Industrial and construction supplies distributor Fastenal reported its December sales metrics, fourth quarter and full-year 2024 sales on Jan. 17, showing a decline in December daily sales growth following an acceleration in November.

The Big Picture

• 2024’s annual sales total grew 2.7% vs. 2023
• 4Q sales outpaced the annual figure and accelerated sequentially despite December’s slowdown
• December sales grew 5.3% year-over-year overall, while daily sales were a flat 0.0% — the company’s worst daily sales growth since May 2021
• 4Q sales of $1.8 billion increased 3.7% year-over-year
• 4Q gross margin of fell 70 basis points year-over-year and fell 10 points from 3Q
• Fastener sales continued to slide in December, more than made up for by safety supplies and other product lines.
• Fastenal’s top end market — heavy manufacturing — saw modest monthly improvement, while other manufacturing saw strong growth and non-residential construction declined
• National accounts improved to a healthy majority but was down from the same period a year prior. Non-national accounts continued to decline.
• Fastenal Managed Inventory (FMI) and digital business continued strong growth, though installed devices missed the company’s annual goal.
• CFO Holden Lewis is set to resign from his position on April 16

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The Industrials – Capital Goods unit of investment bank Edward Jones shared the following equity research note with MDM regarding Fastenal’s 4Q:

“Fastenal had a disappointing quarter, as sluggishness in industrial end-markets and abnormal seasonal weakness in December depressed earnings. Daily sales in the quarter grew 2.1% and were roughly aligned with forecasts. Non-fastener product sales, such as safety supplies, drove growth and was partially offset by soft demand for fasteners. This pressured financial results, as non-fastener products tend to carry lower operating profitability. Overall, pricing was neutral, and we expect management to remain focused on offsetting rising costs for materials and freight by reducing the company’s expenses and raising prices when necessary.” — Edward Jones equity research note, Jan. 17

Go Deeper

Below, find Fastenal’s results for the full year 2024, its fourth quarter and December.

Full-Year 2024

The Winona, MN-based company reported 2024 total sales of $7.54 billion, up 2.7% compared with 2023, with daily sales up 1.9%. The company’s fiscal 2024 had two fewer selling days than 2023.

Fastenal’s 2024 total gross margin of 45.1% trailed 2023’s 45.7%.

2024’s operating profit of $1.51 billion decreased 1.2% compared with 2022’s $1.52 billion, while operating margin of 20.0% likewise trailed 2023’s 20.7% margin.

Fastenal’s 2024 net profit of $1.15 billion trailed 2023 by 0.4%.

4Q Results

Fastenal’s 4Q sales of $1.8 billion increased 3.7% year-over-year, up from 3Q’s growth rate of 3.5%. Daily sales grew 2.1% year-over-year in 4Q, besting 3Q’s 1.9%.

Fastenal’s 4Q operating profit of $344.8 million on margin of 18.9% was down from 3Q and trailed the $353.9 million and 20.1% of a year earlier, while 4Q net profit of $262.1 million trailed 3Q’s $298 million and the $266.4 million of a year earlier.

4Q gross margin of 44.8% fell 70 basis points year-over-year and fell 10 points from 3Q, which the company attributed to the continuation of the soft manufacturing environment that was sustained throughout 2024. This was further impacted by production cuts from many of Fastenal’s largest customers during the last two weeks of December due to holiday-related plant shutdowns.

Here’s how Fastenal’s 4Q daily sales performed by product line on a year-over-year basis (and how it compared with 3Q):

• • OEM Fasteners (19.0% of total): +0.4% (-3.1% in 3Q)
  • MRO Fasteners (10.9% of total): -4.5% (-5.3% in 3Q)

• Total Fasteners (29.9% of total): -1.4% (-4.0% in 3Q)

• • Safety Supplies (23.0% of total): +4.8% (+6.8% in 3Q)
  • Other Products (47.1% of total): +4.0% (+3.7% in 3Q)

• Total Non-Fasteners (70.1% of total): +4.3% (+4.7% in 3Q)

Here’s how Fastenal’s 4Q daily sales performed by end market on a year-over-year basis (and how it compared with 3Q):

• • Heavy manufacturing (42.3% of total): +1.7% (+0.7% in 3Q)
  • Other manufacturing (32.0% of total): +5.4% (+6.2% in 3Q)

• Total manufacturing (74.3% of total): +3.3% (+3.0%  in 3Q)

• • Non-residential construction (8.2% of total): -4.1% (-3.6% in 3Q)
  • Reseller (4.9% of total): -11.3% (-11.3% in 3Q)
  • Other (12.6% of total): +7.6% (+5.6% in 3Q)

• Total non-manufacturing (25.6% of total): -0.3% (-1.5% in 3Q)

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Here’s how Fastenal’s 4Q daily sales performed by customer type on a year-over-year basis (and how it compared with 3Q):

• National accounts (64.2% of total): +4.2% (+5.6% in 3Q)
• Non-national accounts (35.8% of total): -1.0% (-4.1% in 3Q)

Onsites, Vending & eCommerce

• Fastenal signed 56 new Onsite locations during 4Q24, down from the 93 in 3Q. Full-year onsite signings amounted to 358, below the company’s low-end goal of 375 to 400. It had 2,031 active sites on Dec. 31, up 11.5% year-over-year. Daily sales through Onsite locations (excluding transferred from branches to new Onsites) grew at a mid-single digit rate in 4Q year-over-year year — up from a single-digit rate in the previous quarters.
• Fastenal’s 4Q sales from FMI Technology — comprised of its FASTStock, FASTBin and FASTVend offering — totaled $812.4 million (43.9% of total sales), up 10% year-over-year (+9.3% in 3Q), with daily sales up 8.2%. FMI Technology sales for the full-year totaled $3.25 billion (42.5% of total sales), up 8.5% year-over-year, with daily sales up 7.6%.
• Fastenal signed 6,790 weighted FASTBIN and FASTVend devices in 4Q, a 24.3% jump year-over-year, while the 126,957 installations it had at the end of December were up 12.2%. The company signed 27,984 FASTBIN and FASTVend devices in 2024, a 16% increase from 2023, this was consistent with its goal of signing between 26,000 to 28,000 in 2024. The company said its goal for device signings in 2025 is between 28,000 to 30,000.
• Fastenal’s daily sales through its eBusiness — including eProcurement and eCommerce — grew 27.6% year-over-year (25.6% in 3Q) and represented 30.9% of total sales in the quarter (30.1% in 3Q).
• The company’s digital footprint — comprised of eCommerce plus FMI — represented 62.2% of total 4Q sales, up from 61.1% in 3Q. Fastenal expects that during 2025, 66% to 68% of its sales volume will run through the company’s digital footprint.

December

Fastenal posted total December sales of $541 million, up 5.3% year-over-year, with daily sales a flat 0.0%. The daily sales change was a notable deceleration from  November’s 3.4% and October’s 2.8%. December had one fewer selling day than November.

Here’s how the company’s year-over-year daily sales growth has fared each month since the start of 2023:

Here’s the breakdown of Fastenal’s December 2024 sales report and how each metric compared with November:

December Daily Sales by Geography, Year-Over-Year:

• United States – 84.0% of sales: 0.0% (+2.3% in Nov.)
• Canada/Mexico – 12.7% of sales: +0.6% (+8.7% in Nov.)
• Rest of World – 3.3% of sales: -2.6% (+6.4% in Nov.)

December Daily Sales by Product Line:

• Fasteners – 29.6% of sales: -2.2% (+0.1% in Nov.)
• Safety – 23.6% of sales: +3.0% (+5.5% in Nov.)
• Other – 46.8% of sales: +1.6% (+5.3% in Nov.)

December Daily Sales by Customer End Market: 

• Heavy manufacturing – 41.1% of sales: -2.6% (+4.1% in Nov.)
• Other manufacturing – 32.2% of sales: +4.4% (+7.1% in Nov.)
• Non-residential construction – 7.9% of sales: -5.7% (-1.7% in Nov.)
• Reseller – 5.1% of sales: -8.3% (-15.1% in Nov.)
• Other – 13.8% of sales: +6.9% (+6.4% in Nov.)

December Daily Sales by Customer Category: 

• National accounts: +1.0% (+6.0% in Nov.)
• 45.0% of Top 100 national accounts were growing (59.0% in Nov.)
• Non-national accounts: -1.0% (-1.0% in Nov.)
• 46.6% of in-market locations were growing (49.3% in Nov.)
• FMI: +8.0% (+10.0% in Nov.)
• eBusiness: +28.0% (+28.0% in Nov.)

December Headcount:

Fastenal ended December with a total headcount of 23,702, up 0.2% from November and up 2.2% year-over-year. Full-time selling headcount of 15,055 was down 0.3% from November and down 0.1% year-over-year.