Grainger posted double-digit growth in sales, profit and earnings in its latest quarter despite “ongoing geopolitical uncertainty,” company officials said Tuesday.
The MRO giant — the top distributor on ID’s Big 50 list — reported $5.02 billion in second-quarter sales, an increase of 10.3% compared to the second quarter of 2025.
The company’s quarterly gross profit of $1.98 billion was up 13% year-over-year, and its operating earnings of $807 million were up 19%. Net earnings attributable to Grainger came in at $570 million, an increase of 18.3%.
Gross margin and operating margin were also up 100 basis points and 120 basis points, respectively, to 39.5% and 16.1%.
Grainger officials said that sales were up 13.7% on a “daily, organic constant currency basis,” which normalized for currency factors and the company’s departure from the U.K. market. Sales were up by 11.9% in its larger High-Touch Solutions - N.A. division due to volume growth and price inflation “as tariff costs are passed.” Its Endless Assortment segment posted a 13.5% increase in sales amid “strong performance” by both its MonotaRO and Zoro operations.
The company said that its margin numbers benefited from Grainger’s departing the U.K., and that gross margin, in particular, was helped by tariff refunds that reduced its cost of goods sold by $43 million.
The company raised its annual outlook heading into the second half of the year; it now expects full-year sales of between $19.4 billion and $19.7 billion, which would translate to annual growth of 8.4% to 10%.
“Sales remained strong and core operating profitability was in line with expectations," Grainger Chairman and CEO D.G. Macpherson said in a statement. "Looking ahead, we are increasing our outlook to reflect our strong first half performance and the continued momentum we are seeing across the demand environment."
