How comparing works here
How do I compare two companies?
Type the tickers into the box above — up to five at once. Every row is read from the companies' own annual filings, so a comparison shows the same measure computed the same way for each of them rather than whatever each company chose to highlight.
Can I compare an ETF with a stock?
Yes, and the table changes to suit. Two funds are compared on cost, income, spread and record, because revenue growth and debt mean nothing for a fund. A fund against a company shows only what both of them have.
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Put up to 4 companies, funds, commodities or coins next to each other — health, valuation, growth and performance.
Every row is computed the same way for every column, from each company's own annual filing, so a comparison is not a collection of whichever figures each of them chose to put in a press release. Funds are compared on what a fund is actually judged on: cost, income, spread and record.
Relative performance
Rebased so every symbol starts at 0%
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Side by side
Latest annual figures from each company's filings
| Metric | GWWW.W. GRAINGER, INC. | URIUNITED RENTALS, INC. | FASTFASTENAL CO | FERGFerguson Enterprises Inc. /DE/ | Median of the restexcluding GWW |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type | Company | Company | Company | Company | |
| Price | $1351.87▲ 15.91 (1.19%) | $1111.02▲ 42.04 (3.93%) | $52.73▲ 0.24 (0.46%) | $227.08▲ 0.72 (0.32%) | |
| Health scoreComposite of profitability, growth, debt and accounting quality. | 8.0/10 | 8.7/10 | 9.0/10 | 8.0/10 | 8.7/10 |
| Market value | $65.18B | $70.10B | $60.54B | $44.54B | |
| Revenue | $17.94B | $3.69B | $8.20B | $30.76B | |
| Profit | $1.71B | $2.49B | $1.26B | $1.86B | |
| Revenue growthChange in sales versus the prior year. | 4.5% | 3.0% | 8.7% | 3.8% | 3.8% |
| Gross marginShare of sales left after the direct cost of producing them. | 39.1% | 166.3% | 45.0% | 30.7% | 45.0% |
| Operating marginShare of sales left after running the business, before interest and tax. | 13.9% | 107.5% | 20.2% | 8.5% | 20.2% |
| Profit marginProfit kept from each dollar of sales. | 9.5% | 67.5% | 15.3% | 6.0% | 15.3% |
| Free cash flow marginCash left after capital spending, as a share of sales. | 7.4% | — | 12.8% | 5.2% | 9.0% |
| Return on equityProfit against the owners' stake in the company. | 45.7% | 27.8% | 31.9% | 31.8% | 31.8% |
| Return on invested capital (approx.)Operating profit after tax against equity plus debt, less cash. Cash here excludes short-term investments, so this runs low for cash-rich companies. | 31.1% | 12.2% | 33.2% | 21.4% | 21.4% |
| P/E ratioPrice paid per dollar of annual profit. | 38.21x | 28.11x | 48.11x | 24.00x | 28.11x |
| EV / EBITDA (approx.)Market value plus debt less cash, against operating profit before depreciation. Cash excludes short-term investments, so this runs high for cash-rich companies. | 23.75x | — | 32.91x | 16.12x | 24.51x |
| Price to book | 17.45x | 7.82x | 15.35x | 7.64x | 7.82x |
| Debt to equityTotal liabilities compared with owners' stake. | 1.40x | 2.33x | 0.28x | 2.04x | 2.04x |
| Piotroski F-ScoreNine checks of financial strength. Higher is stronger. | 6/9 | 4/9 | 8/9 | 7/9 | 7.0 |
| Bankruptcy riskAltman Z-Score zone. | safe | safe | safe | safe |
How GWW compares with the others
- GWW's operating margin of 13.9% is lower than the median of the other companies selected (20.2%).
- Its revenue growth of 4.5% is in line with the median of the other companies selected (3.8%).
- It trades at a higher P/E than the median of the other companies selected: 38.2x against 28.1x.
- Its liabilities are lower relative to equity than the median of the other companies selected: 1.4x against 2.0x.
Measured against the other companies entered, from each one's latest annual filing. A difference describes the companies; it does not rank them.