Fastenal Co (NASDAQ:FAST), a leader in the wholesale distribution of industrial and construction supplies, stock rose 5.05% (As on April 11, 11:20:50 AM UTC-4, Source: Google Finance) after the company reported first quarter earnings that met analyst expectations, while revenue came in slightly above estimates. The company experienced an increase in unit sales in the first quarter of 2025. This was due to a growth in the number of customer sites spending $10K or more per month with Fastenal and, to a lesser degree, growth in average monthly sales per customer site across all customer spend categories. The impact of product pricing on net sales was not material in the first quarter of 2025 and 2024. Price levels remained relatively stable in the first quarter of 2025. Further, with industrial production still sluggish in the first quarter of 2025, the performance of the fastener product line continued to lag our non-fastener product lines. The fastener category experienced growth in the first quarter of 2025 after seven consecutive flat or declining quarters. This was driven by easier comparisons and increased contribution from large customer signings. The company achieved growth in the safety category reflecting the lower volatility of PPE demand, which tends to be utilized in more MRO than OEM applications, growth of the vending installed base, and success with warehousing and data center customers.

FAST in the first quarter of FY25 has reported the adjusted earnings per share of 52 cents, which is inline with the analysts’ estimates for the adjusted earnings per share of 52 cents. The company had reported the adjusted revenue growth of 3.4 percent to $1.96 billion in the first quarter of FY25, beating the analysts’ estimates for revenue of $1.95 billion. Fastenal’s gross profit margin declined to 45.1% from 45.5% a year ago, primarily due to customer and product mix as well as higher fleet and transportation costs. The operating income, as a percentage of net sales, decreased to 20.1% in the first quarter of 2025 from 20.6% in the first quarter of 2024.

The company maintained its 2025 outlook for capital expenditures of $265 million to $285 million, up from $214.1 million in 2024. Fastenal cited increased spending on distribution centers, IT projects, and FMI hardware to support growth. Fastenal continues to see growth from its larger customers while facing some headwinds from sluggish industrial activity.