First Quarter 2021 Earnings Recap - Modern Distribution Management

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First Quarter 2021 Earnings Recap

How did the public distributors (and manufacturers relevant to this space) perform in the calendar first quarter? Our recap provides highlights of their revenue and earnings results.
Red flags remain, but strong 2Q financial reports from major companies have quelled some immediate fears of a possible recession.
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Below is a rundown of how public companies in distribution performed during the third quarter. The list includes companies across a variety of verticals and includes some manufacturers pertinent to this space.

Click the company name for more details on their quarterly earnings, including year-to-date performance.

Also of note: The following companies were sold in recent months and no longer report earnings — Foundation Building Materials Inc., HD Supply Holdings Inc., BMC Stock Holdings Inc. and Houston Wire & Cable.

  • 3M (NYSE: MMM) — The St. Paul, Minnesota-based company reported first-quarter revenues of $8.9 billion, by close to 10% year-over-year. Net income increased 23.7% to $1.62 billion.
  • Applied Industrial Technologies Inc. (NYSE: AIT) — The Cleveland, Ohio-based distributor reported sales for the fiscal third quarter of $840.9 Million, which marked a 1.2% year-over-year increase. Applied’s net income of $56.1 million was up from a loss in the same quarter a year ago.
  • Arrow Electronics Inc. (NYSE: ARW) — The Centennial, Colorado-based electronic components distributor reported revenue for the first quarter rose 31.3% to $8.4 billion. Profit of $206.3 million was up threefold from $49.5 million in the year-ago period.
  • Avnet Inc. (Nasdaq: AVT) — The Phoenix, Arizona-based distributor reported sales for the fiscal third quarter ended April 3 of $4.9 billion, up 14.1% year-over-year. Profit for the quarter was $107.5 million, up from a loss of $128.7 million in the year-ago fiscal third quarter.
  • Beacon Roofing Supply Inc. (Nasdaq: BECN) — The Herndon, Virginia-based building materials distributor reported revenues for the fiscal second quarter of $1.3 billion, a 10.1% increase from the same quarter a year ago. The company reported a profit of $22.1 million, up from a loss of $22.4 million the year prior.
  • BlueLinx Holdings Inc. (NYSE: BXC) — The Marietta, Georgia-based building materials distributor reported sales of $1 billion in the first quarter, up 58% from the same quarter a year ago. BlueLinx also reported a profit of $61.9 million, up from a loss of $0.8 million in the prior-year period.
  • Builders FirstSource Inc. (Nasdaq: BLDR) — The Dallas-based building materials distributor reported sales of $4.2 billion for the first quarter, up 133.6% due to its recent merger with BMC Stock Holdings. Net income of $172.6 million was up significantly from $56.9 million in 1Q 2020.
  • DXP Enterprises Inc. (NASDAQ: DXPE) — The Houston-based MRO and industrial distributor reported first-quarter sales of $245.6 million, down 18.4% compared to the first quarter of 2020. The company reported a profit of $0.3 million, down from a profit of $5.6 million in the year-ago period.
  • Fastenal Co. (Nasdaq: FAST) — The Winona, Minnesota-based company reported first-quarter sales of $1.4 billion, a 3.7% increase compared with the same period a year ago. Quarterly profit was $210.6 million, also a 3.7% increase compared to the year-ago period.
  • Ferguson PLC (NYSE: FERG) — Ferguson reported that its third-quarter revenue climbed 24.5% from the same quarter a year ago to $5.9 billion while its trading profit increased 65.4% to $579 million.
  • Genuine Parts Co. (NYSE: GPC) — The Atlanta-based parent of Motion — what GPC calls its “industrial parts group” — reported that the distributor’s first-quarter sales of $1.5 billion were up 0.1% year-over-year and represented 34% of total company revenues (the same as the prior quarter).
  • Huttig Building Products Inc. (Nasdaq: HBP) — The St. Louis, Missouri-based building materials distributor reported sales of $214.7 million in the first quarter, up 5.8% from the first quarter of 2020. Net income of $8.1 million was up from a loss of $8.9 million a year ago.
  • Lawson Products Inc. (Nasdaq: LAWS) — The Chicago-based MRO distributor reported first-quarter sales of $103.6 million, up 13.8% compared to the first quarter of 2020. Net income of $3.6 million, however, was down significantly from $12.5 million in the year-ago period.
  • MRC Global Inc. (NYSE: MRC) — The Houston-based pipes, valves and fittings distributor reported first-quarter revenue of $609 million, up 5% higher from 1Q 2020. The company posted a first-quarter loss of $9 million, down from a profit of $3 million in the same period a year ago.
  • MSC Industrial Supply Co. (NYSE: MSM) — Industrial distributor MSC Industrial Supply Co. (NYSE: MSM), Melville, New York, reported sales of $774 million for its fiscal second quarter, a 1.5% decrease compared to the year-ago period. Quarterly profit was $18.1 million, a 67.4z% decrease compared with the second quarter last year.
  • NOW Inc. (NYSE: DNOW) — The Houston-based distributor reported sales for the first quarter of $361 million, a 40.2% decrease from the same period a year ago. The company reported a loss of $10 million, compared to a loss of $331 million in the year-ago quarter.
  • Pool Corp. (Nasdaq: POOL) — The Covington, Louisiana-based distributor of swimming pool and related backyard products reported first-quarter revenue of $1.1 billion, up 56.6% from the year-ago quarter. Net income of $98.7 million was more than triple its year-ago profit of $30.9 million.
  • SiteOne Landscape Supply Inc. (NYSE: SITE) — The Roswell, Georgia-based landscape supply distributor reported sales for the first quarter of $650.2 million, up 41.4% from the same period a year ago. The company posted a profit of $7.4 million, up from a loss of $17.5 million in 1Q 2020.
  • Systemax Inc. (NYSE: SYX) — The Port Washington, New York-based parent of Global Industrial reported sales for the first quarter of $251.1 million, up 10.5% from the year-ago period. Profit declined 33.7% to $5.5 million.
  • United Rentals Inc. (NYSE: URI) — The Stamford, Connecticut-based company reported revenue of $2.1 billion in the first quarter, down 3.2% from a year ago. Rental revenue of $1.6 billion was down 6.5%. The company’s net income was $203 million in 1Q, up 17.3% year-over-year.
  • Watsco Inc. (NYSE: WSO) — The Miami-based HVACR distributor reported first-quarter sales of $1.1 billion, up 12.7% from the year-ago quarter. Profit increased 80.6% to $55.1 million.
  • WESCO International Inc. (NYSE: WCC) — Thanks to its 2020 acquisition of Anixter, the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based electrical distribution giant reported first-quarter sales of $4 billion, doubling its revenue from the same period a year ago. On a pro forma basis, WESCO sales grew 3.2% in the period. The company reported a profit of $74.1 million, which also roughly doubled its profit of $38.3 million in the year-ago period.
  • W.W. Grainger Inc. (NYSE: GWW) — The Chicago-based distributor reported first-quarter sales of $3.1 billion, up 2.8% compared to the year-ago quarter. Grainger’s profit increased 37.6% to $238 million.

*Not all public distributors or companies relevant to the distribution space are included in this roundup. We will continue to build out this list in the coming quarters.

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