilities, analytics, or other growth drivers could negatively impact our long-term sales and profit growth.
Any decision to continue to pay quarterly dividends on our common stock, to increase those dividends, or to purchase our common stock in the future will be based upon our financial condition and results of operations, the price of our common stock, credit conditions, recommendations of management, and such other factors as are deemed relevant by our board of directors.
A downturn in either the national or local economies where we operate, or in the principal markets served by us, or changes in any of the other factors described above, could negatively impact sales at our selling locations, sales through our other selling channels, and the level of profitability of those selling locations and other selling channels.
In 2025, our results continued to be impacted by soft manufacturing sector business conditions.
Since February 2025, the U.S. government has imposed additional duties and tariffs in an effort to promote U.S. production of goods and improved trade balance with our global trading partners.
This environment has been very fluid, resulting in several changes to the duties and tariffs enacted throughout the year.
Certain of the duties and tariffs enacted are being challenged from a legal perspective.
We are closely monitoring these developments, which could have an adverse impact on our business and financial results.
Within North America, we believe the potential market opportunity for industrial vending is approximately 1.7 million devices and we have identified over 13,000 customer locations with the potential to implement our Onsite service model within our traditional manufacturing and construction customer base.
In 2025, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act was passed, which contained tax-related provisions.
As of December 31, 2025, we had $125.0 of outstanding debt obligations, all in the form of senior unsecured promissory notes issued under our master note agreement (the Master Note Agreement).
The notes issued under our Master Note Agreement carry a fixed interest rate and consist of three series and are described in further detail in Note 9 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in this Form 10-K.
We also have borrowing capacity under our revolving credit facility (the Credit Facility) of $835.0, but no loans were outstanding as of December 31, 2025.
We currently have the capacity under the Credit Facility and Master Note Agreement to increase borrowings in the future to finance stock purchases, dividends, capital expenditures, working capital additions, acquisitions, or other investments.
Should we seek to increase our borrowings during periods of volatility and disruption in the financial and credit markets, financing may become more costly and more difficult to obtain.
This was not a material consideration in 2025.
The cost of servicing any existing balances on the Credit Facility could increase if interest rates increase due to the SOFR-based interest rate provided for under the Credit Facility.

Gone since FY2024

Our ability to process orders, maintain proper levels of inventories, collect accounts receivable, pay expenses, and maintain the security of Fastenal and customer data, as well as the success of our growth drivers, is dependent in varying degrees on the effective and timely operation and support of our information technology systems.
Our success depends in part on our ability to attract, motivate, and retain a sufficient number of qualified employees, including inside and outside branch associates, Onsite managers, national account sales representatives, and logistical and administrative support personnel, who understand and appreciate our culture and are able to adequately represent this culture to our customers.
Changes in customer or product mix, downward pressure on sales prices, and changes in volume or timing of orders have caused and could continue to cause our gross profit percentage to fluctuate or decline in the future.
For example, we have experienced a sustained increase in the proportion of our sales attributable to both non-fastener products and national accounts and Onsite customers.
Similarly, national accounts and Onsite customers typically have a lower gross profit percentage than smaller customers by virtue of their scale, available business, and broader offering of products which typically have lower gross profit percentages.
We experienced a number of these variables in 2024.
A softer manufacturing economy caused relative weakness in our more cyclical and higher gross margin fastener product line versus our non-fastener product lines.
Similarly, we continued to execute initiatives aimed at accelerating key account penetration, which resulted in relative growth in our lower gross margin national account and Onsite customers.
The combination of these two events produced pressure on our product gross profit percentage in 2024 from product and customer mix.
Over time, we have generally experienced an increase in our SG&A expenses, including costs related to payroll, occupancy, freight, and information technology, among others, as our net sales have grown.
Specifically, a softer manufacturing economy and our continued investment in personnel to support Onsite growth caused our SG&A to grow faster than sales, resulting in pressure on our operating margin percentage.
In December 2024, our Chief Financial Officer disclosed his intention to resign from Fastenal effective April 16, 2025.
The process of filling this role is underway.
However, failure to develop, attract, and retain a suitable replacement may have an adverse effect on our senior leadership team and our existing operations.
In recent years, we have increased the resources devoted to developing a multi-dimensional, differentiated service offering, including our Digital Footprint (which incorporates our FMI and eBusiness capabilities), Onsites, national accounts, international capabilities, and process and consumption analytics.
Failure to achieve any of our goals regarding our Digital Footprint, Onsites, national accounts, international capabilities, analytics, or other growth drivers could negatively impact our long-term sales and profit growth.
Any decision to continue to pay quarterly dividends on our common stock, to increase those dividends, or to purchase our common stock in the future will be based upon our financial condition and results of operations, the price of our common stock, credit conditions, and such other factors as are deemed relevant by our board of directors.
A downturn in either the national or local economies where we operate, or in the principal markets served by us, or changes in any of the other factors described above, could negatively impact sales at our in-market locations, sales through our other selling channels, and the level of profitability of those in-market locations and other selling channels.
The primary variable affecting our results in 2024 was a softening in manufacturing sector business conditions.
On February 1, 2025, the White House issued three executive orders directing the U.S. to impose an increase of the duty on imports from Canada and Mexico and China and empowering the U.S. president to raise the tariffs further should any country retaliate.
On February 3, 2025, the prospective tariffs on Canada and Mexico were deferred for 30 days, though the execution of these tariff increases remain possible beyond the current short-term reprieve.
The 10% additional tariff on all imports from China went into effect, and on February 4, 2025 China retaliated with various levels of tariffs on certain products imported into that country from the U.S.
We are closely monitoring these actions, which could have an adverse impact on our business and financial results.
Within North America, we believe the potential market opportunity for industrial vending is approximately 1.7 million devices and we have identified over 11,000 customer locations with the potential to implement our Onsite service model within our traditional manufacturing and construction customer base.
In 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act was passed, which contained tax-related provisions.
As of December 31, 2024, we had $200.0 of outstanding debt obligations, all in the form of senior unsecured promissory notes issued under our master note agreement (the Master Note Agreement).
The notes issued under our Master Note Agreement carry a fixed interest rate and consist of four series and are described in further detail in Note 9 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in this Form 10-K.
We also have borrowing capacity under our revolving credit facility (the Credit Facility) of $835.0, but no loans were outstanding as of December 31, 2024.
We currently have the capacity under our Credit Facility and Master Note Agreement to increase borrowings in the future to finance stock purchases, dividends, capital expenditures, working capital additions, acquisitions, or other investments.
Should we seek to increase our borrowings during periods of volatility and disruption in the U.S. credit markets, financing may become more costly and more difficult to obtain.
This was not a material consideration in 2024.
The cost of servicing any existing balances on our Credit Facility could increase if interest rates increase due to the SOFR-based interest rate provided for under our Credit Facility.

Sentence-level comparison of Item 1A in the two most recent 10-Ks (FY2024 ↗, FY2025 ↗). A reworded sentence counts as one dropped and one added, so heavy edits read as low “kept”. Headings and page furniture are stripped; nothing is summarised by a model.

Watch FAST. Know when insiders buy.

One email the day a filing lands. Free.