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STOCK COMPARISON

WW Grainger vs MSC Industrial Direct Company: Fair Value & Quality

Both stocks run through our valuation models. Here is how WW Grainger (GWW) and MSC Industrial Direct Company (MSM) compare, as of Sep 5, 2026.

As of Sep 5, 2026, Fair Value Calculator sees MSC Industrial Direct Company as the less overvalued of the two: WW Grainger trades at $1,313 versus a fair value of $614 (-53%), while MSC Industrial Direct Company trades at $118 versus $73.51 (-38%).
WW Grainger
GWW · USD · Industrials
-53%
upside to fair value
overvalued
Price$1,313
Fair Value$614
Quality71/100
MSC Industrial Direct Company
MSM · USD · Industrials
-38%
upside to fair value
overvalued
Price$118
Fair Value$73.51
Quality68/100
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Head-to-head numbers

Green value = the better side for that row (for valuation multiples: lower = cheaper).

WW GraingerMSC Industrial Direct Company
Valuation
37.0×P/E (TTM)30.3×
3.53×P/S (TTM)1.78×
15.69×P/B5.02×
21.6×EV/EBITDA16.0×
2.15×PEG2.56×
−53.2%Fair value upside−37.6%
0.7%Dividend yield2.9%
$9.04Dividend per share$3.48
Profitability
17%Operating margin10%
1.74×EBIT margin trend (5Y)0.72×
46%Return on equity16%
20%Return on assets9%
Growth
10%Revenue growth (YoY)8%
5.6%Avg. growth/yr (3Y)0.7%
8.7%Avg. growth/yr (5Y)3.4%
+15.7%Value creation/yr−1.7%
Balance & size
33.2×Interest coverage (EBIT/interest)13.0×
0.57×Debt / equity0.12×
$65BMarket cap$7B
healthyGrowth qualitymixed

WW Grainger leads: 9 to 7 metric wins.

Dash = not meaningfully computable, for example with negative equity.

Quality in detail

The quality score, broken down into the same factor families as on the stock page, 0 to 100 per family.

WW Graingerof which business quality 68 · market factors 66 MSC Industrial Direct Companyof which business quality 67 · market factors 73
ProfitabilityMargins and returns on capital today
89
68
Quality GrowthAre margins and returns improving?
44
31
CashflowEarnings quality: real cash, not paper profit
46
55
Fin. StrengthBalance sheet, leverage, solvency risk
72
72
InvestmentDisciplined investing over empire-building
55
98
Low VolatilityCalm price path (market factor)
70
75
MomentumPrice trend over the last 3–12 months (market factor)
57
69
52W MomentumDistance to the 52-week high (market factor)
75
77
Net IssuanceBuybacks instead of dilution
100
87

What the models say

How far the median fair value (base case) per model family sits from the current price, in percent. The amount in the currency of the trading venue is shown underneath.

above the price, more than 15% above close to the price, 85% to 115% of the price below the price, more than 15% below

Model familyWW GraingerPrice $1,313MSC Industrial Direct CompanyPrice $118
DCF Models-53%below the price$615-40%below the price$70.48
Earnings-Based-74%below the price$340-72%below the price$32.47
Dividend Discount-87%below the price$169-55%below the price$53.06
Multiples-46%below the price$703-38%below the price$72.98
Asset-Based-96%below the price$58.76-86%below the price$16.65
Growth DCF-59%below the price$540-42%below the price$68.56
Economic Profit-64%below the price$467-66%below the price$39.84
Growth Earnings-49%below the price$668-45%below the price$64.47
Minimum-96%below the price$58.76-86%below the price$16.65
Maximum-46%below the price$703-38%below the price$72.98
Median-62%below the price$504-50%below the price$58.76
Geometric mean-73%below the price$354-60%below the price$47.51

Minimum, maximum, median and geometric mean refer to the family values in this table. Geometric because deviations are ratios: half the price and twice the price average to 100%, not 125%.

WW Grainger: 26 of 26 models see the stock below the current price.

MSC Industrial Direct Company: 26 of 26 models see the stock below the current price.

Scenario ranges

From our cautious bear case to the optimistic bull case. The white tick is the current price: left of fair value means room to run.

WW Grainger
Bear $361Fair Value $614Bull $949
$1,313 = current price (white tick)
MSC Industrial Direct Company
Bear $45.74Fair Value $73.51Bull $93.69
$118 = current price (white tick)

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Ranked within their sector

Where each stock sits within its sector peer group. Band = middle 50% of peers, tick = median, dot = this stock.

WW Grainger · Industrials

Quality score71 · Top 25%
Fair value upside-53% · below median

MSC Industrial Direct Company · Industrials

Quality score68 · Top 25%
Fair value upside-38% · below median

Bottom line

As of Sep 5, 2026, Fair Value Calculator sees MSC Industrial Direct Company as the less overvalued of the two: WW Grainger trades at $1,313 versus a fair value of $614 (-53%), while MSC Industrial Direct Company trades at $118 versus $73.51 (-38%).

WW Grainger has the higher quality score (71/100).

See the full analysis →
WW Grainger · MSC Industrial Direct Company

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A model-based valuation snapshot from 26 models. Values change with price and fundamentals; the date shown above applies.