Fastenal (NASDAQ: FAST) lifts margin as daily sales rise 15.5% and cash flow tops net income

14 Oct 2026, 16:34 by Tristan Rich · The Markets Daily

What happened

Fastenal Company (NASDAQ: FAST) said daily sales rose 15.5% in the third quarter ended September 30, 2026. The company said larger customers helped drive the increase, along with pricing actions and broad demand across core end markets. It also pointed to Onsite, digital, and supply chain solutions.

Operating margin was 21.5%, up 0.8 percentage points from 20.7% a year earlier. Net sales were $2.46 billion, up from $2.13 billion. Operating income was $530.8 million, up from $441.5 million. Net income was $401.6 million, up from $335.5 million. Operating cash flow was $422 million. The company returned $328 million to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases.

Fastenal said it signed 7,484 weighted FASTBin and FASTVend devices in the quarter. Weighted FASTBin and FASTVend signings rose 6.2% to 7,484 MEUs from 7,050.

Key numbers

Metric	Latest	Change	Source
Daily sales growth	15.5%		Fastenal Company Reports 2026 Third Quarter Earnings
Net sales	$2.46 billion	from $2.13 billion, + $330.0 million	Fastenal Company Reports 2026 Third Quarter Earnings
Gross profit margin	44.8%	from 45.3%, -0.5 percentage points	Fastenal Company Reports 2026 Third Quarter Earnings
Operating margin	21.5%	from 20.7%, +0.8 percentage points	Fastenal Company Reports 2026 Third Quarter Earnings
Operating cash flow	$421.6 million	from $386.9 million, + $34.7 million	Fastenal Company Reports 2026 Third Quarter Earnings
Returned to shareholders	$328.4 million	from $252.5 million, + $75.9 million	Fastenal Company Reports 2026 Third Quarter Earnings

Why it matters

OptimistFi's case is that Fastenal works if its customer-embedded supply model keeps turning low-value industrial parts into high-retention, high-cash-flow service revenue without sacrificing its roughly 20% GAAP operating margin. This quarter supports that view because operating margin stayed above 20% and operating cash flow was 105% of net income. Fastenal also said operating cash flow reflected the timing of working capital changes tied to strong sales growth.

The release also said SG&A expense as a percentage of net sales fell to 23.3% from 24.6%. Gross profit as a percentage of net sales slipped to 44.8% from 45.3%. Foreign exchange rates cut sales growth by about 10 basis points, and product pricing added about 240 basis points.

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What's next

Fastenal will host a conference call today at 9:00 a.m. central time to review the quarterly results and current operations. If management keeps operating margin above 20% and cash flow near net income, that would support the case.

The company also said it expects to publish monthly consolidated net sales information on its Investor Relations page. It said the quarterly conference call presentation will be released at 6:00 a.m. central time on the earnings date.

Sources

Fastenal Company Reports 2026 Third Quarter Earnings — Press release issued October 14, 2026.
Fastenal Company Form 8-K — Current report filed October 14, 2026.

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