Fastenal said technology-enabled sales accounted for two-thirds of its fourth-quarter revenue, highlighting how digital tools are reshaping growth at the industrial distributor.
That technology-enabled commerce includes ecommerce, electronic data interchange and on-site inventory systems.
During its fiscal Q4 2025 earnings call, the Winona, Minnesota-based company reported that 62.1% of fourth-quarter sales were digitally enabled. Those sales combined transactions through its e-business platforms with purchases managed by Fastenal Managed Inventory (FMI) vending and bin systems. E-business represented 29.6% of quarterly sales, while 46.1% flowed through FMI technology, with overlap between the channels.
“Nearly half of our Q4 sales were transacted through FMI technology or other digital channels,” President Jeff Watts said. “That really underlines how crucial these services have become to our customers. It makes us stickier with our customers and more operationally efficient.”
The results underscore Fastenal’s shift toward a digitally integrated operating model — one in which ecommerce, connected devices and data analytics play a growing role in customer retention, pricing discipline and market-share gains.
Fastenal’s boost from digital commerce
Fastenal said digital commerce mix helped fuel 11% year-over-year daily sales growth in the fourth quarter, even as U.S. industrial production remained mixed. That was its second consecutive quarter of double-digit growth.
The company continues to embed technology directly into customer operations. Fastenal ended 2025 with about 136,600 active FMI devices, up 7.6% from a year earlier, after signing 25,900 devices during the year. In the fourth quarter, it signed more than 5,900 weighted FMI devices.
“This is a powerful indicator of how deeply embedded Fastenal has become in our customers’ daily operations,” Watts said. “The more we integrate with customers through on-site and digital solutions, the more indispensable we become.”
Beyond vending and bin systems, Fastenal reported 6.4% year-over-year growth in e-business sales in the quarter, driven by website ordering and EDI connections with large enterprise customers.
Management said digital visibility into purchasing and usage also supports pricing discipline amid tariff uncertainty. Pricing contributed 310 to 340 basis points to fourth-quarter sales growth, while remaining neutral to cost for the full year.
“We continue to use data-driven pricing tools to identify opportunities for tailored increases, ensuring we maintain customer loyalty and minimize volume attrition,” said Max Tunnicliff, senior executive vice president and chief financial officer.
Fastenal plans to step up investment in technology and infrastructure in 2026, with capital spending expected to rise to about 3.5% of net sales. “We invest in IT and digital capabilities to improve customer experience and sales productivity,” Tunnicliff said.
Fastenal closed in 2025 with record annual sales of $8.2 billion, up 9%, and net income of $1.26 billion, up 9.4%. CEO Daniel Florness said digital and on-site solutions will remain central to the company’s strategy.
“We anticipate double-digit net sales growth in 2026 supported by FMI technology and digital solutions,” Florness said.
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