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W.W. Grainger, Inc. GWW is scheduled to report first-quarter 2025 results on May 1, before the opening bell.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for GWW’s sales is pegged at $4.33 billion, indicating 2.4% growth from the year-ago reported figure.
The consensus estimate for earnings is pegged at $9.46 per share. The consensus estimate for GWW’s earnings has moved down 0.2% in the past 60 days. The estimate indicates a year-over-year dip of 1.7%.
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GWW’s Earnings Surprise History
Grainger’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimates in two of the trailing four quarters and missed in two, the average surprise being 0.2%. (Find the latest earnings estimates and surprises on Zacks Earnings Calendar.)
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What the Zacks Model Unveils for Grainger
Our proven model does not conclusively predict an earnings beat for GWW this time around. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat. But that is not the case here. You can uncover the best stocks before they are reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.
Earnings ESP: Grainger has an Earnings ESP of -0.08%.
Zacks Rank: GWW currently carries a Zacks Rank of 3.
Factors Likely to Have Shaped GWW’s Q1 Performance
Grainger has been witnessing strong growth in core product sales for the past few quarters.
GWW has been focusing on improving the end-to-end customer experience by making investments in its e-commerce and digital capabilities, and executing improvement initiatives within its supply chain. These factors are likely to have contributed to its quarterly performance. We expect organic daily sales growth of 2.7%.
The company’s High-Touch Solutions North America segment is expected to have benefited from strength in commercial, transportation and heavy manufacturing; strong revenue growth across its North America regions; and an expansion in the number of large and midsize customers. Our model projects quarterly organic daily sales growth of 1.7% from the year-ago quarter's reported level.
Grainger has been witnessing market-beating growth in the High-Touch Solutions segment compared with the U.S. MRO (maintenance, repair and operating) market. This outperformance can be attributed to strategic activities, such as building advantaged MRO solutions, delivering unparalleled customer services, and offering differentiated sales and services.
We expect the segment’s sales to be $3.45 billion for the first quarter, up 1.3% from the first-quarter 2024 reported level.
GWW’s Endless Assortment segment is likely to have benefited from robust customer acquisition and repeat business. Our model predicts quarterly organic daily sales to grow 6.7% from the prior-year reported level.
Customer growth at MonotaRO is expected to have positively impacted the segment’s sales. Our model predicts the Endless Assortment segment’s sales to be $793 million, up 6.3% from the prior-year quarter’s reported figure.
However, GWW has been witnessing elevated material and freight costs for some time. This, coupled with higher operating costs and incremental SG&A costs due to higher technology investments, is likely to have negatively impacted its margins.