With a market cap of $51.5 billion, Fastenal Company (FAST) is a wholesale distributor of industrial and construction supplies operating across the United States, Canada, Mexico, and other international markets. Headquartered in Winona, Minnesota, the company provides a wide range of products, including fasteners, hardware, and maintenance supplies to industries such as manufacturing, construction, and government sectors.
Fastenal is scheduled to release its fiscal Q1 2026 results before the market opens on Monday, Apr. 13. Ahead of this event, analysts forecast the industrial supplier to post an EPS of $0.30, an increase of 15.4% from $0.26 in the year-ago quarter. It has surpassed or met Wall Street's earnings estimates in three of the last four quarters while missing on another occasion.
For fiscal 2026, analysts expect Fastenal to report an EPS of $1.24, up 13.8% from $1.09 in fiscal 2025.
Shares of Fastenal have returned 16.7% over the past 52 weeks, outpacing the S&P 500 Index's ($SPX) 13.7% gain. However, the stock has lagged behind the State Street Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF’s (XLI) 22.1% surge over the same period.
Shares of Fastenal Company fell 2.6% on Jan. 20 after the release of Q4 2025 results, as investors focused on margin pressure with gross margin slipping to 44.3% due to higher costs, supplier rebate timing, and negative price-cost dynamics. While Q4 2025 revenue rose 11.1% to $2.03 billion and EPS came in at $0.26 (in line with estimates), growth relied heavily on price increases of ~310 - 340 basis points amid sluggish industrial demand and weaker activity from smaller customers.
Additional pressure came from slowing momentum indicators, including a 12.1% drop in FASTBin/FASTVend signings and a decline in active customer sites to 92,136 from 100,435.
Analysts' consensus view on FAST stock is cautious, with a "Hold" rating overall. Among 17 analysts covering the stock, five recommend "Strong Buy," nine suggest "Hold," and three advise "Strong Sell." The average analyst price target of $45.92 is a premium of 2.3% to current levels.
On the date of publication, Sohini Mondal did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.
