FAST vs SHW
Fastenal Co. and Sherwin Williams Co., side by side — 10 fiscal years reported in USD, drawn from SEC filings.
Most recent reported year
| Metric | FAST | SHW |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $8.2B | $23.6B |
| Net income | $1.3B | $2.6B |
| Gross margin | 45.0% | 48.8% |
| Net margin | 15.3% | 10.9% |
| Return on equity | 33.3% | 59.4% |
| Diluted EPS | $1.09 | $10.26 |
| Dividend / share | $0.88 | $3.16 |
| Payout ratio | 79.8% | 30.7% |
| Free cash flow | $1.1B | $2.7B |
| Equity | $3.9B | $4.6B |
| Net debt / equity | −0.04× | 2.06× |
| Current ratio | 4.85× | 0.87× |
| Revenue CAGR 5y | 7.7% | 5.1% |
| Profit CAGR 5y | 7.9% | 4.8% |
SHW bills 2.9× the revenue of FAST, and FAST keeps more of each dollar of revenue as profit (15.3% against 10.9%).
The stronger figure of the pair is set in bold. That is arithmetic, not a recommendation — this page does not pick a winner. "·" marks a figure not available in our data.
10 years side by side
| Fiscal year | FAST | SHW |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $8.2B | $23.6B |
| FY2024 | $7.5B | $23.1B |
| FY2023 | $7.3B | $23.1B |
| FY2022 | $7.0B | $22.1B |
| FY2021 | $6.0B | $19.9B |
| FY2020 | $5.6B | $18.4B |
| FY2019 | $5.3B | $17.9B |
| FY2018 | $5.0B | $17.5B |
| FY2017 | $4.4B | $15.0B |
| FY2016 | $4.0B | $11.9B |
Bottom line
| Fiscal year | FAST | SHW |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $1.3B | $2.6B |
| FY2024 | $1.2B | $2.7B |
| FY2023 | $1.2B | $2.4B |
| FY2022 | $1.1B | $2.0B |
| FY2021 | $925.0M | $1.9B |
| FY2020 | $859.1M | $2.0B |
| FY2019 | $790.9M | $1.5B |
| FY2018 | $751.9M | $1.1B |
| FY2017 | $578.6M | $1.7B |
| FY2016 | $499.4M | $1.1B |
19 fiscal years
| Fiscal year | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | −$15,373,800,000 | SHW |
| FY2024 | −$15,552,500,000 | SHW |
| FY2023 | −$15,705,200,000 | SHW |
| FY2022 | −$15,168,300,000 | SHW |
| FY2021 | −$13,933,700,000 | SHW |
| FY2020 | −$12,714,400,000 | SHW |
| FY2019 | −$12,567,100,000 | SHW |
| FY2018 | −$12,569,400,000 | SHW |
| FY2017 | −$10,593,300,000 | SHW |
| FY2016 | −$7,893,602,000 | SHW |
| FY2015 | −$7,469,800,000 | SHW |
| FY2014 | −$7,396,493,000 | SHW |
| FY2013 | −$6,859,894,000 | SHW |
| FY2012 | −$6,400,423,000 | SHW |
| FY2011 | −$5,999,141,000 | SHW |
| FY2010 | −$5,506,953,000 | SHW |
| FY2009 | −$5,163,919,000 | SHW |
| FY2008 | −$5,639,302,000 | SHW |
| FY2007 | −$5,943,473,000 | SHW |
SHW has reported the higher revenue in every one of these 19 fiscal years. The gap has widened since the earliest year compared.
19 of 19 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
19 fiscal years
| Fiscal year | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | +4.5 pp | FAST |
| FY2024 | +3.6 pp | FAST |
| FY2023 | +5.4 pp | FAST |
| FY2022 | +6.4 pp | FAST |
| FY2021 | +6.0 pp | FAST |
| FY2020 | +4.2 pp | FAST |
| FY2019 | +6.2 pp | FAST |
| FY2018 | +8.8 pp | FAST |
| FY2017 | +1.6 pp | FAST |
| FY2016 | +3.1 pp | FAST |
| FY2015 | +4.1 pp | FAST |
| FY2014 | +5.5 pp | FAST |
| FY2013 | +6.1 pp | FAST |
| FY2012 | +6.8 pp | FAST |
| FY2011 | +7.9 pp | FAST |
| FY2010 | +5.7 pp | FAST |
| FY2009 | +3.4 pp | FAST |
| FY2008 | +6.0 pp | FAST |
| FY2007 | +3.6 pp | FAST |
FAST has kept the higher net margin in every one of these 19 fiscal years.
19 of 19 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
Standard deviation, each side
SHW's net margin has been more volatile than FAST's over the 19 comparable fiscal years — 2.0 percentage points of standard deviation against 1.7.
19 of 19 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
Year by year
FAST led in net margin in every one of the 19 comparable fiscal years — a structural lead, not a recent swing.
19 of 19 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
Standard deviation, each side
SHW's return on equity has been more volatile than FAST's over the 19 comparable fiscal years — 22.4 percentage points of standard deviation against 4.9.
19 of 19 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
Year by year
The lead in return on equity changed hands between FAST and SHW over these 19 fiscal years — FAST led in 1 and SHW in 18.
19 of 19 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.