Grainger Earnings Surpass Estimates in Q1, Revenues Rise Y/Y

W.W. Grainger, Inc. GWW has reported earnings per share of $9.86 in first-quarter 2025, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $9.46. The bottom line improved 2% year over year.

Grainger’s quarterly revenues rose 1.7% year over year to $4.31 billion. The top line missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.33 billion. Daily sales increased 3.3% from the prior-year quarter. We predicted daily sales to increase 2.7%. (Find the latest EPS estimates and surprises on Zacks Earnings Calendar.)

Grainger’s Q1 Segmental Performance

The High-Touch Solutions N.A. segment’s daily sales rose 1.3% in the quarter from the first quarter of 2024, driven by volume growth across all geographies and a favorable product mix. Our model predicted year-over-year organic daily sales growth of 1.7%.

The Endless Assortment segment’s daily sales grew 12% in the quarter due to increased solid performance at MonotaRO and Zoro. Our model predicted year-over-year organic daily sales growth of 6.7% for the quarter.

GWW’s Q1 Gross Margin Rises Y/Y

Cost of sales increased 1.1% year over year to $2.6 billion. The gross profit rose 2.5% year over year to $1.71 billion. The gross margin moved to 39.7% in the quarter from the prior-year period’s 39.4%.

GWW’s operating income in the quarter rose 0.4% year over year to $672 million. The operating margin was 15.6%, down from 15.8% in the prior-year quarter.

Grainger’s Q1 Cash Flow & Balance Sheet Updates

The company had cash and cash equivalents of $0.67 billion at the end of the first quarter of 2025, down from $1.04 billion at 2024-end. The cash flow from operating activities was $646 million in the first quarter of 2025 compared with $661 million in the prior-year quarter. Long-term debt was $2.28 billion as of March 31, 2025, fairly flat from Dec. 31, 2024. Grainger returned $380 million to shareholders through dividends and share buybacks in the first quarter.

GWW Reaffirms 2025 Outlook

The company continues to expect net sales between $17.6 billion and $18.1 billion. Sales growth is expected to be 2.7-5.2%. Daily sales growth is envisioned at 4-6.5%. Earnings per share are expected at $39.00-$41.50.

Grainger Stock’s Price Performance

In the past year, the company’s shares have gained 11.8% against the industry’s 8.5% decline.

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.

Grainger’s Peer Performances

MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. MSM reported second-quarter fiscal 2025 (ended on March 1, 2025) adjusted earnings per share of 72 cents, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 68 cents. The bottom line decreased 39% year over year. 

MSC Industrial generated revenues of around $892 million in the quarter under review, down 4.7% from $935 million in the year-ago quarter. MSC Industrial’s top line missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $899 million. Average daily sales fell 4.7% year over year in the quarter.

Hillenbrand, Inc. HI posted second-quarter fiscal 2025 adjusted earnings per share of 60 cents, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 54 cents. The bottom line decreased 21% year over year.

Hillenbrand generated revenues of around $716 million in the quarter under review, down 8.8% from $785 million in the year-ago quarter. Hillenbrand’s top line beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $691 million.

Industrial Services Stock Awaiting Results

Hudson Technologies, Inc. HDSN is expected to release first-quarter 2025 results on May 7. 

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Hudson’s earnings per share is pegged at 1 cent for the first quarter, implying a decline of 95% from the year-ago reported figure. The consensus estimate for Hudson’s total revenues is pinned at $47 billion, indicating a year-over-year decrease of 28%.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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