FAST vs. MLI: Fastenal vs. Mueller Industries Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Fastenal (FAST) and Mueller Industries (MLI) 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 Mueller Industries (MLI) both fall under the Capital Goods industry group, but FAST is classified in Trading Companies & Distributors while MLI is classified in Machinery.

Company profile comparison for Fastenal (FAST) and Mueller Industries (MLI)
Profile Item	FAST	MLI
Name	Fastenal Co.	Mueller Industries, 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	11.54 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	Nasdaq	NYSE
Listing Date	August 20, 1987	February 25, 1991
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

FAST

MLI

GSPC

Fastenal (FAST) vs. Mueller Industries (MLI), 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

Loading price history…

Trailing total returns for Fastenal (FAST) and Mueller Industries (MLI). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

Loading price history…

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

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Fastenal (FAST) and Mueller Industries (MLI)
Metric	FAST	MLI
Total Return (1Y)	36.82%	3.68%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	25.71%	44.56%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	15.98%	32.39%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

FAST

MLI

GSPC

Fastenal (FAST) vs. Mueller Industries (MLI), 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

Loading price history…

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

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Fastenal (FAST) and Mueller Industries (MLI)
Metric	FAST	MLI
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	24.55%	34.44%
Beta (5Y)	0.64	1.01
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-30.71%	-27.79%
Avg. Volume (3M)	7.21M	1.61M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

FAST and MLI 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 Mueller Industries (MLI)
Metric	FAST	MLI
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	1.33	-0.02
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	2.00	-0.02

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Both Fastenal (FAST) at 35.26% and Mueller Industries (MLI) at 26.26% 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%

MLI

Capital Goods industry group

26.26%

Max: 40.55%
MLI: 26.26%
Q3: 19.29%
Median: 12.12%
Q1: 4.08%
Min: -17.12%

Fastenal (FAST) vs. Mueller Industries (MLI): 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 Mueller Industries (MLI) at 17.27% 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%

MLI

Capital Goods industry group

17.27%

Max: 27.47%
MLI: 17.27%
Q3: 12.10%
Median: 6.30%
Q1: 1.40%
Min: -12.89%

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

Operating Margin (TTM)

Both Fastenal (FAST) at 21.55% and Mueller Industries (MLI) at 19.53% 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%

MLI

Capital Goods industry group

19.53%

Max: 36.60%
MLI: 19.53%
Q3: 18.33%
Median: 11.12%
Q1: 5.14%
Min: -12.63%

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

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Fastenal (FAST) and Mueller Industries (MLI)
Metric	FAST	MLI
ROE (TTM)	35.26%	26.26%
ROA (TTM)	21.97%	16.23%
Net Margin (TTM)	15.62%	17.27%
Operating Margin (TTM)	21.55%	19.53%
Gross Margin (TTM)	44.61%	27.25%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both Fastenal (FAST) at 8.67% and Mueller Industries (MLI) at 10.87% land near their industries' usual revenue growth ranges, so top-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

Fastenal (FAST) vs. Mueller Industries (MLI): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Both Fastenal (FAST) at 9.00% and Mueller Industries (MLI) at 29.19% land near their industries' usual EPS growth ranges, so bottom-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

Fastenal (FAST) vs. Mueller Industries (MLI): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Fastenal (FAST) and Mueller Industries (MLI)
Metric	FAST	MLI
Revenue Growth (YoY)	8.67%	10.87%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	5.52%	1.62%
EPS Growth (YoY)	9.00%	29.19%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	4.87%	5.63%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Both Fastenal (FAST) at 3.93 and Mueller Industries (MLI) at 4.39 post current ratio above their industries’ typical mid-ranges — short-term liquidity appears comfortable, though unusually high readings can point to idle current assets.

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

MLI

Capital Goods industry group

4.39

Max: 5.22
MLI: 4.39
Q3: 2.95
Median: 2.08
Q1: 1.43
Min: 0.36

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

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Both Fastenal (FAST) at 0.11 and Mueller Industries (MLI) at 0.01 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

MLI

Capital Goods industry group

0.01

Max: 2.33
Q3: 1.12
Median: 0.60
Q1: 0.29
MLI: 0.01
Min: 0.00

Fastenal (FAST) vs. Mueller Industries (MLI): 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 Mueller Industries (MLI)
Metric	FAST	MLI
Current Ratio (MRQ)	3.93	4.39
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	0.11	0.01
Net Debt / EBITDA	0.12	-1.31

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Both Fastenal (FAST) at 1.81% and Mueller Industries (MLI) at 1.24% 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%

MLI

Capital Goods industry group

1.24%

Max: 2.66%
MLI: 1.24%
Q3: 1.14%
Median: 0.24%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

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

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Mueller Industries (MLI) at 16.67% 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%

MLI

Capital Goods industry group

16.67%

Max: 67.39%
Q3: 28.02%
MLI: 16.67%
Median: 6.86%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

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

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Fastenal (FAST) and Mueller Industries (MLI)
Metric	FAST	MLI
Dividend Yield (TTM)	1.81%	1.24%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	78.05%	16.67%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Mueller Industries (MLI) at 13.58 sits in the cheaper P/E ratio quartile, while Fastenal (FAST) at 43.08 sits in the richer quartile — a clear split in what investors pay for each dollar of trailing earnings.

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

MLI

Capital Goods industry group

13.58

Max: 59.38
Q3: 35.92
Median: 25.41
Q1: 19.47
MLI: 13.58
Min: 3.03

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

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Mueller Industries (MLI) at 2.31 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

MLI

Capital Goods industry group

2.31

Max: 7.54
Q3: 3.76
MLI: 2.31
Median: 2.15
Q1: 1.03
Min: 0.03

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

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Mueller Industries (MLI) at 0.33 sits in the lower P/B ratio quartile relative to book while Fastenal (FAST) at 14.65 prices above its industry range — a wide valuation gap against assets.

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

MLI

Capital Goods industry group

0.33

Max: 9.66
Q3: 5.00
Median: 3.12
Q1: 1.81
MLI: 0.33
Min: -1.08

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

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Fastenal (FAST) and Mueller Industries (MLI)
Metric	FAST	MLI
P/E Ratio (TTM)	43.08	13.58
P/S Ratio (TTM)	6.70	2.31
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	14.65	0.33
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	1.51%	4.65%