FASTENAL CO vs THE SHERWIN-WILLIAMS COMPANY, two Retail stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Fastenal supplies industrial and construction fasteners through a dense branch network, a $54.2B distributor keeping 15.39% of sales with almost no debt at 0.04 to equity. Sherwin-Williams sells paint, a $85.4B name keeping 10.86% while running heavy leverage at 2.64. Fastenal is the richer stock, 41.67 times earnings against 33.05, and returns 32.57% on equity. Both pay dividends near each other, Fastenal at 1.86% and Sherwin at 0.92%. Free cash yields sit close, 2.15% and 3.4%. One threads itself into factory supply rooms; the other owns coatings from manufacture to store shelf. Both earn steadily from customers who reorder without shopping around.
Comparison updated 2026-07-11.
| Metric | FAST | SHW |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $46.48 | $334.01 |
| Market cap | $53.5B | $82.9B |
| Sector | Retail | Retail |
| Stage | Mature | Mature |
| Implied growth (priced in) | +28.2% | +10.9% |
| P/E | 41.1 | 32.1 |
| P/B | 13.41 | 18.70 |
| P/S | 6.34 | 3.46 |
| EV/EBITDA | 28.2 | 263.0 |
| Revenue growth | +10.9% | +4.1% |
| Gross margin | 44.6% | 49.1% |
| Operating margin | 20.3% | — |
| Net margin | 15.4% | 10.9% |
| Return on equity | 32.6% | 58.7% |
| Return on assets | 24.9% | 9.8% |
| Return on invested capital | 31.3% | — |
| FCF yield | 2.2% | 3.5% |
| Dividend yield | 1.9% | 0.9% |
| Debt / equity | 0.04 | 2.64 |
| Current ratio | 4.39 | 0.86 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 9.60 | 6.93 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 7 / 9 | 5 / 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.