Investopedia: Fastenal Not Slowing Down Yet

There is ample fodder for a dour outlook on the U.S. economy. Politicians in Washington, D.C. continue to play chicken with the budget. Debt discussions, economic statistics like employment, wage growth and ISM are not terribly encouraging, and indicators like rail traffic look sluggish.


Nevertheless, plenty of companies with strong correlations to the health of manufacturing are still performing well. Growth at industrial supplier Grainger (NYSE:GWW) has slowed but is still pretty solid, while other industrial input companies like Lincoln Electric (Nasdaq:LECO) and Praxair (NYSE:PX) have strong stocks and good earnings estimate momentum.

With that backdrop, then, it is perhaps not so surprising that Fastenal (Nasdaq:FAST) reported solid top-line growth for the second quarter. Though it was not a perfectly clean quarter and the stock is quite expensive, Fastenal's results suggest underlying business activity is not so terrible. (For related reading, see Profit By Understanding Fundamental Trends.)


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