Fastenal Clocks 20% Sales Growth In Q1, Beats Expectation

Fastenal Co FAST reported first-quarter FY22 sales growth of 20.3% year-over-year to $1.70 billion, beating the consensus of $1.68 billion. Fastenal's net daily sales increased 18.4% Y/Y.
Gross profit improved by 23.3% to $793.3 million, while the gross margin expanded by 120 bps to 46.6%.
The operating income increased by 27.7% Y/Y to $358 million, and the margin expanded 120 bps to 21%.
Net earnings were $269.6 million, an increase of 28 % Y/Y. EPS improved to $0.47 from $0.37 in 1Q21, beating the consensus of $0.44.
Weighted FASTVend/FASTBin signings (MEUs) were 5,329, up 13.8% from 4,683 a year ago.
Fastenal generated cash from operating activities for the quarter of $230 million, compared to $274.8 million a year ago.
Total debt was $365 million at the end of the quarter or 10.4% of total capital. It held cash and equivalents of $234.2 million as of March 31, 2022.
The company signed 106 new Onsite locations in the quarter. It expects 375 - 400 annual signings for FY22.
The company's 2022 goal for weighted FASTBin and FASTVend device signings remains at 23,000 to 25,000 MEUs.
Price Action: FAST shares are trading higher by 3.33% at $59.61 on the last check Wednesday.