W.W. Grainger, Inc. GWW has reported earnings per share (EPS) of $9.97 in second-quarter 2025, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $10.00. However, the bottom line improved 2% year over year.
Grainger’s quarterly revenues rose 5.6% year over year to $4.55 billion. The top line beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.52 billion. Daily sales increased 5.6% from the prior-year quarter. We predicted daily sales to increase 3.8% in the quarter.
W.W. Grainger, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
W.W. Grainger, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | W.W. Grainger, Inc. Quote
Grainger’s Q2 Segmental Performance
The High-Touch Solutions N.A. segment’s daily sales moved up 2.5% in the quarter from the second quarter of 2025, backed by growth across all geographies. Our model predicted year-over-year daily sales growth of 2.2% for the quarter.
The Endless Assortment segment’s daily sales grew 19.7% in the quarter due to solid performance at both MonotaRO and Zoro. The reported figure beat our estimated growth of 11%.
GWW’s Q2 Margins Dip Y/Y
Cost of sales rose 6.9% year over year to $2.8 billion. The gross profit rose 3.6% year over year to $1.75 billion. The gross margin came in at 38.5% compared with 39.3% in the prior-year quarter.
The company’s operating income in the quarter was up 4.5% year over year to $678 million. The operating margin was 14.9% compared with 15.1% in the prior-year quarter.
Grainger’s Q2 Cash Flow & Balance Sheet Updates
GWW had cash and cash equivalents of $0.6 billion at the end of the second quarter of 2025, down from $1 billion at the 2024 end. The cash flow from operating activities was $377 million in the second quarter of 2025 compared with $411 million in the prior-year quarter.
Long-term debt was $2.34 billion as of June 30, 2025, compared with $2.28 billion as of Dec. 31, 2025. Grainger returned $336 million to shareholders through dividends and share buybacks in the reported quarter.
GWW Updates 2025 Outlook
GWW expects net sales between $17.9 billion and $18.2 billion, updated from the prior stated $17.6-$18.1 million. Sales growth is anticipated to be 4.4-5.9%. Daily sales growth is envisioned at 4.5-6% compared with the earlier mentioned 4-6.5%. EPS is expected to be $38.50-$40.25 compared with the prior stated $39.00-$41.50.
Grainger Stock’s Price Performance
In the past year, the company’s shares have gained 11.2% compared with the industry’s growth of 16.6%.
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GWW’s Zacks Rank
Grainger currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Peer Performance
MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. MSM reported a third-quarter fiscal 2025 (ended on May 31, 2025) adjusted EPS of $1.08, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.03. The bottom line decreased 18.8% year over year.
MSC Industrial generated revenues of around $971 million in the quarter under review, down 0.8% from $979 million in the year-ago quarter. The top line beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $970 million. Average daily sales fell 0.8% year over year in the quarter. However, this came in line with the company’s expectations, driven by improving performance in volumes.
SiteOne Landscape Supply, Inc. SITE reported an adjusted EPS of $2.86 in the second quarter of 2025, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.89. The company posted earnings of $2.63 per share in the second quarter of 2024.
SITE registered revenues of $1.46 billion for the June-end quarter of 2025, in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The top line rose 3.4% year over year.
Industrial Services Stock Awaiting Results
Hillenbrand, Inc. HI is set to release third-quarter fiscal 2025 results on Aug. 11.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for HI’s EPS is pegged at 50 cents for the fiscal third quarter, suggesting a decline of 41.2% from the year-ago reported figure. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for total revenues is pinned at $572.4 million, indicating a year-over-year decrease of 27.3%.
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W.W. Grainger, Inc. (GWW): Free Stock Analysis Report MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (MSM): Free Stock Analysis Report Hillenbrand Inc (HI): Free Stock Analysis Report SiteOne Landscape Supply, Inc. (SITE): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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