Latest news with #FMI
Business Wire
15-07-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
FMI Report: Amid Uncertainty, Food Industry Succeeds in Offering Shoppers Value
ARLINGTON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, FMI – The Food Industry Association, releases its signature research, The Food Retailing Industry Speaks 2025, which reveals how the industry is evolving into a modern grocery experience while navigating a complex operating environment. The analysis highlights successful strategies across the sector and offers a deeper exploration of how food retailers and suppliers are adapting their businesses. Our industry, long accustomed to operating on narrow margins, is once again feeling economically squeezed, with food retail profit margins settling at 1.7%, while food product suppliers reported a net income of 7.7%, consistent with 2023 figures. Share The food industry continues to face a challenging macroeconomic situation. Approximately 80% of both retailers and suppliers anticipate that trade policies and tariffs will continue to impact pricing and disrupt supply chains. Additionally, most expect operating costs to remain elevated. FMI President and CEO Leslie G. Sarasin reflected on the annual report, saying, 'Our industry, long accustomed to operating on narrow margins, is once again feeling economically squeezed, with food retail profit margins settling at 1.7%, while food product suppliers reported a net income of 7.7%, consistent with 2023 figures. 'These performance pressures remain persistent, and the outlook presented in our recent analysis highlights a broader trend – a sharp rise in costs associated with regulatory actions at the federal and state levels and their impact on the food industry in recent years. As regulatory burdens and complexity continue to grow, our industry braces for even greater costs ahead. With more than half of suppliers and over one-third of retailers expecting increased compliance expenses in 2025, we are focused on advocating for changes to these policies and on providing tools to our members to help reduce the compliance burden.' Despite these hurdles, retailers and suppliers reported significant progress in workforce stability last year due to continued efforts to boost employment incentive offerings. The share of retailers citing recruitment and retention challenges dropped dramatically from 85% in 2022 to just 52% in 2024. Suppliers witnessed an even steeper decline in recruitment and retention challenges, falling from 65% to 28% over the same period. This positive shift reflects substantial investments in talent development across the food industry, specific to enhanced wages, expanded benefits, performance bonuses, and robust training programs that have contributed to a notable reduction in employee turnover – falling to 48% in 2024 from a historic high of 65% in 2022. It is unclear how the current immigration and deportation policy changes will impact these numbers in 2025. Nearly 50% of food retailers and suppliers note the positive impact of consumers leveraging food to manage or avoid health issues, and most are offering products with beneficial nutrition attributes for health and well-being. While shoppers remain concerned about food prices, FMI's recent consumer trends research found customers are willing to invest in key needs related to 'eating well,' including health, entertainment, exploration and convenience. 'While being sensitive to the budgets of consumers, our members are reimagining the grocery store as a destination and one that reflects how today's shoppers want to live and eat,' Sarasin said. 'From expanded fresh offerings and wellness hubs to foodservice solutions and seamless omnichannel experiences, they are focused on delivering quality, personalization and loyalty-driven value at every touchpoint.' For Media: Members of the media may contact FMI for a gratis copy of The Food Retailing Industry Speaks 2025 report. To access online charts, visit About FMI As The Food Industry Association, FMI works with and on behalf of the entire industry to advance a safer, healthier, and more efficient consumer food supply chain. FMI brings together a wide range of members across the value chain — from retailers to producers to companies supplying critical services — to amplify the collective work of the industry.
Yahoo
15-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Fastenal Co (FAST) Q2 2025 Earnings Call Highlights: Record Revenue and Strong Digital Growth
Revenue: Exceeded $2 billion for the first time, with an 8.6% increase in Q2 2025. Daily Sales Growth: Highest since early 2023, with a growth rate of 8.6%. Contract Customer Sales: Increased by 11%, representing 73.2% of total revenues. Operating Margin: Achieved 21%, up 80 basis points year-over-year. Gross Margin: 45.3%, up 20 basis points from the previous year. Earnings Per Share (EPS): $0.29, a 12.7% increase from the previous year. Operating Cash Flow: $279 million, representing 84.4% of net income. Inventory Growth: Increased by 14.7% to improve product availability and efficiency. Accounts Receivable: Up 9.9%, reflecting sales growth and deferred payments. FMI Technology Sales: Represented 44.1% of sales, with an 11% increase in installed devices. E-business Sales: Grew by 13.5%, surpassing 30% of total sales for the first time. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 7 Warning Signs with BOM:540595. Release Date: July 14, 2025 For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. Fastenal Co (NASDAQ:FAST) achieved over $2 billion in revenue for the first time in its history, marking a significant milestone. Sales in the second quarter increased by 8.6%, with the highest daily growth since early 2023. Contract customer sales increased by 11%, now representing 73.2% of revenues, up from 71.2% the previous year. The company saw a 30% year-over-year revenue increase in non-manufacturing sites generating $50,000 or more per month. E-business sales grew by 13.5%, surpassing 30% of total sales for the first time, indicating strong digital growth. Market conditions remain sluggish, with trade policy creating caution and uncertainty among customers. There was a decline in the number of accounts generating under $5,000, particularly those under $500, which could impact smaller customer segments. The FMI Technology adoption was softer than expected, with a slight decrease in new customer signings compared to previous years. Higher import duty fees and transportation costs negatively impacted gross margins. The company faces challenges in managing price costs due to ongoing tariff uncertainties, which could affect future profitability. Q: Could you discuss the evolution of profitability as relationships with customers generating $10,000 or more per month mature and grow? A: Daniel Florness, CEO: The contribution margins for customers generating $10,000 or more per month align closely with the historical company average. While gross margins can challenge the company number slightly, the SG&A leverage is much better due to the rationalization of our branch network and the shift to on-site and large customer services. This has led to a leaner operating expense structure, particularly in people and occupancy costs. Q: Does the inventory investment imply a higher mix of fasteners, and how does it impact margins? A: Daniel Florness, CEO: The inventory investment has been paying off in the first half of the year, providing an attractive return. The deeper inventory allows for better customer engagement and more efficient operations. As we move into the latter half of 2025 and into 2026, we plan to rationalize some of this inventory, which should improve returns further. Q: Should we expect flattish gross margins year over year in the second half, and how is deeper inventory of fasteners helping margins? A: Sheryl Lisowski, CFO: We expect our margin for 2025 to remain essentially flat with 2024. Daniel Florness, CEO: The deeper inventory of fasteners helps margins by allowing us to capture more MRO fastener business, which carries a better gross margin profile due to its spot buy nature. This also frees up labor, allowing us to leverage sales and improve mix. Q: What's your confidence level in achieving double-digit sales growth in the second half of 2025? A: Daniel Florness, CEO: We are confident in achieving double-digit sales growth for the rest of the year. The pipeline is strong across all categories, and the momentum from contract signings supports this outlook. Q: Can you provide more insight into the enhancements for and the opportunity to capture more spot buy needs? A: Daniel Florness, CEO: Enhancements to aim to improve the capture of spot buy needs, particularly from existing customers. We believe there's a significant opportunity to capture additional business from our 10,000-plus customers, as well as stabilize and grow our under 5,000 customer base. Enhancements include improved checkout processes, search functionality, and a clear strategy for e-commerce offerings. For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
The Star
14-07-2025
- Climate
- The Star
Heatwave hits Finland, Sweden, triggers health warnings
HELSINKI, July 14 (Xinhua) -- A heatwave sweeping across Europe has pushed temperatures above 20 degrees Celsius in Finland and Sweden, with some areas exceeding 30 degrees, prompting health and safety warnings. As of early Monday evening, the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI) issued yellow-level alerts for "potentially dangerous temperatures" across most of Finland. Sweden issued similar warnings, particularly in the north. Heat alert thresholds differ by country. In Finland, warnings are triggered when highs reach 27 degrees or daily averages exceed 20 degrees. In Sweden, yellow alerts are issued if temperatures are forecast to exceed 30 degrees for four consecutive days. On Monday, Finland experienced widespread hot and sunny weather, with temperatures exceeding 30 degrees in many areas including the capital region, according to the FMI. The heat follows a cooler, wetter start to summer. A national high of 31.5 degrees this summer, recorded Sunday in southwestern Finland's Kaskinen, was surpassed on Monday, when the FMI reported 31.6 degrees -- again in the city. "This week is shaping up to be the hottest of the summer so far," FMI meteorologist Jani Sorsa told Finnish News Agency STT on Monday. In response to the heat, Finland's Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) issued health warnings urging people -- especially those over 75 -- to stay hydrated, avoid direct sunlight, and reduce physical exertion. Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI) forecast highs of 26-33 degrees in parts of the country, warning residents to watch for signs of overheating and dehydration in themselves and others. Swedish Television meteorologist Nils Holmqvist warned that up to 600 heat-related deaths could occur under the current conditions. In Finland, THL specialist Virpi Kollanus said heat-related deaths have risen since 2000, reversing a downward trend seen since the 1970s. "The earlier decline likely resulted from better living standards and improved public health," she told broadcaster Yle. "Now, heatwaves are more frequent and the population is aging." The FMI noted that prolonged heat remains rare in Finland. Two-week heatwaves occur roughly once a decade. Since 1961, six three-week periods have been recorded, most recently in 2021.
Yahoo
14-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Fastenal Q2 Earnings & Sales Beat Estimates, Stock Rises
Fastenal Company's FAST second-quarter 2025 adjusted earnings and revenues came ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate and increased year over results reflect operational discipline, customer expansion and resilience despite broader macro sluggishness. FAST stock gained 3.3% after the earnings results on Friday. The company reported earnings per share (EPS) of 29 cents, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 28 cents and grew 12.7% from the year-ago level of 25 cents per sales rose 8.6% year over year to $2.08 billion, topping the consensus mark of $2.06 billion. Daily sales also climbed 8.6%, driven primarily by improved customer contract momentum and increased unit sales. Growth came despite a sluggish industrial environment, as larger contract customers and key manufacturing accounts continued to drive incremental gains. Foreign exchange rates positively impacted sales by 10 basis points (bps).Fastenal's unit sales rose in the quarter, driven by more customer sites spending more than $10K per month and modest growth in average sales per site. Product pricing also contributed positively, adding 140–170 bps to net sales. Fastenal Company price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Fastenal Company Quote Daily sales of Fasteners (mainly used for industrial production and accounting for approximately 30.5% of net sales) increased 6.6% year over year. Sales of Safety Supplies (22.2%) grew 10.7% daily. Sales of the Other Product Lines (47.3%) also increased 9% year over an end-market basis, the daily sales rate of Heavy Manufacturing (which accounted for approximately 42.9% of net sales) rose 7.5% year over year. The daily sales rate of Other Manufacturing (33%) grew 11% compared with the prior the daily sales of Non-Residential Construction grew 3% compared with the prior-year quarter, while the same for Other End-Markets grew 8.7% in the same time sales through weighted FMI devices grew 14.4% for the second quarter, representing 44.1% of net sales. In the quarter, daily sales through eProcurement rose 19.3%, while daily sales via eCommerce declined 4.2%.In the second quarter of 2025, Digital Footprint sales (which include FMI technology and non-FMI eBusiness) accounted for 61% of total sales, up from 59.4% in the year-ago period. The company's revised 2025 target for Digital Footprint penetration is 63%–64%, down from the prior goal of 66%–68%. The gross margin was 45.3% in the reported quarter, up 20 bps year over year. Our model predicted a gross margin of 44.9% for the quarter. This upside was due to increased fastener product availability, which resulted in higher sales and improved gross general and administrative expenses – as a percentage of net sales – improved to 24.4% from 24.9% reported in the year-ago quarter. Our model predicted SG&A expenses to improve to 24.3%.Operating margin was 21% (higher than our projection of 20.6%), up from 20.2% a year ago. As of June 30, 2025, Fastenal had cash and cash equivalents of $237.8 million, down from $255.8 million as of Dec. 31, 2024. The long-term debt at the end of the second quarter of 2025 was $100 million, down from $125 million at 2024-end. During the quarter, FAST returned $252.5 million to its shareholders in the form of the second quarter of 2025, net cash provided by operating activities totaled $278.6 million, up 8.1% from the year-ago period. Fastenal currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).Here are some better-ranked stocks from the Zacks Industrial Products Industrial Direct Co., Inc. MSM currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank stocks MSC stock has gained 21% year to date (YTD). The company has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 6%, on average. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for MSC's fiscal 2025 sales and EPS indicates a decline of 1.9% and 24.1%, respectively, from the year-ago period's Limited IPX currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). IperionX stock has lost 4.4% YTD. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for IperionX's current year's bottom line is expected to improve to a loss of 2 cents per share compared with a 10-cent loss reported in the year-ago Aktiengesellschaft SIEGY currently carries a Zacks Rank #2. Siemens stock has gained 34.9% YTD. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Siemens' current year's sales and EPS indicates growth of 2.3% and 20.5%, respectively, from the year-ago period's levels. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Fastenal Company (FAST) : Free Stock Analysis Report MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (MSM) : Free Stock Analysis Report Siemens AG (SIEGY) : Free Stock Analysis Report IperionX Limited Sponsored ADR (IPX) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research ( Zacks Investment Research
Yahoo
27-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Why spotlighting private brands should remain a top priority for grocers
This story was originally published on Grocery Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Grocery Dive newsletter. Private label lines have shed their image of being a way for shoppers to trade down, but there is still more that grocers can do to highlight the value proposition of their store brands, according to FMI — The Food Industry Association's The Power of Private Brands 2025 report. Consumers' loyalty to private brands has increased, and grocers can capitalize on this by offering additional value-centered incentives to purchase private label products. Aside from establishing shopper loyalty, putting more emphasis on private brand offerings can also help grocers compete against club retailers, which achieved the highest private brand growth during the 52-week period that ended in late March. Ninety-five percent of grocery shoppers purchase store brand items at least occasionally — 'on par with the buying patterns for manufacturer brands,' FMI found, adding that surveyed shoppers stated that 'good value' and being 'less expensive' are what's prompting them to purchase private label products. Loyalty towards private brands is continuing to rise, with FMI reporting that, even if grocery prices fall, close to half of consumers (48%) are very likely to still opt for store brand goods. But even though private label loyalty is locked in, shoppers are still craving more from grocers when it comes to selling their store brand offerings. By the numbers 5.4% Percentage by which private brand dollar sales grew during the 52-week period ended March 23. National brands only saw an uptick of 2.2%, according to Circana. 57% Percentage of shoppers who say store brands are 'very or extremely important' in helping them decide where to shop. 58% Percentage of shoppers who described a grocer's private brand as a 'store's version of a product.' FMI's survey results showed that shoppers are looking for 'even more price and value opportunities,' such as buy-one-get-one offerings, end cap specials, coupons and on-sale bulk items. The findings from FMI and Circana indicate that grocers have plenty of room to play in when finding ways to better advertise their private label products to consumers. Second only to recommendations from family and friends (35%), coupons and promotions are what most influence shoppers' brand choices (32%), followed by in-store shelf signage (25%), grocery store website/app (25%) and grocery loyalty programs (24%), according to the report. Despite the leverage private label offerings continue to give grocers as they face price-sensitive consumers and tariff uncertainty, club and mass channels remain a threat. Club and mass retailers led in terms of the share of food and beverage private brand spending they attracted, according to data from Circana that FMI cited. In addition, club retailers saw a 1.5 percentage point year-over-year dollar share gain in private brand growth, the highest of any food retailer channel, while grocery recorded an increase in dollar share of less than 1 percentage point. Recommended Reading Private label sales hit record in 2024 Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
