FASTENAL CO vs Ross Stores, Inc., two Retail stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Fastenal distributes nuts, bolts, and industrial supplies through thousands of branches and on-site stocking points, a $54.2B business keeping 15.39% of sales and returning 32.57% on equity. Ross Stores sells discounted branded apparel, a $68.5B off-price chain keeping 9.74% and returning an even higher 36.73% on equity. Fastenal is the more expensive stock at 41.67 times earnings against Ross's 29.78, and it pays a 1.86% dividend where Ross pays 0.76%. Both run light on debt. The supplier embeds itself in customers' factories to earn its margin; the discounter earns its by buying cheap and clearing inventory fast.
Comparison updated 2026-07-11.
| Metric | FAST | ROST |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $46.48 | $222.82 |
| Market cap | $53.5B | $71.6B |
| Sector | Retail | Retail |
| Stage | Mature | Mature |
| Implied growth (priced in) | +28.2% | +24.3% |
| P/E | 41.1 | 31.1 |
| P/B | 13.41 | 11.35 |
| P/S | 6.34 | 3.01 |
| EV/EBITDA | 28.2 | 20.0 |
| Revenue growth | +10.9% | +11.9% |
| Gross margin | 44.6% | — |
| Operating margin | 20.3% | 13.4% |
| Net margin | 15.4% | 9.7% |
| Return on equity | 32.6% | 36.7% |
| Return on assets | 24.9% | 14.9% |
| Return on invested capital | 31.3% | 29.8% |
| FCF yield | 2.2% | 3.7% |
| Dividend yield | 1.9% | 0.7% |
| Debt / equity | 0.04 | 0.20 |
| Current ratio | 4.39 | 1.54 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 9.60 | 8.35 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 7 / 9 | 7 / 9 |
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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.