FAST vs. GE: Fastenal vs. GE Aerospace Stock Comparison

Company Profile

Fastenal (FAST) and GE Aerospace (GE) both fall under the Capital Goods industry group, but FAST is classified in Trading Companies & Distributors while GE is classified in Industrial Conglomerates.

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

Trailing Returns

Calendar-Year Returns

Performance Metrics

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

Return Distribution

Risk Metrics

GE Aerospace (GE) has an aggressive beta of 1.39, indicating higher sensitivity to broad-market moves, while Fastenal (FAST) is defensive at 0.64 and tends to be less market-sensitive — they sit on opposite ends of the beta spectrum.

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Profitability

Both companies show strong equity returns, but GE Aerospace (GE) at 50.17% is the standout with ROE above its industry range; Fastenal (FAST) at 35.26% also sits in the top quartile.

For every dollar of sales, both Fastenal (FAST) at 15.62% and GE Aerospace (GE) at 17.31% retain more as net profit than most peers, landing in the top net margin quartile of their industries.

Both Fastenal (FAST) at 21.55% and GE Aerospace (GE) at 18.49% convert sales into operating profit at a top-quartile rate, pointing to tighter cost discipline before financing and tax.

Profitability Metrics

Growth

Both Fastenal (FAST) at 8.67% and GE Aerospace (GE) at 18.48% land near their industries' usual revenue growth ranges, so top-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

GE Aerospace (GE) at 35.89% sits in the top EPS growth quartile, while Fastenal (FAST) at 9.00% is closer to the peer norm — faster per-share earnings growth for GE.

Growth Metrics

Financial Strength

Fastenal (FAST) at 3.93 carries current ratio above its industry’s typical mid-range, while GE Aerospace (GE) at 0.98 runs in the tighter-liquidity quartile — different working-capital profiles, both worth examining.

Fastenal (FAST) at 0.11 keeps leverage in the lower quartile, while GE Aerospace (GE) at 1.16 sits in the higher-leverage quartile.

Financial Strength Metrics

Dividends

Fastenal (FAST) at 1.81% delivers top-quartile income for its industry, while GE Aerospace (GE) at 0.56% pays a more typical yield — both are credible income propositions, FAST the richer one.

GE Aerospace (GE) at 20.23% keeps its payout in the industry’s typical band, while Fastenal (FAST) at 78.05% pays out more than any of its peers — the most stretched cover in its group.

Dividend Metrics

Valuation

Both Fastenal (FAST) at 43.08 and GE Aerospace (GE) at 36.94 sit in the richer earnings-multiple quartile for P/E ratio, so investors are paying more for TTM earnings than they pay for typical peers.

Both Fastenal (FAST) at 6.70 and GE Aerospace (GE) at 6.38 command a richer price per dollar of sales than most peers, sitting in the upper P/S ratio quartile of their industries.

Measured against book value, both Fastenal (FAST) at 14.65 and GE Aerospace (GE) at 19.06 look expensive — each P/B ratio sits above its industry’s benchmark range.

Valuation Metrics