Verdict: Side-by-side breakdown using the Bull Rankings model. FAST scored 55.4, CNM scored 60.0 — CNM leads.
Compare another set
FAST
Fastenal Company
Industrial Distribution · Quality-Growth
55.4
$50.75 · $58.2B
fundamentals as of
Score gap
4.6
CNM leads
CNM
Core & Main, Inc.
Industrial Distribution · Quality-Growth
60
$40.35 · $7.4B
fundamentals as of
At a glance · who leads each dimension, on the model's own rules
CheapestCNM16.6x
Fastest growthFAST+12.5%
Strongest balance sheetFAST0.11
Highest qualityFAST89 / 100
Largest discount to fair valueCNM-36%
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)
FAST
stronger →← stronger
CNM
89
Qualityreturns · margins · balance sheet
68
79
Growthrevenue & earnings expansion
59
24
Valuevaluation vs sector peers
54
FAST is stronger on 2 of 3 pillars.
Fundamentals, head-to-head
FAST
CNM
$1.2bC+
FCF
$628mC+
+12.5%B+
Rev
+2.8%C
0.11A
D/E
1.31C
43.4xC
P/E
16.6xA-
3.36D
PEG
1.43B
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
FAST
CNM
120% above
Price vs fair valuelower is cheaper
36% below
~27%/yr
Growth the price impliesyr-1 FCF growth, fading to 4% · lower = less priced in
~-3%/yr
-59%
1-yr DCF upside
+43%
-55%
5-yr DCF upside
+57%
-48%
10-yr DCF upside
+78%
The DCF is a cross-check on intrinsic value, separate from the quality-growth score above.
Model signals
FAST
Why this score
Raising its dividend
Durable high returns
CNM
Why this score
Durable high returns
The companies
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.
CNMCore & Main, Inc.
Industrial Distribution · $40.35 · beta 0.91
Why now
Industrial Distribution · market cap $7.4b. Down 32% from 52-week high of $59.66 — deep drawdown territory. 13 sell-side analysts rate this a Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $54.54 (implying +35% upside).
Moat
ROE 24% is above 15% — the equity base is compounding at a rate the market struggles to discount accurately. FCF converts 137% of net income — earnings translate cleanly into cash.
Risk
Down 32% from the 52-week high — the market is pricing in something the screen can't see; verify the bear case before sizing up.
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 FAST and CNM diverge
On the headline score the gap is 4.6 points in favor of CNM. They get there differently, though — each leads on a different pillar, so the better pick depends on which you weight.
ValueFAST 24.3 · CNM 53.6CNM +29.3
QualityFAST 89.0 · CNM 67.7FAST +21.3
GrowthFAST 78.5 · CNM 59.4FAST +19.1
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 CNM or FAST the better stock?
CNM scores higher: CNM 60.0, 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 CNM and FAST differ most?
The widest gap is value, where CNM leads by 29 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 CNM 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.