AIT vs FAST: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?

Same yardstick, side by side (as of August 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.

The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. AIT and FAST share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.

This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined AIT and FAST exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

Applied Industrial Technologies has been distributing bearings and power transmission components since 1923 (it traded as Bearings Inc. until 1997) and now operates in two segments. Service Center, about 66% of fiscal 2025 sales, is the maintenance, repair and operations business: a network of local branches across North America, Australia and New Zealand stocking bearings, motors, belting, drives, couplings, pumps, hoses and filtration for customers' existing equipment. Engineered Solutions, the other 34%, is the more technical half, covering fluid power systems, flow control, automation design and integration, and it carries higher growth and a different competitive set. The pitch to customers is expertise rather than price: engineers, fluid power specialists and fabrication shops that keep production lines running. Revenue is heavily domestic, with roughly $4.0 billion of fiscal 2025's $4.56 billion coming from the United States, and no single customer accounts for more than 5% of sales.

Full AIT guide

Fastenal is a leading industrial distributor that supplies fasteners (bolts, nuts, screws) and a broad range of maintenance, repair, and operations (MRO) products such as tools, safety equipment, cutting tools, fluids, and janitorial supplies to manufacturers, construction firms, and other businesses. While fasteners are its heritage and namesake, the company today derives a majority of revenue from non-fastener industrial and MRO products. Fastenal's competitive edge comes from being physically close to its customers: it operates thousands of branches and, increasingly, on-site locations placed directly inside customers' facilities, plus a fast-growing network of industrial vending machines that dispense supplies right on the shop floor. This high-touch, high-service model creates sticky relationships and recurring revenue, since customers rely on Fastenal to keep production lines stocked. The company makes money on the markup between what it pays suppliers and what it charges customers, with vending, on-site programs, and e-commerce deepening those relationships. Fastenal is headquartered in Winona, Minnesota, and is a member of the S&P 500.

Full FAST guide

Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.

• AIT drivers: Mix shift toward Engineered Solutions; Consolidating a fragmented market.
• FAST drivers: On-site and vending growth; Sticky distribution model.

A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: The business is cyclical in a way that no amount of execution removes: sales follow industrial production, capacity utilization and customer capital budgets, and end markets such as oil and gas, mining, primary metals and forest products can turn sharply. For FAST, fastenal's revenue is closely tied to industrial production, manufacturing activity, and the broader economy, so recessions or manufacturing slowdowns directly pressure sales and same-store growth.

Growth-minded investors who believe the theme has years to run tend to accept the richer multiple for more upside; value-minded investors lean toward the cheaper forward earnings and steadier profile. Pick AIT if you believe its drivers more; FAST if you believe its. Many investors hold both, but since they share themes, that is a concentrated bet, not diversification. Decide deliberately and check overlap. For the full detail, see the AIT and FAST guides.

AIT. Enterprise value works out near $13.5 billion, or roughly 23 times trailing EBITDA and ~2.8 times sales, a premium multiple for a distributor growing mid single digits organically. Fiscal 2026 guidance of $10.64 to $10.75 in EPS implies a fourth quarter of $2.85 to $2.96, with those results due August 13, 2026. The dividend of $0.51 per quarter (~$2.04 annualized) yields roughly 0.6%, so essentially all of the return case rests on earnings growth and multiple maintenance rather than income.

FAST. Fastenal trades at a premium multiple for an industrial distributor, reflecting its consistent execution, high returns on capital, sticky on-site and vending model, and reliable dividend growth. The market pays up for the quality and recurring nature of its revenue, which makes the valuation sensitive to any slowdown in industrial activity or same-customer growth.

Headline figures (approximate, August 2026): AIT shows revenue (ttm) ~$4.84B, up ~7.5% year over year, net income (ttm) ~$404M, ~8.3% net margin, diluted eps (ttm) ~$10.58, market cap ~$13.3B at ~$360 per share; FAST shows revenue (ttm) ~$7.5-8 billion, operating margin ~20%, revenue growth Mid-single-digit, cyclical with industry, return on invested capital High, consistently strong.

AIT and FAST are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined AIT and FAST exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.