FA

Fastenal Company stock research

Sep 30, 2023

FY2023 Q3

Fastenal (FAST) Gross Margin — Quarter Ended Sep 30, 2023

Revenue was slightly lower than the prior quarter, while gross profit and cost of revenue also decreased modestly, resulting in a slightly improved gross margin. Compared to the same quarter last year, revenue was unchanged, gross profit was higher, cost of revenue was higher, and gross margin remained stable.

Gross margin takeaway

Quarter ended Sep 30, 2023 · FY2023 Q3

Revenue was slightly lower than the prior quarter, while gross profit and cost of revenue also decreased modestly, resulting in a slightly improved gross margin. Compared to the same quarter last year, revenue was unchanged, gross profit was higher, cost of revenue was higher, and gross margin remained stable.

  • The most observable driver was the slight improvement in gross margin from the prior quarter, with the margin staying at the same level as the year-ago period.
  • Sequentially, gross margin improved as the decline in revenue was accompanied by a proportionally smaller decline in cost of revenue. Year-over-year, gross margin was unchanged despite higher revenue and higher cost of revenue.

Gross margin snapshot

The selected quarter's reported revenue, gross profit, direct costs, and margin comparisons.

Gross margin

45.9%

Gross profit

$847.6M

Revenue

$1.8B

Cost of revenue

$998.3M

Quarter-over-quarter change

+0.4 pts

Year-over-year change

+0.1 pts

Quarterly gross margin trend

A four-quarter view of the revenue and direct-cost bridge behind gross margin.

PeriodRevenueGross profitCost of revenueGross margin
Mar 31, 2023$1.9B$850.0M$1.0B45.7%
Jun 30, 2023$1.9B$857.5M$1.0B45.5%
Sep 30, 2023$1.8B$847.6M$998.3M45.9%

Quarterly comparisons

Compare the selected margin with the preceding quarter and the same fiscal quarter one year earlier.

Previous-quarter change

Jun 30, 2023

+0.4 pts

Year-over-year change

Sep 30, 2022

+0.1 pts

What the margin says

Filing-constrained interpretation of margin direction, comparisons, and what to monitor next.

The most observable driver was the slight improvement in gross margin from the prior quarter, with the margin staying at the same level as the year-ago period.

Sequentially, gross margin improved as the decline in revenue was accompanied by a proportionally smaller decline in cost of revenue. Year-over-year, gross margin was unchanged despite higher revenue and higher cost of revenue.

Monitor the relationship between revenue and cost of revenue to see if the slight sequential margin improvement can be sustained.