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

Key Points

• W.W. Grainger updated FY2026 guidance: management now expects EPS of 44.250–46.250 (consensus 43.650) and revenue of $19.2B–$19.6B (consensus $19.0B).
• The company recently beat expectations, reporting $11.65 EPS versus $10.20 expected and quarterly revenue up 10.1% year-over-year, alongside a 9.51% net margin and 47.46% return on equity.
• Grainger raised its quarterly dividend to $2.49 (from $2.26), an annualized $9.96 payout with a yield of ~0.9%; shareholders of record on May 11 will be paid on June 1.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) updated its FY 2026 earnings guidance on Thursday. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 44.250-46.250 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of 43.650. The company issued revenue guidance of $19.2 billion-$19.6 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $19.0 billion.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GWW has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,165.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,052.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Monday. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,250.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,044.00 to $1,047.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $1,118.14.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

GWW opened at $1,168.38 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $55.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.01, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.04. W.W. Grainger has a 1-year low of $906.52 and a 1-year high of $1,218.63. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,119.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1,056.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 1.59.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $11.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $10.20 by $1.45. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 9.51% and a return on equity of 47.46%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $9.86 EPS. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 44.250-46.250 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger will post 43.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th will be paid a $2.49 dividend. This represents a $9.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 11th. This is a positive change from W.W. Grainger's previous quarterly dividend of $2.26. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.54%.

Insider Transactions at W.W. Grainger

In other news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,488 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,114.28, for a total transaction of $1,658,048.64. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 10,541 shares in the company, valued at $11,745,625.48. This trade represents a 12.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Miller Capital Partners Inc. bought a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Caitlin John LLC bought a new position in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. State of Wyoming grew its holdings 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 valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Birchwood Financial Partners Inc. bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,000. Finally, DV Equities LLC bought a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the 4th quarter worth approximately $62,000. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company's stock.

W.W. Grainger Company Profile

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.

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