FAST vs SHW
Fastenal Co (FAST) and Sherwin Williams Co (SHW) are both filed with the SEC under Retail-Building Materials, Hardware, Garden Supply. SHW is 1.4× FAST's size by market cap ($83.8B against $58.7B); FAST trades at the higher fiscal-year P/E (46.9× against 33.6×); FAST reports the higher net margin (15.3% against 10.9%); FAST grew sales faster over three years (+5.5% against +2.1%); and over the past year FAST returned +0.8% against SHW's -5.1%.
| FAST | SHW | |
|---|---|---|
| Last close | $49.78 | $344.86 |
| Market cap | $58.7B | $83.8B |
| P/E (FY) | 46.9× | 33.6× |
| P/S | 7.2× | 3.6× |
| EV/EBITDA | 31.9× | — |
| Gross margin | 45.0% | 48.8% |
| Operating margin | 20.2% | 17.7% |
| Net margin | 15.3% | 10.9% |
| Return on equity | 33.3% | 59.4% |
| Sales growth (3y) | +5.5% | +2.1% |
| EPS growth (3y) | -16.8% | +9.9% |
| Dividend yield | 1.7% | 0.9% |
| 1-year return | +0.8% | -5.1% |
Screener snapshot — prices as of 2026-08-28. Each side's last close is the most recent session the snapshot holds for that company, which can be an earlier one, and its 1-year return is measured to that close. Market caps struck on 2026-08-27. Last close, market cap and the 1-year return are price figures; every other row is computed over the company's latest filed fiscal year — FY2025 (ended 2025-12-31) for both. — not published for this company. A ratio goes unpublished for more than one reason: a component the calculation needs is not on file, the filing does not tag the line it is read from, or the calculation is not defined on the filed basis — EV/EBITDA is not printed on non-positive EBITDA, and return on equity is not computed on a zero or negative equity base.
Who holds them, and who has traded them
| FAST | SHW | |
|---|---|---|
| Institutional holders (13F) | 1,407 | 1,679 |
| Insider buyers − sellers (180d) | -1 | — |
| Congressional trades disclosed (180d) | 0 | 4 |
| Executive-branch officials on file — trades disclosed (180d) | 4 | 10 |
Counts only. The congressional figures count transactions dated in the trailing 180 days and disclosed in STOCK Act periodic transaction reports; amounts are filed as ranges and are never summed. The executive-branch figures count the same window of transactions, and they are scoped to one roster. The officials OGE posts for direct download. Insider buyers − sellers counts distinct people filing open-market Form 4 purchases minus distinct people filing open-market sales over the trailing 180 days, capped at ±5. — no open-market Form 4 purchases or sales in the window.
FAST vs SHW: common questions
- Is FAST bigger than SHW?
- SHW carries the larger market cap — $83.8B against $58.7B, both struck on 2026-08-27.
- Which trades at a higher P/E, FAST or SHW?
- FAST, at a fiscal-year 46.9× against 33.6× for SHW. Both are price ÷ latest full-year diluted earnings per share, not a trailing-twelve-month P/E.
- How have FAST and SHW performed over the past year?
- FAST returned +0.8% and SHW -5.1%, measured on the trailing calendar year to the last close.
- How many institutions hold FAST and SHW?
- 1,407 13F filers report a position in FAST and 1,679 in SHW, on the latest quarter in the panel.
- Are FAST and SHW in the same industry?
- Both are filed with the SEC under Retail-Building Materials, Hardware, Garden Supply, which is the classification this pairing is built on.
FAST overview → · SHW overview → · FAST institutional ownership → · SHW institutional ownership → · Congress and SHW → · Executive branch and FAST → · Executive branch and SHW →
More in Retail-Building Materials, Hardware, Garden Supply: FAST vs TSCO · SHW vs TSCO
Stock comparisons lists every pair this site publishes.
Source: SPZCO — https://spzco.com/vs/fast-vs-shw