WW Grainger Inc (GWW)
Fair ValueFundamental
71
Price
$1251.31
Market Cap
$59.29B
Part 1 · What the company is worth
Overview
W.W. Grainger, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, distributes maintenance, repair, and operating products and services primarily in North America, Japan, and the United Kingdom. The company operates through two segments, High-Touch Solutions North America and Endless Assortment. It provides safety, security, material handling and storage equipment, pumps and plumbing equipment, cleaning and maintenance, and metalworking and hand tools. The company also offers technical support and inventory management services. It serves smaller businesses to large corporations, government entities, and other institutions, as well as commercial, healthcare, and manufacturing industries through sales and service representatives, and electronic and ecommerce channels. W.W. Grainger, Inc. was founded in 1927 and is headquartered in Lake Forest, Illinois.
No editorial profile for this company yet
Direct competitors
Who this company fights with for the same customers
Generated on September 18, 2026 with claude-haiku-4-5 — shared with all users
Fastenal sells the same maintenance, repair and operating supplies to the same North American industrial and construction accounts, winning the business through onsite stores and vending machines where Grainger wins it through branches and its catalog.
Amazon Business courts the same purchasing departments with a vast online assortment and fast delivery, attacking Grainger's e-commerce arms Zoro and MonotaRO head-on and pushing price transparency into the MRO channel.
Through Home Depot Pro and the former HD Supply, it supplies facilities maintenance products to property managers, hospitality, healthcare and government buyers — the same non-industrial customers Grainger serves in its High-Touch Solutions segment.
Its Motion Industries arm distributes bearings, power transmission, hydraulics and industrial supplies to the same plant maintenance budgets Grainger targets across North America.
MSC is the other large US broad-line MRO distributor, overlapping with Grainger on metalworking, cutting tools and plant supplies sold to manufacturers through a mix of catalog, e-commerce and field sales.
This private catalogue and web distributor serves the same engineers and maintenance teams looking for a single source of immediately shipped MRO parts, competing directly on breadth of assortment and next-day availability.
Balance Sheet & Liquidity
Revenue
$18.84B
Trailing 12 months (through 6/30/2026)
Net Income
$1.87B
Trailing 12 months (through 6/30/2026)
Free Cash Flow
$1.33B
Total Equity
$3.74B
Total Liabilities
$4.82B
Current Ratio
2.81
Interest Coverage
33.89
Debt/EBITDA
0.99
Earnings Per Share
Revenue & Net Income
Free Cash Flow
Income Breakdown
Historical statement
Margins over time
Debt over time
How heavy the debt is
Growth grid
Growth — Revenue
Fair Value Estimation
Fair Value
$1340.26
Current Price
$1251.31
Margin of Safety
+6.6%
Fair Value Range
$1135.30 - $1545.23
Spread across the valuation methods used, not a statistically calibrated confidence interval.
Estimation Methods
Valuation Metrics
P/E Ratio
31.76
ROE
45.7%
P/B Ratio
14.20
P/FCF
38.86
Gross Margin
39.4%
ROIC
29.0%
Profitability Radar
Value Creation (Economic Moat)
ROIC
29.0%
WACC
9.5%
ROIC − WACC
+19.5 pp
ROIC exceeds the cost of capital — the company is creating value for shareholders.
Fundamental Analysis Criteria
Passed (20)
- EPS shows upward trend
- EPS CAGR 11.60%
- Price CAGR 18.61%
- ROIC 29.0%
- Gross Margin 39.4%
- Debt/Equity ratio
- Operating Margin 14.6%
- Positive Free Cash Flow
- Current Ratio
- Interest Coverage
- Debt/EBITDA
- Return on Tangible Assets
- Low reliance on intangibles
- ROE 48.7%
- Revenue Growth 5Y 8.8%
- Earnings Surprise avg 4.6%
- PEG Ratio 1.39
- Earnings Quality (OCF/NI) 1.16
- Share Dilution -2.3%
- Piotroski F-Score 7/9
Failed (7)
- P/FCF 38.86
- P/B Ratio 14.20
- CapEx intensity
- Price below Graham Number
- DCF valuation (Overvalued)
- Analyst Consensus 29% Buy
- Net Margin Trend 9.9% vs 11.0%
Unavailable (1)
- Dividend Payout NaN%
Piotroski F-Score
Strong financial health
Earnings Quality
High quality: earnings backed by cash
Share Dilution
Buying back shares. Shareholder friendly
Institutional Holdings
Governance
Executive Team
| Name | Title | Age |
|---|---|---|
| Mr. Donald G. Macpherson | Chairman & CEO | 57 |
| Ms. Nancy L. Berardinelli-Krantz | Senior VP & Chief Legal Officer | 47 |
| Ms. Melanie J. Tinto | Senior VP & Chief Human Resources Officer | 52 |
| Ms. Paige K. Robbins | Senior VP & President of Grainger Business Unit | 56 |
| Ms. Laurie R. Thomson | Interim CFO, VP, Controller & Principal Accounting Officer | 52 |
| Mr. Jonny LeRoy | Senior VP & CTO | 53 |
| Mr. Kyle Bland | Vice President of Investor Relations | - |
| Mr. Masaya Suzuki | Managing Director of Endless Assortment Business | 50 |
| Mr. Barry Greenhouse | Senior Vice President of Merchandising & Supplier Management | 52 |
| Mr. Brian Walker | Senior Vice President of Sales & Onsite Services | 47 |
Audit Risk
4
Board Risk
4
Compensation Risk
5
Shareholder Rights Risk
4
Part 2 · The price and when to enter
This part won't tell you whether the company is worth owning: it helps you choose when to buy it, once the fundamentals have convinced you. Inside: technical analysis, potential, historical drawdowns, gamma exposure.
Documents
- View document
Annual Report (10-K)
A yearly overview of the business, its financial results, and the risks it faces.
Filed on 2026-02-19
- View document
Quarterly Report (10-Q)
A snapshot of financial performance for the most recent three-month period.
Filed on 2026-08-04
- View document
Current Report (8-K)
An announcement of a major event, such as a leadership change or big news.
Filed on 2026-08-04
via SEC EDGAR
Income History
via SEC EDGAR
Latest News
Recent headlines for GWW, sourced from Markets Gazette.
- 3/3/2026NEUTRALThe Analyst Verdict: W.W. Grainger In The Eyes Of 5 Experts
W.W. Grainger Inc. (GWW) is under analyst scrutiny, with several investment firms recently updating their ratings. Morgan Stanley maintained an "Equal-Weight" rating in February 2022, confirming its prior stance. Oppenheimer, however, reiterated an "Outperform" rating in the same month, suggesting potential upside for the stock. These divergent opinions indicate a divided market on GWW's future performance, necessitating careful consideration by investors before making trading decisions. The analysis is based on a compilation of recent ratings, offering a composite view of expert sentiment.
via Markets Gazette