Ferguson plc (FERG) vs W.W. Grainger, Inc. (GWW)
Ferguson plc and W.W. Grainger, Inc. are both Industrial Distribution companies. W.W. Grainger, Inc. is the larger, with a market value of $60.1B against $42.6B — 1.4× the size. W.W. Grainger, Inc. trades at the lower P/E: 31.7× against 50.7×. Ferguson plc grew revenue faster over the last twelve months: 9.38% against 7.80%. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has the higher net margin (9.92% vs 7.15%) and the higher return on invested capital (27.1% vs 18.8%). Both pay a dividend; Ferguson plc yields more (1.54% vs 0.83%). Across the 23 metrics below, W.W. Grainger, Inc. leads on 19 and Ferguson plc on 4.
Valuation
Profitability
| Metric | FERG | GWW | Industrial Distribution median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross margin | 31.10% | 39.40% | 30.34% |
| Operating margin | 9.73% | 14.57% | 8.06% |
| Net margin | 7.15% | 9.92% | 4.95% |
| Free cash flow margin | 3.85% | 8.17% | 4.67% |
| Return on equity | 40.09% | 43.51% | 14.29% |
| Return on assets | 12.69% | 20.16% | 5.30% |
| Return on invested capital | 18.75% | 27.09% | 8.13% |
Growth
Health
Dividend
Size
Any metric, up to five companies and an Excel export Powerpack