W. W. Grainger vs Illinois Tool Works
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The short version
- W. W. Grainger is the larger business, with $17.9B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $16.0B for Illinois Tool Works.
- W. W. Grainger grew revenue faster (4.5%, against 0.9%).
- Illinois Tool Works kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (26.3% operating margin, against 13.9%).
- Illinois Tool Works turned more of its sales into free cash flow (16.9% FCF margin, against 7.4%).
- W. W. Grainger earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (32.3%, against 30.2%).
- Investors pay more for each dollar of W. W. Grainger’s earnings: a P/E of 34.4x against 25.0x for Illinois Tool Works.
| Latest fiscal year | GWW · FY25 | ITW · FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $63.7B | $79.1B |
| Revenue | $17.9B | $16.0B |
| Free cash flow | $1.3B | $2.7B |
| Net income | $1.7B | $3.1B |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 4.5% | 0.9% |
| 5-year growth | 8.8% | 5.0% |
| Share count change | −2.0% | −1.9% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 39.1% | 52.9% |
| Operating margin | 13.9% | 26.3% |
| Net margin | 9.5% | 19.1% |
| FCF margin | 7.4% | 16.9% |
| Return on capital | 32.3% | 30.2% |
| Return on equity | 48.1% | 93.7% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | $1.9B | $8.1B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 0.7x | 1.8x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $1.5B | $3.3B |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 34.4x | 25.0x |
| Piotroski F-score | 6 | 6 |
Revenue
FY16
GWW $10.1B
ITW $13.6B
FY17
GWW $10.4B
ITW $14.3B
FY18
GWW $11.2B
ITW $14.8B
FY19
GWW $11.5B
ITW $14.1B
FY20
GWW $11.8B
ITW $12.6B
FY21
GWW $13.0B
ITW $14.5B
FY22
GWW $15.2B
ITW $15.9B
FY23
GWW $16.5B
ITW $16.1B
FY24
GWW $17.2B
ITW $15.9B
FY25
GWW $17.9B
ITW $16.0B
GWW
ITW
Operating margin
FY16
GWW 11.0%
ITW 22.5%
FY17
GWW 9.9%
ITW 24.4%
FY18
GWW 10.3%
ITW 24.3%
FY19
GWW 11.0%
ITW 24.1%
FY20
GWW 8.6%
ITW 22.9%
FY21
GWW 11.9%
ITW 24.1%
FY22
GWW 14.6%
ITW 23.8%
FY23
GWW 15.6%
ITW 25.1%
FY24
GWW 15.4%
ITW 26.8%
FY25
GWW 13.9%
ITW 26.3%
GWW
ITW
Free cash flow
FY16
GWW $740M
ITW $2.0B
FY17
GWW $820M
ITW $2.1B
FY18
GWW $818M
ITW $2.4B
FY19
GWW $821M
ITW $2.7B
FY20
GWW $926M
ITW $2.6B
FY21
GWW $682M
ITW $2.3B
FY22
GWW $1.1B
ITW $1.9B
FY23
GWW $1.6B
ITW $3.1B
FY24
GWW $1.6B
ITW $2.8B
FY25
GWW $1.3B
ITW $2.7B
GWW
ITW
Return on capital
FY16
GWW 18.0%
ITW 22.3%
FY17
GWW 17.8%
ITW 18.5%
FY18
GWW 23.1%
ITW 28.6%
FY19
GWW 24.3%
ITW 29.1%
FY20
GWW 20.8%
ITW 25.1%
FY21
GWW 28.4%
ITW 29.0%
FY22
GWW 37.0%
ITW 28.5%
FY23
GWW 39.8%
ITW 28.2%
FY24
GWW 38.6%
ITW 31.0%
FY25
GWW 32.3%
ITW 30.2%
GWW
ITW
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.