# W.W. Grainger, Inc. (GWW)

> Source: Nexqual · https://nexqual.com/GWW · data as of 2026-10-22 20:00 UTC · cite as "Nexqual, W.W. Grainger, Inc. (GWW), nexqual.com/GWW" · informational, not investment advice.

**Price:** USD 1,360.08 (+0.61% on the day) · last close of Oct 22, 2026; US market pre market, not a live price. Prev close 1,351.87 · day 1,308.22–1,360.1 · 52w 906.52–1,419.91 · market cap $64.1B · NYQ

## Key facts
- Last four reported quarters (through Jun 30, 2026): revenue $18.8B, net income $1.87B (9.9% margin), free cash flow $1.51B (SEC filings).
- Valuation: P/E 34.3x (avg 26.1x at the last 3 fiscal year-ends), EV/EBITDA 21.4x, net debt $1.82B.
- 1 of 80 tracked superinvestors hold GWW (13F, Q2 2026): 0 new, 0 added, 1 reduced, 0 unchanged.
- Insider open-market sales, last ~7 months: 3 Form 4 filings, $3.2M; 3 not under a Rule 10b5-1 plan ($3.2M); 1 by opportunistic insiders (1 outside 10b5-1 plans), 0 by routine insiders (three-year test, Cohen, Malloy & Pomorski 2012).
- Analysts: Hold (mean 3.05 on a 1–5 scale) (19 analysts), mean target USD 1,331.57 (range 1,100–1,500).
- Total return with dividends: 1Y +42.2% vs S&P 500 +14.9%; 5Y +227.0% vs S&P 500 +80.3%.
- Next earnings: 2026-11-04, EPS estimate USD 11.66, revenue estimate $5.08B.

## Financials (SEC 10-K; TTM = last four 10-Q/10-K quarters)
| USD | FY2021 | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 | TTM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $13.0B | $15.2B | $16.5B | $17.2B | $17.9B | $18.8B |
| Gross profit | $4.72B | $5.85B | $6.50B | $6.76B | $7.01B | — |
| Operating income | $1.55B | $2.21B | $2.56B | $2.64B | $2.50B | $2.75B |
| Net income | $1.04B | $1.55B | $1.83B | $1.91B | $1.71B | $1.87B |
| EPS (diluted) | $19.84 | $30.06 | $36.23 | $38.71 | $35.40 | — |
| Free cash flow | $682M | $1.08B | $1.59B | $1.57B | $1.33B | $1.51B |
| Gross margin | 36.2% | 38.4% | 39.4% | 39.4% | 39.1% | — |
| Operating margin | 11.9% | 14.5% | 15.6% | 15.4% | 13.9% | 14.6% |
| Net margin | 8.0% | 10.2% | 11.1% | 11.1% | 9.5% | 9.9% |
| Revenue growth | +10.4% | +16.9% | +8.2% | +4.2% | +4.5% | — |
| Cash + short-term investments | $241M | $325M | $660M | $1.04B | $585M | — |
| Total debt | $2.36B | $2.32B | $2.30B | $2.78B | $2.49B | — |
Fiscal years end Dec. EPS is split-adjusted.

## Valuation (price ÷ last four quarters, through Jun 30, 2026)
P/E 34.3x · P/S 3.4x · EV/EBITDA 21.4x · EV/Sales 3.5x · P/FCF 42.4x · P/B 15.5x · FCF yield 2.36% · Earnings yield 2.92% · Dividend yield (paid, TTM) 0.77% · Buyback yield (TTM) 1.56% · Net debt $1.82B · EV $65.9B
P/E at fiscal year-ends: Dec 2025 28.4x, Dec 2024 27.1x, Dec 2023 22.7x.

## Superinvestors (SEC 13F-HR, Q2 2026)
1 of 80 tracked investors hold GWW. Each row is the investor's latest 13F; change is vs their prior-quarter share count.
| Investor | Firm | % of portfolio | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jensen Investment Management |  | 0.09% | $3.7M | Reduced -13.0% |

## Insider sales (SEC Form 4, open-market, last ~7 months)
0 of 3 under a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan (scheduled in advance). Unplanned sales were timed by the insider.
| Trade date | Insider | Role | Shares | Value | % of holdings sold | 10b5-1 plan | Insider type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-05-12 | Thomson Laurie R | VP, Controller | 313 | $386K | 44% | No | Opportunistic (traded every year 2023–2025, no repeating month) |
| 2026-05-12 | Leroy Jonny M | SVP, Chief Technology Officer | 854 | $1.1M | 35.5% | No | Too little history (no open-market trades in 2023 or 2024) |
| 2026-05-12 | Robbins Paige K | Sr. VP | 1,457 | $1.8M | 7.4% | No | Too little history (no open-market trades in 2025) |
% of holdings sold = shares sold ÷ (shares sold + all holdings the insider reported on that Form 4, direct and through trusts).
Insider type follows Cohen, Malloy & Pomorski (Journal of Finance, 2012). An insider who traded the stock in the same calendar month in each of the past three years is a routine trader; one who traded in each of those years without such a pattern is an opportunistic trader. In their study, trades by opportunistic insiders predicted future returns and trades by routine insiders did not. Counts open-market purchases and sales only (SEC Form 4 codes P and S) by that insider in that company. Not investment advice.

## Analysts
Consensus Hold (mean 3.05 on a 1–5 scale), 19 analysts; mean target USD 1,331.57 (low 1,100, high 1,500).
Rating changes, last 120 days:
| Date | Firm | Action | Rating | Price target |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-10-14 | RBC Capital | Target lowered | Sector Perform | $1428 → $1427 |
| 2026-09-25 | Barclays | Target lowered | Underweight | $1185 → $1172 |
| 2026-08-24 | Morgan Stanley | Target raised | Equal-Weight | $1300 → $1400 |
| 2026-08-11 | Barclays | Target raised | Underweight | $1166 → $1185 |
| 2026-08-06 | DA Davidson | Target raised | Neutral | $1250 → $1260 |
| 2026-08-05 | RBC Capital | Target lowered | Sector Perform | $1460 → $1428 |
| 2026-08-05 | Oppenheimer | Target raised | Outperform | $1350 → $1375 |
| 2026-07-16 | RBC Capital | Target raised | Sector Perform | $1337 → $1460 |
| 2026-07-14 | Stephens & Co. | Downgrade | Overweight → Equal-Weight | $1355 |
| 2026-07-09 | Wolfe Research | Upgrade | Underperform → Peer Perform |  |

## Total return (dividends reinvested)
|  | 1Y (from 2025-10-23) | 5Y (from 2021-10-18) |
|---|---|---|
| Total return | +42.2% | +227.0% |
| S&P 500 (SPY) | +14.9% | +80.3% |
| Per year | +42.4% | +26.7% |
| Volatility (annualized) | 23.5% | 25.1% |
| Max drawdown | -13.3% (Feb 2026→Mar 2026) | -22.6% (Nov 2024→Nov 2025) |

## Peers (Industrial Distribution)
FAST (Fastenal Company) USD 52.73 +0.46% · FERG (Ferguson Enterprises Inc.) USD 227.31 -0.29% · WCC (WESCO International, Inc.) USD 323.68 -7.23% · WSO (Watsco, Inc.) USD 327.04 +7.22% · AIT (Applied Industrial Technologies) USD 319.4 -5.75% · QXO (QXO, Inc.) USD 11.02 +6.89%

## More
Full page: https://nexqual.com/GWW · Free keyless MCP server with the same data and citations: https://mcp.nexqual.com/mcp · Guide for agents: https://nexqual.com/agents · https://nexqual.com/llms.txt

## Supply chain and relationships (SEC annual reports)

Named in GWW's own 10-K filed 2026-02-19 (https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/277135/000027713526000011/gww-20251231.htm):

| Relationship | Company | Sentence in the filing |
|---|---|---|
| Supplier | Grainger | "The following stock price performance graph compares the cumulative total return on an investment in Grainger common stock with the cumulative total return of an investment in each of the Dow Jones US Industrial Supplier…" |

## Revenue by business segment (quarter ended 2026-06-30)

| Line | Revenue | Share | YoY | Operating income | Op. margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High-Touch Solutions N.A. | $3.97B | 79.0% | +11.9% | $686.0M | 17.3% |
| Endless Assortment | $1.05B | 21.0% | +13.5% | $121.0M | 11.5% |
| Total revenue | $5.02B | 100% | — | $807.0M | 16.1% |

## Revenue by region (quarter ended 2026-06-30)

| Line | Revenue | Share | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | $4.11B | 81.9% | +12.5% |
| Japan | $630.0M | 12.5% | +12.1% |
| Canada | $201.0M | 4.0% | +14.9% |
| Other foreign countries | $80.0M | 1.6% | -51.5% |
| Total revenue | $5.02B | 100% | — |

## Analyst estimates and revisions

| Period | EPS est. | 90d ago | Change | Revenue est. | Analysts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current quarter (ends 2026-09-30) | $11.66 | $11.77 | -0.9% | $5.08B | 16 |
| Next quarter (ends 2026-12-31) | $11.17 | $10.93 | +2.2% | $4.83B | 15 |
| Current fiscal year (ends 2026-12-31) | $46.47 | $45.65 | +1.8% | $19.67B | 18 |
| Next fiscal year (ends 2027-12-31) | $51.06 | $50.48 | +1.2% | $21.08B | 19 |