Fastenal Daily Sales accelerate further in July as growth among top customers narrows. The company posted its 13th straight month of double-digit daily sales growth as its three largest end markets all improved from June. Get its detailed breakdown and analysis of the figures. Industrial and construction supplies distributor Fastenal reported its July sales results on Aug. 6, reflecting another acceleration in year-over-year daily sales growth as manufacturing and non-residential construction metrics strengthened. The big picture. * Fastenal posted July total sales of $825.8 million - up 15.5% year-over-year. With both periods containing 22 business days, daily sales likewise increased 15.5%. * The daily sales gain accelerated from 15.0% in June, marking Fastenal's 13th straight month of double-digit growth and the company's strongest result since August 2022 (16.1%) * Average daily sales totaled $37.5 million, down 2.3% from June's $38.4 million. That sequential decline was smaller than the historical July decrease of 3.1%, based on Fastenal's 2021-2025 average. * Growth accelerated from June in Fastenal's two largest geographies - the U.S. and Canada/Mexico - while Rest of World growth remained above 20% * Each of Fastenal's three largest end markets improved sequentially, led by an 18.7% gain in heavy manufacturing. Other manufacturing increased 12.5%, while non-residential construction rose 16.9%. * Contract and non-contract customer growth both accelerated, while eBusiness and Fastenal Managed Inventory growth moderated * The percentage of in-market locations growing increased, though the share of Fastenal's top 100 national accounts recording growth declined Go deeper. Here's the breakdown of Fastenal's July 2026 sales report and how each metric compared with June in parentheses: July Daily Sales by Geography, Year-over-Year: * United States - 82.6% of sales: +14.8% (+14.4% in June) * Canada/Mexico - 13.9% of sales: +18.2% (+17.0%) * Rest of World - 3.5% of sales: +21.4% (+22.1%) July Daily Sales by Customer Usage: * Total Direct Materials - 39.2% of sales: +15.7% (+15.4% in June) * Direct fasteners/hardware - 20.9% of sales: +14.6% (+13.0%) * Direct cutting tools & abrasives - 5.2% of sales: +17.1% (+16.9%) * Direct non-fasteners/hardware - 13.1% of sales: +17.0% (+18.9%) * Total Indirect Materials - 60.8% of sales: +16.1% (+15.2% in June) * Indirect fasteners/hardware - 9.3% of sales: +13.6% (+15.5%) * Indirect safety - 21.0% of sales: +12.8% (+17.9%) * Indirect non-fasteners/hardware & non-safety - 30.5% of sales: +19.3% (+13.1%) July Daily Sales by Customer End Market: * Heavy manufacturing - 44.0% of sales: +18.7% (+17.8% in June) * Other manufacturing - 32.0% of sales: +12.5% (+10.5%) * Non-residential construction - 8.1% of sales: +16.9% (+14.6%) * Other - 15.9% of sales: +15.5% (+18.0%) * 69.0% of Top 100 national accounts were growing (74.0% in June) * 65.9% of in-market locations were growing (63.8%) * Contract customers: +19.0% (+18.0%) * Non-contract customers: +8.0% (+6.0%) * FMI: +14.0% (+15.0%) * eBusiness: +15.0% (+16.0%) July Headcount * Fastenal ended July with a total headcount of 24,702 - down 0.4% from June and up 1.4% year-over-year. Full-time equivalent selling personnel totaled 15,718 - down 0.5% from June and up 1.1% year-over-year. MDM's analysis. Fastenal is the only publicly traded industrial distributor that issues a monthly sales report, making the company a useful barometer for the demand environment across the industrial supplies, MRO and construction markets it serves. July's results offered another encouraging signal. Year-over-year growth strengthened despite a typical seasonal decline from June, and that sequential decrease was milder than Fastenal's recent historical average. The acceleration was also broad across heavy manufacturing, other manufacturing and non-residential construction rather than being concentrated in one major end market. Still, much of Fastenal's outperformance remains company-specific. The distributor attributed its second-quarter growth primarily to market share gains alongside modestly improving broad-based demand. Pricing contributed approximately 290 basis points to second-quarter sales growth, down from 350 basis points in the first quarter. Fastenal does not provide a price-volume breakdown in its monthly report, so July's 15.5% gain should not be viewed as a direct measure of underlying market growth. But the continued acceleration across its core end markets supports the company's recent commentary that industrial demand conditions have been stable to modestly positive. One wrinkle in Fastenal's otherwise strengthening July results was a continued pullback in growth breadth among its largest customers. The share of its top 100 national accounts posting growth fell to 69%, down from 74% in June and a recent peak of 83% in May. July's figure was also slightly below the 71% recorded a year earlier. Still, the broader trend remains substantially stronger than it was during the first half of 2025. An average of 73.3% of Fastenal's top 100 accounts have grown during the first seven months of 2026, compared with just 59.1% during the same period last year. That suggests July's decline was more of a retreat from exceptionally broad spring growth than evidence of a meaningful demand downturn. Mike Hockett is MDM's executive editor, having joined the publication in March 2022. He oversees MDM's editorial content and direction, coordinates with contributing authors, conducts interviews with executives in the wholesale distribution space and serves as the editorial face of MDM at industry events. He has extensively covered the distribution and manufacturing sectors since 2014. Hockett works from his home in Madison, WI. He can be contacted at [email protected]. Recommended Reading

Fastenal declared a higher third quarter cash dividend, linking the decision to operating momentum driven by industrial activity and market share gains. The company reported second quarter 2026 sales of $2.39 billion and net income of $382.8 million. For the first half of 2026, sales reached $4.59 billion with net income of $722.6 million. These results are supporting both dividend payments and ongoing share repurchases. The stock trades around $45.33 on NasdaqGS, with gains of 65.5% over three years and 88.3% over five years. Analysts suggest operating momentum could improve dividend payout ratios as cash generation continues. For income-focused investors, questions remain about dividend sustainability as Fastenal balances capital returns with investments in digital services and inventory management, which now represent a growing revenue share.

Costco, Fastenal and Visa all pass Warren Buffett's criteria for quality stocks — durable brands, high returns and rising dividends — but trade at very different valuations today. Costco trades at 47 times trailing earnings with a 0.57% yield. Despite membership renewal rates near 90% and comparable sales up 9.8%, the premium valuation makes it a hold. Investors should wait for a pullback before adding exposure. Fastenal reported strong second-quarter results with revenue up 14.74% to $2.39 billion. However, shares trade at 39 times earnings whilst analyst targets sit barely above the current price. Five analysts rate it a sell versus five buys, making it a sell for new money. Visa earns a buy rating at 24 times forward earnings, with 37 of 40 analysts bullish on the stock despite not making the cut in one analyst's top AI picks.