Fastenal Company (FAS) Q3 2026 Earnings Report
DE:FAS Q3 2026 EPS Results
- Actual EPS
- EUR 0.31
- Consensus EPS
- EUR 0.30
- Beat/Miss
- Beat by +EUR 0.01
- One Year Ago EPS
- EUR 0.26
DE:FAS Q3 2026 Revenue Results
- Actual Revenue
- EUR 2.21B
- Expected Revenue
- EUR 2.19B
- Beat/Miss
- Beat by +EUR 19.68M
- YoY Revenue Growth
- +15.47%
Earnings Announcement Details
- Quarter
- Q3 2026
- Date
- 10/14/2026
- Time
- Before Open
- Conference Call
- Wednesday, October 14, 2026
Fastenal Company's next earnings date is estimated for January 19, 2027, based on past reporting schedules.
Q3 2026 Earnings Call Audio
Q3 2026 Earnings Slide Deck
Q3 2026 Earnings Call Summary
The call was strongly positive. Fastenal reported robust 15.5% sales growth, roughly 20% growth in operating earnings and earnings per share, record quarterly operating-income growth, margin expansion, higher returns, broad-based share gains, strong digital and FMI adoption, healthy cash generation and continued capital returns. The main challenges were gross-margin pressure from customer mix and price/cost, the fading pricing contribution, timing-related gross-margin benefits, softer September seasonality and weakness in selected end markets. Management nevertheless stated that the strategy was working and that the business continued to gain share and improve efficiency.
The company continues to expect 27,000 to 29,000 weighted device signings for the full year and full year '26 net capital spending of $310 million to $330 million; the customer solution is expected over time to generate anywhere between 25% to 30% in overall cost savings. For gross margin, around 60 bps is a good underlying point on a year-over-year basis to consider, with a typical starting point of a 50- to 60-basis-point headwind; the company expects price/cost to continue improving toward neutrality, although it does not provide guidance on a quarterly or annual basis. Internally, the company holds itself accountable for a 10 percentage point top line improvement each and every year, but said that is not a forecast or guidance, and believes incremental operating margin when growing double digits should be in the mid-20s, if not higher, also not guidance.
- Strong Sales and Earnings GrowthThird-quarter net sales were $2.46 billion, up 15.5% year over year and $330 million from last year. Operating earnings and earnings per share grew roughly 20%, faster than sales.
- Record Operating Income and Margin ExpansionOperating income increased by $90 million year over year, the largest year-over-year increase in a single quarter in Fastenal's history. Operating margin increased 90 basis points to 21.5%.
- Higher Return on Invested CapitalReturn on invested capital reached 32.5% on a trailing 12-month basis, up 230 basis points year over year and above the company's approximately 28% 10-year average.
- Share Gains Through Key Accounts and Contract WinsManagement said growth was driven mainly by market share gains through the key account strategy and new contract wins. Contract count increased 6.4% from last year, with signings weighted toward multisite national accounts.
- Large Customer Site ExpansionThe number of customer sites spending $50,000 or more per month increased almost 19%, from approximately 2,800 to roughly 3,300, while sales from those sites increased roughly 28%. Contract customers represented over 76% of sales, and their daily sales grew 18.8%.
- Broad-Based Industrial GrowthDaily sales growth improved to 15.5% from 14.7% in the second quarter, driven primarily by new customer wins, greater share of spending with existing customers and improving industrial activity. Heavy manufacturing, which represented approximately 45% of sales, grew approximately 20%, while other manufacturing grew approximately 13%.
- Strength in Direct Materials and Product CategoriesDirect materials increased approximately 19%, compared with approximately 14% growth in indirect materials, reflecting stronger customer production activity, large customer signings, improved product availability and pricing actions. Electrical, tools and other industrial products also outpaced the company overall.
- Digital Sales and FMI GrowthThe Digital Footprint represented 61.4% of sales, and digital sales grew approximately 16% on a daily basis, faster than the company overall. Fastenal signed approximately 7,500 weighted FMI devices during the quarter, or about 117 per day versus 110 per day last year. The installed base passed 143,000 units, up 7%, while sales through FASTBin and FASTVend grew approximately 18%.
- FMI Device Signing Target MaintainedThe company continued to expect 27,000 to 29,000 weighted FMI device signings for the full year.
- Customer Supply Chain Implementation Delivered Operational ImprovementsIn a highlighted customer example, digital visibility increased from 0% to 99%, replenishment became automated, stockouts were eliminated, inventory was reduced and employees spent less time searching and walking for product. Fastenal said the solution was expected to generate between 25% to 30% in overall cost savings over time.
- Industrial Market Conditions ImprovedU.S. manufacturing PMI averaged nearly 55 in the third quarter, and industrial production for Fastenal's key end markets remained positive. Management said industrial conditions improved further and that growth continued to significantly outpace the markets served.
- SG&A Leverage and Productivity GainsSG&A provided 130 basis points of leverage, with expense growth well below sales growth. Employee costs improved by 90 basis points as a percentage of sales, total full-time equivalent headcount increased less than 1%, and occupancy costs improved by approximately 50 basis points as a percentage of sales.
- Technology and Automation Supporting EfficiencyManagement attributed productivity improvements to role specialization, technology, automation, AI and a focus on large customers. One quoting and sourcing tool reduced work that previously took 5 to 6 days to approximately 15 minutes.
- Healthy Cash Flow and Capital ReturnsOperating cash flow was approximately $422 million, or 105% of net income. Free cash flow was approximately $350 million, or 87% of net income. Fastenal returned $328 million to shareholders during the quarter, including $298 million in dividends and $30 million in share repurchases, and approximately $1.2 billion over the trailing 12 months.
- Continued Investment in Growth InfrastructureThird-quarter capital spending was approximately $72 million, or 2.9% of sales, directed primarily toward hub and facility capacity, automation, FMI equipment, information technology and transportation assets. Full-year 2026 net capital spending was still expected to be $310 million to $330 million.
- AI and Technology AcquisitionFastenal described a small, nondisclosable acquisition intended to provide orchestration around its AI and technology efforts. Management said the acquisition was expected to help the company grow faster on the technology side.
- Data Center Demand and Service InnovationData centers were identified as a strong market and a meaningful contributor to sales, accounting internally for approximately 4 to 5 percentage points of growth. Fastenal is using data center pods, effectively placing an Onsite-like operation close to customers, to keep up with rapidly increasing demand.
- Positive Incremental Margin FrameworkManagement said the business should produce incremental operating margins in the mid-20s, if not higher, when growing double digits, and said the current quarter was in that mid-20 range even excluding one-time events.
- Structural Efficiency OpportunityManagement characterized the lower labor and occupancy expense growth as a structural improvement rather than a one-time blip, with additional runway from better use of tools, placing work in the right location and optimizing the footprint.
DE:FAS Earnings History
| Report Date | Fiscal Quarter | Forecast / EPS | Last Year's EPS | EPS YoY Change | Press Release |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 19, 2027 | 2026 (Q4) | 0.27- | 0.23 | ― | ― |
| Oct 14, 2026 | 2026 (Q3) | 0.300.31 | 0.26 | 20.69% (+0.05) | |
| Jul 14, 2026 | 2026 (Q2) | 0.290.30 | 0.26 | 13.79% (+0.04) | |
| Apr 13, 2026 | 2026 (Q1) | 0.270.27 | 0.23 | 15.38% (+0.04) | |
| Jan 20, 2026 | 2025 (Q4) | 0.230.23 | 0.21 | 13.04% (+0.03) | |
| Oct 13, 2025 | 2025 (Q3) | 0.270.26 | 0.23 | 11.54% (+0.03) | |
| Jul 14, 2025 | 2025 (Q2) | 0.250.26 | 0.23 | 13.73% (+0.03) | |
| Apr 11, 2025 | 2025 (Q1) | 0.230.23 | 0.23 | 0.00% (+0.00) | |
| Jan 17, 2025 | 2024 (Q4) | 0.210.21 | 0.21 | 0.00% (+0.00) | |
| Oct 11, 2024 | 2024 (Q3) | 0.230.23 | 0.23 | 0.00% (+0.00) |
The table shows recent earnings report dates and whether the forecast was beat or missed. See the change in forecast and EPS from the previous year.
