FAST vs FERG vs NWPX Stock Comparison

Fastenal, Ferguson Enterprises and NWPX Infrastructure Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
FAST Fastenal Co
$51.55 +2.2% 1M +21.2% 1Y
Market cap
$58.82B
P/E
41.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$9.08B
Div. yield
–
Industrial Distribution Industrials
4 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

NWPX Infrastructure leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (NWPX Infrastructure 7, Fastenal 4). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionFASTFERGNWPXLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $58.82B $44.45B $959.32M FAST
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 41.5x 21.9x 19.7x NWPX
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 41.6x 21.5x 19.2x NWPX
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +13.5% +5.2% +15.1% NWPX
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 15.6% 6.5% 8.5% FAST
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 33.6% 21.7% 12.1% FAST
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -0.1x 1.0x -0.1x NWPX
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +21.2% -8.6% +82.0% NWPX
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +12.9%/yr +8.6%/yr +33.1%/yr NWPX
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 24.5% 29.8% 39.9% FAST
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 64/100 65/100 82/100 NWPX

Percentile Scorecard

FASTFERGNWPX

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

AxisFASTFERGNWPX
Valuation 4 #44 of 46 44 #26 of 46 100 #1 of 21
Growth 82 #8 of 39 76 #10 of 39 94 #2 of 19
Profitability 100 #1 of 39 87 #6 of 39 75 #5 of 17
Financial Health 100 #1 of 47 48 #25 of 47 86 #4 of 22
Shareholder Returns 32 #22 of 32 71 #10 of 32 56 #5 of 10
Overall 64 65 82
  • FAST ranked among 49 companies in Distribution and Rental
  • FERG ranked among 49 companies in Distribution and Rental
  • NWPX ranked among 22 companies in Environmental Equipment

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodFASTFERGNWPXSPY
1 month +2.2%+3.1%-2.9% -0.2%
3 months +7.2%-1.1%-20.9% +3.9%
6 months +15.4%-11.1%+14.9% +8.2%
Year to date +28.5%+3.1%+59.8% +12.9%
1 year +21.2%-8.6%+82.0% +12.3%
3 years +78.9%+51.3%+264.2% +87.4%
3 years, per year +21.4%+14.8%+53.9% +23.3%
5 years +83.5%+51.3%+317.7% +67.9%
5 years, per year +12.9%+8.6%+33.1% +10.9%
10 years +436.4%+333.0%+654.1% +261.1%
10 years, per year +18.3%+15.8%+22.4% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureFASTFERGNWPXSPY
Volatility, 1Y 24.5%29.8%39.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 25.2%30.8%34.6% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.531.131.30 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.86-0.292.05 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -31.9%-43.6%-35.8% -25.4%
From 52-week high -2.2%-14.3%-33.4% -1.2%
52-week high $52.73$267.71$149.94 $779.14
52-week low $39.15$214.24$53.85 $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.

MultipleFASTFERGNWPX
P/E now vs peer median 41.7xmedian 25.3x 22.0xmedian 25.3x 19.7xmedian 25.6x
P/S now vs peer median 6.5xmedian 1.0x 1.4xmedian 1.0x 1.7xmedian 2.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 28.9xmedian 13.4x 15.0xmedian 13.4x 11.0xmedian 16.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median 50.3xmedian 21.9x 19.7xmedian 21.9x 12.1xmedian 23.6x
P/B now vs peer median 14.3xmedian 2.6x 7.6xmedian 2.6x 2.3xmedian 2.0x
PEG now vs peer median 5.48median 2.38 —median 2.38 0.90median 1.68

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 monthsFASTFERGNWPX
Revenue $9.08B $31.35B $574.44M
Gross profit $4.05B $9.73B $119.93M
Operating income $1.86B $2.82B $65.87M
Net income $1.42B $2.03B $48.75M
Free cash flow $1.18B $2.26B $79.65M
EPS (diluted) $1.23 $10.42 $4.98
Cash & equivalents $211.90M $820.00M $19.32M
Total debt $100.00M $4.13B $9.98M
Shares (diluted) 1.15B 194.80M 9.79M
Enterprise value $57.81B $41.67B $920.79M

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
MetricFASTFERGNWPX
P/E 41.7x 22.0x 19.7x
P/FCF 50.3x 19.7x 12.1x
P/Operating cash flow 41.2x 17.0x 9.6x
P/S 6.5x 1.4x 1.7x
P/B 14.3x 7.6x 2.3x
P/Tangible book 14.3x 8.5x 2.4x
EV/EBITDA 28.9x 15.0x 11.0x
EV/EBIT 31.7x 17.0x 14.5x
EV/Revenue 6.5x 1.5x 1.7x
EV/FCF 50.2x 21.1x 12.0x
EV/Operating cash flow 41.2x 18.3x 9.5x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 5.48 – 0.90

Growth

14 metrics
MetricFASTFERGNWPX
Revenue growth (1Y) 13.5% 5.2% 15.1%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 7.6% – 8.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 12.2% 7.5% 27.3%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 6.8% – 11.7%
Operating income growth (1Y) 15.4% 17.6% 47.2%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 7.3% – 16.5%
Net income growth (1Y) 15.6% 31.6% 46.1%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 7.7% – 20.7%
EPS growth (1Y) 15.7% 34.4% 48.6%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 7.6% – 21.8%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 18.4% 35.9% 45.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 1.3% – 42.3%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 21.9% 42.8% 53.7%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -0.7% – 87.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricFASTFERGNWPX
Gross margin 44.6% 31.0% 20.9%
EBITDA margin 22.5% 10.2% 15.0%
Operating margin 20.5% 9.0% 11.5%
Pretax margin 20.6% 8.3% 11.0%
Net margin 15.6% 6.5% 8.5%
FCF margin 13.0% 7.2% 13.9%
Operating cash flow margin 15.8% 8.3% 17.5%
Return on equity 34.5% 34.0% 11.9%
Return on assets 26.3% 11.4% 7.6%
Return on invested capital 33.6% 21.7% 12.1%
Return on capital employed 42.2% 23.4% 12.5%
Asset turnover 1.7x 1.8x 0.9x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.0x 1.3x 2.1x
Stock comp / revenue 0.1% 0.3% 1.1%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricFASTFERGNWPX
Debt / assets 1.8% 23.2% 1.5%
Debt / equity 0.0x 0.7x 0.0x
Net debt / EBITDA -0.1x 1.0x -0.1x
Debt / FCF 0.1x 1.8x 0.1x
Liabilities / assets 24.5% 67.0% 35.8%
Equity / assets 75.5% 33.0% 64.2%
Interest coverage 503.9x – 35.1x
Current ratio 3.9x 1.8x 2.7x
Quick ratio 1.9x 0.8x 1.9x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.1x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 30.83 5.41 4.72

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricFASTFERGNWPX
Dividend yield 1.9% 1.6% –
Net buyback yield 0.1% 1.9% 1.4%
Shareholder yield 2.0% 3.4% 1.4%
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.

ConsensusFASTFERGNWPX
Forward P/E 41.6xFY2026 21.5xFY2026 19.2xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $1.24FY2026 $10.68FY2026 $5.19FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +13.8%FY2026 +7.4%FY2026 +45.8%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +10.5% +20.5% -7.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $9.65BFY2026 $34.30BFY2026 $573.90MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +17.7%FY2026 +11.5%FY2026 +9.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +3.8% -0.7% +3.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersFASTFERGNWPX
Held by institutions 85.4% 96.3% 89.5%
Institutions holding 1,458 937 224
Change in shares held, QoQ +3.5% +2.1% +4.6%
Institutions buying 699 477 125
Institutions selling 521 343 65
Buyers to sellers 1.34 1.39 1.92

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.

FASTFERGNWPX
FAST 1.00 0.46 0.18
FERG 0.46 1.00 0.32
NWPX 0.18 0.32 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, FAST, FERG and NWPX?

Fastenal (FAST) is the largest by market capitalisation: Fastenal (FAST) $58.82B, Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) $44.45B, NWPX Infrastructure (NWPX) $959.32M.

Which stock is cheaper, FAST, FERG and NWPX?

NWPX Infrastructure (NWPX) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Fastenal (FAST) 41.5x, Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) 21.9x, NWPX Infrastructure (NWPX) 19.7x). On next year's consensus earnings, NWPX Infrastructure (NWPX) is cheapest (Fastenal (FAST) 41.6x, Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) 21.5x, NWPX Infrastructure (NWPX) 19.2x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

NWPX Infrastructure (NWPX) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Fastenal (FAST) +13.5%, Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) +5.2%, NWPX Infrastructure (NWPX) +15.1%.

Which company is more profitable?

Fastenal (FAST) has the highest net margin (Fastenal (FAST) 15.6%, Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) 6.5%, NWPX Infrastructure (NWPX) 8.5%). On return on invested capital, Fastenal (FAST) leads (Fastenal (FAST) 33.6%, Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) 21.7%, NWPX Infrastructure (NWPX) 12.1%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year NWPX Infrastructure (NWPX) returned the most: Fastenal (FAST) +21.2%, Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) -8.6%, NWPX Infrastructure (NWPX) +82.0%. Over five years, NWPX Infrastructure (NWPX) compounded fastest (Fastenal (FAST) +12.9%/yr, Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) +8.6%/yr, NWPX Infrastructure (NWPX) +33.1%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Fastenal (FAST) has been the steadiest (Fastenal (FAST) 24.5%, Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) 29.8%, NWPX Infrastructure (NWPX) 39.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, FAST, FERG and NWPX?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, NWPX Infrastructure (NWPX) leads on 7. 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.