W. W. Grainger vs Parker Hannifin
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The short version
- Parker Hannifin is the larger business, with $21.5B of revenue in fiscal 2026 against $17.9B for W. W. Grainger.
- Parker Hannifin grew revenue faster (8.3%, against 4.5%).
- Parker Hannifin kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (23.6% operating margin, against 13.9%).
- Parker Hannifin turned more of its sales into free cash flow (18.2% FCF margin, against 7.4%).
- W. W. Grainger earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (32.3%, against 17.6%).
| Latest fiscal year | GWW · FY25 | PH · FY26 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $63.7B | $112.8B |
| Revenue | $17.9B | $21.5B |
| Free cash flow | $1.3B | $3.9B |
| Net income | $1.7B | $3.6B |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 4.5% | 8.3% |
| 5-year growth | 8.8% | 8.4% |
| Share count change | −2.0% | −1.6% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 39.1% | 37.7% |
| Operating margin | 13.9% | 23.6% |
| Net margin | 9.5% | 17.0% |
| FCF margin | 7.4% | 18.2% |
| Return on capital | 32.3% | 17.6% |
| Return on equity | 48.1% | 25.1% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | $1.9B | $8.1B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 0.7x | 1.3x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $1.5B | $2.2B |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 34.4x | — |
| Piotroski F-score | 6 | 9 |
Revenue
FY17
GWW $10.4B
PH $12.0B
FY18
GWW $11.2B
PH $14.3B
FY19
GWW $11.5B
PH $14.3B
FY20
GWW $11.8B
PH $13.7B
FY21
GWW $13.0B
PH $14.3B
FY22
GWW $15.2B
PH $15.9B
FY23
GWW $16.5B
PH $19.1B
FY24
GWW $17.2B
PH $19.9B
FY25
GWW $17.9B
PH $19.9B
FY26
GWW —
PH $21.5B
GWW
PH
Operating margin
FY17
GWW 9.9%
PH 14.9%
FY18
GWW 10.3%
PH 14.3%
FY19
GWW 11.0%
PH 15.6%
FY20
GWW 8.6%
PH 14.4%
FY21
GWW 11.9%
PH 17.2%
FY22
GWW 14.6%
PH 18.8%
FY23
GWW 15.6%
PH 17.9%
FY24
GWW 15.4%
PH 20.4%
FY25
GWW 13.9%
PH 21.9%
FY26
GWW —
PH 23.6%
GWW
PH
Free cash flow
FY17
GWW $820M
PH $1.1B
FY18
GWW $818M
PH $1.3B
FY19
GWW $821M
PH $1.5B
FY20
GWW $926M
PH $1.8B
FY21
GWW $682M
PH $2.4B
FY22
GWW $1.1B
PH $2.2B
FY23
GWW $1.6B
PH $2.6B
FY24
GWW $1.6B
PH $3.0B
FY25
GWW $1.3B
PH $3.3B
FY26
GWW —
PH $3.9B
GWW
PH
Return on capital
FY17
GWW 17.8%
PH 16.9%
FY18
GWW 23.1%
PH 12.5%
FY19
GWW 24.3%
PH 17.6%
FY20
GWW 20.8%
PH 13.2%
FY21
GWW 28.4%
PH 13.6%
FY22
GWW 37.0%
PH 14.3%
FY23
GWW 39.8%
PH 12.5%
FY24
GWW 38.6%
PH 14.4%
FY25
GWW 32.3%
PH 16.7%
FY26
GWW —
PH 17.6%
GWW
PH
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.