Fastenal (FAST) Q3 2026 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Q3 net sales were $2,463.3M, up 15.5% YoY; operating income rose 20.2% to $530.8M, net income increased 19.7% to $401.6M, and diluted EPS grew 19.8% to $0.35.

• Growth reflected share gains, contract wins, pricing, improving industrial production and stronger core-market demand.

Financial highlights

• Q3 daily sales were $38.5M versus $33.3M a year earlier; gross profit rose 14.4% to $1,104.7M.

• Nine-month sales increased 14.2% to $7,051.9M; operating income rose 16.4% to $1,480.2M, net income 16.6% to $1,124.2M and diluted EPS to $0.98 from $0.84.

• Q3 gross margin was 44.8%, down 40 bps YoY; SG&A was 23.3% of sales, down 130 bps, lifting operating margin to 21.5% from 20.7%.

• Nine-month gross margin was 44.7%, down 50 bps; SG&A fell to 23.7% of sales from 24.6%, lifting operating margin to 21.0% from 20.6%.

Outlook and guidance

• FY 2026 net capital spending is expected at $310M–$330M, versus $230.6M in 2025; investments include hub, IT and trucking projects.

• 2026 weighted FASTBin/FASTVend signing target was revised to 27,000–29,000 MEUs from 28,000–30,000; Digital Footprint estimate was revised to 62%–63% of sales from 66%.

• Ongoing tax rate is expected to be 24.6%, absent discrete items or broader tax-law changes.

• Price-cost was a 30-bp Q3 headwind, improving 10 bps sequentially; management expects the exit-rate improvement to continue and does not expect the gap to widen in Q4.