# Fastenal (FAST): Q3 sales up 15.5% as pricing and big customers drive growth

> Fastenal's Q3 sales rose 15.5% to $2.46bn and EPS rose to $0.35 from $0.29, a slight beat. Pricing added about 2.4 points, and big contract customers…

- URL: https://centiview.com/post/fastenal-fast-q3-sales-up-15-5-as-pricing-and-big-customers-drive-growth
- Published: 2026-10-14T13:25:00.000Z
- Sectors: Industrials
- Region: US
- Ticker: FAST
- Sentiment (opinion, not a recommendation): neutral
- Publisher: Centiview (Persie Ltd, London)
- General information only, not financial advice

Fastenal's Q3 sales rose 15.5% to $2.46bn and EPS rose to $0.35 from $0.29, a slight beat. Pricing added about 2.4 points, and big contract customers grew fastest. But gross margin slipped to 44.8% and headcount fell 2.2% from Q2.

> **Why it matters** Fastenal supplies bolts and tools to factories and builders, so its sales are a read-through for industrial demand. Growth is strong, but much of it comes from price and large customers, which pressures margins.

> **What we verified** Fastenal's SEC 8-K shows net sales of $2,463.3m (up 15.5%), diluted EPS of $0.35 versus $0.29, operating margin of 21.5% and gross margin of 44.8%. GuruFocus and StockStory report the same figures against consensus of about $2.44bn and $0.34.

### Sources
- [Fastenal Q3 2026 earnings release (SEC 8-K)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0000815556/000081555626000046/ex_99109302026earningsrele.htm)
- [Fastenal Co (FAST) Posts 15.5% Sales Growth in Q3 (GuruFocus)](https://www.gurufocus.com/news/9122948/fastenal-co-fast-posts-155-sales-growth-in-q3-highlighting-dividend-sustainability)
- [Fastenal's Q3 2026: Beats On Revenue (StockStory)](https://stockstory.org/us/stocks/nasdaq/fast/news/earnings/fastenals-nasdaqfast-q3-2026-beats-on-revenue)