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Forensic Analysis · Durable-Goods Wholesale · as of Nov 8, 2026

W.W. Grainger, Inc. (GWW)

A forensic read on W.W. Grainger, Inc. built from its complete SEC filings — financial-health screens, earnings quality, red flags and a price-aware rating. Reproducible math, not opinion.

B · Sound & dependable
Forensic grade
Safe
Financial health
10.7
Distress distance
Clean
Earnings quality
1
Forensic signals
48.1%
ROE
4.5%
Revenue growth

This free snapshot doesn't read filing or proxy text, so the auditor-quality and governance checks that can lower a grade were not evaluated (auditor quality, say on pay, board independence, going concern). Those checks only ever lower a grade, so the full analysis can land below the grade above but never above it — treat it as the most favourable reading, not the settled one.

W.W. Grainger, Inc. earns a B (Sound & dependable) forensic quality grade, and its balance-sheet distress test reads 10.7, placing it in the Safe zone. 1 forensic signal was flagged in its latest SEC filings, led by shareholder returns.

What the filings flag

114% of FCF
FY2025
Shareholder returns. Returned $1.5B to shareholders (buybacks + dividends) in FY2025 — 114% of free cash flow, but 75% of operating cash flow. Returns run ahead of free cash flow because the business is also funding heavy growth capex (usually debt-financed); the payout itself is covered by operating cash — sustainable as long as that spending is genuine expansion, not upkeep. Counting the $64M of stock-based comp paid out in shares on top of that, the combined claim on free cash flow is 118%.

Key fundamentals

Latest Revenue$17.94B
Revenue Growth YoY+4.5%
Revenue CAGR (2yr)+4.3%
Net Margin9.5%
Free Cash Flow$1.33B
Return on Equity48.1%
Debt / Equity0.67x

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Data from SEC EDGAR public filings · metrics as of Nov 8, 2026. Forensic signals flag probability, not certainty.

See a wrong number? Report an error with the filing it should match.