UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
____________________________________________________________
FORM 10-K
(Mark One)
Annual report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 | |
For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019
or
Transition report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 | |
For the transition period from to | |
Commission file number 0-16125
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) | (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) | |
(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)
(507 ) 454-5374
(Registrant's telephone number, including area code)
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title of each class | Trading Symbol(s) | Name of each exchange on which registered |
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:
None
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act Yes x No o
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act Yes o No x
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant: (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes x No o
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes x No o
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of "large accelerated filer", "accelerated filer", "smaller reporting company", and "emerging growth company" in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
x | Accelerated Filer | ☐ | ||||
Non-accelerated Filer | ☐ | Smaller Reporting Company | ||||
Emerging Growth Company | ||||||
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. o
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).
Yes ☐ No x
The aggregate market value of the Common Stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant as of June 28, 2019, the last business day of the registrant's most recently completed second fiscal quarter, was $18,623,405,521 , based on the closing price of the registrant's Common Stock on that date. For purposes of determining this number, all executive officers and directors of the registrant as of June 28, 2019 are considered to be affiliates of the registrant. This number is provided only for the purposes of this report on Form 10-K and does not represent an admission by either the registrant or any such person as to the status of such person.
As of January 22, 2020, the registrant had 574,226,297 shares of Common Stock issued and outstanding.
FASTENAL COMPANY
ANNUAL REPORT ON FORM 10-K
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE
Portions of our Proxy Statement for the annual meeting of shareholders to be held Saturday, April 25, 2020 ('Proxy Statement') are incorporated by reference in Part III. Portions of our 2019 Annual Report to Shareholders are incorporated by reference in Part II.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Certain statements contained in this Form 10-K, or in other reports of the company and other written and oral statements made from time to time by the company, do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. As such, they are considered 'forward-looking statements' that provide current expectations or forecasts of future events. These forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements can be identified by the use of terminology such as anticipate, believe, should, estimate, expect, intend, may, will, plan, goal, project, hope, trend, target, opportunity, and similar words or expressions, or by references to typical outcomes. Any statement that is not a purely historical fact, including estimates, projections, trends, and the outcome of events that have not yet occurred, is a forward-looking statement. Our forward-looking statements generally relate to our expectations regarding the business environment in which we operate, our projections of future performance, our perceived marketplace opportunities, and our strategies, goals, mission and vision. You should understand that forward-looking statements involve a variety of risks and uncertainties, known and unknown, and may be affected by inaccurate assumptions. Consequently, no forward-looking statement can be guaranteed and actual results may vary materially. Factors that could cause our actual results to differ from those discussed in the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, economic downturns, weakness in the manufacturing or commercial construction industries, competitive pressure on selling prices, changes in trade policies or tariffs, changes in our current mix of products, customers, or geographic locations, changes in our average branch size, changes in our purchasing patterns, changes in customer needs, changes in fuel or commodity prices, inclement weather, changes in foreign currency exchange rates, difficulty in adapting our business model to different foreign business environments, failure to accurately predict the market potential of our business strategies, the introduction or expansion of new business strategies, increased competition in industrial vending or Onsite, difficulty in maintaining installation quality as our industrial vending business expands, the leasing to customers of a significant number of additional industrial vending devices, the failure to meet our goals and expectations regarding branch openings, branch closings, or expansion of our industrial vending or Onsite operations, changes in the implementation objectives of our business strategies, difficulty in hiring, relocating, training, or retaining qualified personnel, difficulty in controlling operating expenses, difficulty in collecting receivables or accurately predicting future inventory needs, dramatic changes in sales trends, changes in supplier production lead times, changes in our cash position or our need to make capital expenditures, credit market volatility, changes in tax law or the impact of any such changes on future tax rates, changes in the availability or price of commercial real estate, changes in the nature, price, or availability of distribution, supply chain, or other technology (including software licensed from third parties) and services related to that technology, cyber-security incidents, potential liability and reputational damage that can arise if our products are defective, and other risks and uncertainties detailed in this Form 10-K under the heading 'Item 1A. Risk Factors'. Each forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which such statement is made, and we undertake no obligation to update any such statement to reflect events or circumstances arising after such date.
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PRESENTATION OF DOLLAR AMOUNTS
All dollar amounts in this Form 10-K are presented in millions, except for share and per share amounts or where otherwise noted. Throughout this document, percentage and dollar change calculations, which are based on non-rounded dollar values, may not be able to be recalculated using the dollar values in this document due to the rounding of those dollar values.
STOCK SPLIT
All information contained in this Form 10-K reflects the two-for-one stock splits in both 2019 and 2011.
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PART I
ITEM 1. | BUSINESS |
Note – Information in this section is as of year end unless otherwise noted. The year end is December 31, 2019 unless additional years are included or noted.
Overview
Fastenal Company (together with our subsidiaries, hereinafter referred to as 'Fastenal' or the company or by terms such as we, our, or us) began as a partnership in 1967, and was incorporated under the laws of Minnesota in 1968. We opened our first branch in 1967 in Winona, Minnesota, a city with a population today of approximately 27,000. We began with a marketing strategy of supplying threaded fasteners to customers in small, medium-sized, and, in subsequent years, large cities. Over time, that mandate has expanded to a broader range of industrial and construction supplies spanning more than nine major product lines (described later in this document). The large majority of our transactions are business-to-business, though we also have some walk-in retail business. At the end of 2019, we had 3,228 in-market locations (defined in the table below) in 25 countries supported by 15 distribution centers in North America (12 in the United States, two in Canada, and one in Mexico), and we employed 21,948 people. We believe our success can be attributed to the high quality of our employees and their convenient proximity to our customers, and our ability to offer customers a full range of products and services to reduce their total cost of procurement.
The following table shows our consolidated net sales for each fiscal year as well as the number of public branches, Onsite locations, and total in-market locations at the end of each of the last ten years:
2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | ||||||||||||
Net sales | $ | 5,333.7 | 4,965.1 | 4,390.5 | 3,962.0 | 3,869.2 | 3,733.5 | 3,326.1 | 3,133.6 | 2,766.9 | 2,269.5 | ||||||||||
Public branches | 2,114 | 2,227 | 2,383 | 2,503 | 2,622 | 2,637 | 2,687 | 2,652 | 2,585 | 2,490 | |||||||||||
Onsite locations(1) | 1,114 | 894 | 605 | 401 | 264 | 214 | |||||||||||||||
Total in-market locations(2) | 3,228 | 3,121 | 2,988 | 2,904 | 2,886 | 2,851 | 2,687 | 2,652 | 2,585 | 2,490 | |||||||||||
(1) Onsite location information prior to 2014 is intentionally omitted. While such locations have existed since 1992, we did not specifically track their number until we identified our Onsite program as a growth driver in 2014.
(2) 'In-market locations' is defined as the sum of the total number of public branches and the total number of Onsite locations.
One of Fastenal's guiding principles since inception is that we can improve our service by getting closer to the customer. Through much of our history, this was achieved by opening branches, and more recently through new Onsite locations. Today we believe there are few companies that offer our North American in-market location coverage. In 2019, roughly 53% of our sales and 53% of our in-market locations were in major Metropolitan Statistical Areas ('MSAs'; populations in the United States and Canada greater than 500,000 people), while 19% of our sales and 17% of our in-market locations were in small MSAs (populations under 500,000 people), and 28% of our sales and 30% of our in-market locations were not in an MSA. In our view, this has proven to be an efficient means of providing customers with a broad range of products and services on a timely basis. Branches have represented, and continue to represent, the foundation of our service approach. However, we are constantly evaluating the efficacy of our branch network and, in recent years, we have developed additional models that get us still closer to the customer, including vending, bin stocks, and Onsite locations.
We currently have several versions of selling locations: (1) a 'traditional (or public) branch' typically services a wide variety of customers and stocks a wide selection of products we offer, both as part of our standard stocking model and tailored to specific customer needs, (2) an 'overseas branch' focuses on manufacturing customers and our fastener product line (though non-fasteners are becoming more common in these markets) and is the format we typically deploy outside the United States and Canada, and (3) an 'Onsite location' provides dedicated sales and service from within, or in close proximity to, the customer's facility. We utilize additional types of selling locations within our network, but these tend to be more specialized in nature and relatively few in number, comprising less than five percent of our total selling locations.
Traditional and overseas branches sell to multiple customers, and together comprise the majority of our total selling locations. Onsite locations, which serve a single customer, are not included in our total branch counts. However, outside of the fact that they serve a single customer, we believe the function and operation of an Onsite location is similar to that of a branch. This model also represents a meaningful portion of the company's total revenue, and we expect that share to grow materially over time. As a result, we refer to our network in terms of in-market locations, which includes our total branches and Onsite locations.
Branch locations are selected primarily based on their proximity to our distribution network, population statistics, and employment data for manufacturing and non-residential construction companies. We stock all branches with inventory drawn
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from all of our product lines, and over time, where appropriate, our district and branch personnel may tailor the inventory offering to the needs of the local customer base. Since Fastenal's founding and through 2013, branch openings were a primary growth driver for the company, and we experienced net openings each year over that time span. We have long maintained that marketplace demographics could support a North American network of 3,500 traditional branches. However, since establishing this figure, new growth drivers and business models (Onsite, vending, digital solutions) have emerged and diminished the direct role of traditional branch openings in our growth. It is now unlikely that we will operate the total traditional branch locations we previously believed would be the potential of North America. We will continue to open traditional branches as the company sees fit. However, in each year since 2013, the company has experienced a net decline in its total branch count including net declines of 113 branches in 2019, 156 branches in 2018, and 120 branches in 2017.
Onsite locations may influence the trend in total branch count over time, but are not the primary reason for our branch closings. The Onsite concept is not new, in that we entered into the first such arrangement in 1992. However, we identified it as a growth driver in 2014 and have made substantial investments toward accelerating its traction in the marketplace since 2015. In this model, we service a customer from a location that is physically within the customer's facility (or, in some cases, at a strategically placed off-site location), with inventory that is specific to the customer's needs. In many cases, we are shifting revenue with the customer from an existing branch, though we are beginning to see more new customer opportunities arise as a result of our Onsite capabilities. The model is best suited to larger companies, though we believe we can provide a higher degree of service at a lower level of revenue than most of our competitors. It has been our experience that gross profit percentages at Onsite locations tend to be lower than at branches, but we gain significant revenue with the customer and our cost to serve is materially lower. We have identified over 15,000 customer locations with potential to implement the Onsite service model. These include customers with which we have an existing national account relationship today, as well as potential customers we are aware of due to our local market presence. We expect revenues from Onsite arrangements to increase meaningfully over time. We experienced net increases of 220, 289, and 204 Onsite locations in 2019, 2018, and 2017, respectively, and signed 362, 336, and 270 new Onsite locations in 2019, 2018, and 2017, respectively. We had 1,114 Onsite locations as of December 31, 2019, and anticipate signing 375 to 400 new Onsite locations in 2020.
We first went international when we opened a branch in Canada in 1994. Since then, we have continued to expand our global footprint and at the end of 2019, we operated in 24 countries outside of the United States. Canada and Mexico are the largest of these, representing approximately 11% of total sales collectively, and we also operate in Europe, Asia, and Central and South America. This remaining international business is approximately 3% of total sales. Our go-to-market strategy in countries outside of North America focuses primarily on servicing large, national account customers. From a product perspective, these customers are more heavily oriented toward planned fastener spend. Though in recent years the international business has been growing faster than the U.S. business, we are not as well recognized in many of our foreign locations as we are in the U.S. and, to a lesser extent, Canada. However, our ability to provide a consistent service model, including vending, bin stocks, and Onsites, on a global basis is attractive to our foreign customer base, much of which are the foreign operations of U.S.-based companies. Our international subsidiaries now have 479 in-market locations, including 179 Onsite locations, have over 11,800 vending devices installed, and employ over 3,600 people from around the world.
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The following table provides a summary of the public branches and Onsite locations we operated at the end of each year, as well as the openings, closings, and conversions during each year:
North America | Outside North America | ||||||||||||||||||||||
United States | Canada | Mexico | Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic | Subtotal | Central & South America (1) | Asia (2) | Europe (3) | Africa (4) | Subtotal | Total | |||||||||||||
In-Market Locations - 2017 | 2,561 | 238 | 104 | 13 | 2,916 | 13 | 23 | 34 | 2 | 72 | 2,988 | ||||||||||||
Starting Branches - 2017 | 2,076 | 195 | 53 | 8 | 2,332 | 6 | 14 | 29 | 2 | 51 | 2,383 | ||||||||||||
Opened Branches | 2 | 1 | — | — | 3 | — | — | 8 | — | 8 | 11 | ||||||||||||
Closed/Converted Branches (5) | (154 | ) | (10 | ) | (1 | ) | — | (165 | ) | — | — | — | (2 | ) | (2 | ) | (167 | ) | |||||
Ending Branches - 2018 | 1,924 | 186 | 52 | 8 | 2,170 | 6 | 14 | 37 | — | 57 | 2,227 | ||||||||||||
Starting Onsites - 2017 | 485 | 43 | 51 | 5 | 584 | 7 | 9 | 5 | — | 21 | 605 | ||||||||||||
Opened Onsites | 273 | 20 | 14 | 2 | 309 | 1 | 1 | 7 | — | 9 | 318 | ||||||||||||
Closed/Converted Onsites (5) | (26 | ) | (3 | ) | 1 | — | (28 | ) | — | (1 | ) | — | — | (1 | ) | (29 | ) | ||||||
Ending Onsites - 2018 | 732 | 60 | 66 | 7 | 865 | 8 | 9 | 12 | — | 29 | 894 | ||||||||||||
In-Market Locations - 2018 | 2,656 | 246 | 118 | 15 | 3,035 | 14 | 23 | 49 | — | 86 | 3,121 | ||||||||||||
Starting Branches - 2018 | 1,924 | 186 | 52 | 8 | 2,170 | 6 | 14 | 37 | — | 57 | 2,227 | ||||||||||||
Opened Branches | 1 | 1 | 5 | — | 7 | — | 1 | 4 | — | 5 | 12 | ||||||||||||
Closed/Converted Branches (5) | (119 | ) | (4 | ) | (1 | ) | — | (124 | ) | — | (1 | ) | — | — | (1 | ) | (125 | ) | |||||
Ending Branches - 2019 | 1,806 | 183 | 56 | 8 | 2,053 | 6 | 14 | 41 | — | 61 | 2,114 | ||||||||||||
Starting Onsites - 2018 | 732 | 60 | 66 | 7 | 865 | 8 | 9 | 12 | — | 29 | 894 | ||||||||||||
Opened Onsites | 271 | 18 | 13 | 3 | 305 | 2 | 1 | 4 | — | 7 | 312 | ||||||||||||
Closed/Converted Onsites (5) | (78 | ) | (7 | ) | (7 | ) | — | (92 | ) | (1 | ) | 1 | — | — | — | (92 | ) | ||||||
Ending Onsites - 2019 | 925 | 71 | 72 | 10 | 1,078 | 9 | 11 | 16 | — | 36 | 1,114 | ||||||||||||
In-Market Locations - 2019 | 2,731 | 254 | 128 | 18 | 3,131 | 15 | 25 | 57 | — | 97 | 3,228 | ||||||||||||
(1) Panama, Brazil, Colombia, and Chile
(2) Singapore, China, Malaysia, and Thailand
(3) The Netherlands, Hungary, United Kingdom, Germany, Czech Republic, Italy, Romania, Sweden, Poland, Austria, Switzerland, Ireland, Spain, and France
(4) South Africa
(5) The net impact of non-in-market locations or Onsite locations converted to branches, branches converted to Onsite locations or non-in-market locations, and closures of branches or Onsite locations.
In 1995, we developed a national accounts program aimed at making our products and services more competitive with customers that operate multiple facilities. These customers tend to have more complex supply chains and structures for managing the original equipment manufacturing ('OEM') and maintenance, repair, and operations ('MRO') products we provide while at the same time, by virtue of their size and opportunity, have more negotiating power. We believe our local presence as part of a national, and increasingly international, footprint, our ability to provide a consistent level of high-touch service and broad product availability, and our ancillary capabilities around manufacturing, quality control, and product knowledge, are attractive to these larger customers. We believe our advantage with these customers has only been strengthened as we have added other channels, such as industrial vending, Onsite, Fastenal Managed Inventory ('FMI®'), digital solutions, and resources to serve these customers' unique demands. As a result, in 2019, national accounts represented 53.6% of our sales, compared to 50.7% and 48.2% in 2018 and 2017, respectively. We believe sales to national accounts customers will continue to increase as a percent of our total sales over time.
We introduced industrial vending in 2008. Vending provides our customers the benefits of reduced consumption, reduced purchase orders, reduced product handling, and 24-hour product availability, and we believe our company has a market advantage by virtue of our extensive in-market network of inventory and local personnel. For these reasons, the initiative began to gain significant traction in 2011 and we finished 2019 with approximately 105,000 devices in the field (90,000 generating product revenue and 15,000 in a locker lease program). Our discussion generally focuses on the 90,000 product revenue devices. We believe vending has proven its effectiveness in strengthening our relationships with customers and helped to
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streamline the supply chain where it has been utilized. We also believe there remains considerable room to grow our current installed base before it begins to approach the number of units we believe the market can support. We estimate the market could support as many as 1.7 million industrial vending devices, and as a result we anticipate continued growth in installed devices over time. We anticipate signing 22,000 to 24,000 new devices in 2020.
Our industrial vending portfolio consists of 23 different vending devices, with 15 of these being in either a helix or locker format. Our most utilized models include the helix-based FAST 5000, which is approximately 40% of our installed base of devices, and our 12- and 18-door lockers, which combined are approximately 35% of our installed base of devices. The lockers are available in multiple configurations and the helix format is configurable to accommodate the various sizes and forms of products that will be dispensed to match the unique needs of our customers. Target monthly revenues per device typically range from under $1,000 to in excess of $3,000, depending on the type of device and products dispensed. The following two tables provide two views of our data: (1) actual device count regardless of the type of device and (2) 'machine equivalent' count based on the weighted target monthly revenue of each device (compared to the FAST 5000 device, which has a $2,000 monthly revenue target). For example, the 12-door locker, with target monthly revenue of $750, would be counted as '0.375 machine equivalent' (0.375 = $750/$2,000).
The industrial vending (product revenue devices) information related to contracts signed during each period was as follows:
Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Annual | ||||||||||||
Device count signed during the period | 2019 | 5,603 | 5,439 | 5,671 | 5,144 | 21,857 | ||||||||||
2018 | 5,679 | 5,537 | 5,877 | 4,980 | 22,073 | |||||||||||
2017 | 5,437 | 4,881 | 4,771 | 4,266 | 19,355 | |||||||||||
'Machine equivalent' count signed during the period | 2019 | 5,213 | 5,058 | 5,354 | 4,938 | 20,563 | ||||||||||
2018 | 5,271 | 5,250 | 5,251 | 4,610 | 20,382 | |||||||||||
2017 | 4,476 | 4,032 | 4,010 | 3,640 | 16,158 | |||||||||||
The industrial vending (product revenue devices) information related to installed devices at the end of each period was as follows:
Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | ||||||||||||
Device count installed at the end of the period | 2019 | 83,410 | 85,871 | 88,327 | 89,937 | ||||||||||
2018 | 73,561 | 76,069 | 78,706 | 81,137 | |||||||||||
2017 | 64,430 | 66,577 | 69,058 | 71,421 | |||||||||||
'Machine equivalent' count installed at the end of the | 2019 | 69,258 | 71,942 | 74,686 | 76,792 | ||||||||||
period | 2018 | 58,571 | 61,405 | 64,205 | 66,784 | ||||||||||
2017 | 49,921 | 51,950 | 54,215 | 56,436 | |||||||||||
In addition to industrial vending noted above, which primarily relates to our non-fastener business, we also provide Fastenal Managed Inventory ('FMI') programs, (also known as 'keep fill' or 'bin stock' programs in the industry) to numerous customers. This business relates to both our maintenance customers (MRO fasteners and non-fasteners) and original equipment manufacturers (OEM fasteners). FMI is like our industrial vending business in that it involves moving product closer to the point of customer use within their facilities. However, the device is typically an open bin which is clustered with other bins in a racking system, each of which holds OEM fasteners, MRO fasteners, and/or non-fastener products that are consumed in the customer's operations. These bins utilize a variety of technologies. For instance, some bins are organized and labeled into customer plan-o-grams which allow for the scanning of product when product is at a minimum desired level and requires replenishment, while other systems utilize scales to measure the volume of a bin's content by its weight. In 2019, Fastenal introduced additional technology utilizing Remote Frequency Identification ('RFID') and Infrared ('IR') systems to bring additional value to the supply chain. RFID automates a standard Kanban program and IR automates the replenishment of individualized work stations. We believe our fully integrated distribution network allows us to manage the supply chain for all sizes of customers. FMI programs tend to generate a higher frequency of business transactions and, coupled with our fully integrated distribution network that allows us to manage these programs for all sizes of customers, foster a strong relationship with customers, as we are often their preferred supplier.
We also invest in digital solutions that aim to deliver strategic value for our customers, leverage local inventory for same-day solutions, and provide efficient service. These solutions take many forms. For instance, the above noted technologies (vending and FMI), provide locational data that we can utilize to provide strategic value to our customers. An example of this is FAST 360, which surfaces data around our managed services, providing our customers with one central source of information as we
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manage their OEM and MRO products. We also provide eProcurement Solutions (Electronic Data Interface, or 'EDI' and 'punchouts'). These provide system-to-system exchange of documents (such as purchase orders, advance shipping notices, and invoices for direct and indirect spend) through a direct integration into our customer's Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems or through a third party procurement network or marketplace. This creates an efficient, accurate, and streamlined procure-to-pay process. We also have an e-commerce offering that allows us to provide same-day solutions for online orders. We believe our integrated physical and virtual model, when paired with our national (and increasingly international) scope, represents a unique capability in industrial distribution when compared to e-commerce as an independent sales channel. One of our web solutions, Fastenal EXPRESS, guides our customers to products that are locally stocked, capitalizing on our existing location footprint, in order to provide same-day service for online orders. This positions us to outperform what is more typically a 24 to 48 hour fulfillment expectation for MRO and unplanned transactions. We expect to continue to build out and develop our digital solutions over time.
We believe our current growth drivers – Onsite locations, international expansion, national accounts, industrial vending, FMI, and digital solutions – on a global basis represent alternative means to address the requirements of certain customer groups. They get us closer to the customer and to where the product is actually consumed. This is consistent with our strategy and offers significant value by providing differentiated and 'sticky' service. Combined with ongoing strategic investments in end market initiatives as well as selling (in-market and otherwise) and non-selling (engineering, product specialists, manufacturing, etc.) employees, we offer a range of capabilities that is difficult for large and small competitors to replicate.
We remain committed to a large, robust service network, including traditional branches; it remains the indispensable foundation of our business. In any given year, it is difficult to predict whether our total branch count will rise or fall. However, with the growth we anticipate in Onsite locations, we believe our total in-market locations will increase over time.
We believe the profitability of our in-market locations is affected by the average revenue produced by each site. In any in-market location, certain costs related to growth are at least partly variable, such as employee-related expenses, while others, like rent and utility costs, tend to be fixed. As a result, it has been shown that as an in-market location increases its sales base over time it typically will achieve a higher operating profit margin. This ability to increase our operating profit margin is influenced by: (1) general growth based on end market expansion and/or market share gains, (2) the age of the in-market location (new locations tend to be less profitable due to start-up costs and, in the case of a traditional branch, the time necessary to generate a customer base), and/or (3) rationalization actions, as in the past several years we have seen a net decline in our traditional branch base. There are many reasons why local or regional management might decide to close a location. Key customers may have migrated to a different part of the market, factories may have closed, our own supply chain capabilities in a market may have evolved to allow us to service some areas with fewer traditional branches, and/or our customers may have transitioned to our Onsite model. The paths to higher operating profit margins are slightly different in a traditional branch versus an Onsite location, as the former will tend to have more fixed costs to leverage while the latter will tend to have a smaller fixed cost burden but have greater leverage of its employee-related expenses. In the short term, the Onsite program can hurt the profitability of our existing branch network as it can pull established revenue away from an existing branch even as its fixed expenses are largely unchanged.
We operate twelve regional distribution centers in the United States – Minnesota, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Georgia, Washington, California, Utah, North Carolina, Kansas, and Mississippi – and three outside the United States – Ontario, Canada; Alberta, Canada; and Nuevo Leon, Mexico. These fifteen distribution centers give us approximately 4.5 million square feet of distribution capacity. These distribution centers are located so as to permit deliveries of two to five times per week to our in-market locations using our trucks and overnight delivery by surface common carrier, with approximately 87% of our North American in-market locations receiving service four to five times per week. The distribution center in Indiana also serves as a 'master' hub, with those in California, North Carolina, and Kansas serving as 'secondary' hubs to support the needs of the in-market locations in their geographic regions as well as provide a broader selection of products for the in-market locations serviced by the other distribution centers.
We currently operate our Minnesota, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Georgia, Washington, California, North Carolina, Kansas, and Ontario, Canada distribution centers with automated storage and retrieval systems ('ASRS'). These eleven distribution centers operate with greater speed and efficiency, and currently handle approximately 97% of our picking activity. We expect to add and/or expand new distribution centers over time as our scale and the number of our in-market locations increases.
Our information systems department develops, implements, and maintains the computer based technology used to support business functions within Fastenal. Corporate, digital, distribution center, and vending systems are primarily supported from central locations, while each selling location uses a locally installed Point-Of-Sale (POS) system. The systems consist of both customized, purchased, and licensed software. A dedicated Wide Area Network (WAN) is used to provide connectivity between systems and authorized users.
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Trademarks and Service Marks
We conduct business under various trademarks and service marks, and we utilize a variety of designs and tag lines in connection with each of these marks, including Growth Through Customer Service®. Although we do not believe our operations are substantially dependent upon any of our trademarks or service marks, we consider the 'Fastenal' name and our other trademarks and service marks to be valuable to our business. We have registered, or applied for the registration of, various trademarks and service marks. Our registered trademarks and service marks are presumed valid in the United States as long as they are in use, their registrations are properly maintained, and they have not been found to have become generic. Registrations of trademarks and service marks can also generally be renewed indefinitely as long as the trademarks and service marks are in use.
Products
Fastenal was founded as a distributor of fasteners and related industrial and construction supplies. This includes threaded fasteners, bolts, nuts, screws, studs, and related washers, as well as miscellaneous supplies and hardware, such as pins, machinery keys, concrete anchors, metal framing systems, wire rope, strut, rivets, and related accessories. Our fastener product line, which is primarily sold under the Fastenal product name, represented 34.2%, 34.9%, and 35.6% of our consolidated net sales in 2019, 2018, and 2017, respectively.
Fastener distribution is complex. In most cases, the product has low per unit value but high per unit weight. This presents challenges in moving product from suppliers, most of whom are outside of North America, to our distribution centers, as well as from our distribution centers to our branch, Onsite, and customer locations. At the same time, fasteners are ubiquitous in manufactured products, construction projects, and maintenance and repair while at the same time exhibiting great geometric variability based on use and application. In many cases, a fastener is a critical part in machine uptime and/or effective use. These features have greatly influenced our logistical development, training and educational programs, support capabilities, and inventory decisions, which we believe would be difficult for competitors to replicate.
In 1993, we began to aggressively add additional product lines, and these represented 65.8%, 65.1%, and 64.4% of our consolidated sales in 2019, 2018, and 2017, respectively. These products, which we refer to as non-fastener product lines, tend to move through the same distribution channel, get used by the same customers, and utilize the same logistical capabilities as the original fastener product line. This logic is as true today as it was when we first began to diversify our product offering. However, over time, the supply chain for these product lines has evolved in ways independent of the fastener line. For instance, non-fastener product lines benefit disproportionately from our development of industrial vending.
The most significant category of non-fastener products is our safety supplies product line, which accounted for 17.9%, 17.2%, and 16.3% of our consolidated sales in 2019, 2018, and 2017, respectively. This product line has enjoyed dramatic sales growth in the last ten years (nearly tripling as a percentage of sales over that ten-year time frame). This is directly related to our success in industrial vending. Our tools product line accounts for approximately 10% of consolidated net sales, representing 9.9%, 10.0%, and 10.1% in 2019, 2018, and 2017, respectively.
In the last several decades we have added 'private label' brands (often referred to as 'Exclusive Brands', or brands sold exclusively through Fastenal) to our non-fastener offering. These private label brands represented approximately 13%, 13%, and 12% of our consolidated net sales in 2019, 2018, and 2017, respectively. We believe it is also appropriate to think about our private label sales as a percentage of our non-fastener sales for two reasons: (1) branded vs. private label dynamics of fasteners differ from those of non-fasteners; and (2) non-fastener data is more comparable to information reported by our peers, who do not generally have our significant mix of fastener business. Private label brands represented approximately 19%, 19%, and 20% of our total non-fastener sales in 2019, 2018, and 2017, respectively. Over the last few years, we have seen increases in sales of private label products as a percentage of total non-fastener sales when looking at specific sales channels such as Onsite locations, branches, and vending. However, these increases were masked by the relative sales growth we are experiencing with Onsite locations, which typically have a lower percentage of total sales being private label than is the case in branches or sales through vending devices.
We plan to continue to add other product lines in the future.
Detailed information about our sales by product line is provided in Note 2 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included later in this Form 10-K. Each product line may contain multiple product categories.
Inventory Control
Our inventory stocking levels are determined using our computer systems, by our sales personnel at in-market locations, by our district and regional leadership, and by our product development team. The data used for this determination is derived from sales activity from all of our selling locations, from individual selling locations, and from different geographic areas. It is also derived from supplier information and from customer demographic information. The computer system monitors the inventory level for all stock items and triggers replenishment, or prompts a buyer to purchase, as necessary, based on an established
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minimum-maximum level. All branches stock a base inventory and may expand beyond preset inventory levels as deemed appropriate by the district and branch personnel. Non-branch selling locations (primarily Onsites) stock inventory based on customer-specific arrangements. Inventories in distribution centers are established from computerized data for the selling locations served by the respective distribution center. Inventory quantities are continuously re-balanced utilizing an automated transfer mechanism we call 'inventory re-distribution'.
Inventory held at our selling locations, close to customers and available on a same-day basis, accounted for approximately 60%, 61%, and 65% of our total inventory at the end of 2019, 2018, and 2017, respectively. Inventory held at our distribution centers and manufacturing locations accounted for approximately 40%, 39%, and 35% of our total inventory at the end of 2019, 2018, and 2017, respectively. The distribution center and manufacturing location inventory, when combined with our trucking network, allows for fast, next-day service at a very competitive cost.
Manufacturing and Support Services Operations
In 2019, approximately 96% of our consolidated net sales were attributable to products manufactured by other companies to industry standards or to customer specific requirements. The remaining 4% related to products manufactured, modified or repaired by our manufacturing businesses or our support services. The manufactured products consist primarily of non-standard sizes of threaded fasteners and hardware made to customers' specifications at one of our nine manufacturing locations, or standard sizes manufactured under our Holo-Krome®, Cardinal Fasteners®, and Spensall® product lines. The services provided by the support services group include, but are not limited to, the repair of tools and hoists, the fabrication of chain sling and hose, band saw blade welding, and other light manufacturing and fabrication. We may add additional services in the future. However, we engage in these activities primarily as a service to our customers and expect them to continue to contribute in the range of 4% to 6% of our consolidated net sales in the future.
Sources of Supply
We use a large number of suppliers for the standard stock items we distribute. Most items distributed by our network can be purchased from several sources, although preferred sourcing is used for some stock items to facilitate quality control. No single supplier accounted for more than 5% of our inventory purchases in 2019.
In the case of fasteners and our private label non-fastener products, we have a large number of suppliers but these suppliers are heavily concentrated in a single geographic area, Asia. Within Asia, suppliers in China represent a significant source of product. As a result, the cost and effectiveness of our supply chain is dependent on relatively unfettered trade across geographic regions.
Beyond inventory, we have some concentration of purchasing activity. For example, we utilize a limited number of suppliers for our distribution equipment and our vehicle fleet, and primarily one supplier for our industrial vending equipment. However, we believe there are viable alternatives to each of these, if necessary.
Customers and Marketing
We believe our success can be attributed to our ability to offer customers a full line of quality products, our convenient locations and diverse methods of providing those products, and the superior service orientation and expertise of our employees. Most of our customers are in the manufacturing and non-residential construction markets. The manufacturing market includes both OEM and MRO customers. The non-residential construction market includes general, electrical, plumbing, sheet metal, and road contractors. Other users of our products include farmers, truckers, railroads, oil exploration companies, oil production and refinement companies, mining companies, federal, state, and local governmental entities, schools, and certain retail trades.
Based on our customer profile being oriented toward manufacturing and non-residential construction, our business has historically been cyclical. However, we believe our model has certain protections that moderate the volatility of our results around cyclical changes. First, we have a large number of customers that serve a wide range of segments within the broader manufacturing and non-residential construction market, although slumps in one industry served by us can rapidly spread to other, interrelated industries, locally or globally. However, we still believe this customer and market segment diversity provides some insulation from economic changes that are not across multiple industries and geographic regions. In addition, while a meaningful part of our revenue is derived from products that are incorporated into final products, we also have a significant portion of revenue that is derived from products used to maintain facilities. This latter source of revenue tends to be directly influenced by cyclical changes, but its rate of change tends to be less dramatic.
In an in-market location, our customer's business activity is tracked through 'active accounts'. Customers often have more than one active account at a single in-market location, reflecting their utilization of different Fastenal services, and frequently have active accounts at many in-market locations across our global network. During the fourth quarter of 2019, our total number of active customer accounts (defined as accounts having purchase activity totaling at least $100 within the last 90 days) was approximately 247,000, while our total 'core accounts' (defined as the average number of accounts with purchase activity of at least $500 per month within the last 90 days) was approximately 80,000. In 2019, no one customer accounted for more than 5% of our sales.
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Direct marketing continues to be the backbone of our business through our local in-market selling personnel, as well as our non-branch selling personnel. We support our sales team with multi-channel marketing including direct mail and digital marketing, print and radio advertising, catalogs, promotional flyers, events, and branch signage. In recent years, our national advertising has been focused on a NASCAR® sponsorship through our partnership with Roush Fenway Racing® as the primary sponsor of the No. 17 car in the Monster Energy® NASCAR® Cup Series.
Seasonality
Seasonality has some impact on our sales. The first and fourth quarters are typically our lowest volume periods, given their overlap with winter months in North America during which our direct and indirect sales to customers in the non-residential construction market typically slow due to inclement weather. The fourth quarter also tends to be more greatly affected by the Thanksgiving (October in Canada and November in the United States), Christmas, and New Year holiday periods, due to plant shut downs. In contrast, the second and third quarters typically have higher revenues due to stronger non-residential construction activity and relatively fewer holidays (although Good Friday will sometimes fall in the second quarter and the 4th of July will always fall in the third quarter).
Competition
Our business is highly competitive, and includes large competitors located primarily in large cities and smaller distributors located in many of the same smaller markets in which we have branches. We believe the principal competitive factors affecting the markets for our products, in no particular order, are customer service, price, convenience, product availability, and cost saving solutions.
Market strategies in industrial distribution are varied. Where products are concerned, while many larger distributors have trended toward a broad-line offering over time, they are often still closely associated with a specific product that can influence their ability to capture market share. This association with a specific product line is often even more pronounced among smaller competitors, though many smaller competitors do deploy a broad-line model. Means of serving the customer are even more diverse. For instance, many competitors maintain a local, branch-based presence in their markets, while others use vans to sell products in markets away from their main warehouses, while still others rely on catalogs or telemarketing sales. Recent years have seen the emergence of e-commerce solutions, such as websites, and while this channel has been embraced by many traditional distributors it also has introduced non-traditional, web-based competitors into the marketplace. The diversity of product and service models supported in the marketplace is a reflection of the equally diverse product and service needs of the customer base. The large majority of our customers utilize multiple channels, from a single distributor or from a range of distributors, to procure the products they need in their operations.
We believe that better service, and a competitive selling advantage, can be provided by maintaining a physical presence closer to the customer's location(s). As a result, we maintain branches in small, medium, and large markets, each offering a wide variety of products. The convenience of a large number of branches in a given area, combined with our ability to provide frequent deliveries to such branches from centrally located distribution centers, facilitates the prompt and efficient distribution of products. We also believe our industrial vending and bin stock solutions, supported from an in-market (branch or Onsite) location, provides a unique way to provide our customers convenient access to products and cost saving solutions using a business model not easily replicated by our competitors. Having trained personnel at each in-market location also enhances our ability to compete (see 'Employees' below).
Our Onsite service model provides us with a strategic advantage with our larger customers. Building on our core business strategy of the local branch, the Onsite model provides value to our customers through customized service while giving us a competitive advantage through stronger relationships with those customers, all with a relatively low investment given the existing branch and distribution structure.
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Employees
At the end of 2019, we employed 21,948 full and part-time employees. Of these, approximately 72% held an in-market or non-branch selling role. We characterize these personnel as follows:
2019 | 2018 | |||
In-market locations | 13,977 | 14,015 | ||
Non-branch selling | 1,854 | 1,772 | ||
Selling subtotal | 15,831 | 15,787 | ||
Distribution | 4,012 | 3,830 | ||
Manufacturing | 711 | 736 | ||
Administrative | 1,394 | 1,291 | ||
Non-selling subtotal | 6,117 | 5,857 | ||
Total | 21,948 | 21,644 | ||
Note – In materials released on January 17, 2019 related to our fourth quarter and full year 2018 earnings results, we undercounted our total employees by 25. We corrected this in the table above, and throughout this document, and as a result some of the figures will not match the comparable figures in our previously published fourth quarter and full year 2018 earnings results.
We believe the quality of our employees is critical to our ability to compete successfully in the markets we currently serve and to our ability to develop new markets and customer relationships. We foster the growth and education of skilled employees throughout the organization by operating training programs and by decentralizing decision-making. Wherever possible, our goal is to 'promote from within'. For example, most new branch and Onsite managers are promoted from an outside sales position, and district managers (who supervise a number of in-market locations) are usually former branch managers.
The Fastenal School of Business (our internal corporate university program, known as FSB) develops and delivers a comprehensive array of industry and company-specific training and development programs that are offered to our employees. The programs are offered through a combination of both classroom training and online learning. FSB provides core curricula focused on key competencies determined to be critical to the success of our employees' performance. In addition, we provide specialized educational tracks within various institutes of learning. These institutes of learning are advanced levels that provide specific concentrations of education and development and have been designed to focus on critical aspects of our business, such as leadership, effective branch best practices, sales and marketing, product education, and distribution.
Our selling personnel are compensated with a base salary and an incentive bonus arrangement that places emphasis on achieving increased sales on a branch, Onsite, district, regional, and national account basis, while still attaining targeted levels of, among other things, gross profit, inventory management, and trade accounts receivable collections. As a result, a significant portion of our total employment cost varies with sales volume. We also pay incentive bonuses to our leadership personnel based on one or more of the following factors: sales growth, earnings growth (before and after taxes), profitability, and return on assets improvement, and to our other personnel for achieving predetermined departmental, project, and cost-containment goals.
Our employees are not subject to any collective bargaining agreements and we have experienced no work stoppages. We believe our employee relations are good.
Available Information
Our Internet address for corporate and investor information is www.fastenal.com. The information contained on our website or connected to our website is not incorporated by reference into this annual report on Form 10-K and should not be considered part of this report.
Our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act are available free of charge on or through our website at www.fastenal.com as soon as reasonably practicable after such reports have been filed with or furnished to the SEC.
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ITEM 1A. | RISK FACTORS |
In addition to the other information in this Form 10-K, the following factors should be considered in evaluating our business. Our operating results depend upon many factors and are subject to various risks and uncertainties. The most significant risks and uncertainties known to us which may cause our operating results to vary from anticipated results or which may negatively affect our operating results and profitability are as follows:
Company Risks
Products that we sell may expose us to potential material liability for property damage, environmental damage, personal injury, or death linked to the use of those products by our customers. Some of our customers operate in challenging industries where there is a material risk of catastrophic events. We are actively seeking to expand our sales to certain categories of customers, some of whose businesses may entail heightened levels of such risk. If any of these events are linked to the use by our customers of any of our products, claims could be brought against us by those customers, by governmental authorities, and by third parties who are injured or damaged as a result of such events. In addition, our reputation could be adversely affected by negative publicity surrounding such events regardless of whether or not claims against us are successful. While we maintain insurance coverage to mitigate a portion of this risk and may have recourse against our suppliers for losses arising out of defects in products procured from them, we could experience significant losses as a result of claims made against us to the extent adequate insurance is not in place, the products are manufactured by us or legal recourse against our suppliers is otherwise not available, or our insurers or suppliers are unwilling or unable to satisfy their obligations to us.
Interruptions in the proper functioning of information systems or the inability to maintain or upgrade our information systems, or convert to alternate systems in a timely and efficient manner, could disrupt operations, cause unanticipated increases in costs and/or decreases in revenues, and result in less efficient operations. The proper functioning of our information systems is critical to many aspects of our business and we could be adversely affected if we experience a disruption or data loss relating to our information systems and are unable to recover in a timely manner. Our information systems are protected with robust backup systems and processes, including physical and software safeguards and remote processing capabilities. Still, information systems are vulnerable to natural disasters, power losses, unauthorized access, telecommunication failures, and other problems. In addition, certain software used by us is licensed from, and certain services related to our information systems are provided by, third parties who could choose to discontinue their products or services or their relationship with us. It is also possible that we are unable to improve, upgrade, maintain, and expand our information systems. Our ability to process orders, maintain proper levels of inventories, collect accounts receivable, pay expenses, and maintain the security of company and customer data, as well as the success of our growth drivers, is dependent in varying degrees on the effective and timely operation and support of our information technology systems. If critical information systems fail or these systems or related software or services are otherwise unavailable, or if we experience extended delays or unexpected expenses in securing, developing, and otherwise implementing technology solutions to support our growth and operations, it could adversely affect our profitability and/or ability to grow.
In the event of a cyber security incident, we could experience certain operational interruptions, incur substantial additional costs, become subject to legal or regulatory proceedings, or suffer damage to our reputation in the marketplace. The nature of our business requires us to receive, retain, and transmit certain personally identifying information that our customers provide to purchase products or services, register on our websites, or otherwise communicate and interact with us. While we have taken and continue to undertake significant steps to protect our customer and confidential information, a compromise of our data security systems or those of businesses we interact with could result in information related to our customers or business being obtained by unauthorized persons. We develop and update processes and maintain systems in an effort to try to prevent this from occurring and have established and maintained disclosure controls and procedures that would permit us to make accurate and timely disclosures of any material event, including any cyber security event, but the development and maintenance of these processes and systems are costly and require ongoing monitoring and updating as technologies change and efforts to overcome security measures become more sophisticated. Consequently, despite our efforts, the possibility of cyber security incidents cannot be eliminated entirely. There can be no assurance that we will not experience a cyber security incident that may materially impact our consolidated financial statements. While we also seek to obtain assurances that third parties we interact with will protect confidential information, there is a risk the confidentiality of data held or accessed by third parties may be compromised. If a compromise of our data security were to occur, it could interrupt our operations, subject us to additional legal, regulatory, and operating costs, and damage our reputation in the marketplace.
We may be unable to meet our goals regarding the growth drivers of our business. Our sales growth is dependent primarily on our ability to attract new customers and increase our activity with existing customers. Historically, the most effective way to attract new customers has been opening new branches. In recent years, however, we have devoted increased resources to other growth drivers, including our industrial vending business, our Onsite business, our national accounts team, and our international operations. While we have taken steps to build momentum in the growth drivers of our business, we cannot assure you those steps will lead to additional sales growth. Failure to achieve any of our goals regarding industrial vending, FMI, Onsite locations, national accounts signings, digital solutions, international operations, or other growth drivers could negatively impact our long-term sales growth. Further, failure to identify appropriate targets for our Onsite and industrial vending
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businesses or failure to find suitable locations for them once appropriate targets are identified may adversely impact our goals regarding the number of new Onsite locations we are able to open or the number of industrial vending devices we are able to deploy.
Changes in customer or product mix, downward pressure on sales prices, and changes in volume of orders could cause our gross profit percentage to fluctuate or decline in the future. Changes in our customer or product mix could cause our gross profit percentage to fluctuate or decline. For example, the portion of our sales attributable to fasteners has been decreasing in recent years. That has adversely affected our gross profit percentage as our non-fastener products generally carry lower gross profit margins than our fastener products. Similarly, in recent years, revenues from national accounts customers, which typically have lower gross profit margins by virtue of their scale and available business, have tended to grow faster than revenues from smaller customers. This factor has become more significant as revenues from Onsite locations have grown in the mix. Customer and product mix have contributed to the decline in our gross profit percentage over time, including in 2019 and 2018, and will likely continue to affect our gross profit percentage in 2020 and beyond. However, whether this adverse mix impact will result in a decline of our gross profit percentage in any given year will depend on the extent to which they are, or are not, offset by positive impacts to gross profit margin during such year. Downward pressure on sales prices, changes in the volume of our orders, and an inability to pass higher product costs on to customers could also cause our gross profit percentage to fluctuate or decline. We can experience downward pressure on sales prices as a result of deflation, pressure from customers to reduce costs, or increased competition. Reductions in our volume of purchases can adversely impact gross profit by reducing supplier volume allowances. We may not be able to pass rising product costs to customers if those customers have ready product or supplier alternatives in the marketplace.
Our operating and administrative expenses could grow more rapidly than net sales which could result in failure to achieve our goals related to leveraging revenue growth into higher net earnings. Over time, we have generally experienced an increase in our operating and administrative expenses, including costs related to payroll, occupancy, freight, and information technology, among others, as our net sales have grown. However, historically, a portion of these expenses has not increased at the same rates as net sales, allowing us to leverage our growth and sustain or expand our operating profit margins. There are various scenarios where we may not be able to continue to achieve this leverage as we have been able to do in the past. For instance, it is typical that when demand declines, most commonly from cyclical factors (though it could be due to customer losses or some other company-specific event), our operating and administrative expenses do not fall as quickly as net sales. It is also possible that in the future we will elect to make investments in operating and administrative expenses that would result in costs growing faster than net sales. In addition, market variables, such as labor rates, energy costs, and legal costs, could move in such a way as to cause us to not be able to manage our operating and administrative expenses in a way that would enable us to leverage our revenue growth into higher net earnings. Should any of these scenarios, or a combination of them, occur in the future, it is possible that our operating and pre-tax profit margins could decline even if we are able to grow revenue.
Our competitive advantage in our industrial vending business could be eliminated and the loss of key suppliers of equipment and services for that business could be disruptive and could result in failure to deploy devices. We believe we have a competitive advantage in industrial vending due to our vending hardware and software, our local branch presence (allowing us to service devices more rapidly), our 'vendible' product depth, and, in North America, our distribution strength. These advantages have developed over time; however, other competitors could respond to our expanding industrial vending business with highly competitive platforms of their own. Such competition could negatively impact our ability to expand our industrial vending business or negatively impact the economics of that business. In addition, we currently rely on a limited number of suppliers for the vending devices used in, and certain software and services needed to operate, our industrial vending business. While these devices, software, and services can be obtained from other sources, loss of our current suppliers could be disruptive and could result in us failing to meet our goals related to the number of devices we are able to deploy in the next twelve to eighteen months.
The ability to identify new products and product lines, and integrate them into our selling locations and distribution network, may impact our ability to compete, our ability to generate additional sales, and our profit margins. Our success depends in part on our ability to develop product expertise at the selling location level and identify future products and product lines that complement existing products and product lines and that respond to our customers' needs. We may not be able to compete effectively unless our product selection keeps up with trends in the markets in which we compete or trends in new products. In addition, our ability to integrate new products and product lines into our branches and distribution network could impact sales and profit margins.
Our ability to successfully attract and retain qualified personnel to staff our selling locations could impact labor costs, sales at existing selling locations, and the successful execution of our growth drivers. Our success depends in part on our ability to attract, motivate, and retain a sufficient number of qualified employees, including inside and outside branch associates, Onsite managers, national account sales representatives, and support personnel, who understand and appreciate our culture and are able to adequately represent this culture to our customers. Qualified individuals of the requisite caliber and number needed to fill these positions may be in short supply in some areas, and the turnover rate in the industry is high, particularly for less tenured employees. If we are unable to hire and retain personnel capable of consistently providing a high level of customer
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service, as demonstrated by their enthusiasm for our culture and product knowledge, our sales could be materially adversely affected. Additionally, competition for qualified employees could require us to pay higher wages to attract a sufficient number of employees. An inability to recruit and retain a sufficient number of qualified individuals in the future may also delay the planned expansion of our various selling channels.
Our inability to attract or transition key executive officers may divert the attention of other members of our senior leadership and adversely impact our existing operations. Our success depends on the efforts and abilities of our key executive officers and senior leadership. In the event of voluntary or involuntary vacancies in our executive team in the future, the extent to which there is disruption in the oversight and/or leadership of our business will depend on our ability to either transition internal, talented individuals or recruit suitable replacements to serve in these roles. In addition, difficulties in smoothly implementing any transition to new members of our executive team, or recruiting suitable replacements, could divert the attention of other members of our senior leadership team from our existing operations.
We may not be able to compete effectively against traditional or non-traditional competitors, which could cause us to lose market share or erode our gross and/or operating income profit and/or percentage. The industrial, construction, and maintenance supply industry, although slowly consolidating, still remains a large, fragmented, and highly competitive industry. Our current or future competitors may include companies with similar or greater market presence, name recognition, and financial, marketing, technological, and other resources, and we believe they will continue to challenge us with their product selection, financial resources, technological advancements, and services. Increased competition from brick-and-mortar retailers could cause us to lose market share or reduce our prices or increase our spending. Similarly, the emergence of on-line retailers, whether as extensions of our traditional competition or in the form of major, non-traditional competitors, could result in easier and quicker price discovery and the adoption of aggressive pricing strategies and sales methods. These pressures could have the effect of eroding our gross and/or operating income profit and/or percentage over time.
Our business is subject to a wide array of operating laws and regulations in every jurisdiction where we operate. Compliance with these laws and regulations increases the cost of doing business and failure to comply could result in the imposition of fines or penalties and the termination of contracts. We are subject to a variety of laws and regulations including without limitation; import and export requirements, anti-bribery and corruption laws, product compliance laws, environmental laws, foreign exchange controls and cash repatriation restrictions, advertising regulations, data privacy and cyber security requirements, regulations on suppliers regarding the sources of supplies or products, labor and employment laws, and anti-competition regulations. In addition, as a supplier to federal, state, and local government agencies, we must comply with certain laws and regulations relating specifically to the formation, administration, and performance of our governmental contracts. We are also subject to governmental audits and inquiries in the normal course of business. Ongoing audit activity and changes to the legal and regulatory environments could increase the cost of doing business, and such costs may increase in the future as a result of changes in these laws and regulations or in their interpretation. While we have implemented policies and procedures designed to facilitate compliance with these laws and regulations, there can be no assurance that our employees, contractors, or agents will not violate such laws and regulations, or our policies. Any such violations could result in the imposition of fines and penalties, damage to our reputation, and, in the case of laws and regulations relating specifically to governmental contracts, the loss of those contracts.
Tax laws and regulations require compliance efforts that can increase our cost of doing business and changes to these laws and regulations could impact financial results. We are subject to a variety of tax laws and regulations in the jurisdictions in which we operate. Maintaining compliance with these laws can increase our cost of doing business and failure to comply could result in audits or the imposition of fines or penalties. Further, our future effective tax rates in any of these jurisdictions could be affected, positively or negatively, by changing tax priorities, changes in statutory rates, or changes in tax laws or the interpretation thereof. The most significant recent example of this is the comprehensive tax legislation commonly referred to as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the 'Tax Act'), which was enacted in the United States in December 2017. The Tax Act reduced the U.S. federal corporate income tax rate, included a one-time tax on accumulated offshore earnings, eliminated certain deductions for which we had previously qualified, requires a current inclusion in U.S. federal income of certain earnings of controlled foreign corporations, allows a domestic corporation an immediate deduction in U.S. taxable income for a portion of its foreign-derived intangible income, and introduced a base erosion anti-abuse tax. There is also a longer term risk that the beneficial aspects of the Tax Act on our business could be reversed depending on changes in future fiscal or political priorities.
We may not be successful in integrating acquisitions and achieving intended benefits and synergies. We have completed several acquisitions of businesses in recent years. We expect to continue to pursue strategic acquisitions that we believe will either expand or complement our business in new or existing markets or further enhance the value and offerings we are able to provide to our existing or future potential customers. Acquisitions involve numerous risks and challenges, including, among others, a risk of potential loss of key employees of an acquired business, inability to achieve identified operating and financial synergies anticipated to result from an acquisition, diversion of our capital and our management's attention from other business issues, and risks related to the integration of the acquired business including unanticipated changes in our business, our industry, or general economic conditions that affect the assumptions underlying the acquisition. Any one or more of these factors could cause us to not realize the benefits anticipated to result from the acquisitions.
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Industry and General Economic Risks
A downturn in the economy or in the principal markets served by us and other factors may affect customer spending, which could harm our operating results. In general, our sales represent spending on discretionary items or consumption needs by our customers. This spending is affected by many factors, including, among others:
• | general business conditions, |
• | business conditions in our principal markets, |
• | interest rates, |
• | inflation, |
• | liquidity in credit markets, |
• | taxation, |
• | government regulations and actions, including around trade policy, |
• | energy and fuel prices and electrical power rates, |
• | unemployment trends, |
• | terrorist attacks and acts of war, |
• | weather conditions, and |
• | other matters that influence customer confidence and spending. |
A downturn in either the national or local economy where we operate, or in the principal markets served by us, or changes in any of the other factors described above, could negatively impact sales at our in-market locations, sales through our other selling channels, and the level of profitability of those in-market locations and other selling channels.
This risk was most recently demonstrated in 2019. After experiencing strong demand in 2017 and 2018 that produced double-digit sales growth for Fastenal, our growth slowed into the mid-single digits beginning in the second quarter of 2019. During that period, many of our customers involved in the manufacture of components, capital goods, and heavy equipment were impacted by higher costs and reduced confidence stemming from global trade uncertainty. When this happens, these customers tend to cut back on spending which yields a slowdown in our business with these customers.
Trade policies could make sourcing product from overseas more difficult and/or more costly, and could adversely impact our gross and/or operating profit percentage. We source a significant amount of the products we sell from outside of the United States, primarily Asia. We have made significant structural investments over time to be able to source both directly from Asia through our wholly-owned, Asia-based subsidiary, FASTCO Trading Co., Ltd. and indirectly from suppliers that procure product from international sources. This was initially necessary due to the absence of significant domestic fastener production, but over time we have expanded our non-fastener sourcing as well, and at this time it may be difficult to adjust our sourcing in the short term. In light of this, changes in trade policies could affect our sourcing operations, our ability to secure sufficient product to serve our customers and/or impact the cost or price of our products, with potentially adverse impacts on our gross and operating profit percentages and financial results. These risks are particularly acute currently in light of an increase in tariffs, either directly on products we trade in or indirectly on industries we sell into, between the United States and its trading partners, as well as greater uncertainty around regional and global trade agreements generally. China and Canada represent significant sources of product and Canada and Mexico represent our two largest markets in terms of revenue generation after the United States, and each of these countries are currently and/or have been previously subject to disruption due to historical trade policies. There can be no assurances that these disruptions will not continue or increase in the future, with the previously mentioned countries or additional countries with which we do business. The degree to which these changes in the global marketplace affect our financial results will be influenced by the specific details of the changes in trade policies, their timing and duration, and our effectiveness in deploying tools to address these issues. In particular, the tariffs levied on most of our products originating in China have caused us to review and implement potential solutions to the increase in our product costs with our customers. The first of these actions occurred on September 24, 2018, but since that date there have been additional actions to both increase the number of products covered by tariffs and to raise the tariff rates themselves. We have taken actions, including increasing product prices, re-sourcing product, and seeking exemptions for certain products, that have been mostly effective at offsetting the impacts of tariffs on our financial results. The effectiveness of these strategies in response to any future tariffs is unknown.
Trade policies could have an adverse impact on industries we sell into, negatively affecting our net sales and profits. Considerable political uncertainty in the United States may result in changes to trade policies that could create disruption in geographic demand trends. To the extent that the United States government enacts tariffs or taxes that penalize imports to benefit domestic manufacturing, we may improve our domestic sales which may have an overall positive impact on us given that 86% of our total revenue is derived from the United States. However, any such action may adversely impact our foreign sales, which may, in turn, adversely impact our ability to expand our overseas branches in the future. In addition, should a foreign government engage in its own trade protection, independent of or in response to another nation's action, it could have a negative direct or, more likely, indirect effect on our net sales and profits by reducing demand for exports by United States companies. Such changes could adversely affect our financial results.
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Products manufactured in foreign countries may cease to be available for reasons unrelated to trade policy, which could adversely affect our inventory levels and operating results. We obtain certain of our products, and our suppliers obtain certain of their products, from China, Taiwan, South Korea, Mexico, and other foreign countries. Our suppliers could discontinue selling products manufactured in foreign countries at any time for reasons that may or may not be in our control or our suppliers' control, including foreign government regulations, domestic government regulations, political unrest, war, disruption or delays in shipments, or changes in local economic conditions. Additionally, the shipment of goods from foreign countries could be delayed by container shipping companies encountering financial or other difficulties. Our operating results and inventory levels could suffer if we are unable to promptly replace a supplier or shipper who is unwilling or unable to satisfy our requirements with another supplier or shipper providing equally appealing products and services.
Changes in energy costs and the cost of raw materials used in our products could impact our net sales, cost of sales, gross profit percentage, distribution expenses, and occupancy expenses, which may result in lower operating income. Costs of raw materials used in our products (e.g., steel) and energy costs can fluctuate significantly over time. Increases in these costs result in increased production costs for our suppliers. These suppliers typically look to pass their increased costs along to us through price increases. The fuel costs of our distribution and branch operations have fluctuated as well. While we typically try to pass higher supplier prices and fuel costs through to our customers or to modify our activities to mitigate the impact, we may not be successful, particularly if supplier prices or fuel costs rise rapidly. Failure to fully pass any such increased prices and costs through to our customers or to modify our activities to mitigate the impact would have an adverse effect on our operating income. While increases in the cost of fuel or raw materials could be damaging to us, decreases in those costs, particularly if severe, could also adversely impact us by creating deflation in selling prices, which could cause our gross profit to decline, or by negatively impacting customers in certain industries, which could cause our sales to those customers to decline.
The industrial, construction, and maintenance supply industry is consolidating, which could cause it to become more competitive and could negatively impact our market share, gross profit, and operating income. The industrial, construction, and maintenance supply industry in North America is consolidating. This consolidation is being driven by customer needs and supplier capabilities, which could cause the industry to become more competitive as greater economies of scale are achieved by suppliers, or as competitors with new business models are willing and able to operate with lower gross profit on select products. Customers are increasingly aware of the total costs of fulfillment and of the need to have consistent sources of supply at multiple locations. We believe these customer needs could result in fewer suppliers as the remaining suppliers become larger and capable of being a consistent source of supply.
There can be no assurance we will be able in the future to take effective advantage of the trend toward consolidation. The trend in our industry toward consolidation could make it more difficult for us to maintain our current gross profit and operating income. Furthermore, as our industrial customers face increased foreign competition, and potentially lose business to foreign competitors or shift their operations overseas in an effort to reduce expenses, we may face increased difficulty in growing and maintaining our market share.
Inclement weather and other disruptions to the transportation network could adversely impact our distribution system and demand for our products. Our ability to provide efficient distribution of core business products to our branch network is an integral component of our overall business strategy. Disruptions at distribution centers or shipping ports may affect our ability to both maintain core products in inventory and deliver products to our customers on a timely basis, which may in turn adversely affect our results of operations. In addition, severe weather conditions could adversely affect demand for our products in particularly hard hit regions. In August and September 2017, we experienced temporary disruptions in our distribution network in our Gulf Coast, Florida, Georgia, and Puerto Rico regions due to hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria. These storms adversely impacted our product demand and revenues, as well as our gross and operating profit percentages, due to an increase in demand for storm-related products which have a lower gross profit margin, and inefficiencies in delivery services in the immediate aftermath of the storms. In September 2018, hurricane Florence had a similar impact in our Carolinas region, and in the first quarter of 2019, severe winter weather had a similar impact across the northern part of the United States.
Our current estimates of total market potential as well as the market potential of our business strategies could be incorrect. We believe we have a significant opportunity for growth based on our belief that North American market demand for the products we sell is estimated to exceed $140 billion. This figure is not derived from an independent organization or data source that aggregates and publishes widely agreed-upon demand and market share statistics. Instead, we have identified this figure based on our own experience in the marketplace for our products and by evaluating estimates from other sources. If we have overestimated the size of our market, and in doing so, underestimated our current share of it, the size of our opportunity for growth may not be as significant as we currently believe. Similarly, we have provided estimates of the opportunities we have with some of our specific growth strategies, such as industrial vending and Onsite locations. We believe the potential market opportunity for industrial vending is approximately 1.7 million devices and we have identified over 15,000 customer locations with the potential to implement our Onsite service model. Similar to the case for total market size, we use our own experience and data to arrive at the size of these potential opportunities and not independent sources. These estimates are based on our business model today, and the introduction or expansion of other business strategies, such as on-line retailing, could cause them to change. In addition, the market potential of a particular business strategy may vary from expectations due to a change in the
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marketplace (such as changes in customer concentration or needs), a change in the nature of that business strategy, or weaker than anticipated acceptance by customers of that business strategy. We cannot guarantee that our market potential estimates are accurate or that we will ultimately decide to expand our industrial vending or Onsite service models as we anticipate to reach the full market opportunity.
We are exposed to foreign currency exchange rate risk, and changes in foreign exchange rates could increase the cost of purchasing products and impact our foreign sales. Because the functional currency related to most of our foreign operations is the applicable local currency, we are exposed to foreign currency exchange rate risk arising from transactions in the normal course of business. Fluctuations in the relative strength of foreign economies and their related currencies could adversely impact our ability to procure products overseas at competitive prices and our foreign sales. Historically, our primary exchange rate exposure has been with the Canadian dollar. There can be no assurance that currency exchange rate fluctuations with the Canadian dollar and other foreign currencies will not adversely affect our results of operations, financial condition, and cash flows. While the use of currency hedging instruments may provide us with protection from adverse fluctuations in currency exchange rates, we are not currently using these instruments and we have not historically hedged this exposure. If we decide to do so in the future, we could potentially forego the benefits that might result from favorable fluctuations in currency exchange rates.
Tight credit markets could impact our ability to obtain financing on reasonable terms or increase the cost of existing or future financing and interest rate fluctuations could adversely impact our results. As of December 31, 2019, we had $345.0 of outstanding debt obligations, including loans outstanding under our revolving credit facility (the 'Credit Facility') of $210.0 and senior unsecured promissory notes issued under our master note agreement (the 'Master Note Agreement') in the aggregate principal amount of $135.0. Loans under the Credit Facility bear interest at a rate per annum based on the London Interbank Offered Rate ('LIBOR') and mature on November 30, 2023. The notes issued under our Master Note Agreement consist of three series. The first is in an aggregate principal amount of $40.0, bears interest at a fixed rate of 2.00% per annum, and is due and payable on July 20, 2021. The second is in an aggregate principal amount of $35.0, bears interest at a fixed rate of 2.45% per annum, and is due and payable on July 20, 2022. The third is in an aggregate principal amount of $60.0, bears interest at a fixed rate of 3.22% per annum, and is due and payable on March 1, 2024. Our aggregate borrowing capacity under the Credit Facility is $700.0. Our aggregate borrowing capacity under the Master Note Agreement is $600.0; however, none of the institutional investors that are parties to that agreement are committed to purchase notes thereunder.
During periods of volatility and disruption in the United States credit markets, financing may become more costly and more difficult to obtain. Although the credit market turmoil of 2008 and 2009 did not have a significant adverse impact on our liquidity or borrowing costs given our low level of indebtedness at that time, the availability of funds tightened and credit spreads on corporate debt increased. Our indebtedness has increased since 2009 and we have the capacity under our Credit Facility and Master Note Agreement to increase borrowings in the future. If credit market volatility were to return, the cost of servicing our existing debt could increase due to the LIBOR-based interest rate provided for under our Credit Facility. In addition, borrowing additional amounts to finance stock purchases, dividends, capital expenditures, and other liquidity needs or to refinance our existing indebtedness could be difficult and the cost of doing so could be high.
Investment Risk
There can be no assurance that our stock price will continue to reflect the current multiple of earnings over time. Stock prices, including ours, are commonly thought to be a function of earnings multiplied by a multiple. Historically, investors have given our earnings a higher multiple, or premium, than is typical of the broader industrial sector of which we are typically associated. We believe we have earned this premium by virtue of a long history of superior growth, profitability, and returns. However, to the extent that we fail to successfully execute our growth strategies and/or poorly navigate the risks that surround our business, including those described throughout this section, or to the extent our industry (industrial distribution, or industrial stocks in general) loses favor in the marketplace, there can be no assurance that investors will continue to afford a premium multiple to our earnings which could adversely affect our stock price.
We cannot provide any guaranty of future dividend payments or that we will continue to purchase shares of our common stock pursuant to our share purchase program. Although our board of directors has historically authorized the payment of quarterly cash dividends on our common stock and indicated an intention to do so in the future, there are no assurances that we will continue to pay dividends in the future or continue to increase dividends at historic rates. In addition, although our board of directors has authorized share purchase programs and we purchased shares in 2018, 2017, and prior years through these programs, we may discontinue doing so at any time. Any decision to continue to pay quarterly dividends on our common stock, to increase those dividends, or to purchase our common stock in the future will be based upon our financial condition and results of operations, the price of our common stock, credit conditions, and such other factors as are deemed relevant by our board of directors.
ITEM 1B. | UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS |
None.
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ITEM 2. | PROPERTIES |
Note – Information in this section is as of December 31, 2019, unless otherwise noted.
We own the following facilities in Winona, Minnesota:
Purpose | Tote Locations (ASRS)(1) | Approximate Square Feet | ||||
Distribution center and home office (2) | 246,000 | 259,000 | ||||
Manufacturing facility | 100,000 | |||||
Computer support center | 13,000 | |||||
Winona branch | 15,000 | |||||
Winona product support facility | 55,000 | |||||
Rack and shelving storage | 42,000 | |||||
Multi-building complex which houses certain operations of the distribution group, the support services group, and the home office support group | 30,000 | |||||
Customer Experience Center | 100,000 | |||||
(1) Total number of tote locations for small parts storage included in facilities with an ASRS.
(2) During 2018, we acquired land for future expansion of our home office.
We own the following facilities, excluding selling locations, outside of Winona, Minnesota:
Purpose | Location | Tote Locations (ASRS)(1) | Approximate Square Feet | |||
Distribution center | Indianapolis, Indiana | 547,000 | (2) | 1,039,000 | ||
Manufacturing facility | Indianapolis, Indiana | 220,000 | ||||
Distribution center | Akron, Ohio | 103,000 | 182,000 | |||
Distribution center | Scranton, Pennsylvania | 104,000 | 189,000 | |||
Distribution center | Denton, Texas | 41,000 | (3) | 176,000 | ||
Manufacturing facility (built in 2019) | Houston, Texas | 120,000 | ||||
Distribution center | Atlanta, Georgia | 77,000 | 198,000 | |||
Distribution center (built in 2019) | Seattle, Washington | 140,000 | 246,000 | |||
Distribution center and manufacturing facility | Modesto, California | 69,000 | 328,000 | |||
Distribution center | High Point, North Carolina | 132,000 | 301,000 | |||
Distribution center (4) | High Point, North Carolina | — | 350,000 | |||
Distribution center | Kansas City, Kansas | 170,000 | 468,000 | |||
Distribution center (5) | Kitchener, Ontario, Canada | 128,000 | 142,000 | |||
Distribution center (built in 2019) | Jackson, Mississippi | — | 269,000 | |||
Manufacturing facility | Wallingford, Connecticut | 187,000 | ||||
Manufacturing facility | Rockford, Illinois | 100,000 | ||||
Local re-distribution center and manufacturing facility | Johor, Malaysia | 27,000 | ||||
(1) Total number of tote locations for small parts storage included in facilities with an ASRS.
(2) This property contains an ASRS with capacity of 52,000 pallet locations, in addition to the 547,000 tote locations for small parts.
(3) This facility contains an ASRS with capacity of 14,000 pallet locations, in addition to the 41,000 tote locations for small parts.
(4) In late December 2018, we purchased an additional distribution center in High Point, North Carolina with approximately 750,000 total square feet. Approximately 400,000 square feet will continue to be leased by the previous owner for three years. We began utilizing approximately 350,000 square feet for distribution activities in early 2019.
(5) In late 2019, we began an expansion project at our Kitchener, Ontario, Canada distribution center. This project will add approximately 80,000 square feet of distribution capacity and is scheduled for completion in 2020.
In addition, we own 173 buildings that house our in-market locations in various cities throughout North America.
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All other buildings we occupy are leased. Leased branches range from approximately 3,000 to 10,000 square feet, with lease terms of up to 60 months (most initial lease terms are for 36 to 48 months). In addition to our leased branch locations, we also lease the following facilities:
Purpose | Location | Approximate Square Feet | Lease Expiration Date | Remaining Lease Renewal Options | ||||
Distribution center | Salt Lake City, Utah | 74,000 | July 2022 | One | ||||
Distribution center | Salt Lake City, Utah | 56,000 | July 2022 | One | ||||
Distribution center and packaging facility | Salt Lake City, Utah | 26,000 | July 2022 | One | ||||
Distribution center and manufacturing facility | Edmonton, Alberta, Canada | 45,000 | July 2020 | None | ||||
Distribution center | Apodaca, Nuevo Leon, Mexico | 46,000 | March 2020 | Three | ||||
Local re-distribution center and manufacturing facility | Modrice, Czech Republic | 17,000 | April 2022 | None | ||||
We currently own land for future distribution center expansion and development. If economic conditions are suitable in the future, we will consider purchasing branch locations to house our older branches. It is anticipated the majority of new branch locations will continue to be leased. It is our policy to negotiate relatively short lease terms to facilitate relocation of particular branch operations, when desirable. Our experience has been that there is sufficient space suitable for our needs and available for leasing.
ITEM 3. | LEGAL PROCEEDINGS |
A description of our legal proceedings, if any, is contained in Note 10 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.
ITEM 4. | MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES |
Not applicable.
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PART II
ITEM 5. | MARKET FOR REGISTRANT'S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS, AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES |
Common Stock Data
Dollar amounts in this section are stated in whole numbers.
Our shares are traded on The Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol 'FAST'. As of January 22, 2020, there were approximately 1,000 record holders of our common stock, which includes nominees or broker dealers holding stock on behalf of an estimated 275,000 beneficial owners.
Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
The table below sets forth information regarding purchases of our common stock during each of the last three months of 2019:
(a) | (b) | (c) | (d) | ||||||
Period | Total Number of Shares Purchased | Average Price Paid per Share | Total Number of Shares Purchased as Part of Publicly Announced Plans or Programs (1) | Maximum Number (or Approximate Dollar Value) of Shares that May Yet Be Purchased Under the Plans or Programs (1) | |||||
October 1-31, 2019 | 0 | — | 0 | 4,800,000 | |||||
November 1-30, 2019 | 0 | — | 0 | 4,800,000 | |||||
December 1-31, 2019 | 0 | — | 0 | 4,800,000 | |||||
Total | 0 | — | 0 | 4,800,000 | |||||
(1) On July 11, 2017, our board of directors established a new authorization for us to repurchase up to 10,000,000 shares of our common stock. The repurchase program has no expiration date. As of December 31, 2019, we had remaining authority to repurchase 4,800,000 shares under this authorization.
Purchases of shares of our common stock throughout 2019 are described later in this Form 10-K under the heading 'Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations'.
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Fastenal Company Common Stock Comparative Performance Graph
Set forth below is a graph comparing, for the five years ended December 31, 2019, the yearly cumulative total shareholder return on our common stock with the yearly cumulative total shareholder return of the S&P 500 Index and the Dow Jones US Industrial Suppliers Index.
The comparison of total shareholder returns in the performance graph assumes that $100 was invested on December 31, 2014 in Fastenal Company, the S&P 500 Index, and the Dow Jones US Industrial Suppliers Index, and that dividends were reinvested when and as paid.
Comparison of Five-Year Cumulative Total Return Among Fastenal Company, the S&P 500 Index, and the Dow Jones US Industrial Suppliers Index
2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | |||||||
Fastenal Company | $ | 100.00 | 88.19 | 104.51 | 125.07 | 123.11 | 178.55 | |||||
S&P 500 Index | 100.00 | 101.38 | 113.51 | 138.29 | 132.23 | 173.86 | ||||||
Dow Jones US Industrial Suppliers Index | 100.00 | 81.52 | 100.14 | 104.41 | 101.89 | 134.72 | ||||||
Note - The graph and index table above were obtained from Zachs SEC Compliance Services Group.
ITEM 6. | SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA |
Incorporated herein by reference is Ten-Year Selected Financial Data on pages 4 and 5 of Fastenal's 2019 Annual Report to Shareholders of which this Form 10-K forms a part, a portion of which is filed as Exhibit 13 to this annual report on
Form 10-K.
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ITEM 7. | MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS |
The following is management's discussion and analysis of certain significant factors which have affected our financial position and operating results during the periods included in the accompanying consolidated financial statements.
Business and Operational Overview
Fastenal is a North American leader in the wholesale distribution of industrial and construction supplies. We distribute these supplies through a network of over 3,200 in-market locations. Most of our customers are in the manufacturing and non-residential construction markets. The manufacturing market includes both OEM and MRO customers. The non-residential construction market includes general, electrical, plumbing, sheet metal, and road contractors. Other users of our products include farmers, truckers, railroads, oil exploration companies, oil production and refinement companies, mining companies, federal, state, and local governmental entities, schools, and certain retail trades. Geographically, our branches, Onsite locations, and customers are primarily located in North America.
It is helpful to appreciate several aspects of our marketplace: (1) It's big. We estimate the North American marketplace for industrial supplies is in excess of $140 billion per year (and we have expanded beyond North America) and no company has a significant portion of this market. (2) Many of the products we sell are individually inexpensive, but the cost and time to manage, procure, and transport these products can be quite meaningful. (3) Purchasing professionals often expend disproportionate effort managing the high SKU count of low-volume, low value MRO supplies which is better allocated to their higher volume, higher value OEM supplies. (4) Many customers prefer to reduce their number of suppliers to simplify their business, while also utilizing various technologies and models (including our local branches when they need something quickly or unexpectedly) to improve availability and reduce waste. (5) We believe the markets are efficient. To us, this means we can grow our market share if we provide the greatest value to our customer.
Our approach to addressing these aspects of our marketplace is captured in our motto Growth through Customer Service. The concept of growth is simple: find more customers every day and increase our activity with them. However, execution is hard work. First, we recruit service-minded individuals to support our customers and their business. Second, we operate in a decentralized fashion to help identify the greatest value for our customers. Third, we have a great team behind our customer-facing resources to operate efficiently and to help identify new business solutions. Fourth, we strive to generate strong profits, which produce the cash flow necessary to fund our growth and to support the needs of our customers. Lastly, we identify drivers that allow us to get closer to our customers and gain market share.
We believe our ability to grow is amplified if we can serve our customers at the closest economic point of contact. At one point, the closest economic point of contact was the local branch. Today, in some cases, we have moved the branch inside the customer's facility. We also are frequently positioned right at the point of consumption within customers' facilities through our industrial vending or FMI capabilities. Therefore, our focus centers on understanding our customers' day, their opportunities, and their obstacles. By doing these things every day, Fastenal remains a growth-centric organization.
Executive Overview
Net sales increased $368.6, or 7.4%, in 2019 relative to 2018. Our gross profit as a percentage of net sales declined to 47.2% in 2019 from 48.3% in 2018. Our operating income as a percentage of net sales declined to 19.8% in 2019 from 20.1% in 2018.
Our net earnings in 2019 were $790.9, an increase of 5.2% when compared to 2018. Our diluted net earnings per share were $1.38 in 2019 compared to $1.31 in 2018, an increase of 5.2%. Discrete tax items benefited net earnings by $7.1 in 2018.
We continued to focus on our growth drivers in 2019. Daily sales to our national account customers (defined as customer accounts with a multi-site contract) grew 11.9% in the period. Additionally, we signed 362 new Onsite customer locations (defined as dedicated sales and service provided from within, or in close proximity to, the customer's facility) and 21,857 new industrial vending devices. We experienced sales growth in the mid-teens through both our vending devices and our Onsite locations (excluding sales transferred from a branch).
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The table below summarizes our total employee headcount, our investments in in-market locations (defined as the sum of the total number of public branch locations and the total number of active Onsite locations), and industrial vending devices at the end of the periods presented and the percentage change compared to the end of the prior period.
Q4 2019 | Q4 2018 | Twelve-month % Change | ||||||
In-market locations - absolute employee headcount | 13,977 | 14,015 | -0.3 | % | ||||
Total absolute employee headcount | 21,948 | 21,644 | 1.4 | % | ||||
Number of public branch locations | 2,114 | 2,227 | -5.1 | % | ||||
Number of active Onsite locations | 1,114 | 894 | 24.6 | % | ||||
Number of in-market locations | 3,228 | 3,121 | 3.4 | % | ||||
Industrial vending devices (installed count) (1) | 89,937 | 81,137 | 10.8 | % | ||||
Ratio of industrial vending devices to in-market locations | 28:1 | 26:1 | ||||||
(1) This number primarily represents devices which principally dispense product and produce product revenues, and excludes approximately 15,000 devices that are part of a locker lease program where the devices are principally used for the check-in/check-out of equipment.
During the last twelve months, we reduced our absolute employee headcount by 38 people in our in-market locations and increased by 304 people in total. The reduction in our absolute employee headcount in our in-market locations reflects actions taken by leadership in our public branches over the past couple of quarters to control expenses in response to weaker demand, which was only partly offset by increases to support growth in our number of Onsite locations. The increase in our total absolute employee headcount is mostly from additions we have made to support customer acquisition, implementation, and growth in the field, particularly as it relates to our growth drivers and to support general corporate and hub functions.
We opened twelve branches and closed 125 branches, net of conversions, in 2019. We activated 312 Onsite locations and closed 92, net of conversions, in 2019. The number of closings reflects both normal churn in our business, whether due to exiting customer relationships, the shutting or relocation of a customer facility, or a customer decision, as well as a review of certain underperforming locations. Our in-market network forms the foundation of our business strategy, and we will continue to open or close locations as is deemed necessary to sustain and improve our network, support our growth drivers, and manage our operating expenses.
Results of Operations
The following sets forth consolidated statements of earnings information (as a percentage of net sales) for the periods ended December 31:
2019 | 2018 | 2017 | |||||||
Net sales | 100.0 | % | 100.0 | % | 100.0 | % | |||
Gross profit | 47.2 | % | 48.3 | % | 49.3 | % | |||
Operating and administrative expenses | 27.4 | % | 28.2 | % | 29.2 | % | |||
Gain on sale of property and equipment | 0.0 | % | 0.0 | % | 0.0 | % | |||
Operating income | 19.8 | % | 20.1 | % | 20.1 | % | |||
Net interest expense | -0.3 | % | -0.3 | % | -0.2 | % | |||
Earnings before income taxes | 19.6 | % | 19.9 | % | 19.9 | % | |||
Note – Amounts may not foot due to rounding difference. | |||||||||
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Net Sales
Note – Daily sales are defined as the total net sales for the period divided by the number of business days (in the United States) in the period. The table below sets forth net sales and daily sales for the periods ended December 31, and changes in such sales from the prior period to the more recent period:
2019 | 2018 | 2017 | |||||||
Net sales | $ | 5,333.7 | 4,965.1 | 4,390.5 | |||||
Percentage change | 7.4 | % | 13.1 | % | 10.8 | % | |||
Business days | 254 | 254 | 254 | ||||||
Daily sales | $ | 21.0 | 19.5 | 17.3 | |||||
Percentage change | 7.4 | % | 13.1 | % | 11.3 | % | |||
Daily sales impact of currency fluctuations | -0.3 | % | 0.1 | % | 0.1 | % | |||
Daily sales impact of acquisitions | 0.1 | % | 0.4 | % | 1.0 | % | |||
The increases in net sales noted above for both 2019 and 2018 were a result of higher unit sales and, to a lesser degree, higher prices. Higher product prices were realized throughout 2019 and 2018 as a result of actions (beginning initially in late 2017) taken to offset increases in product costs, and we believe these increases contributed 0.9% to 1.0% and 0.7% to 0.8% to sales growth during 2019 and 2018, respectively. The increase in net sales for 2017 was driven primarily by higher unit sales. Price increases were not a material factor in 2017.
The higher unit sales in 2019 and 2018 resulted primarily from two sources. The first is higher underlying market demand, which we believe is reflected in a number of metrics. For instance, the U.S. Purchasing Managers Index, published by the Institute for Supply Chain Management, averaged 51.2 in 2019 and 58.8 in 2018. Readings above 50 are indicative of growing demand, and we believe these levels are consistent with the sales growth rates we experienced in the respective periods. In addition, U.S. Industrial Production, which is published by the Federal Reserve, increased 0.8% in 2019 and increased 3.9% in 2018. We believe U.S. Industrial Production is a good proxy for the state of our marketplace and that the growth in this metric is consistent with the sales growth rates we experienced in the respective periods. This was reflected as well in daily sales of fasteners, our most cyclical product line, which grew 5.5% and 11.2% in 2019 and 2018, respectively. We also experienced growth in sales to 75 of our top 100 customers in 2019, which compares to growth in sales to 84 of our top 100 customers in 2018.
Another explanation for our results is that while underlying demand throughout 2018 was stable at high levels, underlying demand in 2019 began strong but weakened throughout the year. For instance, the U.S. Purchasing Managers Index averaged 55.4 in the first quarter of 2019 but averaged 47.9 in the fourth quarter of 2019. In addition, U.S. Industrial Production increased 2.9% in the first quarter of 2019 but decreased 0.9% in the fourth quarter of 2019. The slowing in these metrics from the start to the end of 2019 mirrors the slowing growth we experienced in our unit sales over the same period.
A relatively greater contributor to our growth in 2019 was the success of our growth initiatives. We signed 21,857 industrial vending devices during 2019. While this represented a slight decrease in signings of 1.0% from 2018, it also contributed to growth in our installed base to 89,937 vending devices at the end of 2019, an increase of 10.8% over 2018. Growth in our installed base was primarily responsible for sales growth through our vending devices in the mid-teens during 2019. We signed 362 new Onsite locations in 2019, an increase of 7.7% over 2018, and had 1,114 active sites on December 31, 2019, an increase of 24.6% over December 31, 2018. Growth in our number of active sites was primarily responsible for sales growth through our Onsites in the mid-teens during 2019. The contribution of new national account contracts and strong penetration of existing national account customers resulted in daily sales from our national account customers growing 11.9% in 2019 compared to 2018.
We signed 22,073 industrial vending devices during 2018, an increase of 14.0% over 2017. In addition to an increase in our installed base, we achieved a low-single digit increase in average sales per device. These variables combined to generate sales growth through our vending devices in excess of 20% in 2018. We signed 336 new Onsite locations in 2018, an increase of 24.4% over 2017, and had 894 active sites on December 31, 2018, an increase of 47.8% over December 31, 2017. We signed 152 new national account contracts in 2018. The contribution of these new contracts and strong penetration of existing national account customers resulted in daily sales from our national account customers growing 18.1% in 2018 compared to 2017.
We signed 19,355 industrial vending devices during 2017, an increase of 7.2% over 2016. In addition to an increase in our
installed base, we were also more efficient with the existing base, resulting in a modest increase in average sales per device and
a decrease in our device removals of 3.8%. Combined sales through our vending devices accelerated throughout 2017, finishing
with growth in the high teens. We signed 270 new Onsite locations in 2017, an increase of 53.4% over 2016, and had 605 active
sites on December 31, 2017, an increase of 50.9% over December 31, 2016. We signed 168 new national account contracts in
2017. The contribution of these new contracts and strong penetration of existing national account customers resulted in daily
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sales from our national account customers growing 14.5% in 2017 compared to 2016.
Sales by Product Line
The approximate mix of sales from fasteners, safety supplies, and all other product lines was as follows:
2019 | 2018 | 2017 | |||
Fasteners | 34.2% | 34.9% | 35.6% | ||
Safety supplies | 17.9% | 17.2% | 16.3% | ||
Other product lines | 47.9% | 47.9% | 48.1% | ||
The decrease in our fastener sales as a percentage of total sales arises from two factors. First, we believe non-fastener products represent a larger market opportunity than fasteners, and that we are relatively under-represented in this market. Over time, this has led to faster growth in the non-fastener product lines, a trend amplified by the growth of our industrial vending program through which we sell primarily non-fastener products. We believe this factor impacted each year shown and will continue to promote a lower mix of fasteners in our total sales over time. Second, a weak industrial production environment has a disproportionately negative effect on fastener sales, particularly OEM fasteners sales, relative to non-fastener sales (which relates more to plant operations than production). This weakness is more of a cyclical factor than a structural one, and as such was relevant in 2019, but not in 2018 or 2017 when a better economic environment at least partially mitigated the first factor discussed.
Annual Sales Changes, Sequential Trends, and End Market Performance
This section focuses on three distinct views of our business – annual sales changes by month, sequential trends, and end market performance. The first discussion regarding sales changes by month provides a good mechanical view of our business. The second discussion provides a framework for understanding the sequential trends (that is, comparing a month to the immediately preceding month, and also looking at the cumulative change from an earlier benchmark month) in our business. Finally, we believe the third discussion regarding end market performance provides insight into activities with our various types of customers.
Annual Sales Changes, by Month
During the months noted below, all of our selling locations, when combined, had daily sales growth rates of (compared to the same month in the preceding year):
Jan. | Feb. | Mar. | Apr. | May | June | July | Aug. | Sept. | Oct. | Nov. | Dec. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
2019 | 13.3 | % | 10.5 | % | 12.7 | % | 7.4 | % | 9.5 | % | 7.0 | % | 6.1 | % | 6.3 | % | 5.8 | % | 4.3 | % | 5.7 | % | 1.0 | % | |||||||||||
2018 | 12.0 | % | 14.8 | % | 13.1 | % | 13.4 | % | 12.5 | % | 13.5 | % | 12.0 | % | 13.7 | % | 13.5 | % | 12.4 | % | 12.3 | % | 14.5 | % | |||||||||||
2017 | 3.8 | % | 6.1 | % | 8.4 | % | 8.9 | % | 9.7 | % | 13.0 | % | 12.9 | % | 12.8 | % | 15.3 | % | 13.8 | % | 15.4 | % | 14.7 | % | |||||||||||
Sequential Trends
We find it helpful to think about the monthly sequential changes in our business using the analogy of climbing a stairway – This stairway has several predictable landings where there is a pause in the sequential gain (i.e. April, July, and October to December), but generally speaking, climbs from January to October. The October landing then establishes the benchmark for the start of the next year.
History has identified these landings in our business cycle. They generally relate to months where certain holidays impair business days and/or seasons impact certain end markets, particularly non-residential construction. The first landing centers on Easter and the Good Friday holiday that precedes it, which alternates between March and April (Good Friday occurred in April 2019, March 2018, and April 2017, and will fall in April in 2020), the second landing centers on July 4th, and the third landing centers on the approach of winter with its seasonal impact on primarily our non-residential construction business and with the Christmas/New Year holidays. The holidays we noted impact the trends because they either move from month-to-month or because they move around during the week.
The table below shows the pattern to the sequential change in our daily sales. The line labeled 'Benchmark' is an historical average of our sequential daily sales change for the trailing five year average (2014-2018). We believe this time frame serves to show the historical pattern and could serve as a benchmark for current performance. The '2019', '2018', and '2017' lines represent our actual sequential daily sales changes. The '19Delta', '18Delta', and '17Delta' lines indicate the difference between the 'Benchmark' and the actual results in the respective year.
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It is important to note that these benchmarks are historical averages. In a year where demand is strong, our daily sales growth rates will tend to have more months that exceed the benchmark than fall below it. In a year where demand is weak, we will tend to have more months that fall short of the benchmark than exceed it. In both cases, there is a random element that makes it difficult to know how any single month will perform.
Jan.(1) | Feb. | Mar. | Apr. | May | June | July | Aug. | Sept. | Oct. | Cumulative Change from Jan. to Oct. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Benchmark | -1.2 | % | 1.5 | % | 3.7 | % | 0.1 | % | 2.0 | % | 2.0 | % | -3.3 | % | 3.7 | % | 1.8 | % | -1.9 | % | 9.8 | % | ||||||||||
2019 | -0.5 | % | 1.4 | % | 4.2 | % | -2.4 | % | 2.5 | % | 1.4 | % | -4.4 | % | 3.9 | % | 3.1 | % | -4.4 | % | 4.9 | % | ||||||||||
19Delta | 0.6 | % | -0.1 | % | 0.5 | % | -2.5 | % | 0.5 | % | -0.6 | % | -1.1 | % | 0.3 | % | 1.3 | % | -2.5 | % | -4.9 | % | ||||||||||
2018 | -1.3 | % | 4.0 | % | 2.1 | % | 2.4 | % | 0.6 | % | 3.7 | % | -3.6 | % | 3.8 | % | 3.6 | % | -3.0 | % | 13.9 | % | ||||||||||
18Delta | -0.2 | % | 2.5 | % | -1.6 | % | 2.4 | % | -1.5 | % | 1.8 | % | -0.3 | % | 0.1 | % | 1.7 | % | -1.1 | % | 4.2 | % | ||||||||||
2017 | 0.2 | % | 1.5 | % | 3.6 | % | 2.2 | % | 1.4 | % | 2.8 | % | -2.4 | % | 2.2 | % | 3.8 | % | -2.1 | % | 13.5 | % | ||||||||||
17Delta | 1.4 | % | 0.0 | % | -0.1 | % | 2.1 | % | -0.6 | % | 0.9 | % | 0.9 | % | -1.4 | % | 2.0 | % | -0.2 | % | 3.8 | % | ||||||||||
(1) The January figures represent the percentage change from the previous October, whereas the remaining figures represent the percentage change from the previous month.
Note – Amounts may not foot due to rounding difference.
A graph of the sequential daily sales change patterns discussed above, starting with a base of '100' in the previous October and ending with the next October, would be as follows:
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End Market Performance
The sequential trends noted above were directly linked to fluctuations in our end markets. To place this in perspective – we estimate approximately 65% of our business has historically been with customers engaged in some type of manufacturing, a significant subset of which finds its way into the heavy equipment market. The daily sales growth rates to these manufacturing customers, when compared to the same period in the prior year, were as follows(1):
Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Annual | ||||||||||
2019 | 13.4 | % | 9.1 | % | 7.7 | % | 5.1 | % | 8.8 | % | ||||
2018 | 14.3 | % | 13.3 | % | 13.0 | % | 13.3 | % | 13.5 | % | ||||
2017 | 6.2 | % | 11.5 | % | 15.3 | % | 16.6 | % | 12.3 | % | ||||
(1) In July 2017, we reclassified certain end market designations. The daily sales growth rates in the above table for all periods through the second quarter of 2017 differ from prior disclosures.
Our manufacturing business consists of two subsets: the industrial production business (this is business where we supply products that become part of the finished goods produced by our customers and is sometimes referred to as OEM - original equipment manufacturing) and the maintenance portion (this is business where we supply products that maintain the facility or the equipment of our customers engaged in manufacturing and is sometimes referred to as MRO - maintenance, repair, and operations). The industrial business is more fastener centered, while the maintenance portion is represented by all product categories.
The best way to understand the change in our industrial production business is to examine the results in our fastener product line (approximately 35% of our business) which is heavily influenced by changes in our business with heavy equipment manufacturers. From a company perspective, daily sales growth rates of fasteners, when compared to the same period in the prior year, were as follows (note: this information includes all end markets):
Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Annual | ||||||||||
2019 | 11.8 | % | 5.5 | % | 3.0 | % | 1.8 | % | 5.5 | % | ||||
2018 | 11.8 | % | 11.1 | % | 10.8 | % | 11.3 | % | 11.2 | % | ||||
2017 | 0.8 | % | 7.9 | % | 12.1 | % | 13.4 | % | 8.4 | % | ||||
The daily sales growth rates of fasteners noted in the table above for first quarter of 2018, and the second, third, and fourth quarters of 2017, include 3.7, 3.6, 3.8, and 3.9 percentage points, respectively, attributable to Mansco (acquired on March 31, 2017).
By contrast, the best way to understand the change in the maintenance portion of the manufacturing business is to examine the results in our non-fastener product lines. From a company perspective, daily sales growth rates of non-fasteners, when compared to the same period in the prior year, were as follows (note: this information includes all end markets):
Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Annual | ||||||||||
2019 | 12.7 | % | 9.5 | % | 8.0 | % | 5.1 | % | 8.8 | % | ||||
2018 | 14.5 | % | 14.8 | % | 14.9 | % | 14.6 | % | 14.7 | % | ||||
2017 | 9.4 | % | 12.2 | % | 14.6 | % | 16.1 | % | 13.1 | % | ||||
While not immune to the impact of a weak industrial environment as was experienced in the latter half of 2019, our non-fastener business did demonstrate greater relative resilience when compared to our fastener business and to the distribution industry in general. Non-fastener growth slowed, but remained above the growth of the fastener business. The strong relative performance of the non-fastener business when compared to the fastener business and to the distribution industry in general was also evident during the strong 2018 and 2017 periods. We believe this is due to both the growth of our vending business and our lower penetration of the non-fastener marketplace relative to our penetration of the fastener marketplace.
Our non-residential construction and reseller customers have historically represented 20% to 25% of our business. The daily sales growth rates to these customers, when compared to the same period in the prior year, were as follows(1):
Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Annual | ||||||||||
2019 | 12.1 | % | 6.0 | % | 0.6 | % | 0.7 | % | 4.7 | % | ||||
2018 | 11.7 | % | 17.6 | % | 19.2 | % | 16.4 | % | 16.3 | % | ||||
2017 | 6.9 | % | 8.8 | % | 9.4 | % | 11.6 | % | 9.1 | % | ||||
(1) In July 2017, we reclassified certain end market designations. The daily sales growth rates in the above table for all periods through the second quarter of 2017 differ from prior disclosures.
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Our non-residential construction and reseller business is heavily influenced by the manufacturing economy as well as infrastructure spending. In 2019, the slowing production environment, as described above, and the accompanying worsening trends for commodities, caused the growth in our non-residential construction and reseller customers to slow. In 2018 and 2017, improving trends for commodities such as metals and energy, industrial capital spending, and the state of the broader economy contributed to an improvement in growth for these end markets.
Gross Profit
The gross profit percentage during each period was as follows:
Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Annual | ||||||||||
2019 | 47.7 | % | 46.9 | % | 47.2 | % | 46.9 | % | 47.2 | % | ||||
2018 | 48.7 | % | 48.7 | % | 48.1 | % | 47.7 | % | 48.3 | % | ||||
2017 | 49.4 | % | 49.8 | % | 49.1 | % | 48.8 | % | 49.3 | % | ||||
Our gross profit, as a percentage of net sales, was 47.2% in 2019 and 48.3% in 2018. The gross profit percentage for 2019 declined by 110 basis points based on three items. (1) A change in product and customer mix. Fasteners are our largest and highest gross profit margin product line due to the high transaction cost surrounding the sourcing and supply of the product for customers. Our fastener product line declined to 34.2% of sales in 2019 from 34.9% of sales in 2018. Larger customers (for which national accounts are a good proxy), whose more focused buying patterns allow us to offer them better pricing, also influence the gross profit margin. Sales to our national account customers increased to 53.6% in 2019 from 50.7% of sales in 2018. The combination of relatively slower growth in our fastener product line and relatively faster growth in sales to our largest customers contributed to the decline in our overall gross profit margin in 2019. (2) We operate our own fleet of trucks for moving product between suppliers, our distribution centers, and our in-market locations. We believe this provides us a competitive advantage in terms of our ability to move product efficiently and quickly. There is a cost to supporting and maintaining these assets, which we traditionally attempt to minimize by charging freight. During periods of weaker business conditions it can be more difficult to charge freight, and as a result our freight revenues were down in 2019. At the same time, the overall cost of our fleet assets is relatively stable, resulting in reduced absorption of our fixed costs. (3) We experienced an increase in the cost of our products due to generalized inflation and tariffs resulting from disputes between the United States and its trade partners. We implemented several actions to mitigate the impact of these cost increases in 2019, including price increases. For the full year, the net impact of these actions was minor. However, the impact through the year differed, with a larger negative impact on the gross profit percentage in the first half of 2019 and a relatively modest impact in the second half of 2019.
During 2018 and 2017, our gross profit, as a percentage of net sales, decreased when compared to the prior year. In each year, the decrease was primarily caused by the changes in product and customer mix noted above and rising freight expense as a result of costs related to transporting products, particularly shipping fees, driver wages, and fuel. In 2018, our gross profit percentage was also affected by rising product costs as a result of generalized inflation and tariffs. In 2017, our gross profit percentage was also affected by the acquisition of Mansco, the customer mix of which is more heavily oriented toward larger customers and its product mix tends to carry a lower gross profit product mix than the company's other products.
Operating and Administrative Expenses
Our operating and administrative expenses (including the gain on sales of property and equipment), as a percentage of net sales, improved to 27.3% in 2019 from 28.2% in 2018. This improvement was a function of the growth in employee-related, occupancy-related, and all other operating and administrative expenses being more modest than the growth in sales. Employee-related expenses reduced the ratio of operating and administrative expenses as a percentage of sales by approximately 40 to 45 basis points in 2019 from 2018. Occupancy-related and all other operating and administrative expenses each reduced the ratio of operating and administrative expenses as a percentage of sales by approximately 20 to 25 basis points each in 2019 from 2018.
The growth in employee-related, occupancy-related, and all other operating and administrative expenses (including the gain on sales of property and equipment) compared to the same periods in the preceding year, is outlined in the table below.
Approximate Percentage of Total Operating and Administrative Expenses | Twelve-month Period | ||||||||
2019 | 2018 | 2017 | |||||||
Employee-related expenses | 65% to 70% | 5.1 | % | 11.1 | % | 10.2 | % | ||
Occupancy-related expenses | 15% to 20% | 2.8 | % | 5.0 | % | 1.3 | % | ||
All other operating and administrative expenses | 15% to 20% | 1.5 | % | 5.2 | % | 21.4 | % | ||
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Employee-related expenses include: (1) payroll (which includes cash compensation, stock option expense, and profit sharing), (2) health care, (3) personnel development, and (4) social taxes. Our employee-related expenses increased in 2019. This was related to: (1) an increase in full-time equivalent ('FTE') headcount related to efforts to support growth in our business, (2) higher performance bonuses and commissions due to growth in net sales and net earnings, (3) an increase in our profit sharing contribution and options awards, (4) increases in hourly base wages, and (5) increased health care costs. The increase in 2018, when compared to 2017, was related to: (1) an increase in FTE headcount related to efforts to support growth in our business, (2) higher performance bonuses and commissions due to growth in net sales and net earnings, (3) an increase in our profit sharing contribution, (4) increases in hourly base wages, and (5) increased health care costs. The increase in 2017, when compared to 2016, was related to: (1) an increase in FTE headcount related to efforts to support growth in our business, (2) higher performance bonuses and commissions due to growth in net sales and net earnings, as well as regulatory driven incremental compensation, (3) an increase in our profit sharing contribution and options awards, (4) increased health care costs, and (5) the inclusion of Mansco personnel.
The table below summarizes the percentage change in our FTE headcount at the end of the periods presented compared to the end of the prior period:
Twelve-month Period | ||||||||
2019 | 2018 | 2017 | ||||||
In-market locations | 0.2 | % | 5.7 | % | 7.0 | % | ||
Total selling (includes in-market locations) | 0.8 | % | 5.4 | % | 7.3 | % | ||
Distribution | 2.2 | % | 12.2 | % | 8.4 | % | ||
Manufacturing | -2.7 | % | 12.0 | % | 8.4 | % | ||
Administrative | 8.5 | % | 7.3 | % | 10.7 | % | ||
Total | 1.4 | % | 6.8 | % | 7.7 | % | ||
Occupancy-related expenses include: (1) building rent and depreciation, (2) building utility costs, (3) equipment related to our branches and distribution locations, and (4) industrial vending equipment (we consider the vending equipment, excluding leased locker equipment, to be a logical extension of our in-market operations and classify the depreciation and repair costs as occupancy expense). The increase in occupancy-related expenses in 2019, when compared to 2018, was mainly driven by increases related to industrial vending equipment. The increase in occupancy-related expenses in 2018, when compared to 2017 was mainly driven by increases related to industrial vending equipment and non-branch occupancy and utility costs, only partly offset by a slight decline in branch occupancy costs from a lower public branch count. The slight increase in 2017, when compared to 2016, was mainly driven by increases in costs related to industrial vending equipment, FMI bins, and automation equipment at our distribution centers. The most significant components of our occupancy-related expenses, facility costs and utility expenses, were mostly flat in 2017, when compared to 2016 due to a reduction in our number of public branches.
All other operating and administrative expenses include: (1) selling-related transportation, (2) information technology (IT) expenses, (3) general corporate expenses, which consists of legal expenses, general insurance expenses, travel and marketing expenses, etc., and (4) the gain on sales of property and equipment. Combined, all other operating and administrative expenses increased in 2019 when compared to 2018. This was primarily due to higher IT spending. The increase in 2018 when compared to 2017, was due to an increase in selling-related transportation expenses, consisting of both higher vehicle movement and fuel costs, as well as higher IT spending. General corporate expenses were slightly down. The increase in 2017 when compared to 2016, was driven by increases in selling-related transportation, including higher vehicle movement and fuel costs, IT spending, and general corporate expenses.
Net Interest Expense
Our net interest expense was $13.6 in 2019 compared to $12.3 in 2018, and $8.7 in 2017. The increase in 2019, when compared to 2018, was mainly caused by higher average interest rates and a higher average debt balance during the period. The increase in 2018, when compared to 2017, was mainly caused by higher average interest rates and a higher average debt balance during the period.
Income Taxes
We recorded income tax expense of $252.8 in 2019, or 24.2% of earnings before income taxes. Our income tax expense was reduced by $2.6 as a result of applying guideline clarifications issued by the IRS on certain aspects of tax reform as well as tax benefits associated with the exercise of stock options. This reduced our tax rate in the period by 30 basis points.
We recorded income tax expense of $235.1 in 2018, or 23.8% of earnings before income taxes. The effective income tax rate was significantly impacted by the following two items: (1) The lower corporate tax rate provided by the Tax Act resulted in a
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lower tax rate beginning in the first quarter of 2018. The effective income tax rate includes the immaterial impact of the U.S. tax on certain offshore earnings referred to as Global Intangible Low-Taxed Income (GILTI), a new deduction for Foreign Derived Intangible Income (FDII), and the new alternative U.S. tax on certain Base Erosion Anti-Avoidance (BEAT) payments from a U.S. company to any foreign related party. (2) Discrete income tax items to adjust our transition tax liability, reflect the impacts of accelerating depreciation for certain physical assets, and remeasure the impact of the U.S. tax rate on certain inter-company transactions. These discrete items resulted in approximately $7.1 of income tax benefit during 2018. The accounting for the income tax effects of the Tax Act is complete as of December 31, 2018.
We recorded a provisional income tax expense of $294.5 in 2017, or 33.7% of earnings before income taxes. This amount reflects a provisional estimate for the reduction in our deferred income tax liabilities of $30.8 as a result of the income tax rate decrease included in the Tax Act, partially offset by an estimated increase in income tax payable in the amount of $6.5 as a result of the transition tax on cash and cash equivalent balances related to accumulated earnings associated with our international operations, also included in the Tax Act. The decrease in our income tax rate from 2016 to 2017 was also related to changes in our reserve for uncertain tax positions and the adoption of the Financial Accounting Standards Board ('FASB') Accounting Standard Update ('ASU') 2016-09, Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting, in the first quarter of 2017.
Net Earnings
Net earnings, net earnings per share ('EPS'), the percentage change in net earnings, and the percentage change in EPS, were as follows:
Dollar Amounts | 2019 | 2018 (1) | 2017 | ||||||
Net earnings | $ | 790.9 | 751.9 | 578.6 | |||||
Basic EPS | 1.38 | 1.31 | 1.00 | ||||||
Diluted EPS | 1.38 | 1.31 | 1.00 | ||||||
Percentage Change | 2019 | 2018 (1) | 2017 | ||||||
Net earnings | 5.2 | % | 29.9 | % | 15.8 | % | |||
Basic EPS | 5.3 | % | 30.5 | % | 16.1 | % | |||
Diluted EPS | 5.2 | % | 30.5 | % | 16.2 | % | |||
2019 | 2018 | 2017 | |||||||
Tax Rate | 24.2 | % | 23.8 | % | 33.7 | % | |||
(1) As a result of the Tax Act, discrete tax items benefited our net earnings by $7.1 during 2018.
During 2019, net earnings increased, primarily due to stronger sales and operating profits, and were only partly offset by an increase in income tax expense. During 2018, net earnings increased, primarily due to stronger sales and operating profits combined with a reduction in income tax expense. The increase in basic and diluted earnings per share also reflected the purchase of our shares of common stock in 2018. During 2017, net earnings increased, primarily due to stronger sales and operating profits combined with a reduction in income tax expense. The slightly higher increase in basic and diluted earnings per share was primarily due to the purchase of our shares of common stock in 2017.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Net Cash Provided by Operating Activities
Net cash provided by operating activities in dollars and as a percentage of net earnings were as follows:
2019 | 2018 | 2017 | |||||||
Net cash provided | $ | 842.7 | 674.2 | 585.2 | |||||
% of net earnings | 106.5 | % | 89.7 | % | 101.1 | % | |||
In 2019, the increase in our operating cash flow as a percentage of net earnings reflects a reduced drag from working capital investment than was experienced in 2018 and, to a lesser degree, higher net income. In 2018, the increase in net cash provided by operating activities was primarily due to our net earnings growth, which resulted from pre-tax earnings growth and a lower tax rate as a result of the Tax Act. The decline in our operating cash flow as a percentage of net earnings largely reflects working capital trends, as further described below. In 2017, the increase in net cash provided by operating activities was primarily due to our net earnings growth.
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Operational Working Capital Assets
Operational working capital assets, which we define as accounts receivable, net and inventories, is highlighted below. The annual dollar change and the annual percentage change were as follows:
Dollar change | 2019 | 2018 | ||||
Accounts receivable, net | $ | 27.5 | 106.4 | |||
Inventories | 87.7 | 185.8 | ||||
Operational working capital assets | $ | 115.2 | 292.2 | |||
Annual percentage change | 2019 | 2018 | ||||
Accounts receivable, net | 3.9 | % | 17.5 | % | ||
Inventories | 6.9 | % | 17.0 | % | ||
Operational working capital assets | 5.8 | % | 17.2 | % | ||
Note – Amounts may not foot due to rounding difference.
In 2019, the annual growth in net accounts receivable reflects not only our growth in sales, but also the fact that our growth is being driven disproportionately by our national accounts program where our customers tend to have longer payment terms than our customer base as a whole. Growth was also relatively stronger with customers outside the U.S., which similarly tend to have longer payment terms than our customer base as a whole. The rate of growth in receivables did slow throughout 2019, largely reflecting the impact on receivables of softer business activity. In 2018, the annual growth in net accounts receivable reflects accelerating growth in sales throughout the course of the year combined with relatively stronger growth of our national accounts and international business. In addition, two trends emerged among our customer base that increased our net accounts receivable. The first was a push from our customers to contractually increase the period between when they are invoiced and when payment is due. The second was customers delaying payments beyond the end of the applicable quarter. We saw these behaviors intensify throughout 2018.
Our inventory balances over time will respond to business activity, though various factors produce a looser relationship to our monthly sales patterns than we tend to experience in accounts receivable. One reason for this is cyclical. We source significant quantities of product from overseas, and the lead time involved in procuring these products is typically longer than the visibility we have into future monthly sales patterns. As a result, trends in our inventory will often lag trends in economic conditions. Another reason inventories may fluctuate independently of monthly sales patterns is based on strategic decisions. For instance, at various times we have increased our relative inventory levels to enhance product breadth and availability in our branches and distribution centers, expand direct sourcing, and broaden Fastenal brands. Our growth drivers, including industrial vending solutions, national accounts, and Onsite and international locations, have also required significant investments in inventory. In 2019, our inventories increased to support higher sales, largely reflecting large increases in the number of installed vending devices and active Onsite locations, and from inflation and tariffs. We intend to continue to invest in the inventory necessary to support our vending and Onsite initiatives. However, over the course of the year we did reduce other spending, both reflecting proactive efforts to reduce inventory and in reaction to the effect of softer business activity, which allowed us to meaningfully decelerate inventory growth in the fourth quarter of 2019. In 2018, our inventories increased as a result of growth in general demand and successful execution of our growth drivers. Inflation had an increasing impact in the second half of 2018, and our decision to accelerate shipments of product to the U.S. from overseas ahead of potential tariffs resulted in extra inventory of approximately $12.0 in the fourth quarter of 2018.
The approximate percentage mix of inventory stocked at our selling locations versus our distribution center and manufacturing locations was as follows at year end:
2019 | 2018 | 2017 | ||||||
Selling locations | 60 | % | 61 | % | 65 | % | ||
Distribution center and manufacturing locations | 40 | % | 39 | % | 35 | % | ||
Total | 100 | % | 100 | % | 100 | % | ||
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Net Cash Used in Investing Activities
Net cash used in investing activities in dollars and as a percentage of net earnings were as follows:
2019 | 2018 | 2017 | |||||||
Net cash used | $ | 239.7 | 173.9 | 179.3 | |||||
% of net earnings | 30.3 | % | 23.1 | % | 31.0 | % | |||
The changes in net cash used in investing activities were primarily related to changes in our net capital expenditures as discussed below for each period and cash paid for acquisitions in 2017.
Property and equipment expenditures typically consist primarily of: (1) purchases related to industrial vending, (2) purchases of property and equipment related to expansion of and enhancements to distribution centers, (3) spending on software and hardware for our information processing systems, (4) the addition of fleet vehicles, (5) expansion, improvement or investment in certain owned or leased branch properties, and (6) the addition of manufacturing and warehouse equipment. Disposals of property and equipment consisted of the planned disposition of certain pick-up trucks, distribution vehicles, and trailers in the normal course of business.
Set forth below is a recap of our 2019, 2018, and 2017 net capital expenditures in dollars and as a percentage of net sales and net earnings:
2019 | 2018 | 2017 | ||||||
Manufacturing, warehouse and packaging equipment, industrial vending equipment, and facilities | 172.7 | 110.7 | 66.2 | |||||
Shelving and related supplies for in-market location openings and for product expansion at existing in-market locations | 12.3 | 9.6 | 8.3 | |||||
Data processing software and equipment | 31.1 | 30.9 | 23.2 | |||||
Real estate and improvements to branch locations | 8.9 | 12.9 | 6.2 | |||||
Vehicles | 21.4 | 12.2 | 16.0 | |||||
Purchases of property and equipment | 246.4 | 176.3 | 119.9 | |||||
Proceeds from sale of property and equipment | (6.6 | ) | (9.5 | ) | (7.4 | ) | ||
Net capital expenditures | 239.8 | 166.8 | 112.5 | |||||
% of net sales | 4.5 | % | 3.4 | % | 2.6 | % | ||
% of net earnings | 30.3 | % | 22.2 | % | 19.4 | % | ||
Our net capital expenditures increased in 2019, when compared to 2018, primarily due to increased spending on hub property and equipment, both to expand current capacity and for potential future expansion, higher spending on vending devices to support the growth of our industrial vending program, and investment in our trucking assets. While the sources of the increase in our net capital spending in 2019 were expected, our total spend exceeded our targeted range of $195.0 to $225.0. We had significant spending in 2019 on facilities, with a couple of locations having higher costs than originally anticipated. Our net capital expenditures increased in 2018, when compared to 2017, primarily due to increased spending on hub property and equipment, both to expand current capacity and for potential future expansion, as well as vending devices to support the growth of our industrial vending program. Our net capital expenditures decreased in 2017, when compared to 2016, primarily due to lower spending in 2017 related to the absence of spending on vending equipment that occurred in 2016 related to the leased l