FASTENAL CO vs Ross Stores, Inc., two Retail stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Where FAST and ROST diverge most: on debt / equity, FAST reads 0.03 and ROST reads 0.15; on current ratio, FAST reads 4.18 and ROST reads 1.61. The rest of the comparable metrics sit closer together. On valuation, today's FAST price has a different growth bar priced in than ROST (+28.9% implied for FAST vs +17.4% for ROST); the higher figure is the steeper assumption to clear, not a better or worse stock. 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 | FAST | ROST |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $50.75 | $222.36 |
| Market cap | $58.4B | $71.0B |
| Sector | Retail | Retail |
| Stage | Growth | Growth |
| Implied growth (priced in) | +28.9% | +17.4% |
| P/E | 34.8 | 26.9 |
| P/B | 14.35 | 10.53 |
| P/S | 6.67 | 2.90 |
| EV/EBITDA | 29.8 | 17.3 |
| Revenue growth | +12.5% | +14.1% |
| Gross margin | 44.6% | — |
| Operating margin | 21.0% | 17.6% |
| Net margin | 15.4% | 10.8% |
| Return on equity | 33.2% | 39.4% |
| Return on assets | 25.5% | 16.6% |
| Return on invested capital | 32.3% | 32.6% |
| FCF yield | 2.0% | 3.9% |
| Dividend yield | 1.7% | 0.7% |
| Debt / equity | 0.03 | 0.15 |
| Current ratio | 4.18 | 1.61 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 9.67 | 8.45 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 5 / 9 | 8 / 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.