Fastenal FAST reported $1.91 billion in revenue for the quarter ended September 2024, representing a year-over-year increase of 3.5%. EPS of $0.52 for the same period compares to $0.52 a year ago.
The reported revenue represents a surprise of -0.26% over the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.92 billion. With the consensus EPS estimate being $0.52, the company has not delivered EPS surprise.
While investors closely watch year-over-year changes in headline numbers -- revenue and earnings -- and how they compare to Wall Street expectations to determine their next course of action, some key metrics always provide a better insight into a company's underlying performance.
Since these metrics play a crucial role in driving the top- and bottom-line numbers, comparing them with the year-ago numbers and what analysts estimated about them helps investors better project a stock's price performance.
Here is how Fastenal performed in the just reported quarter in terms of the metrics most widely monitored and projected by Wall Street analysts:
- Business days: 64 Days versus the six-analyst average estimate of 64 Days.
- Daily sales: $29.80 versus the four-analyst average estimate of $29.92.
- Number of in-market locations: 3,583 compared to the 3,567 average estimate based on three analysts.
- Weighted FASTBin/FASTVend installations: 123,193 versus 122,318 estimated by two analysts on average.
- Number of active Onsite locations: 1,986 compared to the 1,979 average estimate based on two analysts.
- Number of branch locations: 1,597 versus the two-analyst average estimate of 1,591.
- Weighted FASTBin/FASTVend signings: 7,281 compared to the 6,570 average estimate based on two analysts.
Shares of Fastenal have returned +0.2% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +5.4% change. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell), indicating that it could underperform the broader market in the near term.
© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Comments
Trade confidently with insights and alerts from analyst ratings, free reports and breaking news that affects the stocks you care about.