FAST vs. NXT: Fastenal vs. Nextracker Stock Comparison

Company Profile

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

Fastenal (FAST) has more than two decades of public-market history since August 20, 1987, whereas Nextracker (NXT) listed on February 9, 2023 and has a much shorter record to draw on.

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

Trailing Returns

Calendar-Year Returns

Performance Metrics

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

Return Distribution

Risk Metrics

Nextracker (NXT) has an aggressive beta of 1.66, 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 Fastenal (FAST) at 35.26% and Nextracker (NXT) at 26.46% sit in the top peer quartile for ROE, suggesting each generates more profit from shareholders’ equity than typical industry peers.

For every dollar of sales, both Fastenal (FAST) at 15.62% and Nextracker (NXT) at 15.98% 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 Nextracker (NXT) at 20.06% convert sales into operating profit at a top-quartile rate, pointing to tighter cost discipline before financing and tax.

Profitability Metrics

Growth

Nextracker (NXT) at 20.28% sits in the top revenue growth quartile, while Fastenal (FAST) at 8.67% is closer to the peer norm — faster top-line expansion for NXT.

Both Fastenal (FAST) at 9.00% and Nextracker (NXT) at 10.66% land near their industries' usual EPS growth ranges, so bottom-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

Growth Metrics

Financial Strength

Nextracker (NXT) at 2.23 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.

Both Fastenal (FAST) at 0.11 and Nextracker (NXT) at 0.02 keep leverage in the lower quartile of their industries, with less balance-sheet debt relative to equity than most peers.

Financial Strength Metrics

Dividends

Nextracker (NXT) 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.

Nextracker (NXT) 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.

Dividend Metrics

Valuation

Nextracker (NXT) at 26.42 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.

Both Fastenal (FAST) at 6.70 and Nextracker (NXT) at 4.17 command a richer price per dollar of sales than most peers, sitting in the upper P/S ratio quartile of their industries.

Both look rich against book: Nextracker (NXT) at 5.98 sits in the upper P/B ratio quartile, and Fastenal (FAST) at 14.65 prices even higher, above its industry range.

Valuation Metrics