If You'd Invested $10,000 in Fastenal at Its IPO, Here's What You'd Have Today

A $10,000 investment in Fastenal (NASDAQ: FAST) at its 1987 initial public offering (IPO) would be worth roughly $21.5 million today. And that doesn't include dividends. Fastenal went public on Aug. 20, 1987, at $9 per share. The company says a $9,000 IPO investment bought 1,000 shares. After nine stock splits, those shares became 384,000 by the end of 2025, worth about $15.4 million. Scale that investment to $10,000, and you could have purchased 1,111 whole shares for $9,999. After those splits, you'd own 426,624 shares. Missed Nvidia in 2009? This Rare Signal Is Flashing Again. In 2009, a "Double Down" signal flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia. For the first time in years, that same "Total Conviction" signal is flashing for a company 1/100th the size of Nvidia. Continue " Image source: Getty Images. At Fastenal's Sept. 25, 2026, closing price of $50.43, that stake would be worth approximately $21.5 million. Not bad for a company best known for selling nuts, bolts, screws, safety equipment, and other industrial supplies. Nearly four decades of growth Fastenal had roughly 50 stores and about $20 million in annual sales around the time of its IPO. Today, it's an $8 billion industrial distribution giant. Revenue reached $8.2 billion in 2025, while net income came in at nearly $1.26 billion. And growth hasn't stopped. Second-quarter 2026 sales increased 14.7% year over year to $2.39 billion, while net income jumped 15.9% to $382.8 million. Fastenal has also expanded beyond its traditional store model by placing inventory and vending systems directly inside customer facilities, making it harder for competitors to displace the company once those relationships are established. Then there are the dividends. Fastenal began paying dividends in 1991 and now pays them quarterly. So anyone who bought 1,000 shares at the IPO would have collected more than $2.9 million in dividends through the end of 2025 on top of the massive stock appreciation. Turning $10,000 into more than $21 million didn't require finding the next revolutionary technology company. Fastenal did it by selling basic industrial products, expanding consistently, and compounding shareholder wealth for nearly four decades. Indeed, this is a lesson for those who write off these types of industrial stocks as "boring." In other words, don't sleep on "boring industrial stocks." Should you buy stock in Fastenal right now? Before you buy stock in Fastenal, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now... and Fastenal wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $383,680!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $1,382,954!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 937% -- a market-crushing outperformance compared to 214% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors. See the 10 stocks " *Stock Advisor returns as of September 29, 2026. Jeff Siegel has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Fastenal. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

If You'd Invested $10,000 in Fastenal at Its IPO, Here's What You'd Have Today

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