The 15.5% daily sales growth and 90bp operating margin expansion confirm Fastenal's structural share-gain story with large contract customers is intact. Watch for continued pricing power and SGA leverage in Q4; the lowered FMI device signing goal (27k-29k vs prior 28k-30k) is a minor headwind but does not offset the strong operational momentum.
Price Chart
Executive Summary
Fastenal reported Q3 2026 EPS of $0.35, a 15.7% beat vs consensus of $0.30, on revenue of $2.463B (consensus $2.33B, +5.7% beat). Daily sales grew 15.5% YoY, operating margin expanded 90bp to 21.5%, and operating cash flow hit $422M (105% of net income). The strong beat, accelerating margin expansion, and robust cash generation signal continued share gains with large customers and operational leverage, making this a clear positive read-through for the stock.
Key Financial Metrics
Key Facts
- Q3 2026 diluted EPS $0.35 vs consensus $0.30 (beat by 15.7%)
- Q3 2026 net sales $2.463B vs consensus $2.33B (beat by 5.7%)
- Daily sales +15.5% YoY, driven by share gains with larger customers and pricing
- Operating margin 21.5%, up 90bp YoY (20.7%) — SGA leverage more than offset gross margin pressure
- Operating cash flow $421.6M, representing 105.0% of net income
- Returned $328.4M to shareholders via dividends ($298.2M) and buybacks ($30.2M)
- Total debt reduced to $100M (2.4% of total capital) from $195M a year ago
- Contract customer sales grew 18.8% DSR vs non-contract 7.8%, highlighting share gains
Financial Impact
EPS beat consensus by $0.05 (15.7%); revenue beat by ~$133M (5.7%); operating margin expanded 90bp to 21.5%
Risk Factors
- Gross margin declined ~40bp YoY to 44.8% due to customer mix shift toward larger accounts
- Accounts receivable grew 19.9% YoY, outpacing sales growth, indicating potential working capital drag
- FMI device signing goal lowered to 27k-29k MEUs from 28k-30k, suggesting slight deceleration in digital adoption
Investment Themes
Documents Analyzed
This report is based on 6 SEC documents filed with EDGAR.
| Document | Accession Number |
|---|---|
| 8-K Filing (Primary) | 0000815556-26-000046 |
| Document: fast-20261014.htm | 0000815556-26-000046 |
| Document: 0000815556-26-000046-index-headers.html | 0000815556-26-000046 |
| Document: 0000815556-26-000046-index.html | 0000815556-26-000046 |
| Document: 0000815556-26-000046.txt | 0000815556-26-000046 |
| 8-K Data (Synthetic) | 0000815556-26-000046 |
Track record builds as more directional reports settle.
Filters
| Type | Now | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Oct 14, 2026 13d ago | 8-K | $52.00 $52.49 | ▲ +0.94% | ▲ +0.49% | $51.55 (−0.87%) |
Aug 17, 2026 10w ago | Insider Cluster | $51.23 $51.28 | ▲ +0.10% | ▲ +1.29% | $51.55 (+0.62%) |
Aug 17, 2026 10w ago | Insider Cluster | $51.23 $51.28 | ▲ +0.10% | ▲ +1.29% | $51.55 (+0.62%) |
Aug 11, 2026 11w ago | Insider Cluster | $52.22 $51.44 | ▼ −1.49% | ▼ −1.05% | $51.55 (−1.28%) |
Jul 14, 2026 15w ago | 8-K | $45.74 $44.76 | ▼ −2.14% | ▼ −0.85% | $51.55 (+12.70%) |
Jun 23, 2026 18w ago | 8-K | $46.26 $47.75 | ▲ +3.22% | ▲ +1.51% | $51.55 (+11.44%) |
Apr 13, 2026 28w ago | 8-K | $45.56 $45.32 | ▼ −0.52% | ▼ −3.82% | $51.55 (+13.15%) |
Feb 28, 2026 34w ago | Institutional Cluster | $46.08 $46.55 | ▲ +1.01% | ▲ +2.22% | $51.55 (+11.86%) |
US Market Status
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