W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) Issues FY 2026 Earnings Guidance

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) issued an update on its FY 2026 earnings guidance on Tuesday morning. The company provided EPS guidance of 42.250-44.750 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of 43.820. The company issued revenue guidance of $18.7 billion-$19.1 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $18.8 billion.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on GWW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,045.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,150.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Oppenheimer raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $1,250.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $963.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,045.75.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of GWW opened at $1,097.17 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.77, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $1,019.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $992.42. W.W. Grainger has a twelve month low of $893.99 and a twelve month high of $1,103.69. The company has a current ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The industrial products company reported $9.44 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.45 by ($0.01). W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 9.75% and a return on equity of 49.40%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $9.71 earnings per share. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 42.250-44.750 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger will post 40.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th will be paid a dividend of $2.26 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 9th. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is presently 25.35%.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In other W.W. Grainger news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 14,523 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $972.81, for a total transaction of $14,128,119.63. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 107,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $104,929,232.22. This trade represents a 11.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 195 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,023.93, for a total transaction of $199,666.35. Following the sale, the vice president owned 3,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,249,953.82. This represents a 5.79% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 26,881 shares of company stock worth $26,157,155 over the last quarter. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of W.W. Grainger

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State of Wyoming grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 650.0% during the 2nd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 45 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the second quarter valued at approximately $134,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the third quarter valued at approximately $141,000. Cinctive Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the third quarter valued at approximately $202,000. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger during the second quarter worth approximately $208,000. 80.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About W.W. Grainger

W.W. Grainger, Inc (NYSE: GWW) is an industrial supply distributor founded in 1927 and headquartered in Lake Forest, Illinois. The company supplies maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) products and services to businesses, institutions and government customers. Over its long history Grainger has developed a broad product assortment and a national distribution network that supports operations across a range of end markets, including manufacturing, healthcare, hospitality, transportation and public sector organizations.

Grainger’s product portfolio spans core categories such as electrical and lighting, safety and personal protective equipment, material handling, motors and power transmission, plumbing and HVAC, fasteners and adhesives, hand and power tools, and janitorial and facility supplies.