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Side-by-side financial comparison of F5, Inc. (FFIV) and MSC INDUSTRIAL DIRECT CO INC (MSM). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

MSC INDUSTRIAL DIRECT CO INC is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($965.7M vs $811.7M, roughly 1.2× F5, Inc.). F5, Inc. runs the higher net margin — 18.2% vs 5.4%, a 12.9% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, F5, Inc. posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (11.0% vs 4.0%). Over the past eight quarters, F5, Inc.'s revenue compounded faster (8.0% CAGR vs -3.4%).

F5, Inc. is an American technology company specializing in application security, multi-cloud management, online fraud prevention, application delivery networking (ADN), application availability and performance, and network security, access, and authorization.

MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc (MSC), through its subsidiaries, primarily MSC Industrial Supply Co., is one of the largest industrial equipment distributors in the United States, distributing more than 1.5 million metalworking and other industrial products.

FFIV vs MSM — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
MSM
MSM
1.2× larger
MSM
$965.7M
$811.7M
FFIV
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
FFIV
FFIV
+7.0% gap
FFIV
11.0%
4.0%
MSM
Higher net margin
FFIV
FFIV
12.9% more per $
FFIV
18.2%
5.4%
MSM
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
FFIV
FFIV
Annualised
FFIV
8.0%
-3.4%
MSM

Income Statement — Q2 FY2026 vs Q1 FY2026

Metric
FFIV
FFIV
MSM
MSM
Revenue
$811.7M
$965.7M
Net Profit
$148.0M
$51.8M
Gross Margin
81.4%
40.7%
Operating Margin
22.1%
7.9%
Net Margin
18.2%
5.4%
Revenue YoY
11.0%
4.0%
Net Profit YoY
1.5%
11.1%
EPS (diluted)
$2.58
$0.93

Green = leading value per metric. Periods may differ when fiscal calendars don't align.

8-Quarter Revenue & Profit Trend

Side-by-side quarterly history. Quarters aligned by calendar period so offset fiscal years line up.

Revenue
FFIV
FFIV
MSM
MSM
Q1 26
$811.7M
Q4 25
$822.5M
$965.7M
Q3 25
$810.1M
$978.2M
Q2 25
$780.4M
$971.1M
Q1 25
$731.1M
Q4 24
$766.5M
$928.5M
Q3 24
$746.7M
Q2 24
$695.5M
$979.4M
Net Profit
FFIV
FFIV
MSM
MSM
Q1 26
$148.0M
Q4 25
$180.1M
$51.8M
Q3 25
$190.5M
$56.5M
Q2 25
$189.9M
$56.8M
Q1 25
$145.5M
Q4 24
$166.4M
$46.6M
Q3 24
$165.3M
Q2 24
$144.1M
$71.7M
Gross Margin
FFIV
FFIV
MSM
MSM
Q1 26
81.4%
Q4 25
81.5%
40.7%
Q3 25
82.2%
40.4%
Q2 25
81.0%
41.0%
Q1 25
80.7%
Q4 24
81.7%
40.7%
Q3 24
80.8%
Q2 24
80.4%
40.9%
Operating Margin
FFIV
FFIV
MSM
MSM
Q1 26
22.1%
Q4 25
26.0%
7.9%
Q3 25
25.4%
8.6%
Q2 25
25.2%
8.5%
Q1 25
21.7%
Q4 24
26.8%
7.8%
Q3 24
25.6%
Q2 24
23.4%
10.9%
Net Margin
FFIV
FFIV
MSM
MSM
Q1 26
18.2%
Q4 25
21.9%
5.4%
Q3 25
23.5%
5.8%
Q2 25
24.3%
5.9%
Q1 25
19.9%
Q4 24
21.7%
5.0%
Q3 24
22.1%
Q2 24
20.7%
7.3%
EPS (diluted)
FFIV
FFIV
MSM
MSM
Q1 26
$2.58
Q4 25
$3.10
$0.93
Q3 25
$3.25
$1.02
Q2 25
$3.25
$1.02
Q1 25
$2.48
Q4 24
$2.82
$0.83
Q3 24
$2.79
Q2 24
$2.44
$1.27

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest quarter.

Metric
FFIV
FFIV
MSM
MSM
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$1.4B
$40.3M
Total DebtLower is stronger
$214.1M
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$3.6B
$1.4B
Total Assets
$6.5B
$2.5B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
0.16×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
FFIV
FFIV
MSM
MSM
Q1 26
$1.4B
Q4 25
$1.2B
$40.3M
Q3 25
$1.3B
$56.2M
Q2 25
$1.4B
$71.7M
Q1 25
$1.3B
Q4 24
$1.2B
$57.3M
Q3 24
$1.1B
Q2 24
$935.6M
$25.9M
Total Debt
FFIV
FFIV
MSM
MSM
Q1 26
Q4 25
$214.1M
Q3 25
$168.8M
Q2 25
$285.0M
Q1 25
Q4 24
$289.9M
Q3 24
Q2 24
$299.8M
Stockholders' Equity
FFIV
FFIV
MSM
MSM
Q1 26
$3.6B
Q4 25
$3.5B
$1.4B
Q3 25
$3.6B
$1.4B
Q2 25
$3.5B
$1.4B
Q1 25
$3.3B
Q4 24
$3.2B
$1.4B
Q3 24
$3.1B
Q2 24
$3.0B
$1.4B
Total Assets
FFIV
FFIV
MSM
MSM
Q1 26
$6.5B
Q4 25
$6.3B
$2.5B
Q3 25
$6.3B
$2.5B
Q2 25
$6.1B
$2.5B
Q1 25
$5.9B
Q4 24
$5.9B
$2.5B
Q3 24
$5.6B
Q2 24
$5.4B
$2.5B
Debt / Equity
FFIV
FFIV
MSM
MSM
Q1 26
Q4 25
0.16×
Q3 25
0.12×
Q2 25
0.21×
Q1 25
Q4 24
0.21×
Q3 24
Q2 24
0.21×

Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency

How much cash each business actually produces after reinvestment. Cash flow is harder to manipulate than net income.

Metric
FFIV
FFIV
MSM
MSM
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$525.1M
$29.4M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$7.4M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
0.8%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
2.3%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
3.55×
0.57×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
FFIV
FFIV
MSM
MSM
Q1 26
$525.1M
Q4 25
$159.2M
$29.4M
Q3 25
$208.1M
Q2 25
$282.2M
$151.6M
Q1 25
$256.6M
Q4 24
$202.8M
$101.9M
Q3 24
$246.5M
Q2 24
$159.0M
$143.5M
Free Cash Flow
FFIV
FFIV
MSM
MSM
Q1 26
Q4 25
$149.5M
$7.4M
Q3 25
$191.9M
Q2 25
$273.7M
$100.7M
Q1 25
$246.1M
Q4 24
$194.7M
$81.7M
Q3 24
$240.4M
Q2 24
$153.1M
$114.0M
FCF Margin
FFIV
FFIV
MSM
MSM
Q1 26
Q4 25
18.2%
0.8%
Q3 25
23.7%
Q2 25
35.1%
10.4%
Q1 25
33.7%
Q4 24
25.4%
8.8%
Q3 24
32.2%
Q2 24
22.0%
11.6%
Capex Intensity
FFIV
FFIV
MSM
MSM
Q1 26
Q4 25
1.2%
2.3%
Q3 25
2.0%
Q2 25
1.1%
5.2%
Q1 25
1.4%
Q4 24
1.1%
2.2%
Q3 24
0.8%
Q2 24
0.8%
3.0%
Cash Conversion
FFIV
FFIV
MSM
MSM
Q1 26
3.55×
Q4 25
0.88×
0.57×
Q3 25
1.09×
Q2 25
1.49×
2.67×
Q1 25
1.76×
Q4 24
1.22×
2.18×
Q3 24
1.49×
Q2 24
1.10×
2.00×

Financial Flow Comparison

Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.

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