FAST vs. GNRC: Fastenal vs. Generac Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Fastenal (FAST) and Generac (GNRC) 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 Generac (GNRC) both fall under the Capital Goods industry group, but FAST is classified in Trading Companies & Distributors while GNRC is classified in Electrical Equipment.

Company profile comparison for Fastenal (FAST) and Generac (GNRC)
Profile Item	FAST	GNRC
Name	Fastenal Co.	Generac Holdings Inc.
Country/Region	United States	United States
GICS Sector	Industrials	Industrials
GICS Industry Group	Capital Goods	Capital Goods
GICS Industry	Trading Companies & Distributors	Electrical Equipment
GICS Sub-Industry	Trading Companies & Distributors	Electrical Components & Equipment
Market Capitalization	60.80 billion USD	10.43 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	Nasdaq	NYSE
Listing Date	August 20, 1987	February 11, 2010
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

FAST

GNRC

GSPC

Fastenal (FAST) vs. Generac (GNRC), 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 Generac (GNRC). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Fastenal (FAST) and Generac (GNRC)
Metric	FAST	GNRC
Total Return (1Y)	36.82%	23.38%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	25.71%	23.05%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	15.98%	-15.31%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

FAST

GNRC

GSPC

Fastenal (FAST) vs. Generac (GNRC), 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 Generac (GNRC). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Generac (GNRC) has an aggressive beta of 1.84, 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 profile metrics for Fastenal (FAST) and Generac (GNRC)
Metric	FAST	GNRC
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	24.55%	59.48%
Beta (5Y)	0.64	1.84
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-30.71%	-81.73%
Avg. Volume (3M)	7.21M	1.22M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

FAST and GNRC 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 Generac (GNRC)
Metric	FAST	GNRC
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	1.33	0.32
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	2.00	0.50

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Fastenal (FAST) at 35.26% sits in the top ROE quartile, while Generac (GNRC) at 10.64% is closer to the peer norm — stronger capital efficiency for FAST.

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%

GNRC

Capital Goods industry group

10.64%

Max: 40.55%
Q3: 19.29%
Median: 12.12%
GNRC: 10.64%
Q1: 4.08%
Min: -17.12%

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

Net Margin (TTM)

Fastenal (FAST) at 15.62% retains a top-quartile share of revenue as profit, ahead of Generac (GNRC) at 6.52%, which keeps about the industry-typical share.

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%

GNRC

Capital Goods industry group

6.52%

Max: 27.47%
Q3: 12.10%
GNRC: 6.52%
Median: 6.30%
Q1: 1.40%
Min: -12.89%

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

Operating Margin (TTM)

Fastenal (FAST) at 21.55% operates in the top operating margin quartile, ahead of Generac (GNRC) at 11.67%, which runs around its industry’s norm.

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%

GNRC

Capital Goods industry group

11.67%

Max: 36.60%
Q3: 18.33%
GNRC: 11.67%
Median: 11.12%
Q1: 5.14%
Min: -12.63%

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

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Fastenal (FAST) and Generac (GNRC)
Metric	FAST	GNRC
ROE (TTM)	35.26%	10.64%
ROA (TTM)	21.97%	4.24%
Net Margin (TTM)	15.62%	6.52%
Operating Margin (TTM)	21.55%	11.67%
Gross Margin (TTM)	44.61%	38.18%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Fastenal (FAST) at 8.67% is around its peer norm for revenue growth, while Generac (GNRC) at -2.02% drops into the bottom quartile, signaling weaker demand or pricing momentum.

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

EPS Growth

Fastenal (FAST) at 9.00% is around its peer norm for EPS growth, while Generac (GNRC) at -50.09% drops into the bottom quartile, signaling weaker earnings momentum.

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

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Fastenal (FAST) and Generac (GNRC)
Metric	FAST	GNRC
Revenue Growth (YoY)	8.67%	-2.02%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	5.52%	-2.67%
EPS Growth (YoY)	9.00%	-50.09%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	4.87%	-20.83%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Generac (GNRC) at 1.97 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

GNRC

Capital Goods industry group

1.97

Max: 5.22
Q3: 2.95
Median: 2.08
GNRC: 1.97
Q1: 1.43
Min: 0.36

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

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Fastenal (FAST) at 0.11 keeps leverage in the lower industry quartile, while Generac (GNRC) at 0.47 runs a more typical debt-to-equity mix.

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

GNRC

Capital Goods industry group

0.47

Max: 2.33
Q3: 1.12
Median: 0.60
GNRC: 0.47
Q1: 0.29
Min: 0.00

Fastenal (FAST) vs. Generac (GNRC): 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 Generac (GNRC)
Metric	FAST	GNRC
Current Ratio (MRQ)	3.93	1.97
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	0.11	0.47
Net Debt / EBITDA	0.12	1.65

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Generac (GNRC) pays no dividend (yield 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile Fastenal (FAST) reports a yield of 1.81%, ranking against industry peers normally.

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%

GNRC

Capital Goods industry group

0.00%

Max: 2.66%
Q3: 1.14%
Median: 0.24%
GNRC: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

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

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Generac (GNRC) pays no dividend (payout 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile Fastenal (FAST) reports a payout of 78.05%, ranking against industry peers normally.

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%

GNRC

Capital Goods industry group

0.00%

Max: 67.39%
Q3: 28.02%
Median: 6.86%
GNRC: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

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

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Fastenal (FAST) and Generac (GNRC)
Metric	FAST	GNRC
Dividend Yield (TTM)	1.81%	0.00%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	78.05%	0.00%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Generac (GNRC) at 34.87 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

GNRC

Capital Goods industry group

34.87

Max: 59.38
Q3: 35.92
GNRC: 34.87
Median: 25.41
Q1: 19.47
Min: 3.03

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

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Generac (GNRC) at 2.26 is priced about in line with its industry on P/S ratio, while Fastenal (FAST) at 6.70 sits in the pricier quartile — FAST costs more per dollar of sales.

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

GNRC

Capital Goods industry group

2.26

Max: 7.54
Q3: 3.76
GNRC: 2.26
Median: 2.15
Q1: 1.03
Min: 0.03

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

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Generac (GNRC) at 3.46 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

GNRC

Capital Goods industry group

3.46

Max: 9.66
Q3: 5.00
GNRC: 3.46
Median: 3.12
Q1: 1.81
Min: -1.08

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

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Fastenal (FAST) and Generac (GNRC)
Metric	FAST	GNRC
P/E Ratio (TTM)	43.08	34.87
P/S Ratio (TTM)	6.70	2.26
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	14.65	3.46
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	1.51%	3.21%