Jan 20 (Reuters) – Industrial supplies distributor Fastenal on Tuesday reported fourth-quarter revenue below Wall Street estimates as higher tariffs inflated prices and lowered demand for its products.
Shares of the company, which sells construction supplies such as fasteners, nuts, screws and bolts, fell 6.4% in premarket trading.
Fastenal said that strong sales to contract customers were partially offset by subdued business activity, while growth in the end-market transportation and data center segments was partly balanced out by soft demand among resellers.
The Winona, Minnesota-based company’s revenue for the quarter stood at $2.03 billion, missing analysts’ estimates of $2.04 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.
Fastenal’s profit per share for the fourth quarter was in line with estimates at 26 cents.
But “higher costs and timing of supplier rebates resulted in gross and operating margins that were lower than Street expectations,” Jefferies analysts wrote in a note.
The company in October had warned of a fourth-quarter margin squeeze due to higher tariffs.
Fastenal on Tuesday also forecast an increase in property and equipment investments to between $310 million and $330 million in 2026, from $230.6 million in 2025. The company plans to replace its Atlanta hub facility and expects a jump in trucking costs and increased IT spending amid project delays.
(Reporting by Parth Chandna; Editing by Jonathan Ananda)
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