W.W. Grainger, Inc. · GWW · FY2026 Q1 · Calendar Q2 2026

Grainger Beats Estimates, Raises Guidance on 12% Organic Growth

Grainger delivered a strong start to FY2026, beating consensus on both EPS and revenue while raising full-year guidance. Organic growth accelerated to 12.2% from 4.5% reported in FY2025, driven by broad-based demand recovery, price realization, and share gains across both the High-Touch Solutions and Endless Assortment segments. The 10% dividend increase extends a 55-year consecutive growth streak. Management remains confident, though Q2 margins are expected to compress temporarily due to fuel cost leakage, private-label inventory timing, and seasonality before recovering later in the year.

Reported Before market openNYSEIndustrials $66.05B market cap
100quality score

Company context

Snapshot as of publication

W.W. Grainger, Inc. stands as a significant global supplier of maintenance, repair, and operating (MRO) supplies and related services. Its market presence spans several international regions, including the United States, Japan, Canada, and the United Kingdom. The company structures its operations into two principal divisions: High-Touch Solutions N.A. and Endless Assortment. Grainger's extensive product offerings cover essential categories such as safety and security provisions, equipment for material handling and storage, plumbing and pump components, cleaning and facility upkeep items, and…

Earnings scorecard

Reported versus consensus
Reported EPS $11.65 Consensus $10
EPS surprise +14.1% Reported versus consensus
Reported revenue $4.74B Consensus $4.58B
Revenue surprise +3.6% Reported versus consensus

Earnings History

Estimate Beat Miss Match
GWW EPS earnings history estimate and actual scatter chart 8 reported fiscal quarters and 4 future estimate-only quarters. Q4 '23 estimate $8.05 Q4 '23 actual $8.33, beat Q1 '24 estimate $9.62 Q1 '24 actual $9.62, match Q2 '24 estimate $9.58 Q2 '24 actual $9.76, beat Q3 '24 estimate $9.97 Q3 '24 actual $9.87, miss Q2 '25 estimate $10.07 Q2 '25 actual $9.97, miss Q3 '25 estimate $9.98 Q3 '25 actual $10.21, beat Q4 '25 estimate $9.46 Q4 '25 actual $9.44, miss Q1 '26 estimate $10.21 Q1 '26 actual $11.65, beat Q2 '26 estimate $11.30 Q3 '26 estimate $11.78 Q4 '26 estimate $10.93 Q1 '27 estimate $12.65

Analyst Consensus ?

ConsensusHold38 ratings
Bullish923.7%
Neutral2565.8%
Bearish410.5%

Analyst 52W Price Targets

$1,366.39Current
$422Low
$1,030.68Average
$1,460High

Latest persisted target per named analyst; persisted current price from FN2's market snapshot as of Jul 29, 2026. Not an FN2 forecast.

Firm-level rating actions

FMP grade actions identify the grading firm, not a named analyst.

FirmRatingPrior ratingActionDate
RBC Capital Sector Perform Sector PerformMaintainJul 16, 2026
Stephens & Co. Equal Weight OverweightDowngradeJul 14, 2026
Wolfe Research Peer Perform UnderperformUpgradeJul 9, 2026
Barclays Underweight UnderweightMaintainJun 23, 2026
Morgan Stanley Equal Weight Equal WeightMaintainMay 27, 2026
Bernstein Market Perform Market PerformMaintainApr 21, 2026
JP Morgan Neutral NeutralMaintainFeb 6, 2026
Oppenheimer Outperform OutperformMaintainFeb 4, 2026
Loop Capital Hold HoldMaintainAug 4, 2025
William Blair Outperform Market PerformUpgradeMar 10, 2025
Baird Outperform NeutralUpgradeOct 16, 2024
Erste Group Hold BuyDowngradeJun 14, 2024
UBS Neutral NeutralMaintainMar 14, 2024
Jefferies Hold BuyDowngradeDec 20, 2023
Atlantic Equities Neutral OverweightDowngradeNov 15, 2022
Wells Fargo Underweight UnderweightMaintainApr 29, 2022
Raymond James Market Perform OutperformDowngradeAug 2, 2021
Deutsche Bank Hold HoldMaintainMay 3, 2021
Gordon Haskett Hold UnderperformUpgradeJul 9, 2020
Longbow Research Buy NeutralUpgradeJun 2, 2020
Buckingham Research Neutral NeutralMaintainFeb 7, 2020
Buckingham Neutral NeutralMaintainFeb 7, 2020
Gabelli & Co. Buy HoldUpgradeFeb 3, 2020
BMO Capital Market Perform Market PerformMaintainApr 23, 2019
Macquarie Outperform NeutralUpgradeJan 15, 2019
Stifel Nicolaus Hold HoldMaintainApr 23, 2018
Stifel Hold HoldMaintainApr 23, 2018
Credit Suisse Underperform UnderperformMaintainJan 25, 2018
Northcoast Research Neutral NeutralMaintainJul 25, 2017
Goldman Sachs Sell SellMaintainApr 18, 2016
Sterne Agee CRT Buy BuyMaintainMar 22, 2016
KeyBanc Equal Weight Sector WeightMaintainDec 18, 2015
Susquehanna Neutral NeutralMaintainJul 21, 2015
FBR Capital Market Perform Market PerformMaintainOct 17, 2014
Citigroup Hold HoldMaintainApr 15, 2014
Wunderlich Securities Buy BuyMaintainJan 22, 2014
Wunderlich Buy BuyMaintainJan 22, 2014
BB&T Capital Hold BuyDowngradeMar 13, 2013
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Named analyst price targets

Upside is calculated against the persisted current price $1,366.4. FMP does not supply a rating on these named-analyst rows.

FirmAnalyst52W targetPrice when postedUpsideDate
RBC CapitalAnalyst unavailable$1,460$1,389.73 +6.9%Jul 16, 2026
Redburn PartnersWilliam Blunt$1,280$1,375.76 -6.3%Jul 13, 2026
BarclaysGuy Hardwick$1,166$1,341.42 -14.7%Jun 23, 2026
D.A. DavidsonAnalyst unavailable$1,250$1,313.92 -8.5%Jun 15, 2026
Morgan StanleyChristopher Snyder$1,300$1,249.22 -4.9%May 27, 2026
BarclaysAnalyst unavailable$1,171$1,226.09 -14.3%May 12, 2026
StephensTommy Moll$1,355$1,233.71 -0.8%May 11, 2026
RBC CapitalAnalyst unavailable$1,337$1,222.84 -2.2%May 8, 2026
Robert W. BairdAnalyst unavailable$1,365$1,227.37 -0.1%May 8, 2026
BernsteinAnalyst unavailable$1,125$1,163.1 -17.7%Apr 21, 2026
OppenheimerAnalyst unavailable$1,300$1,168.92 -4.9%Feb 4, 2026
RBC CapitalAnalyst unavailable$1,207$1,168.06 -11.7%Feb 4, 2026
Robert W. BairdDavid Manthey$1,245$1,155 -8.9%Feb 4, 2026
BarclaysGuy Hardwick$1,044$1,155 -23.6%Feb 4, 2026
OppenheimerAnalyst unavailable$1,250$1,049.97 -8.5%Jan 27, 2026
Wolfe ResearchAnalyst unavailable$1,081$959.07 -20.9%Dec 9, 2025
Morgan StanleyChristopher Snyder$1,100$938.52 -19.5%Nov 25, 2025
BarclaysAnalyst unavailable$963$958.82 -29.5%Oct 7, 2025
Loop Capital MarketsAnalyst unavailable$950$938.27 -30.5%Aug 4, 2025
RBC CapitalAnalyst unavailable$1,007$938.27 -26.3%Aug 4, 2025
StephensAnalyst unavailable$1,200$938.27 -12.2%Aug 4, 2025
Wolfe ResearchAnalyst unavailable$966$973.41 -29.3%Apr 3, 2025
Loop Capital MarketsAnalyst unavailable$1,100$985.06 -19.5%Mar 5, 2025
Robert W. BairdDavid Manthey$1,230$1,085.57 -10.0%Oct 16, 2024
Bank of America SecuritiesSabrina Abrams$925$1,033.24 -32.3%Oct 7, 2024
CFRAJonathan Sakraida$950$1,000.52 -30.5%Sep 13, 2024
Morgan StanleyChristopher Snyder$990$938.48 -27.5%Sep 6, 2024
Robert W. BairdDavid Manthey$975$939.12 -28.6%May 29, 2024
Loop Capital MarketsChris Dankert$975$929.26 -28.6%Apr 29, 2024
Morgan StanleyAnalyst unavailable$537$680.95 -60.7%Feb 3, 2023
Morgan StanleyAnalyst unavailable$490$552.48 -64.1%Jan 6, 2023
UBSAnalyst unavailable$695$594.56 -49.1%Nov 29, 2022
Morgan StanleyJoshua Pokrzywinski$448$549.6 -67.2%Aug 1, 2022
Morgan StanleyAnalyst unavailable$448$549.52 -67.2%Aug 1, 2022
RBC CapitalDeane Dray$422$538.12 -69.1%Aug 1, 2022
StephensAnalyst unavailable$600$537.16 -56.1%Aug 1, 2022
Morgan StanleyAnalyst unavailable$421$457.4 -69.2%Jul 15, 2022
Morgan StanleyAnalyst unavailable$449$483.6 -67.1%May 31, 2022
Morgan StanleyAnalyst unavailable$474$511.29 -65.3%Apr 29, 2022
RBC CapitalAnalyst unavailable$450$514 -67.1%Apr 29, 2022
Wells FargoAnalyst unavailable$475$514.93 -65.2%Apr 29, 2022
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Market reaction

prior-close to event-session close
Stock move +5.5% Event window
SPY move -0.3% Same window
Abnormal move +5.8% Stock minus SPY
Volume 2.5× Versus trailing sessions
Subsequent drift +5.3% Up to 20 sessions
GWWSPY benchmark

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Transcript intelligence

What changed

EPS of $11.65 beat the $10.21 consensus estimate by 14.1%. Revenue of $4.74B exceeded the $4.58B estimate by 3.6%. Operating margin expanded to 16.7% from 15% in FY2025. Full-year 2026 guidance was raised: organic sales growth to 9.5-12% (from 6.5-9%) with EPS of $44.25-$46.25. The dividend was increased 10%, marking the 55th consecutive year of dividend growth. The stock reacted with a +5.5% market move on 2.5x baseline volume, followed by continued upward drift of +5.3%.

Guidance delta

Guidance was raised from the prior quarter's maintained outlook. FY2026 organic sales growth guidance increased from 6.5-9% to 9.5-12%, and EPS guidance was introduced at $44.25-$46.25. Q1 operating margin of 16.7% exceeded the prior 15.4-15.9% range, though management flagged a U-shaped margin pattern with expected Q2 compression from fuel cost leakage, private-label inventory timing, and seasonality.

Key takeaways

  • Q1 sales grew 10.1% (12.2% organic) with 16.7% operating margin and EPS up 18%
  • Full-year 2026 guidance raised to 9.5-12% organic growth and $44.25-$46.25 EPS
  • Dividend increased 10% for the 55th consecutive year of dividend growth
  • High-Touch Solutions and Endless Assortment both contributed, with Zoro U.S. and MonotaRO driving segment growth
  • Q2 margin compression expected from fuel cost leakage, private-label inventory timing, and seasonal effects

Management priorities

  • Continue expanding distribution footprint including Portland launch and Houston expansion
  • Invest in website enhancements and AI tools for productivity and customer experience
  • Maintain marketing and salesforce investment throughout 2026
  • Monitor and respond to tariff, fuel, and supply-chain developments
  • Explore additional pricing actions as needed to preserve margin

Related earnings events

Industrials

Sources

  1. Earnings call transcript and parsed analysis · 2026-05-11T10:29:34.698584+00:00
  2. FN2 earnings calendar · 2026-07-26T00:37:12.209961+00:00
  3. Polygon adjusted daily market bars · 2026-07-29T15:11:13.500811+00:00
  4. Financial Modeling Prep analyst price-target consensus and quote snapshot · 2026-07-29T15:11:13.498380+00:00

Methodology

Reported and consensus figures come from FN2's earnings event records. Market reaction and volume are calculated from daily adjusted bars around the event; abnormal move subtracts the SPY move over the same window.

Analyst target low, average, and high values are derived at request time from each named analyst's latest persisted FMP target. The current-price marker comes from FN2's persisted market snapshot. They are sell-side estimates, not an FN2 valuation or recommendation.

Transcript intelligence is a structured synthesis of the current and prior earnings-call analyses. Missing values stay missing and are never estimated.

By FN2 Research · Updated . For educational purposes only; not investment advice.