Which is better, FAST or IRS?

On the Buffett-Fit framework, Fastenal Company (FAST) currently grades higher than IRS — 76/100 (B grade) vs 46/100 (D). That said, "better" depends on which framework you trust — FAST wins on Warren Buffett, Benjamin Graham, Philip Fisher, Joel Greenblatt, Charlie Munger, and Terry Smith; IRS wins on Peter Lynch. The full pillar breakdown is on this page.

Should I buy FAST or IRS?

This page is an educational comparison, not investment advice. Both FAST and IRS are graded against the same Buffett 5-pillar framework (moat, earnings durability, management quality, financial health, valuation) plus six other documented investor frameworks. Read the side-by-side breakdown to see which one matches the criteria you care about most — and always do your own research before making any investment decision.

Is FAST better than IRS for value investing?

On the Buffett-style value-investing framework, FAST currently grades higher — 76/100 vs 46/100, a 30-point gap. The gap is driven by which pillars each stock passes; the table on this page shows moat, durability, management, financial health, and valuation side-by-side.

What's the difference between FAST and IRS on Warren Buffett's framework?

Both stocks are evaluated on the same five pillars: economic moat (durable competitive advantage), earnings durability (consistent profitability), management quality (capital allocation), financial health (conservative balance sheet), and valuation (margin of safety). FAST currently scores 76/100 (B grade); IRS scores 46/100 (D grade). The "Where each wins" section on this page breaks down which pillar each stock dominates.

Which has the stronger moat, FAST or IRS?

Moat strength is one of the five pillars in the Buffett-Fit score on this page. FAST and IRS are each scored on ROIC sustainability, gross-margin durability, and qualitative signals like brand strength, switching costs, network effects, and regulatory barriers. The pillar breakdown on this page shows the moat sub-score side-by-side so you can see which one has the more durable competitive advantage.

Which is more undervalued, FAST or IRS?

Valuation is one of the five Buffett-Fit pillars on this page. Both stocks are scored on owner-earnings yield, price-to-intrinsic-value vs the underlying compounding rate, and the margin of safety relative to a conservative DCF. The valuation sub-score in the table below tells you which one currently trades at a more attractive price relative to its underlying business quality.

Are FAST and IRS both Industrials stocks?

Yes — both Fastenal Company (FAST) and IRSA Inversiones y Representaciones Sociedad Anónima (IRS) operate in the Industrials sector. That makes this a direct sector-peer comparison, which is the apples-to-apples way to use the Buffett-Fit framework: the score weighs each stock against its sector's specific quality and valuation benchmarks (sector-relative bonus), so the cross-stock comparison isn't distorted by inter-sector base-rate differences.

Is this FAST vs IRS comparison investment advice?

No. This page is an educational pattern-match against documented public frameworks (Buffett, Graham, Fisher, Lynch, Greenblatt, Munger, Smith), not personalised investment advice. The scores reflect how closely each stock matches each framework's documented criteria — they are not buy/hold/sell recommendations. Always do your own research and consult a licensed financial adviser for personalised advice.

Stock comparison

Fastenal

IRSA Inversiones y Representaciones Sociedad Anónima

Scored across Buffett, Graham, Lynch and Greenblatt - plus a side-by-side metric table covering valuation, quality, growth and balance sheet.

FAST

Fastenal

Market cap

$50.44B

Sector

Industrials

IRS

IRSA Inversiones y Representaciones Sociedad Anónima

Market cap

$1.08B

Sector

Industrials

Overall winner

Fastenal FAST

Wins on the combined sum of fit scores across all four strategies. Per-strategy breakdown below.

Fit scores by strategy

Strategy	FAST	IRS	Winner
Warren Buffett	76B	46D	FAST
Benjamin Graham	90A	25F	FAST
Philip Fisher	64C	60C	FAST
Peter Lynch	67B	83C	IRS
Joel Greenblatt	75C	59D	FAST
Charlie Munger	77B	50D	FAST
Terry Smith	73B	45D	FAST

Side-by-side metrics

Metric	FAST	IRS
Market cap	$50.44B	$1.08B
P/E (TTM)	38.4x	0.3x
EV/EBIT	30.2x	66.4x
ROIC (TTM)	28.76%	8.04%
Gross margin	44.89%	62.26%
Net margin	15.39%	50.9%
Revenue CAGR 5y	8.07%	80.83%
EPS CAGR 5y	8.29%	-
Debt / Equity	0.1x	0.5x
Dividend yield	2.12%	10.49%

Where each one wins

The metrics with the biggest gap between the two - sorted so the most decisive edges read first.

FAST leads on

Market cap$50.44Bvs $1.08B+98%
Debt / Equity0.1xvs 0.5x+79%
ROIC (TTM)28.76%vs 8.04%+72%
EV/EBIT30.2xvs 66.4x+54%

IRS leads on

P/E (TTM)0.3xvs 38.4x+99%
Revenue CAGR 5y80.83%vs 8.07%+90%
Dividend yield10.49%vs 2.12%+80%
Net margin50.9%vs 15.39%+70%

Educational tool. Fit scores are deterministic projections from public financials onto each investor's published criteria - not personal recommendations or advice.

Fastenal

IRSA Inversiones y Representaciones Sociedad Anónima

Fit scores by strategy

Side-by-side metrics

Where each one wins

More like FAST

More like IRS

Related on invest-like

Key terms in this analysis