FAST vs. GGG: Fastenal vs. Graco Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Fastenal (FAST) and Graco (GGG) stack up? This page sets them side by side across company profile, performance and risk, profitability, growth, financial strength, dividends, and valuation, with selected fundamentals also measured against each stock's industry-group peers.

Company Profile

Fastenal (FAST) and Graco (GGG) both fall under the Capital Goods industry group, but FAST is classified in Trading Companies & Distributors while GGG is classified in Machinery.

Company profile comparison for Fastenal (FAST) and Graco (GGG)
Profile Item	FAST	GGG
Name	Fastenal Co.	Graco Inc.
Country/Region	United States	United States
GICS Sector	Industrials	Industrials
GICS Industry Group	Capital Goods	Capital Goods
GICS Industry	Trading Companies & Distributors	Machinery
GICS Sub-Industry	Trading Companies & Distributors	Industrial Machinery & Supplies & Components
Market Capitalization	60.80 billion USD	10.88 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	Nasdaq	NYSE
Listing Date	August 20, 1987	March 17, 1980
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

FAST

GGG

GSPC

Fastenal (FAST) vs. Graco (GGG), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Growth of a $10,000 investment over the past five years. Adjusted for dividends and splits.

Trailing Returns

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Trailing total returns for Fastenal (FAST) and Graco (GGG). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for Fastenal (FAST) and Graco (GGG). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Fastenal (FAST) and Graco (GGG)
Metric	FAST	GGG
Total Return (1Y)	36.82%	-12.76%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	25.71%	-1.59%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	15.98%	-1.14%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

FAST

GGG

GSPC

Fastenal (FAST) vs. Graco (GGG), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Drawdown from the running peak over the past five years. Each line shows the decline from its prior peak; 0% marks a new high.

Return Distribution

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Distribution of monthly total returns for Fastenal (FAST) and Graco (GGG). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Fastenal (FAST) and Graco (GGG)
Metric	FAST	GGG
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	24.55%	26.08%
Beta (5Y)	0.64	0.87
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-30.71%	-29.55%
Avg. Volume (3M)	7.21M	1.99M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

FAST and GGG are plotted by 1-year volatility (risk) and 1-year return. The dashed Capital Allocation Line runs from the risk-free rate through the shared industry median.

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Risk-adjusted metrics for Fastenal (FAST) and Graco (GGG)
Metric	FAST	GGG
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	1.33	-0.65
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	2.00	-0.80

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Both Fastenal (FAST) at 35.26% and Graco (GGG) at 20.38% sit in the top peer quartile for ROE, suggesting each generates more profit from shareholders’ equity than typical industry peers.

FAST

Capital Goods industry group

35.26%

Max: 40.55%
FAST: 35.26%
Q3: 19.29%
Median: 12.12%
Q1: 4.08%
Min: -17.12%

GGG

Capital Goods industry group

20.38%

Max: 40.55%
GGG: 20.38%
Q3: 19.29%
Median: 12.12%
Q1: 4.08%
Min: -17.12%

Fastenal (FAST) vs. Graco (GGG): A comparison of their ROE against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

For every dollar of sales, both Fastenal (FAST) at 15.62% and Graco (GGG) at 22.40% retain more as net profit than most peers, landing in the top net margin quartile of their industries.

FAST

Capital Goods industry group

15.62%

Max: 27.47%
FAST: 15.62%
Q3: 12.10%
Median: 6.30%
Q1: 1.40%
Min: -12.89%

GGG

Capital Goods industry group

22.40%

Max: 27.47%
GGG: 22.40%
Q3: 12.10%
Median: 6.30%
Q1: 1.40%
Min: -12.89%

Fastenal (FAST) vs. Graco (GGG): A comparison of their net margin against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Both Fastenal (FAST) at 21.55% and Graco (GGG) at 25.26% convert sales into operating profit at a top-quartile rate, pointing to tighter cost discipline before financing and tax.

FAST

Capital Goods industry group

21.55%

Max: 36.60%
FAST: 21.55%
Q3: 18.33%
Median: 11.12%
Q1: 5.14%
Min: -12.63%

GGG

Capital Goods industry group

25.26%

Max: 36.60%
GGG: 25.26%
Q3: 18.33%
Median: 11.12%
Q1: 5.14%
Min: -12.63%

Fastenal (FAST) vs. Graco (GGG): A comparison of their operating margin against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Fastenal (FAST) and Graco (GGG)
Metric	FAST	GGG
ROE (TTM)	35.26%	20.38%
ROA (TTM)	21.97%	12.02%
Net Margin (TTM)	15.62%	22.40%
Operating Margin (TTM)	21.55%	25.26%
Gross Margin (TTM)	44.61%	51.96%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both Fastenal (FAST) at 8.67% and Graco (GGG) at 5.83% land near their industries' usual revenue growth ranges, so top-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

Fastenal (FAST) vs. Graco (GGG): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Both Fastenal (FAST) at 9.00% and Graco (GGG) at 9.22% land near their industries' usual EPS growth ranges, so bottom-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

Fastenal (FAST) vs. Graco (GGG): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Fastenal (FAST) and Graco (GGG)
Metric	FAST	GGG
Revenue Growth (YoY)	8.67%	5.83%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	5.52%	1.43%
EPS Growth (YoY)	9.00%	9.22%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	4.87%	5.01%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Graco (GGG) at 2.13 keeps current ratio within its industry’s typical mid-range, while Fastenal (FAST) at 3.93 sits above its industry’s typical mid-range — comfortable liquidity, though possibly with more idle current assets relative to peers.

FAST

Capital Goods industry group

3.93

Max: 5.22
FAST: 3.93
Q3: 2.95
Median: 2.08
Q1: 1.43
Min: 0.36

GGG

Capital Goods industry group

2.13

Max: 5.22
Q3: 2.95
GGG: 2.13
Median: 2.08
Q1: 1.43
Min: 0.36

Fastenal (FAST) vs. Graco (GGG): A comparison of their current ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Both Fastenal (FAST) at 0.11 and Graco (GGG) at 0.07 keep leverage in the lower quartile of their industries, with less balance-sheet debt relative to equity than most peers.

FAST

Capital Goods industry group

0.11

Max: 2.33
Q3: 1.12
Median: 0.60
Q1: 0.29
FAST: 0.11
Min: 0.00

GGG

Capital Goods industry group

0.07

Max: 2.33
Q3: 1.12
Median: 0.60
Q1: 0.29
GGG: 0.07
Min: 0.00

Fastenal (FAST) vs. Graco (GGG): A comparison of their debt-to-equity ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for Fastenal (FAST) and Graco (GGG)
Metric	FAST	GGG
Current Ratio (MRQ)	3.93	2.13
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	0.11	0.07
Net Debt / EBITDA	0.12	0.03

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Both Fastenal (FAST) at 1.81% and Graco (GGG) at 1.74% offer top-quartile dividend income relative to share price within their industries.

FAST

Capital Goods industry group

1.81%

Max: 2.66%
FAST: 1.81%
Q3: 1.14%
Median: 0.24%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

GGG

Capital Goods industry group

1.74%

Max: 2.66%
GGG: 1.74%
Q3: 1.14%
Median: 0.24%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Fastenal (FAST) vs. Graco (GGG): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Both pay out more than their industries’ typical bands, and FAST more so: Graco (GGG) at 37.42% sits above the band, while Fastenal (FAST) at 78.05% exceeds every peer in its group.

FAST

Capital Goods industry group

78.05%

FAST: 78.05%
Max: 67.39%
Q3: 28.02%
Median: 6.86%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

GGG

Capital Goods industry group

37.42%

Max: 67.39%
GGG: 37.42%
Q3: 28.02%
Median: 6.86%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Fastenal (FAST) vs. Graco (GGG): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Fastenal (FAST) and Graco (GGG)
Metric	FAST	GGG
Dividend Yield (TTM)	1.81%	1.74%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	78.05%	37.42%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Graco (GGG) at 21.89 is near its industry’s usual P/E ratio, while Fastenal (FAST) at 43.08 sits in the richer quartile — FAST needs stronger growth or earnings quality to justify the premium.

FAST

Capital Goods industry group

43.08

Max: 59.38
FAST: 43.08
Q3: 35.92
Median: 25.41
Q1: 19.47
Min: 3.03

GGG

Capital Goods industry group

21.89

Max: 59.38
Q3: 35.92
Median: 25.41
GGG: 21.89
Q1: 19.47
Min: 3.03

Fastenal (FAST) vs. Graco (GGG): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Both Fastenal (FAST) at 6.70 and Graco (GGG) at 4.71 command a richer price per dollar of sales than most peers, sitting in the upper P/S ratio quartile of their industries.

FAST

Capital Goods industry group

6.70

Max: 7.54
FAST: 6.70
Q3: 3.76
Median: 2.15
Q1: 1.03
Min: 0.03

GGG

Capital Goods industry group

4.71

Max: 7.54
GGG: 4.71
Q3: 3.76
Median: 2.15
Q1: 1.03
Min: 0.03

Fastenal (FAST) vs. Graco (GGG): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Graco (GGG) at 4.41 sits near its industry’s typical P/B ratio, while Fastenal (FAST) at 14.65 prices above its benchmark range — FAST looks rich relative to book.

FAST

Capital Goods industry group

14.65

FAST: 14.65
Max: 9.66
Q3: 5.00
Median: 3.12
Q1: 1.81
Min: -1.08

GGG

Capital Goods industry group

4.41

Max: 9.66
Q3: 5.00
GGG: 4.41
Median: 3.12
Q1: 1.81
Min: -1.08

Fastenal (FAST) vs. Graco (GGG): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Fastenal (FAST) and Graco (GGG)
Metric	FAST	GGG
P/E Ratio (TTM)	43.08	21.89
P/S Ratio (TTM)	6.70	4.71
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	14.65	4.41
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	1.51%	3.94%