W.W. GRAINGER, INC. (GWW)

W.W. Grainger, Inc., incorporated in Illinois in 1928, is a broad line distributor of maintenance, repair and operating (MRO) products and services, with operations primarily in North America and Japan. In the fourth quarter of 2025 it exited the U.K. by completing the sale of the Cromwell business on December 17 and closing the Zoro U.K. business. Its strategic framework, the Grainger Edge, is built around the purpose "We Keep The World Working," and the company competes with two business models: high-touch solutions and endless assortment.

Grainger has two reportable segments. High-Touch Solutions North America covers the Grainger-branded businesses in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Puerto Rico. It offers about 2 million products plus services such as technical support and inventory management, including the KeepStock onsite inventory management program, and sells through Grainger.com, sales and service representatives, customer service centers and branches. The Endless Assortment segment is a streamlined online platform comprising Zoro, which operates mainly in the U.S. and offers about 13 million products, and MonotaRO, which operates mainly in Japan and offers about 29 million products through websites and catalogs. Other businesses consisted mainly of Cromwell in the U.K. and a wholly owned captive insurance entity. Product categories include safety and security, material handling and storage, pumps and plumbing equipment, cleaning and maintenance, metalworking and hand tools. No single category exceeded 20% of 2025 sales.

Grainger serves more than 4.6 million customers worldwide, ranging from smaller businesses to large corporations, government entities and other institutions across industries such as commercial, healthcare and manufacturing. No single end customer accounted for more than 10% of 2025 sales. High-Touch Solutions customers are typically mid-size and large businesses with complex purchasing needs, who value product and service depth, focus on total cost of procurement and often use eProcurement systems that connect to Grainger. Endless Assortment customers are typically smaller and mid-size businesses with straightforward needs who value transparent pricing and easy procurement, and MonotaRO also attracts large enterprise customers.

Grainger operates in the large and fragmented MRO industry and relies on its supply chain infrastructure and broad in-stock offering. More than 5,000 primary suppliers provide over 1.5 million products stocked in distribution centers and branches globally, and no single supplier exceeded 5% of 2025 purchases. In High-Touch Solutions North America, automated distribution centers fulfill orders, mostly by direct shipment with next-day delivery, and replenish branches that offer same-day pickup. Zoro uses this distribution network and third-party drop shipments, while MonotaRO fulfills orders through local distribution centers and third-party drop shipments.