Third-Quarter 2020 Earnings Recap - Modern Distribution Management

Third-Quarter 2020 Earnings Recap

How did the public distributors (and manufacturers relevant to this space) perform in the calendar third quarter? Our recap provides highlights of their revenue and earnings results.
The companies reported strong third-quarter figures, with Watsco and Pool Corp breaking sales records and Snap-On topping $1.1 billion.

Below is a rundown of how public companies in distribution performed during the third quarter (or fiscal quarter or full fiscal year, in some cases). The list includes companies across a variety of verticals and includes some manufacturers pertinent to the distribution space.

Click the company name for more details on their quarterly earnings, including year-to-date performance. In select recaps, look for links to separate blogs that provide deeper analysis on their quarter.

Here’s how companies performed in the July-September quarter:

3M (NYSE: MMM) — The St. Paul, Minnesota-based company reported third-quarter sales of $8.4 billion, a 4.5% increase compared to the third quarter of 2019. Profit was $1.4 million, a 10.7% decrease compared to the prior year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Inc. (NYSE: AIT) — The Cleveland-based distributor reported fiscal first-quarter sales of $747.8 million, down 12.7% compared to a year ago. Net income for the quarter was $34.8 million, down 10.3% from the prior-year period. Read more in our blog, Applied’s Acquisition Strategy Key to Lofty Revenue Goal.

Arrow Electronics Inc. (NYSE: ARW) — The Centennial, Colorado-based electronics distributor reported third-quarter sales of $7.2 billion, up 2% compared with the third quarter of 2019. Net income of $166.1 million was up 80.2% from the year-ago quarter.

Avnet Inc. (Nasdaq: AVT) — The Phoenix-based electronics distributor reported sales for the fiscal first quarter of $4.7 billion, a 2% increase from the same period a year ago. The company reported a loss for the quarter of $18.9 million, compared to a profit of $41.8 million in the year-ago quarter.

Beacon Roofing Supply Inc. (Nasdaq: BECN) — Beacon announces its fiscal fourth quarter and 2020 earnings on Nov. 19.

Bluelinx Holdings Inc. (NYSE: BXC) — The Atlanta-based building materials distributor reported sales for the third quarter of $871 million, an increase of 28.3% year-over-year. The company reported a profit of $55.1 million, compared to a loss of $7 million in the prior-year quarter.

BMC Stock Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: STCK) — The Raleigh, North Carolina-based building materials distributor reported sales for the third quarter of $1.1 billion, an increase of 13.1% compared to the year-ago period. The company reported a profit for the quarter of $44.9 million, up 33.6% from the same quarter a year ago.

Builders FirstSource Inc. (Nasdaq: BLDR) — The Dallas-based building materials distributor reported third-quarter sales of $2.3 billion, a 15.9% increase from the same quarter a year ago. Profit of $85.9 million was a 10% improvement from 3Q 2019.

DXP Enterprises Inc. (NASDAQ: DXPE) — The Houston-based MRO and industrial distributor reported third-quarter sales of $220.2 million, down 32.7% compared to the third quarter of 2019. The company reported a loss of $34.7 million, compared with a profit of $13.1 million in the year-ago period.

Fastenal Co. (Nasdaq: FAST) — The Winona, Minnesota-based fasteners and industrial distributor reported third-quarter sales of $1.4 billion, a 2.5% increase compared with the same period a year ago. Quarterly profit was $221.5 million, a 3.7% increase compared to the year-ago period. Read more in our blog, Why Fastenal is ‘Optimally Positioned’ to Take Share.

Foundation Building Materials Inc. (NYSE: FBM) — The Tustin, California-based building materials distributor reported sales for the third quarter of $521.3 million, a decrease of 7.7% compared to the prior-year period. Profit was $11.8 million, down 7.1% from the previous year’s quarter.

Genuine Parts Co. (NYSE: GPC) — The Atlanta-based company reported sales from continuing operations of $4.4 billion, a 3.4% decrease compared to $4.5 billion in the same period of the prior year. Its subsidiary, Motion Industries — what GPC calls its “industrial parts group” — reported third-quarter sales of $1.4 billion, down 18.6% year-over-year, or down 8.7% excluding the EIS divestiture, and represented 32% of total GPC revenues.

HD Supply Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: HDS) — We expect HD Supply to report fiscal third-quarter earnings in early December.

Huttig Building Products Inc. (Nasdaq: HBP) — The St. Louis-based building materials distributor reported third-quarter sales of $212.7 million, a 1.4% decrease over the prior-year period. The company reported a profit of $6.1 million for the quarter, up from $1.6 million in the third quarter of 2019.

Lawson Products Inc. (Nasdaq: LAWS) — The Chicago-based MRO industrial distributor reported third-quarter sales of $90.3 million, down 4.7% compared to the 2019 third quarter. Net income of $1.7 million was down from $4.8 million in the year-ago period.

MRC Global Inc. (NYSE: MRC) — The Houston-based pipes, valves and fittings distributor reported third-quarter sales of $585 million, down 38% from the same period a year ago. The company reported a loss of $3 million, compared to a profit of $15 million last year.

MSC Industrial Supply Co. (NYSE: MSM) — The Melville, New York-based industrial distributor reported sales for the fiscal fourth quarter ended Aug. 29 of $747.7 million, down 11.3% over the same quarter in 2019. Profit fell 21.2% to $52.5 million.

NOW Inc. (NYSE: DNOW) — The Houston-based distributor reported sales for the third quarter of $326 million, a 56.6% decrease from the same period a year ago. The company reported a loss of $22 million, compared to a profit of $10 million a year ago.

Pool Corp. (Nasdaq: POOL) — The Covington, Louisiana-based wholesale distributor of swimming pool and related backyard products reported third-quarter sales of $1.1 billion, up 26.8% from a year ago. Profit increased 49.8% to $119.1 million.

SiteOne Landscape Supply Inc. (NYSE: SITE) — The Roswell, Georgia-based reported sales for the third quarter of $751.9 million, up 15% from the same period a year ago. Net income increased 39% to $48.2 million.

United Rentals Inc. (NYSE: URI) — The Stamford, Connecticut-based company reported third-quarter sales of $2.2 billion, down 12.1% compared to a year ago. Profit of $208 million was down 46.8% compared with a year ago.

Watsco Inc. (NYSE: WSO) — The Miami-based HVACR distributor reported third-quarter sales of $1.5 billion, up 10.2% year-over-year. Profit increased 27.6% to $106.5 million, and diluted EPS of $2.76 was up from $2.40 a year ago and beat analysts’ estimates by 27 cents.

WESCO International Inc. (NYSE: WCC) — The Pittsburgh-based electrical distributor reported third-quarter sales of $4.1 billion, up 93% from the same period a year ago due to recent acquisition Anixter International Inc.’s financials now being included in the earnings report. The company reported a profit of $66.2 million, down slightly from a profit of $64.5 million in the year-ago period.

W.W. Grainger Inc. (NYSE: GWW) — The Chicago-based industrial distributor reported third-quarter sales of $3 billion, up 2.4% compared to the year-ago quarter. Grainger’s profit increased 3% to $240 million. Read more in our blog, Behind Grainger’s Customer Acquisition Strategy.

*Not all public distributors or companies relevant to the distribution space are included in this roundup. We will continue to build out this list in the coming quarters.

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