W.W. Grainger, Inc. GWW is scheduled to report fourth-quarter 2025 results on Feb.3, before the opening bell.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for GWW’s sales is pegged at $4.40 billion, indicating 3.9% growth from the year-ago reported figure.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings is pegged at $9.43 per share. The consensus estimate for GWW’s earnings has moved down 0.3% in the past 60 days. The estimate indicates a year-over-year decrease of 2.9%.
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GWW’s Earnings Surprise History
Grainger’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimates in two of the trailing four quarters and missed in two, the average surprise being 1.6%.
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What the Zacks Model Unveils for Grainger
Our model does predict an earnings beat for GWW this time around. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat. That is precisely the case here. You can uncover the best stocks before they are reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.
Earnings ESP: Grainger has an Earnings ESP of +0.53%.
Zacks Rank: GWW currently has a Zacks Rank of 3.
Factors Likely to Have Shaped GWW’s Q4 Performance
Grainger is anticipated to have witnessed strong growth in core product sales for the past few quarters.
GWW has been focusing on enhancing the end-to-end customer experience through investments in its e-commerce and digital capabilities, while executing supply-chain improvement initiatives. These factors are likely to have contributed to its quarterly performance. We expect organic daily sales growth of 4.9%.
The company’s High-Touch Solutions North America segment is expected to have benefited from strength in commercial, transportation and heavy manufacturing; strong revenue growth across its North America regions; and an expansion in the number of large and midsize customers. Our model projects quarterly organic daily sales growth of 2.6% from the year-ago quarter's reported level.
Grainger has been witnessing market-beating growth in the High-Touch Solutions segment compared with the U.S. MRO (maintenance, repair and operating) market. This outperformance can be attributed to strategic activities, such as building advantaged MRO solutions, delivering unparalleled customer services, and offering differentiated sales and services.
We expect the segment’s sales to be $3.40 billion for the fourth quarter, suggesting 1.9% growth from the fourth-quarter 2024 reported level.
GWW’s Endless Assortment segment is likely to have benefited from robust customer acquisition and repeat business.
Our model predicts quarterly organic daily sales to grow 14.4% from the prior-year reported level. Customer growth at MonotaRO is expected to have positively impacted the segment’s sales. Our model predicts the Endless Assortment segment’s sales to be $928 million, indicating a 13.8% rally from the prior-year quarter’s reported figure.
However, GWW has been witnessing elevated material and freight costs for some time. This, coupled with higher operating costs and incremental SG&A costs from higher technology investments, is likely to have negatively impacted its margins.
Grainger Stock’s Price Performance
GWW shares have gained 2.8% in a year compared with the industry’s 4.5% growth.
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Other Stocks That Warrant a Look
Here are some other companies with the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat in their upcoming releases.
Trimble Inc. TRMB, slated to release fourth-quarter 2025 results on Feb. 10, has an Earnings ESP of +1.91% and a Zacks Rank of 2 at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Trimble’s fourth-quarter 2025 earnings is pegged at 96 cents per share, suggesting a year-over-year rise of 7.9%. TRMB has a trailing four-quarter average surprise of 7.4%.
Hubbell Incorporated HUBB, slated to release fourth-quarter 2025 results on Feb. 3, has an Earnings ESP of +0.52% and a Zacks Rank of 3 at present.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Hubbell’s fourth-quarter 2025 earnings is pegged at $4.70 per share, suggesting a year-over-year rise of 14.6%. HUBB has a trailing four-quarter average surprise of 8.5%.
Tenaris S.A. TS, slated to release fourth-quarter 2025 results soon, has an Earnings ESP of +12.86% and a Zacks Rank of 3 at present.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Tenaris’ fourth-quarter 2025 earnings is pegged at 76 cents per share, suggesting a year-over-year dip of 19%. TS has a trailing four-quarter average surprise of 18.9%.
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Trimble Inc. (TRMB): Free Stock Analysis Report W.W. Grainger, Inc. (GWW): Free Stock Analysis Report Tenaris S.A. (TS): Free Stock Analysis Report Hubbell Inc (HUBB): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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