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Side-by-side financial comparison of MetLife (MET) 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 $600.0M, roughly 1.6× MetLife). MetLife runs the higher net margin — 134.8% vs 5.4%, a 129.5% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, MetLife posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (7.9% vs 4.0%). Over the past eight quarters, MetLife's revenue compounded faster (2.0% CAGR vs -3.4%).

MetLife, Inc. is the holding corporation for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (MLIC), better known as MetLife, and its affiliates. MetLife is among the largest global providers of insurance, annuities, and employee benefit programs, with around 90 million customers in over 60 countries. The firm was founded on March 24, 1868. MetLife ranked No. 43 in the 2018 Fortune 500 list of the largest United States corporations by total revenue.

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.

MET vs MSM — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
MSM
MSM
1.6× larger
MSM
$965.7M
$600.0M
MET
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
MET
MET
+3.9% gap
MET
7.9%
4.0%
MSM
Higher net margin
MET
MET
129.5% more per $
MET
134.8%
5.4%
MSM
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
MET
MET
Annualised
MET
2.0%
-3.4%
MSM

Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q1 FY2026

Metric
MET
MET
MSM
MSM
Revenue
$600.0M
$965.7M
Net Profit
$809.0M
$51.8M
Gross Margin
40.7%
Operating Margin
7.9%
Net Margin
134.8%
5.4%
Revenue YoY
7.9%
4.0%
Net Profit YoY
-36.3%
11.1%
EPS (diluted)
$1.18
$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
MET
MET
MSM
MSM
Q4 25
$600.0M
$965.7M
Q3 25
$621.0M
$978.2M
Q2 25
$604.0M
$971.1M
Q1 25
$611.0M
Q4 24
$556.0M
$928.5M
Q3 24
$554.0M
Q2 24
$558.0M
$979.4M
Q1 24
$577.0M
$935.3M
Net Profit
MET
MET
MSM
MSM
Q4 25
$809.0M
$51.8M
Q3 25
$896.0M
$56.5M
Q2 25
$729.0M
$56.8M
Q1 25
$945.0M
Q4 24
$1.3B
$46.6M
Q3 24
$1.3B
Q2 24
$946.0M
$71.7M
Q1 24
$867.0M
$61.8M
Gross Margin
MET
MET
MSM
MSM
Q4 25
40.7%
Q3 25
40.4%
Q2 25
41.0%
Q1 25
Q4 24
40.7%
Q3 24
Q2 24
40.9%
Q1 24
41.5%
Operating Margin
MET
MET
MSM
MSM
Q4 25
7.9%
Q3 25
8.6%
Q2 25
8.5%
Q1 25
Q4 24
7.8%
Q3 24
Q2 24
10.9%
Q1 24
9.7%
Net Margin
MET
MET
MSM
MSM
Q4 25
134.8%
5.4%
Q3 25
144.3%
5.8%
Q2 25
120.7%
5.9%
Q1 25
154.7%
Q4 24
228.6%
5.0%
Q3 24
242.2%
Q2 24
169.5%
7.3%
Q1 24
150.3%
6.6%
EPS (diluted)
MET
MET
MSM
MSM
Q4 25
$1.18
$0.93
Q3 25
$1.22
$1.02
Q2 25
$1.03
$1.02
Q1 25
$1.28
Q4 24
$1.75
$0.83
Q3 24
$1.81
Q2 24
$1.28
$1.27
Q1 24
$1.10
$1.10

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

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

Metric
MET
MET
MSM
MSM
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$25.6B
$40.3M
Total DebtLower is stronger
$214.1M
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$28.4B
$1.4B
Total Assets
$745.2B
$2.5B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
0.16×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
MET
MET
MSM
MSM
Q4 25
$25.6B
$40.3M
Q3 25
$26.2B
$56.2M
Q2 25
$27.5B
$71.7M
Q1 25
$26.9B
Q4 24
$25.2B
$57.3M
Q3 24
$26.4B
Q2 24
$24.6B
$25.9M
Q1 24
$24.7B
$22.2M
Total Debt
MET
MET
MSM
MSM
Q4 25
$214.1M
Q3 25
$168.8M
Q2 25
$285.0M
Q1 25
Q4 24
$289.9M
Q3 24
Q2 24
$299.8M
Q1 24
$294.5M
Stockholders' Equity
MET
MET
MSM
MSM
Q4 25
$28.4B
$1.4B
Q3 25
$28.9B
$1.4B
Q2 25
$27.7B
$1.4B
Q1 25
$27.5B
Q4 24
$27.4B
$1.4B
Q3 24
$30.9B
Q2 24
$27.3B
$1.4B
Q1 24
$28.5B
$1.4B
Total Assets
MET
MET
MSM
MSM
Q4 25
$745.2B
$2.5B
Q3 25
$719.7B
$2.5B
Q2 25
$702.5B
$2.5B
Q1 25
$688.3B
Q4 24
$677.5B
$2.5B
Q3 24
$705.0B
Q2 24
$675.7B
$2.5B
Q1 24
$677.6B
$2.5B
Debt / Equity
MET
MET
MSM
MSM
Q4 25
0.16×
Q3 25
0.12×
Q2 25
0.21×
Q1 25
Q4 24
0.21×
Q3 24
Q2 24
0.21×
Q1 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
MET
MET
MSM
MSM
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$7.1B
$29.4M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$7.4M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
0.8%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
2.3%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
8.75×
0.57×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
MET
MET
MSM
MSM
Q4 25
$7.1B
$29.4M
Q3 25
$3.6B
Q2 25
$2.2B
$151.6M
Q1 25
$4.3B
Q4 24
$4.6B
$101.9M
Q3 24
$4.2B
Q2 24
$3.5B
$143.5M
Q1 24
$2.3B
$78.7M
Free Cash Flow
MET
MET
MSM
MSM
Q4 25
$7.4M
Q3 25
Q2 25
$100.7M
Q1 25
Q4 24
$81.7M
Q3 24
Q2 24
$114.0M
Q1 24
$53.4M
FCF Margin
MET
MET
MSM
MSM
Q4 25
0.8%
Q3 25
Q2 25
10.4%
Q1 25
Q4 24
8.8%
Q3 24
Q2 24
11.6%
Q1 24
5.7%
Capex Intensity
MET
MET
MSM
MSM
Q4 25
2.3%
Q3 25
Q2 25
5.2%
Q1 25
Q4 24
2.2%
Q3 24
Q2 24
3.0%
Q1 24
2.7%
Cash Conversion
MET
MET
MSM
MSM
Q4 25
8.75×
0.57×
Q3 25
3.98×
Q2 25
3.00×
2.67×
Q1 25
4.51×
Q4 24
3.63×
2.18×
Q3 24
3.11×
Q2 24
3.69×
2.00×
Q1 24
2.69×
1.27×

Financial Flow Comparison

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

Revenue Breakdown by Segment

MET
MET

Other$165.0M28%
Prepaidlegalplansandadministrativeonlycontracts$158.0M26%
Vision Fee For Service Arrangements$140.0M23%
Administrative Service$76.0M13%
Distribution Service$36.0M6%
Feebasedinvestmentmanagementservices$25.0M4%

MSM
MSM

Segment breakdown not available.

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