Core & Main vs MSC Industrial Direct
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KIRA’s take AI analyst
I put Core & Main and MSC Industrial Direct side by side, using each one’s latest annual report. Here is what stands out:
- Core & Main is the larger business, with $7.6B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $4.0B for MSC Industrial Direct, about 1.9 times as much.
- MSC Industrial Direct grew revenue faster (6.4%, against 2.8%).
- Core & Main kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (9.4% operating margin, against 8.0%).
- Core & Main turned more of its sales into free cash flow (7.9% FCF margin, against 5.6%).
- Core & Main earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (13.7%, against 13.2%).
Who comes out ahead
Of the 11 measures where higher (or lower) is clearly better, how many each company leads.
Core & Main
CNM
7/11
5-year growthOperating marginNet marginFCF marginReturn on capitalReturn on equityShare count change
MSC Industrial Direct
MSM
4/11
Revenue growthGross marginPiotroski F-scoreNet debt / EBITDA
Side by side
Best in the row
| Latest fiscal year | CNM FY25 | MSM FY26 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $8.2B | $6.6B |
| Revenue | $7.6B | $4.0B |
| Free cash flow | $604M | $225M |
| Net income | $441M | $223M |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 2.8% | 6.4% |
| 5-year growth | 16.0% | 4.3% |
| Share count change | −1.8% | 0.2% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 26.9% | 40.9% |
| Operating margin | 9.4% | 8.0% |
| Net margin | 5.8% | 5.6% |
| FCF margin | 7.9% | 5.6% |
| Return on capital | 13.7% | 13.2% |
| Return on equity | 23.9% | 15.8% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | $1.9B | $412M |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 2.1x | 1.0x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $155M | $208M |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 17.4x | — |
| Piotroski F-score | 7 | 8 |
Ten years
Revenue
Operating margin
Free cash flow
Return on capital
Each company's latest fiscal year; fiscal years end in different months. The best value in each row is highlighted where higher (or lower) is clearly better. Not investment advice.