Industrial supplier Fastenal (NASDAQ: FAST) met Wall Street’s revenue expectations in Q3 CY2025, with sales up 11.7% year on year to $2.13 billion. Its GAAP profit of $0.29 per share was in line with analysts’ consensus estimates.

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Company Overview

Founded in 1967, Fastenal (NASDAQ: FAST) provides industrial and construction supplies, including fasteners, tools, safety products, and many other product categories to businesses globally.

Revenue Growth

A company’s long-term sales performance is one signal of its overall quality. Any business can put up a good quarter or two, but many enduring ones grow for years. Luckily, Fastenal’s sales grew at a decent 7.5% compounded annual growth rate over the last five years. Its growth was slightly above the average industrials company and shows its offerings resonate with customers.

Long-term growth is the most important, but within industrials, a half-decade historical view may miss new industry trends or demand cycles. Fastenal’s recent performance shows its demand has slowed as its annualized revenue growth of 4.8% over the last two years was below its five-year trend.

We can dig further into the company’s revenue dynamics by analyzing its number of units sold, which reached 133,910 in the latest quarter. Over the last two years, Fastenal’s units sold averaged 11.1% year-on-year growth. Because this number is better than its revenue growth, we can see the company’s average selling price decreased.

This quarter, Fastenal’s year-on-year revenue growth was 11.7%, and its $2.13 billion of revenue was in line with Wall Street’s estimates.

Looking ahead, sell-side analysts expect revenue to grow 9.8% over the next 12 months, an improvement versus the last two years. This projection is admirable and suggests its newer products and services will fuel better top-line performance.

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Operating Margin

Fastenal’s operating margin might fluctuated slightly over the last 12 months but has remained more or less the same, averaging 20.5% over the last five years. This profitability was elite for an industrials business thanks to its efficient cost structure and economies of scale. This result isn’t surprising as its high gross margin gives it a favorable starting point.

Analyzing the trend in its profitability, Fastenal’s operating margin might fluctuated slightly but has generally stayed the same over the last five years. This raises questions about the company’s expense base because its revenue growth should have given it leverage on its fixed costs, resulting in better economies of scale and profitability.

In Q3, Fastenal generated an operating margin profit margin of 20.7%, in line with the same quarter last year. This indicates the company’s cost structure has recently been stable.

Earnings Per Share

We track the long-term change in earnings per share (EPS) for the same reason as long-term revenue growth. Compared to revenue, however, EPS highlights whether a company’s growth is profitable.

Fastenal’s unimpressive 7.8% annual EPS growth over the last five years aligns with its revenue performance. This tells us it maintained its per-share profitability as it expanded.

Like with revenue, we analyze EPS over a shorter period to see if we are missing a change in the business.

For Fastenal, its two-year annual EPS growth of 3.7% was lower than its five-year trend. We hope its growth can accelerate in the future.

In Q3, Fastenal reported EPS of $0.29, up from $0.26 in the same quarter last year. Despite growing year on year, this print missed analysts’ estimates. Over the next 12 months, Wall Street expects Fastenal’s full-year EPS of $1.07 to grow 13.5%.

Key Takeaways from Fastenal’s Q3 Results

We struggled to find many positives in these results. Its EPS was just in line and its EBITDA fell short of Wall Street’s estimates. Overall, this quarter could have been better. The stock traded down 3.9% to $44.03 immediately after reporting.

Fastenal didn’t show it’s best hand this quarter, but does that create an opportunity to buy the stock right now? If you’re making that decision, you should consider the bigger picture of valuation, business qualities, as well as the latest earnings. We cover that in our actionable full research report which you can read here, it’s free for active Edge members.