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W. W. Grainger key statistics and ratios

In fiscal 2025, W. W. Grainger had return on equity of 48.1% and a net margin of 9.5%. Each ratio below is calculated from the figures on its income statement, balance sheet and cash flow pages.

Financial ratios

US$ thousands unless shown otherwise. Fiscal years, plus the last twelve months (LTM) when newer.

Fiscal year2009Dec 20092010Dec 20102011Dec 20112012Dec 20122013Dec 20132014Dec 20142015Dec 20152016Dec 20162017Dec 20172018Dec 20182019Dec 20192020Dec 20202021Dec 20212022Dec 20222023Dec 20232024Dec 20242025Dec 2025LTMJun 2026
Net margin6.9%7.1%8.2%7.7%8.4%8.0%7.7%6.0%5.6%7.0%7.4%5.9%8.0%10.2%11.1%11.1%9.5%9.9%
Return on equity19.9%23.4%27.2%24.4%25.4%24.8%28.1%29.8%33.6%43.3%45.0%37.7%56.3%71.7%65.9%59.0%48.1%47.5%
Return on assets11.6%13.4%15.3%14.2%15.5%15.2%13.8%10.5%10.2%13.4%14.3%11.3%16.2%21.8%23.2%22.5%19.2%20.1%
Effective tax rate——36.6%37.5%37.3%39.1%37.2%37.9%33.4%23.9%26.0%20.3%25.0%24.8%23.9%23.0%25.6%26.2%
SG&A as % of revenue31.1%29.9%30.4%31.1%30.1%29.8%29.4%29.6%29.4%28.4%27.3%27.3%24.4%23.9%23.9%24.0%25.2%24.8%
Dividends ÷ net income31.3%29.8%27.4%31.9%32.1%36.3%39.9%50.0%51.9%40.4%38.6%48.6%34.2%23.9%21.4%22.1%27.4%26.5%

Returns use average equity or assets over the year. Return on equity is left blank when equity is negative or so small that the ratio says nothing (above ±200%); interest cover is left blank above 200 times. Price-based ratios such as P/E are on the valuation page.

Financial health

3 of 5 checks passed · June 30, 2026
What it owns · $9.6bn
Short-term assets $6.0bnLonger-term assets $3.6bn
What it owes, and who funded it · $6.3bn
Short-term liabilities $2.1bnShareholders' equity $4.1bn
  • Short-term assets cover short-term liabilities $6.0bn of assets due within a year against $2.1bn of liabilities due within a year.
  • Short-term assets cover long-term liabilities Not assessable from the reported split. Not assessable.
  • More cash than debt $589m of cash against $2.4bn of debt.
  • Debt below 40% of shareholders' equity Debt is 58% of equity.
  • Debt burden no higher than five years ago Debt to equity moved from 126% to 58% over five years.
  • A year's operating cash flow covers at least 20% of debt $2.2bn of operating cash flow against $2.4bn of debt.
  • Operating profit covers interest at least five times over Interest not separately reported. Not assessable.

From W. W. Grainger's latest balance sheet as filed. Checks are fixed, documented rules (methodology), counted only where the company reports the figures — a dot means the filing doesn't break the item out. Descriptions of reported data, not advice.

Moat

79 /100

Strong moat

How hard W. W. Grainger's competitive advantage looks for rivals to wear away, judged from 10 years of its own filings: returns on capital, pricing power, profit durability, cash conversion and discipline.

  • Returns on capital 20 / 20

    Net income has been a median 16.2% of total assets over 10 years.

  • Pricing power 14 / 20

    Gross margin has been a median 39.1%, moving by 1.4 percentage points (standard deviation) across 10 years.

  • Durability 12 / 20

    Operating margin has been a median 12.3%; its worst year was 7.6%.

  • Cash conversion 14 / 20

    Free cash flow was positive in 10 of 10 years, at a median 7.9% of revenue.

  • Discipline 20 / 20

    The diluted share count fell 10.5% over five years; stock-based pay has been a median 0.4% of revenue.

AI disruption exposure: Low. In this industry, the business rests on physical assets, regulated networks or products AI itself depends on.

A rules-based reading of reported figures, not a forecast and not investment advice. How the score is built: methodology.

Compare with peers

Head to head: GWW vs ITWGWW vs PHGWW vs SWKGWW vs OTIS

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Figures from W. W. Grainger's SEC filings (10-K and 10-Q), retrieved October 20, 2026. How we read and check them: methodology and data sources. Not investment advice. Back to W. W. Grainger.