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GWGWW

W.W. Grainger, Inc.

Strong FundamentalsStrong FundamentalsRevenue growing 10% YoY at strong marginsStreet coverage with positive forward estimatesQuiet on X (43 mentions/wk)
$GWW·$61B·Industrial - Distribution·Industrials
$1325.90-0.4%YTD+31.6%1Y+39.0%
Price updated 4m ago·X counts updated 5d ago
GWGWW
$GWWW.W. Grainger, Inc.
$1,325.91-0.40%43 posts1×
AI analysisFundamentalsVoices on X
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On X

Top X posts

The complete picture of $GWW on X — how loud the conversation is right now, how it has trended over the last two weeks, and which way the crowd is leaning.

43X posts · last 7 days
Sep 28Oct 11
Chatter Meter
1×
QuietNormal · 1×Loud

How loud $GWW's conversation on X is versus its own normal — 1× is typical, higher means busier. Right now it's about its usual level.

AI verdictAI analysisGenerated by AI from underlying data

TickerTalks' own read on what's driving $GWW — fundamentals, momentum, or an event — and whether it agrees with the X crowd.

Proven numbersWinding up for a moveAI verdict · as of 2026-10-02

Trading in a tight range and building pressure — a move looks likely soon, but the direction isn't clear yet.

Grainger is a quality industrial distributor compounder — Nov 4 earnings tests whether the mid-teens ROIC holds.

W.W. Grainger is the leading US industrial-distribution company — MRO (maintenance, repair, operations) products for industrial, government, and commercial customers.

  • The economics are elite: Q1 revenue +10.3% YoY at a 14.6% operating margin and ROIC of 26.8% — top-decile capital efficiency, with the Endless Assortment and High-Touch segments both growing.
  • At 33.3x PE and 3.3x sales the valuation is premium but defensible — Grainger consistently trades at this multiple because the quality of franchise and consistency of execution deserve a premium.
  • 52-week range position is 73% with vol multiplier 1.19 — upper range on above-average volume, which is accumulation ahead of the Nov 4 print.

Nov 4 Q3 is the gate — any continued revenue growth plus margin stability extends the move. A soft industrial-end-market print or margin compression and the stock gives back some gain.

What to watch: Nov 4 Q3 — Endless Assortment and High-Touch revenue trajectory, operating-margin direction, operating-cash flow, and FY27 guide. A margin compression is the clear invalidator.

On the calendar: 2026-11-04 — Q3 earnings

Read the AI verdict on $GWW

  • One-line verdict on what's driving the move — fundamentals, momentum, both, or an event
  • Next dated catalyst when there is one (earnings, deal closing, activist clock)
  • Whether TickerTalks' read agrees with or diverges from the X crowd
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What it does

Plain-English summary of the business — what they sell and how they make money.

Large industrial distributor supplying MRO products to businesses through an extensive branch network and e-commerce.

Industry overviewAI analysisGenerated by AI from underlying data

Where Industrial - Distribution sits in its cycle right now — and what that implies for $GWW.

Industrial - Distribution · Industrials

MRO (maintenance, repair, operations) industrial distribution benefits from reshoring manufacturing capacity growth — domestic factories require ongoing supply partnerships for consumables, fasteners, and safety products. E-commerce disruption risk is lower than consumer retail given technical SKU complexity and service-contract bundling; customer consolidation to fewer preferred vendors creates scale advantages for MSC, W.W. Grainger, and Fastenal.

What this means for $GWW

Partial — Large industrial distributor supplying MRO products to businesses through an extensive branch network and e-commerce.

Industry benchmark

5-name peer basket
-13.5%YTD
-32.5%1Y

Fundamentals & catalyst

Profitability, valuation, and the next earnings event — at a glance, with rule-of-thumb signals.

Key ratios

P/E
33.3How much investors are paying per dollar of profit the company actually earned in the last 12 months. Lower means the stock looks cheaper relative to earnings.~15–25 is typical for the S&P 500; high-growth names trade 30+; hyper-growth or speculative can be 100+ or negative.
ROIC
26.8%What percentage return the business earns on every dollar of capital (equity + debt) deployed in operations. The cleanest measure of business quality.Above ~15% is high-quality; consistently above 25% suggests a real moat. Below the company's cost of capital is value-destroying.
Op margin
14.6%Operating profit (after sales, marketing, R&D, and overhead but before interest and taxes) as a percentage of revenue. The clearest view of how well the underlying business is run.Mature business above 20% is healthy; software businesses can run 30%+; commodity / retail businesses operate in single digits.
FCF yield
2.4%Free cash flow (operating cash flow minus capex) divided by the company's market cap. The cash-on-cash return you'd get owning the whole business at today's price.Above ~5% is attractive; below ~2% means you're paying up for growth. Capital-light businesses (software) run higher than capital-heavy ones (utilities).
P/S
3.3Same idea as P/E but per dollar of revenue. Useful for companies that aren't profitable yet, where P/E is meaningless.Under ~2 is cheap; software / SaaS often runs 8–15; well above 20 implies the market is pricing in very high future growth.
ROE
48.7%Net income as a percentage of shareholders' equity. Similar to ROIC but counts only the equity side.Above 20% is strong, but can be inflated by leverage — a heavily indebted company can show high ROE with weak underlying ROIC.
Gross margin
39.4%Revenue minus the direct cost of producing what was sold, as a percentage of revenue. The first read on whether the product is structurally profitable.Software / SaaS is typically 70%+; consumer goods 30–50%; commodity / hardware businesses can be under 20%.
D/E
0.7Total debt divided by shareholders' equity. Measures how much the business runs on borrowed money versus owner capital.Under 1 is conservative; 1–2 is typical for mature businesses; over 2 is leveraged and more sensitive to interest rates.

Past earnings

QuarterReportedActualEstimateSurprise
Q2 2026Aug 4, 2026$12.01$11.30+6.3%
Q1 2026May 7, 2026$11.65$10.21+14.1%
Q4 2025Feb 3, 2026$9.44$9.46-0.2%
Q3 2025Oct 31, 2025$10.21$9.98+2.3%
Next earningsWed, Nov 4·consensus EPS $11.67

Quarterly trend

QuarterRevenueYoYGrossOpEPSFCF
Q2 FY26$5.0B+10.3%39.5%16.1%$11.96$333.0M
Q1 FY26$4.7B+10.1%40.0%16.7%$11.73$569.0M
Q4 FY25$4.4B+4.5%39.5%14.3%$9.45$269.0M
Q3 FY25$4.7B+6.1%38.6%11.0%$6.10$339.0M

Forward consensus

4-year forecast · up to 14 analysts
FYRevenueRangeEPSRangeAnalysts
FY26$19.7B$19.5B – $19.7B$46.51$45.72 – $47.1013
FY27$21.1B$20.8B – $21.3B$51.03$49.78 – $52.3814
FY28$22.4B$21.9B – $22.9B$56.04$53.60 – $57.8711
FY29$23.7B$23.4B – $24.0B$60.92$59.90 – $61.865

Setup & momentum

Volume, range, and moving-average position — the technical setup driving short-term moves.

Right now

Vol vs 30dToday's traded share volume divided by the average over the prior 30 trading days. ≥3× signals unusual interest; below 1× is quiet.1.0×Today's traded share volume divided by the average over the prior 30 trading days. ≥3× signals unusual interest; below 1× is quiet.
52w rangeWhere the latest close sits between the 52-week low (0%) and high (100%). Above 80% is extended; below 30% is basing or in a downtrend.83%Where the latest close sits between the 52-week low (0%) and high (100%). Above 80% is extended; below 30% is basing or in a downtrend.
vs 50d MALatest close vs the 50-day simple moving average. Positive = short-term trend is up.+3.1%Latest close vs the 50-day simple moving average. Positive = short-term trend is up.
vs 200d MALatest close vs the 200-day simple moving average. Positive = long-term trend is up.+9.2%Latest close vs the 200-day simple moving average. Positive = long-term trend is up.

Float & profile

FloatLow float · 43.1M shFree-float shares — the slice of issued stock actually available to trade. Lower buckets squeeze harder on a catalyst.Traded today0.6% of floatToday's volume as a percent of the free float. Above 5% on a single day is unusually high turnover for the available share count.β1.015-year weekly beta vs the S&P 500. Above 1.5 means the stock typically moves more than the index; below 0.8 moves less.

Insider activity

Recent open-market buys and sells by officers and directors — flagged when multiple insiders cluster.

Recent transactions

SellMay 12Laurie R ThomsonVP, Controller313 sh$386KSellMay 12Jonny M LeroyCTO854 sh$1.1MSellMay 12Paige K RobbinsSr. VP1.5K sh$1.8M
+ 39 other (30 awards · 8 gifts · 1 inkind) in window

See when $GWW insiders are putting their own money in

  • Real-time open-market buys and sells from Form 4 filings
  • Cluster-buy detection when multiple insiders pile in at once
  • 30 / 60 / 180-day windows so you can spot building conviction
Free, forever. No credit card.

SEC filings

Material 8-K, 13D, S-3, and 424B5 events from the last 180 days — the filings that actually move the price.

Recent material filings

8-KOfficer or director changeAug 38-K — Item 5.02: Officer or director change
S-3ASRAuto-shelf registrationMay 7S-3ASR
8-KShareholder voteMay 18-K — Item 5.07: Shareholder vote
+ 5 other (2 10-Qs · 2 earnings 8-Ks · 1 13G) in window

Recent news

Latest headlines from major outlets, sourced and timestamped — context for whatever just moved.

Bet on the Winning DuPont Analysis & Pick 5 Top Stockszacks.com·2d agoGIC vs. GWW: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?zacks.com·2d agoTop 50 High-Quality Dividend Growth Stocks For October 2026seekingalpha.com·5d agoLock In Growing Quarterly Dividends With These 3 Industrial Suppliers Customers Refuse to Leave247wallst.com·8d ago5 Stocks to Buy as U.S. Manufacturing Expands for Nine Straight Monthszacks.com·10d ago

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TickerTalks is a research tool, not financial advice. We surface social-attention data; we do not make stock recommendations. Past attention is not predictive of future price movements.

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