Fastenal reports 20% third-quarter earnings growth on 15.5% sales increase

Fastenal’s third-quarter 2026 net sales rose 15.5% year over year to $2.46 billion, while net income increased 19.7% to $401.6 million, or $0.35 per diluted share, for the quarter ended September 30. Operating margin improved to 21.5% from 20.7% as SG&A leverage offset lower gross margin, while operating cash flow reached $421.6 million and the company returned $328.4 million through dividends and share repurchases. Fastenal maintained its 2026 capital spending expectation of $310 million to $330 million and lowered its full-year weighted FASTBin and FASTVend signing goal to 27,000–29,000 devices from 28,000–30,000.