W.W. Grainger (GWW)
Industrials · $60.3B market cap · SEC CIK 0000277135
fundamentals score out of 100
Next reports on Nov 4, 2026, with analysts expecting $11.80 in earnings per share.
The case for GWW
- Earns 49% back on shareholder equity.
- Current assets cover the near-term bills 2.8 times over.
The case against
- Pricey at 32.3× earnings, against a long-run market average nearer 20×.
- Weakest against its peers: free-cash-flow yield of 2.2% is lower than 81% of Industrials companies.
What the score is made of
Each factor is half a curve over reported figures and half a rank among the other Industrials companies (momentum is judged against fixed thresholds only), and the five are blended by weight. It describes the last filing and the current price. It is not a forecast.
| Valuewhat you pay for the earnings, sales, assets and cash | 32 |
|---|---|
| Growthhow fast revenue and earnings are moving, this year and over five | 50 |
| Profitabilityhow much of the revenue becomes profit, and how much of that is cash | 63 |
| Momentumhow the price has behaved lately | 61 |
| Stabilityhow violently it moves, what it owes and what it pays you | 67 |
- Each factor except momentum is half fixed thresholds, half rank among the 79 Industrials companies.
Key numbers
| Price / earnings | 32.3× |
|---|---|
| Price / book | 15.55× |
| Price / sales | 3.2× |
| Revenue growth (YoY) | +7.8% |
| EPS growth (YoY) | -0.7% |
| Gross margin | 39% |
| Operating margin | 15% |
| Net margin | 10% |
| Return on equity | 49% |
| Debt / equity | 0.58× |
| Current ratio | 2.81 |
| Dividend yield | 0.92% |
| Beta | 0.96 |
| 52-week range | $906.52 – $1,420 |
| Position in that range | 71% of the way up |
| 3-month return | -6.4% |
| 1-year return | +29.4% |
Five years of financials, as filed
Pulled from W.W. Grainger's XBRL filings on SEC EDGAR. Italic rows are derived from the rows above.
| FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $17.9B | $17.2B | $16.5B | $15.2B | $13.0B |
| Gross profit | $7.0B | $6.8B | $6.5B | $5.8B | $4.7B |
| Operating income | $2.5B | $2.6B | $2.6B | $2.2B | $1.5B |
| Net income | $1.7B | $1.9B | $1.8B | $1.5B | $1.0B |
| Operating cash flow | $2.0B | $2.1B | $2.0B | $1.3B | $937M |
| Capital expenditure | $684M | $541M | $445M | $256M | $255M |
| Total assets | $9.0B | $8.8B | $8.1B | $7.6B | $6.6B |
| Shareholder equity | $3.7B | $3.4B | $3.1B | $2.4B | $1.9B |
| Cash | $585M | $1.0B | $660M | $325M | $241M |
| Long-term debt | $2.4B | $2.3B | $2.3B | $2.3B | $2.4B |
| Free cash flow | $1.3B | $1.6B | $1.6B | $1.1B | $682M |
| Gross margin | 39.1% | 39.4% | 39.4% | 38.4% | 36.2% |
| Operating margin | 13.9% | 15.4% | 15.6% | 14.5% | 11.9% |
| Net margin | 9.5% | 11.1% | 11.1% | 10.2% | 8.0% |
| Diluted shares | 48.0M | 49.0M | 50.1M | 51.1M | 52.2M |
Share count is down 8.0% over 4 years. Buybacks have been shrinking the pie.
What W.W. Grainger says it does
W.W. Grainger, Inc., incorporated in the State of Illinois in 1928, is a broad line, distributor of maintenance, repair and operating (MRO) products and services with operations primarily in North America, Japan and the United Kingdom (U.K.). In the fourth quarter of 2025, Grainger exited the U.K. market by completing the sale of the Cromwell business and closing the Zoro U.K. business. In this report, the words "Grainger" or "Company" mean W.W. Grainger, Inc. and its subsidiaries, except where the context makes it clear that the reference is only to W.W. Grainger, Inc. itself and not its subsidiaries. For financial information regarding the Company, see the Consolidated Financial Statements and Notes included in Part II, Item 8: Financial Statements and Supplementary Data of this Form 10-K. The Grainger Edge Grainger's strategic framework, the Grainger Edge®, uniquely defines the Company by asserting why it exists, how it serves…
Risk factors GWW lists in its 10-K
- Exiting Market in the United Kingdom
- Twelve Months Ended December 31, 2025
- Selling, general and administrative expenses
- Twelve Months Ended December 31, 2024
- Commitments and Other Contractual Obligations
- Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
- Opinion on the Financial Statements
- Valuation of Goodwill for the Canadian Reporting Unit
- How We Addressed the Matter in Our Audit
- W.W. Grainger, Inc. and Subsidiaries
- Selling, General and Administrative Expenses (SG&A)
- Other Comprehensive Earnings (Losses)
- Accounts Receivable and Allowance for Credit Losses
- Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets