CVS HEALTH Corp vs FASTENAL CO, two Retail stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Where CVS and FAST diverge most: on return on assets, CVS reads 0.4% and FAST reads 25.5%; on net margin, CVS reads 0.2% and FAST reads 15.4%. The rest of the comparable metrics sit closer together. What CVS's price implies is a bet that sits within the historical range (whole-company basis). What FAST's price implies is a demanding bet versus history and the cohort (whole-company basis). The bull and bear cases for each are in their full reports below.
| Metric | CVS | FAST |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $104.42 | $47.72 |
| Market cap | $133.6B | $54.9B |
| Sector | Retail | Retail |
| Stage | Mature | Growth |
| Implied growth (priced in) | — | +28.8% |
| P/E | — | 32.7 |
| P/B | 1.72 | 13.49 |
| P/S | 0.33 | 6.27 |
| EV/EBITDA | 17.5 | 28.1 |
| Revenue growth | +7.6% | +12.5% |
| Gross margin | — | 44.6% |
| Operating margin | 4.7% | 21.0% |
| Net margin | 0.2% | 15.4% |
| Return on equity | 1.3% | 33.2% |
| Return on assets | 0.4% | 25.5% |
| Return on invested capital | 3.2% | 31.8% |
| FCF yield | 5.5% | 2.1% |
| Dividend yield | 2.5% | 1.8% |
| Debt / equity | 0.78 | 0.05 |
| Current ratio | 0.87 | 4.18 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 2.43 | 9.67 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 6 / 9 | 5 / 9 |
Each week boothcheck ranks the stocks whose prices are betting on the most. Read the most stretched bets archive →
boothcheck is also on Android. Get the app on Google Play →
The stronger value is highlighted per metric where one is strictly better on that single number; it is not an overall verdict on either company. For informational and research purposes only. Not investment advice. Not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security. boothcheck is not a registered investment adviser. Past performance does not guarantee future results.