FA

Fastenal Company stock research

Dec 31, 2023

FY2023 Q4

Fastenal (FAST) Gross Margin — Quarter Ended Dec 31, 2023

Revenue was stable compared to the prior quarter and higher than the same quarter last year. Gross profit and gross margin were lower sequentially but higher year-over-year, while cost of revenue followed a similar pattern.

Gross margin takeaway

Quarter ended Dec 31, 2023 · FY2023 Q4

Revenue was stable compared to the prior quarter and higher than the same quarter last year. Gross profit and gross margin were lower sequentially but higher year-over-year, while cost of revenue followed a similar pattern.

  • The relationship among revenue, gross profit, and cost of revenue shows that gross margin is driven by the proportion of cost of revenue to revenue. Sequentially, cost of revenue as a share of revenue increased slightly, leading to a lower gross margin, while year-over-year that share decreased, resulting in an improved gross margin.
  • Compared to the immediately preceding quarter, gross margin weakened as cost of revenue declined less than the decrease in gross profit. Compared to the same quarter one year earlier, gross margin improved as cost of revenue grew at a slower pace than revenue.

Gross margin snapshot

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

Gross margin

45.5%

Gross profit

$799.4M

Revenue

$1.8B

Cost of revenue

$959.2M

Quarter-over-quarter change

-0.5 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%
Dec 31, 2023$1.8B$799.4M$959.2M45.5%

Quarterly comparisons

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

Previous-quarter change

Sep 30, 2023

-0.5 pts

Year-over-year change

Dec 31, 2022

+0.1 pts

What the margin says

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

The relationship among revenue, gross profit, and cost of revenue shows that gross margin is driven by the proportion of cost of revenue to revenue. Sequentially, cost of revenue as a share of revenue increased slightly, leading to a lower gross margin, while year-over-year that share decreased, resulting in an improved gross margin.

Compared to the immediately preceding quarter, gross margin weakened as cost of revenue declined less than the decrease in gross profit. Compared to the same quarter one year earlier, gross margin improved as cost of revenue grew at a slower pace than revenue.

Monitor the ratio of cost of revenue to revenue in upcoming quarters.

FAST Gross Margin — Quarter Ended Dec 31, 2023