FAST vs. ROK: Fastenal vs. Rockwell Automation Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

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

Company profile comparison for Fastenal (FAST) and Rockwell Automation (ROK)
Profile Item	FAST	ROK
Name	Fastenal Co.	Rockwell Automation 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	41.82 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	Nasdaq	NYSE
Listing Date	August 20, 1987	December 31, 1981
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

FAST

ROK

GSPC

Fastenal (FAST) vs. Rockwell Automation (ROK), 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 Rockwell Automation (ROK). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Fastenal (FAST) and Rockwell Automation (ROK)
Metric	FAST	ROK
Total Return (1Y)	36.82%	6.19%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	25.71%	16.94%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	15.98%	4.86%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

FAST

ROK

GSPC

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

Risk Metrics

Rockwell Automation (ROK) has an aggressive beta of 1.54, 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 Rockwell Automation (ROK)
Metric	FAST	ROK
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	24.55%	34.28%
Beta (5Y)	0.64	1.54
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-30.71%	-45.09%
Avg. Volume (3M)	7.21M	799.28K

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

FAST and ROK 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 Rockwell Automation (ROK)
Metric	FAST	ROK
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	1.33	0.06
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	2.00	0.07

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Both Fastenal (FAST) at 35.26% and Rockwell Automation (ROK) at 38.73% 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%

ROK

Capital Goods industry group

38.73%

Max: 40.55%
ROK: 38.73%
Q3: 19.29%
Median: 12.12%
Q1: 4.08%
Min: -17.12%

Fastenal (FAST) vs. Rockwell Automation (ROK): 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 Rockwell Automation (ROK) at 15.68% 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%

ROK

Capital Goods industry group

15.68%

Max: 27.47%
ROK: 15.68%
Q3: 12.10%
Median: 6.30%
Q1: 1.40%
Min: -12.89%

Fastenal (FAST) vs. Rockwell Automation (ROK): 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 Rockwell Automation (ROK) at 14.75%, 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%

ROK

Capital Goods industry group

14.75%

Max: 36.60%
Q3: 18.33%
ROK: 14.75%
Median: 11.12%
Q1: 5.14%
Min: -12.63%

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

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Fastenal (FAST) and Rockwell Automation (ROK)
Metric	FAST	ROK
ROE (TTM)	35.26%	38.73%
ROA (TTM)	21.97%	9.32%
Net Margin (TTM)	15.62%	15.68%
Operating Margin (TTM)	21.55%	14.75%
Gross Margin (TTM)	44.61%	48.95%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Only one side can be read here: Fastenal (FAST) reports revenue growth of 8.67%, ranked against its industry; Rockwell Automation (ROK) has no revenue growth figure this period.

Fastenal (FAST) vs. Rockwell Automation (ROK): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Rockwell Automation (ROK) at 63.49% 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 ROK.

Fastenal (FAST) vs. Rockwell Automation (ROK): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Fastenal (FAST) and Rockwell Automation (ROK)
Metric	FAST	ROK
Revenue Growth (YoY)	8.67%	--
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	5.52%	--
EPS Growth (YoY)	9.00%	63.49%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	4.87%	1.62%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Rockwell Automation (ROK) at 2.11 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

ROK

Capital Goods industry group

2.11

Max: 5.22
Q3: 2.95
ROK: 2.11
Median: 2.08
Q1: 1.43
Min: 0.36

Fastenal (FAST) vs. Rockwell Automation (ROK): 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 Rockwell Automation (ROK) at 1.00 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

ROK

Capital Goods industry group

1.00

Max: 2.33
Q3: 1.12
ROK: 1.00
Median: 0.60
Q1: 0.29
Min: 0.00

Fastenal (FAST) vs. Rockwell Automation (ROK): 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 Rockwell Automation (ROK)
Metric	FAST	ROK
Current Ratio (MRQ)	3.93	2.11
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	0.11	1.00
Net Debt / EBITDA	0.12	1.58

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Rockwell Automation (ROK) 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%

ROK

Capital Goods industry group

0.00%

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

Fastenal (FAST) vs. Rockwell Automation (ROK): 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: Rockwell Automation (ROK) at 51.03% 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%

ROK

Capital Goods industry group

51.03%

Max: 67.39%
ROK: 51.03%
Q3: 28.02%
Median: 6.86%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

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

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Fastenal (FAST) and Rockwell Automation (ROK)
Metric	FAST	ROK
Dividend Yield (TTM)	1.81%	0.00%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	78.05%	51.03%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Rockwell Automation (ROK) at 29.97 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

ROK

Capital Goods industry group

29.97

Max: 59.38
Q3: 35.92
ROK: 29.97
Median: 25.41
Q1: 19.47
Min: 3.03

Fastenal (FAST) vs. Rockwell Automation (ROK): 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 Rockwell Automation (ROK) at 4.65 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

ROK

Capital Goods industry group

4.65

Max: 7.54
ROK: 4.65
Q3: 3.76
Median: 2.15
Q1: 1.03
Min: 0.03

Fastenal (FAST) vs. Rockwell Automation (ROK): 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 Rockwell Automation (ROK) at 11.76 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

ROK

Capital Goods industry group

11.76

ROK: 11.76
Max: 9.66
Q3: 5.00
Median: 3.12
Q1: 1.81
Min: -1.08

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

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Fastenal (FAST) and Rockwell Automation (ROK)
Metric	FAST	ROK
P/E Ratio (TTM)	43.08	29.97
P/S Ratio (TTM)	6.70	4.65
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	14.65	11.76
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	1.51%	-1.13%