Verdict: Side-by-side breakdown using the Bull Rankings model. FAST scored 55.4, POOL scored 54.1 — FAST leads.
Compare another set
Different reporting periods. FAST's fundamentals are as of June 2026, but POOL's are as of March 2026 — a 3-month gap. Growth, margin and valuation figures below therefore describe different windows and aren't strictly like-for-like.
FAST
Fastenal Company
Industrial Distribution · Quality-Growth
55.4
$50.75 · $58.2B
fundamentals as of
Score gap
1.3
FAST leads
POOL
Pool Corporation
Industrial Distribution · Quality-Growth
54.1
$159.54 · $5.8B
fundamentals as of
At a glance · who leads each dimension, on the model's own rules
CheapestPOOL14.7x
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)
FAST
stronger →← stronger
POOL
89
Qualityreturns · margins · balance sheet
79
79
Growthrevenue & earnings expansion
38
24
Valuevaluation vs sector peers
53
FAST is stronger on 2 of 3 pillars.
Fundamentals, head-to-head
FAST
POOL
$1.2bC+
FCF
$313mC
+12.5%B+
Rev
+1.8%C
0.11A
D/E
1.35C
43.4xC
P/E
14.7xA-
3.36D
PEG
1.60C+
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
POOL
120% above
Price vs fair valuelower is cheaper
23% above
~27%/yr
Growth the price impliesyr-1 FCF growth, fading to 4% · lower = less priced in
~10%/yr
-59%
1-yr DCF upside
-21%
-55%
5-yr DCF upside
-19%
-48%
10-yr DCF upside
-15%
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
POOL
Why this score
Buying back stock
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.
POOLPool Corporation
Industrial Distribution · $159.54 · beta 1.04
Why now
Industrial Distribution · market cap $5.8b. Down 48% from 52-week high of $305.63 — deep drawdown territory. 12 sell-side analysts rate this a Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $215.50 (implying +35% upside).
Moat
ROE 36% — top-decile capital efficiency. Either pricing leverage, low capital intensity, or aggressive buybacks; the durability story depends on which.
Risk
Down 48% 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 POOL diverge
On the headline score the gap is 1.3 points in favor of FAST. They get there differently, though — each leads on a different pillar, so the better pick depends on which you weight.
GrowthFAST 78.5 · POOL 38.1FAST +40.4
ValueFAST 24.3 · POOL 53.0POOL +28.7
QualityFAST 89.0 · POOL 78.6FAST +10.4
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 FAST or POOL the better stock?
FAST scores higher: FAST 55.4, POOL 54.1 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 FAST and POOL differ most?
The widest gap is growth, where FAST leads by 40 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 FAST and POOL 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.