FAST vs. URI: Fastenal vs. United Rentals Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Fastenal (FAST) and United Rentals (URI) 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 United Rentals (URI) are both classified in the Trading Companies & Distributors sub-industry within the broader Trading Companies & Distributors industry, placing them in the closest GICS peer bucket.

Company profile comparison for Fastenal (FAST) and United Rentals (URI)
Profile Item	FAST	URI
Name	Fastenal Co.	United Rentals Inc.
Country/Region	United States	United States
GICS Sector	Industrials	Industrials
GICS Industry Group	Capital Goods	Capital Goods
GICS Industry	Trading Companies & Distributors	Trading Companies & Distributors
GICS Sub-Industry	Trading Companies & Distributors	Trading Companies & Distributors
Market Capitalization	60.80 billion USD	65.36 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	Nasdaq	NYSE
Listing Date	August 20, 1987	December 18, 1997
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

FAST

URI

GSPC

Fastenal (FAST) vs. United Rentals (URI), 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 United Rentals (URI). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Fastenal (FAST) and United Rentals (URI)
Metric	FAST	URI
Total Return (1Y)	36.82%	35.39%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	25.71%	38.68%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	15.98%	24.76%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

FAST

URI

GSPC

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

Risk Metrics

United Rentals (URI) has an aggressive beta of 1.81, 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 United Rentals (URI)
Metric	FAST	URI
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	24.55%	44.71%
Beta (5Y)	0.64	1.81
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-30.71%	-39.76%
Avg. Volume (3M)	7.21M	496.78K

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

FAST and URI 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 United Rentals (URI)
Metric	FAST	URI
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	1.33	0.70
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	2.00	1.16

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Both Fastenal (FAST) at 35.26% and United Rentals (URI) at 30.56% 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%

URI

Capital Goods industry group

30.56%

Max: 40.55%
URI: 30.56%
Q3: 19.29%
Median: 12.12%
Q1: 4.08%
Min: -17.12%

Fastenal (FAST) vs. United Rentals (URI): 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 United Rentals (URI) at 16.33% 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%

URI

Capital Goods industry group

16.33%

Max: 27.47%
URI: 16.33%
Q3: 12.10%
Median: 6.30%
Q1: 1.40%
Min: -12.89%

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

Operating Margin (TTM)

Both Fastenal (FAST) at 21.55% and United Rentals (URI) at 29.21% 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%

URI

Capital Goods industry group

29.21%

Max: 36.60%
URI: 29.21%
Q3: 18.33%
Median: 11.12%
Q1: 5.14%
Min: -12.63%

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

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Fastenal (FAST) and United Rentals (URI)
Metric	FAST	URI
ROE (TTM)	35.26%	30.56%
ROA (TTM)	21.97%	9.14%
Net Margin (TTM)	15.62%	16.33%
Operating Margin (TTM)	21.55%	29.21%
Gross Margin (TTM)	44.61%	39.19%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both Fastenal (FAST) at 8.67% and United Rentals (URI) at 4.91% land near their industries' usual revenue growth ranges, so top-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

Fastenal (FAST) vs. United Rentals (URI): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Both Fastenal (FAST) at 9.00% and United Rentals (URI) at -0.21% land near their industries' usual EPS growth ranges, so bottom-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

Fastenal (FAST) vs. United Rentals (URI): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Fastenal (FAST) and United Rentals (URI)
Metric	FAST	URI
Revenue Growth (YoY)	8.67%	4.91%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	5.52%	11.41%
EPS Growth (YoY)	9.00%	-0.21%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	4.87%	9.20%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Fastenal (FAST) at 3.93 carries current ratio above its industry’s typical mid-range, while United Rentals (URI) at 0.80 runs in the tighter-liquidity quartile — different working-capital profiles, both worth examining.

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

URI

Capital Goods industry group

0.80

Max: 5.22
Q3: 2.95
Median: 2.08
Q1: 1.43
URI: 0.80
Min: 0.36

Fastenal (FAST) vs. United Rentals (URI): 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 quartile, while United Rentals (URI) at 1.64 sits in the higher-leverage quartile.

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

URI

Capital Goods industry group

1.64

Max: 2.33
URI: 1.64
Q3: 1.12
Median: 0.60
Q1: 0.29
Min: 0.00

Fastenal (FAST) vs. United Rentals (URI): 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 United Rentals (URI)
Metric	FAST	URI
Current Ratio (MRQ)	3.93	0.80
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	0.11	1.64
Net Debt / EBITDA	0.12	3.12

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Fastenal (FAST) at 1.81% delivers top-quartile income for its industry, while United Rentals (URI) at 0.74% 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%

URI

Capital Goods industry group

0.74%

Max: 2.66%
Q3: 1.14%
URI: 0.74%
Median: 0.24%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

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

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

United Rentals (URI) at 16.95% 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%

URI

Capital Goods industry group

16.95%

Max: 67.39%
Q3: 28.02%
URI: 16.95%
Median: 6.86%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

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

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Fastenal (FAST) and United Rentals (URI)
Metric	FAST	URI
Dividend Yield (TTM)	1.81%	0.74%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	78.05%	16.95%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

United Rentals (URI) at 23.24 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

URI

Capital Goods industry group

23.24

Max: 59.38
Q3: 35.92
Median: 25.41
URI: 23.24
Q1: 19.47
Min: 3.03

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

P/S Ratio (TTM)

United Rentals (URI) at 3.74 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

URI

Capital Goods industry group

3.74

Max: 7.54
Q3: 3.76
URI: 3.74
Median: 2.15
Q1: 1.03
Min: 0.03

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

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Both look rich against book: United Rentals (URI) at 6.75 sits in the upper P/B ratio quartile, and Fastenal (FAST) at 14.65 prices even higher, above its industry 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

URI

Capital Goods industry group

6.75

Max: 9.66
URI: 6.75
Q3: 5.00
Median: 3.12
Q1: 1.81
Min: -1.08

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

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Fastenal (FAST) and United Rentals (URI)
Metric	FAST	URI
P/E Ratio (TTM)	43.08	23.24
P/S Ratio (TTM)	6.70	3.74
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	14.65	6.75
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	1.51%	3.24%