Verdict: Side-by-side breakdown using the Bull Rankings model. AIT scored 65.9, FAST scored 55.4 — AIT leads.
Compare another set
AIT
Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc.
Industrial Distribution · Quality-Growth
65.9
$335.38 · $12.3B
fundamentals as of
Score gap
10.5
AIT leads
FAST
Fastenal Company
Industrial Distribution · Quality-Growth
55.4
$50.75 · $58.2B
fundamentals as of
At a glance · who leads each dimension, on the model's own rules
CheapestAIT30.6x
Fastest growthFAST+12.5%
Strongest balance sheetFAST0.11
Highest qualityFAST89 / 100
Side by side · every name on one set of axes
Growth against the P/E multiple. Up and to the right is cheaper and faster — the quality-growth idea in one picture. Points beyond the axis are pinned to the edge and marked off-scale rather than allowed to compress everything else.
The model, pillar by pillar (0–100 each)
AIT
stronger →← stronger
FAST
85
Qualityreturns · margins · balance sheet
89
70
Growthrevenue & earnings expansion
79
48
Valuevaluation vs sector peers
24
FAST is stronger on 2 of 3 pillars.
Fundamentals, head-to-head
AIT
FAST
$461mC
FCF
$1.2bC+
+8.8%B
Rev
+12.5%B+
0.26A-
D/E
0.11A
30.6xC+
P/E
43.4xC
2.77C
PEG
3.36D
Winner per row is the stronger grade; where grades tie, the better figure breaks it. A true tie or a missing value shows no highlight.
Valuation · DCF cross-check
AIT
FAST
42% above
Price vs fair valuelower is cheaper
120% above
~15%/yr
Growth the price impliesyr-1 FCF growth, fading to 4% · lower = less priced in
~27%/yr
-34%
1-yr DCF upside
-59%
-30%
5-yr DCF upside
-55%
-22%
10-yr DCF upside
-48%
The DCF is a cross-check on intrinsic value, separate from the quality-growth score above.
Model signals
AIT
Why this score
Buying back stock
Raising its dividend
Durable high returns
FAST
Why this score
Raising its dividend
Durable high returns
The companies
AITApplied Industrial Technologies, Inc.
Industrial Distribution · $335.38 · beta 0.85
Why now
Industrial Distribution · market cap $12.3b. 11% off the 52-week high of $374.80. 6 sell-side analysts publish a mean 1-yr target of $400.00 (implying +19% upside).
Moat
ROE 22% is above 15% — the equity base is compounding at a rate the market struggles to discount accurately. FCF converts 111% of net income — earnings translate cleanly into cash.
Risk
Trailing P/E 31x sits well above the S&P median (~20x) — multiple compression is a real risk if revenue growth decelerates.
FASTFastenal Company
Industrial Distribution · $50.75 · beta 0.69
Why now
Industrial Distribution · market cap $58.2b. 4% off the 52-week high of $52.92. Revenue growing +13%, comfortably above the S&P median. 13 sell-side analysts rate this a Hold with a mean 1-yr target of $48.84 (implying -4% upside).
Moat
Net margin 15% beats the market median by a meaningful margin — the company is keeping more of every revenue dollar than the average S&P constituent. ROE 33% — top-decile capital efficiency. Either pricing leverage, low capital intensity, or aggressive buybacks; the durability story depends on which. $58.2b market cap gives the company enough scale to absorb fixed costs that subscale competitors can't, without yet being so large that growth has to come from acquisition.
Risk
Trailing P/E 43x sits well above the S&P median (~20x) — multiple compression is a real risk if revenue growth decelerates.
Verdict — model-derived comparison
Generating verdict… typically 5–10 seconds
Not investment advice. The Bull Rankings publishes a quantitative ranking model and accompanying analysis for general informational purposes only. Nothing on this page is a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security; nothing is personalized to your circumstances, risk tolerance, or tax situation. Investing carries the risk of loss — invest at your own risk and consider consulting a licensed financial professional before acting on anything you read here. See terms and methodology for full disclosures.
Where AIT and FAST diverge
On the headline score the gap is 10.5 points in favor of AIT. They get there differently, though — each leads on a different pillar, so the better pick depends on which you weight.
ValueAIT 48.0 · FAST 24.3AIT +23.7
GrowthAIT 70.2 · FAST 78.5FAST +8.3
QualityAIT 84.8 · FAST 89.0FAST +4.2
Pillars run 0–100. Value is judged against each company's own sector, so a Value score is a statement about a company relative to its own industry rather than to the other name here. A wide Value gap usually means the market already prices the difference in quality or growth — which is the trade-off this comparison comes down to.
Common questions
Is AIT or FAST the better stock?
AIT scores higher: AIT 65.9, FAST 55.4 out of 100 on the Bull Rankings quality-growth score, which blends business quality, growth and valuation into one number. A higher score means a stronger business at a more reasonable price — it is not a price target or a recommendation.
Where do AIT and FAST differ most?
The widest gap is value, where AIT leads by 24 points on the 0–100 pillar scale. Neither name sweeps: they trade the lead across the three pillars, so the comparison is a trade-off rather than one being better on every measure.
How are AIT and FAST scored?
Each carries the same 0–100 quality-growth score used everywhere on the site, built from three pillars — quality (profitability and returns on capital), growth (revenue and earnings), and value (what you pay for them) — combined as a geometric mean, so a weak pillar cannot be papered over by a strong one.
How current is this comparison?
The whole universe is re-scored every trading day after the US market close, so the scores and fundamentals here reflect the latest published edition.