Fastenal Co (FAST) 2021 Q1 Earnings Report

The story of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) started in 1967 when Bob Kierlin opened the first Fastenal store to sell all kinds of nuts and bolts to the general public. The company struggled to generate revenue for several years following its inception. In the 1970s, Fastenal started targeting commercial markets to sell its products and the shift turned fruitful. Gradually, the company evolved from a small regional player to a leading supplier of industrial and construction products.

Fastenal recently announced its financial results for the first quarter. It reported a profit of $210.6 million for the three months ended March 31, up 3.9 percent from $202.6 million in the comparable period of 2020. On a per-share basis, earnings rose to 37 cents per share, as compared to 35 cents per share in the year-ago quarter.

Revenue came in at $1.42 billion, up 3.7 percent from the same quarter last year. The company said the improved demand for its fastener, safety, and janitorial products was partly overshadowed by extreme weather conditions in February. Analysts on average were expecting Fastenal to report earnings of 37 cents per share on revenue of $1.42 billion.

If we analyze the performance of key segments, daily sales of fastener products increased 4 percent on a year-over-year basis and accounted for 32.5 percent of total quarterly revenue. Moreover, daily sales of Fastenal’s safety products jumped 14.7 percent and represented 21.5 percent of total revenue. Comparatively, daily sales of other products inched up 2.5 percent and represented 46 percent of total revenue.

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