AVTR vs FAST vs QXO Stock Comparison

Avantor, Fastenal and Qxo Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
AVTR Avantor, Inc.
$17.29 +17.1% 1M +11.8% 1Y
Market cap
$11.70B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$6.56B
Div. yield
–
Industrial Distribution Industrials
1 win
FAST Fastenal Co
$51.91 +1.8% 1M +20.7% 1Y
Market cap
$60.18B
P/E
42.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$9.08B
Div. yield
–
Industrial Distribution Industrials
8 wins
QXO QXO, Inc.
$10.50 -14.4% 1M -42.6% 1Y
Market cap
$8.04B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$9.90B
Div. yield
–
Industrial Distribution Industrials
1 win

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

Fastenal leads on 8 of the 12 questions below (Fastenal 8, Avantor 1, Qxo 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionAVTRFASTQXOLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $11.70B $60.18B $8.04B FAST
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -20.2x 42.4x -15.7x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 22.2x 41.9x 45.7x AVTR
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months -1.6% +13.5% +408.3% QXO
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -8.8% 15.6% -5.2% FAST
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital -3.2% 33.6% -2.3% FAST
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 27.2x -0.1x 9.3x FAST
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +11.8% +20.7% -42.6% FAST
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -14.8%/yr +13.1%/yr -25.0%/yr FAST
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 51.2% 24.5% 63.5% FAST
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 15/100 62/100 32/100 FAST

Percentile Scorecard

AVTRFASTQXO

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisAVTRFASTQXO
Valuation 13 #40 of 46 2 #45 of 46 36 #30 of 46
Growth 3 #38 of 39 82 #8 of 39 61 #16 of 39
Profitability 21 #32 of 40 100 #1 of 40 15 #34 of 40
Financial Health 31 #34 of 49 100 #1 of 49 44 #28 of 49
Shareholder Returns 7 #30 of 32 26 #24 of 32 3 #31 of 32
Overall 15 62 32
  • AVTR ranked among 49 companies in Distribution and Rental
  • FAST ranked among 49 companies in Distribution and Rental
  • QXO ranked among 49 companies in Distribution and Rental

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodAVTRFASTQXOSPY
1 month +17.1%+1.8%-14.4% -1.0%
3 months +51.1%+10.4%-23.3% +2.9%
6 months +118.9%+16.2%-49.9% +6.4%
Year to date +50.9%+29.4%-45.6% +11.4%
1 year +11.8%+20.7%-42.6% +13.1%
3 years -14.3%+80.3%-58.8% +79.4%
3 years, per year -5.0%+21.7%-25.6% +21.5%
5 years -55.0%+85.3%-76.3% +67.7%
5 years, per year -14.8%+13.1%-25.0% +10.9%
10 years —+441.3%-45.3% +255.2%
10 years, per year —+18.4%-5.9% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureAVTRFASTQXOSPY
Volatility, 1Y 51.2%24.5%63.5% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 53.9%25.0%56.7% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.800.522.65 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.230.85-0.67 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -82.4%-31.9%-95.7% -25.4%
From 52-week high 0.0%-1.6%-61.2% -2.5%
52-week high $17.29$52.73$27.07 $779.14
52-week low $7.41$39.15$10.14 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleAVTRFASTQXO
P/E now vs peer median -20.2xmedian 25.9x 42.0xmedian 25.9x -15.7xmedian 25.9x
P/S now vs peer median 1.8xmedian 1.0x 6.6xmedian 1.0x 0.8xmedian 1.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 120.9xmedian 13.0x 29.1xmedian 13.0x 31.1xmedian 13.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 25.7xmedian 23.0x 50.6xmedian 23.0x 53.9xmedian 23.0x
P/B now vs peer median 2.1xmedian 2.4x 14.4xmedian 2.4x 0.7xmedian 2.4x
PEG now vs peer median 0.41median 2.37 5.52median 2.37 0.36median 2.37

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsAVTRFASTQXO
Revenue $6.56B $9.08B $9.90B
Gross profit $2.09B $4.05B $2.38B
Operating income -$301.10M $1.86B -$337.60M
Net income -$578.00M $1.42B -$511.70M
Free cash flow $454.70M $1.18B $141.20M
EPS (diluted) $-0.85 $1.23 $-0.67
Cash & equivalents $306.80M $211.90M $2.77B
Total debt $3.70B $100.00M $6.03B
Shares (diluted) 677.20M 1.15B 767.30M
Enterprise value $10.50B $59.18B -$2.45B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricAVTRFASTQXO
P/E -20.2x 42.0x -15.7x
P/FCF 25.7x 50.6x 53.9x
P/Operating cash flow 19.6x 41.5x 30.1x
P/S 1.8x 6.6x 0.8x
P/B 2.1x 14.4x 0.7x
P/Tangible book 4.5x 14.4x 1.3x
EV/EBITDA 120.9x 29.1x 31.1x
EV/EBIT -50.1x 31.9x -32.2x
EV/Revenue 2.3x 6.5x 1.1x
EV/FCF 33.2x 50.5x 77.0x
EV/Operating cash flow 25.3x 41.5x 42.9x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.41 5.52 0.36

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAVTRFASTQXO
Revenue growth (1Y) -1.6% 13.5% 408.3%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -2.9% 7.6% 484.0%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -5.8% 12.2% 468.9%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -5.6% 6.8% 394.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) -129.0% 15.4% -25.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -33.2% 7.3% -756.4%
Net income growth (1Y) -184.1% 15.6% -2,258%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -49.9% 7.7% -931.1%
EPS growth (1Y) -184.7% 15.7% -1,635%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -49.8% 7.6% -43.2%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -12.4% 18.4% 582.7%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -11.2% 1.3% 386.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -18.2% 21.9% 294.8%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -14.2% -0.7% 302.4%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAVTRFASTQXO
Gross margin 31.8% 44.6% 24.0%
EBITDA margin 1.9% 22.5% 3.5%
Operating margin -4.6% 20.5% -3.4%
Pretax margin -7.2% 20.6% -4.8%
Net margin -8.8% 15.6% -5.2%
FCF margin 6.9% 13.0% 1.4%
Operating cash flow margin 9.1% 15.8% 2.6%
Return on equity -10.3% 34.5% -5.0%
Return on assets -5.0% 26.3% -2.6%
Return on invested capital -3.2% 33.6% -2.3%
Return on capital employed -2.9% 42.2% -2.0%
Asset turnover 0.6x 1.7x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -1.0x 1.0x -0.5x
Stock comp / revenue 0.6% 0.1% 1.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAVTRFASTQXO
Debt / assets 31.9% 1.8% 26.6%
Debt / equity 0.7x 0.0x 0.6x
Net debt / EBITDA 27.2x -0.1x 9.3x
Debt / FCF 8.1x 0.1x 42.7x
Liabilities / assets 51.4% 24.5% 54.2%
Equity / assets 48.6% 75.5% 45.8%
Interest coverage -1.8x 503.9x –
Current ratio 1.8x 3.9x 4.1x
Quick ratio 1.0x 1.9x 2.0x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.2x 1.1x
Altman Z-score 1.98 31.01 1.13

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAVTRFASTQXO
Dividend yield – 1.8% –
Net buyback yield 0.0% 0.1% -10.4%
Shareholder yield 0.0% 2.0% -10.4%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusAVTRFASTQXO
Forward P/E 22.2xFY2026 41.9xFY2026 45.7xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $0.78FY2026 $1.24FY2026 $0.23FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -13.3%FY2026 +13.8%FY2026 -32.4%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +7.7% +10.5% +130.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year $6.42BFY2026 $9.63BFY2026 $13.62BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -2.0%FY2026 +17.5%FY2026 +99.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -1.7% +3.8% +30.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAVTRFASTQXO
Held by institutions 100.0% 85.4% 100.0%
Institutions holding 453 1,458 635
Change in shares held, QoQ +3.5% +3.5% +27.6%
Institutions buying 282 699 453
Institutions selling 109 521 109
Buyers to sellers 2.59 1.34 4.16

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

AVTRFASTQXO
AVTR 1.00 0.18 0.10
FAST 0.18 1.00 0.38
QXO 0.10 0.38 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, AVTR, FAST and QXO?

Fastenal (FAST) is the largest by market capitalisation: Avantor (AVTR) $11.70B, Fastenal (FAST) $60.18B, Qxo (QXO) $8.04B.

Which company is growing faster?

Qxo (QXO) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Avantor (AVTR) -1.6%, Fastenal (FAST) +13.5%, Qxo (QXO) +408.3%.

Which company is more profitable?

Fastenal (FAST) has the highest net margin (Avantor (AVTR) -8.8%, Fastenal (FAST) 15.6%, Qxo (QXO) -5.2%). On return on invested capital, Fastenal (FAST) leads (Avantor (AVTR) -3.2%, Fastenal (FAST) 33.6%, Qxo (QXO) -2.3%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Fastenal (FAST) returned the most: Avantor (AVTR) +11.8%, Fastenal (FAST) +20.7%, Qxo (QXO) -42.6%. Over five years, Fastenal (FAST) compounded fastest (Avantor (AVTR) -14.8%/yr, Fastenal (FAST) +13.1%/yr, Qxo (QXO) -25.0%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Fastenal (FAST) has been the steadiest (Avantor (AVTR) 51.2%, Fastenal (FAST) 24.5%, Qxo (QXO) 63.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, AVTR, FAST and QXO?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Fastenal (FAST) leads on 8. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.