FAST vs. HWM: Fastenal vs. Howmet Aerospace Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Fastenal (FAST) and Howmet Aerospace (HWM) 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 Howmet Aerospace (HWM) both fall under the Capital Goods industry group, but FAST is classified in Trading Companies & Distributors while HWM is classified in Aerospace & Defense.

Company profile comparison for Fastenal (FAST) and Howmet Aerospace (HWM)
Profile Item	FAST	HWM
Name	Fastenal Co.	Howmet Aerospace Inc.
Country/Region	United States	United States
GICS Sector	Industrials	Industrials
GICS Industry Group	Capital Goods	Capital Goods
GICS Industry	Trading Companies & Distributors	Aerospace & Defense
GICS Sub-Industry	Trading Companies & Distributors	Aerospace & Defense
Market Capitalization	60.80 billion USD	81.84 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	Nasdaq	NYSE
Listing Date	August 20, 1987	November 1, 2016
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

FAST

HWM

GSPC

Fastenal (FAST) vs. Howmet Aerospace (HWM), 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 Howmet Aerospace (HWM). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Fastenal (FAST) and Howmet Aerospace (HWM)
Metric	FAST	HWM
Total Return (1Y)	36.82%	5.06%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	25.71%	64.83%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	15.98%	46.04%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

FAST

HWM

GSPC

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

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Fastenal (FAST) and Howmet Aerospace (HWM)
Metric	FAST	HWM
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	24.55%	37.60%
Beta (5Y)	0.64	1.27
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-30.71%	-36.47%
Avg. Volume (3M)	7.21M	3.47M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

FAST and HWM 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 Howmet Aerospace (HWM)
Metric	FAST	HWM
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	1.33	0.02
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	2.00	0.03

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Both Fastenal (FAST) at 35.26% and Howmet Aerospace (HWM) at 37.65% 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%

HWM

Capital Goods industry group

37.65%

Max: 40.55%
HWM: 37.65%
Q3: 19.29%
Median: 12.12%
Q1: 4.08%
Min: -17.12%

Fastenal (FAST) vs. Howmet Aerospace (HWM): 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 Howmet Aerospace (HWM) at 21.10% 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%

HWM

Capital Goods industry group

21.10%

Max: 27.47%
HWM: 21.10%
Q3: 12.10%
Median: 6.30%
Q1: 1.40%
Min: -12.89%

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

Operating Margin (TTM)

Both Fastenal (FAST) at 21.55% and Howmet Aerospace (HWM) at 28.78% 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%

HWM

Capital Goods industry group

28.78%

Max: 36.60%
HWM: 28.78%
Q3: 18.33%
Median: 11.12%
Q1: 5.14%
Min: -12.63%

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

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Fastenal (FAST) and Howmet Aerospace (HWM)
Metric	FAST	HWM
ROE (TTM)	35.26%	37.65%
ROA (TTM)	21.97%	13.97%
Net Margin (TTM)	15.62%	21.10%
Operating Margin (TTM)	21.55%	28.78%
Gross Margin (TTM)	44.61%	36.63%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both Fastenal (FAST) at 8.67% and Howmet Aerospace (HWM) at 11.06% land near their industries' usual revenue growth ranges, so top-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

Fastenal (FAST) vs. Howmet Aerospace (HWM): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Howmet Aerospace (HWM) at 32.03% 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 HWM.

Fastenal (FAST) vs. Howmet Aerospace (HWM): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Fastenal (FAST) and Howmet Aerospace (HWM)
Metric	FAST	HWM
Revenue Growth (YoY)	8.67%	11.06%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	5.52%	13.37%
EPS Growth (YoY)	9.00%	32.03%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	4.87%	49.51%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Howmet Aerospace (HWM) at 1.86 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

HWM

Capital Goods industry group

1.86

Max: 5.22
Q3: 2.95
Median: 2.08
HWM: 1.86
Q1: 1.43
Min: 0.36

Fastenal (FAST) vs. Howmet Aerospace (HWM): 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 Howmet Aerospace (HWM) at 0.80 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

HWM

Capital Goods industry group

0.80

Max: 2.33
Q3: 1.12
HWM: 0.80
Median: 0.60
Q1: 0.29
Min: 0.00

Fastenal (FAST) vs. Howmet Aerospace (HWM): 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 Howmet Aerospace (HWM)
Metric	FAST	HWM
Current Ratio (MRQ)	3.93	1.86
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	0.11	0.80
Net Debt / EBITDA	0.12	1.35

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Fastenal (FAST) at 1.81% delivers top-quartile income for its industry, while Howmet Aerospace (HWM) at 0.25% pays a more typical yield — both are credible income propositions, FAST the richer one.

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%

HWM

Capital Goods industry group

0.25%

Max: 2.66%
Q3: 1.14%
HWM: 0.25%
Median: 0.24%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

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

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Howmet Aerospace (HWM) at 9.80% 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.

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%

HWM

Capital Goods industry group

9.80%

Max: 67.39%
Q3: 28.02%
HWM: 9.80%
Median: 6.86%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

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

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Fastenal (FAST) and Howmet Aerospace (HWM)
Metric	FAST	HWM
Dividend Yield (TTM)	1.81%	0.25%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	78.05%	9.80%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Both Fastenal (FAST) at 43.08 and Howmet Aerospace (HWM) at 40.35 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.

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

HWM

Capital Goods industry group

40.35

Max: 59.38
HWM: 40.35
Q3: 35.92
Median: 25.41
Q1: 19.47
Min: 3.03

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

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Both look expensive on sales: Fastenal (FAST) at 6.70 sits in the upper P/S ratio quartile, and Howmet Aerospace (HWM) at 8.41 prices even higher, above its industry range.

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

HWM

Capital Goods industry group

8.41

HWM: 8.41
Max: 7.54
Q3: 3.76
Median: 2.15
Q1: 1.03
Min: 0.03

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

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Measured against book value, both Fastenal (FAST) at 14.65 and Howmet Aerospace (HWM) at 14.20 look expensive — each P/B ratio sits above its industry’s benchmark range.

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

HWM

Capital Goods industry group

14.20

HWM: 14.20
Max: 9.66
Q3: 5.00
Median: 3.12
Q1: 1.81
Min: -1.08

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

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Fastenal (FAST) and Howmet Aerospace (HWM)
Metric	FAST	HWM
P/E Ratio (TTM)	43.08	40.35
P/S Ratio (TTM)	6.70	8.41
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	14.65	14.20
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	1.51%	1.58%