Fastenal Rings Nasdaq Opening Bell, Reports More Strong Sales In October

Monday was a big day for Fastenal as it had the honor of ringing Nasdaq's market opening bell, while the company also reported its October sales information, showing continued strong sales gains last month.

Monday was a big day for Fastenal as it had the honor of ringing Nasdaq's market opening bell, while the company also reported its October sales information, showing continued strong sales gains last month.

Winona, MN-based Fastenal — No. 7 on Industrial Distribution's Big 50 List — was invited by Nasdaq for the event in recognition both of Fastenal's 50th year company anniversary, as well as to celebrate 30 years of Fastenal on the Nasdaq stock exchange.

It was Fastenal's fourth time ringing the opening bell, with the others coming in 2007, 2011 and 2014.

According to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Fastenal used an employee lottery to determine the 65 persons that made the trip to New York City and appeared on stage. Employees with at least 10 years of experience were eligible. Thirty employees and a guest each were picked, with the group spanning the U.S. and beyond. Those employees, along with CEO Dan Florness and one of the company's original founders — Michael Gostomski — were on stage for the ceremony.

"Fastenal has been built by thousands of great people working in every area of our organization," Fastenal CEO Dan Florness said in a press release. "We wanted to shine the spotlight on as many of these leaders as the stage could possibly hold."

Fastenal was founded on Nov. 28, 1967 and joined the Nasdaq stock exchange on Aug. 20, 1987.

Here's the full ceremony video:

Also on Monday, Fastenal reported October sales of $399.7 million, up 19.2 percent year-over-year (YoY) and up 7.6 percent from September. October daily sales were up 13.8 percent, as October 2017 had one more business day than a year earlier. It was the company's fifth straight month with at least 12.8 percent daily sales growth YoY.

Here's how Fastenal's monthly daily sales have fared since the start of 2014:

 

Jan.

Feb.

Mar.

Apr.

May

June

July

Aug.

Sept.

Oct.

Nov.

Dec.

2017

3.8

6.1

8.4

8.9

9.7

13.0

12.9

12.8

15.3

13.8

 

 

2016

3.3

2.6

0.0

3.8

1.1

0.0

2.1

0.3

2.8

3.9

1.2

3.2

2015

12.0

8.6

5.6

6.1

5.3

3.7

3.2

1.6

-0.3

-0.8

-1.1

-3.8

2014

6.7

7.7

11.6

10.0

13.5

12.7

14.7

15.0

12.9

14.6

15.3

17.4

Other notable figures:

  • October daily sales to manufacturing customers grew 15.7 percent YoY, down from 16.9 percent in September. The company's spring acquisition of Manufacturers Supply Company (Mansco) added 1.9 percentage points of growth to manufacturing.
  • October daily sales to non-residential construction customers grew 6.0 percent YoY, up from 4.9 percent in September
  • October fastener sales grew 11.5 percent YoY, down from 13.0 percent in September. The Mansco acquisition added 3.6 percentage points of growth.
  • October non-fastener sales grew 15.5 percent YoY, down from 16.7 percent in September.
  • Fastenal ended October with 2,420 branch locations, up two from September and down 128 YoY. In Q3, the company opened five branches and closed 36.
  • Fastenal ended October with a total full-time branch and onsite combined headcount of 11,600, up 120 from September and up 567 YoY. Of that headcount rise, 115 is from the Mansco acquisition. The company's full-time selling personnel (13,259) ended October up 5.4 percent YoY, while Fastenal's absolute headcount of 20,550 was up 3.5 percent.
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