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Side-by-side financial comparison of MSC INDUSTRIAL DIRECT CO INC (MSM) and BLUE OWL CAPITAL INC. (OWL). 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 $755.6M, roughly 1.3× BLUE OWL CAPITAL INC.). BLUE OWL CAPITAL INC. runs the higher net margin — 6.3% vs 5.4%, a 0.9% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, BLUE OWL CAPITAL INC. posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (19.7% vs 4.0%). BLUE OWL CAPITAL INC. produced more free cash flow last quarter ($359.1M vs $7.4M). Over the past eight quarters, BLUE OWL CAPITAL INC.'s revenue compounded faster (21.3% CAGR vs -3.4%).

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.

Blue Owl Capital Inc. is an American alternative investment asset management company that is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol: "OWL". Headquartered in New York City, it has additional offices around the world, including London, Dubai, and Hong Kong.

MSM vs OWL — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
MSM
MSM
1.3× larger
MSM
$965.7M
$755.6M
OWL
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
OWL
OWL
+15.7% gap
OWL
19.7%
4.0%
MSM
Higher net margin
OWL
OWL
0.9% more per $
OWL
6.3%
5.4%
MSM
More free cash flow
OWL
OWL
$351.7M more FCF
OWL
$359.1M
$7.4M
MSM
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
OWL
OWL
Annualised
OWL
21.3%
-3.4%
MSM

Income Statement — Q1 FY2026 vs Q4 FY2025

Metric
MSM
MSM
OWL
OWL
Revenue
$965.7M
$755.6M
Net Profit
$51.8M
$47.7M
Gross Margin
40.7%
Operating Margin
7.9%
22.2%
Net Margin
5.4%
6.3%
Revenue YoY
4.0%
19.7%
Net Profit YoY
11.1%
129.8%
EPS (diluted)
$0.93
$0.07

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
MSM
MSM
OWL
OWL
Q4 25
$965.7M
$755.6M
Q3 25
$978.2M
$728.0M
Q2 25
$971.1M
$703.1M
Q1 25
$683.5M
Q4 24
$928.5M
$631.4M
Q3 24
$600.9M
Q2 24
$979.4M
$549.8M
Q1 24
$935.3M
$513.3M
Net Profit
MSM
MSM
OWL
OWL
Q4 25
$51.8M
$47.7M
Q3 25
$56.5M
$6.3M
Q2 25
$56.8M
$17.4M
Q1 25
$7.4M
Q4 24
$46.6M
$20.7M
Q3 24
$29.8M
Q2 24
$71.7M
$33.9M
Q1 24
$61.8M
$25.1M
Gross Margin
MSM
MSM
OWL
OWL
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
MSM
MSM
OWL
OWL
Q4 25
7.9%
22.2%
Q3 25
8.6%
7.6%
Q2 25
8.5%
12.0%
Q1 25
5.9%
Q4 24
7.8%
11.7%
Q3 24
18.7%
Q2 24
10.9%
28.4%
Q1 24
9.7%
24.7%
Net Margin
MSM
MSM
OWL
OWL
Q4 25
5.4%
6.3%
Q3 25
5.8%
0.9%
Q2 25
5.9%
2.5%
Q1 25
1.1%
Q4 24
5.0%
3.3%
Q3 24
5.0%
Q2 24
7.3%
6.2%
Q1 24
6.6%
4.9%
EPS (diluted)
MSM
MSM
OWL
OWL
Q4 25
$0.93
$0.07
Q3 25
$1.02
$0.01
Q2 25
$1.02
$0.02
Q1 25
$0.00
Q4 24
$0.83
$0.06
Q3 24
$0.04
Q2 24
$1.27
$0.06
Q1 24
$1.10
$0.04

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

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

Metric
MSM
MSM
OWL
OWL
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$40.3M
$194.5M
Total DebtLower is stronger
$214.1M
$3.3B
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$1.4B
$2.2B
Total Assets
$2.5B
$12.5B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
0.16×
1.51×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
MSM
MSM
OWL
OWL
Q4 25
$40.3M
$194.5M
Q3 25
$56.2M
$137.3M
Q2 25
$71.7M
$117.6M
Q1 25
$97.6M
Q4 24
$57.3M
$152.1M
Q3 24
$115.9M
Q2 24
$25.9M
$436.8M
Q1 24
$22.2M
$155.8M
Total Debt
MSM
MSM
OWL
OWL
Q4 25
$214.1M
$3.3B
Q3 25
$168.8M
$3.2B
Q2 25
$285.0M
$3.2B
Q1 25
$3.2B
Q4 24
$289.9M
$2.6B
Q3 24
$2.5B
Q2 24
$299.8M
$2.5B
Q1 24
$294.5M
$2.1B
Stockholders' Equity
MSM
MSM
OWL
OWL
Q4 25
$1.4B
$2.2B
Q3 25
$1.4B
$2.3B
Q2 25
$1.4B
$2.4B
Q1 25
$2.3B
Q4 24
$1.4B
$2.1B
Q3 24
$2.0B
Q2 24
$1.4B
$1.7B
Q1 24
$1.4B
$1.6B
Total Assets
MSM
MSM
OWL
OWL
Q4 25
$2.5B
$12.5B
Q3 25
$2.5B
$12.5B
Q2 25
$2.5B
$12.3B
Q1 25
$12.3B
Q4 24
$2.5B
$11.0B
Q3 24
$10.8B
Q2 24
$2.5B
$9.7B
Q1 24
$2.5B
$9.0B
Debt / Equity
MSM
MSM
OWL
OWL
Q4 25
0.16×
1.51×
Q3 25
0.12×
1.41×
Q2 25
0.21×
1.38×
Q1 25
1.37×
Q4 24
0.21×
1.22×
Q3 24
1.27×
Q2 24
0.21×
1.41×
Q1 24
0.21×
1.26×

Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency

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

Metric
MSM
MSM
OWL
OWL
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$29.4M
$382.9M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$7.4M
$359.1M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
0.8%
47.5%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
2.3%
3.1%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
0.57×
8.03×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$1.2B

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
MSM
MSM
OWL
OWL
Q4 25
$29.4M
$382.9M
Q3 25
$433.1M
Q2 25
$151.6M
$422.5M
Q1 25
$17.6M
Q4 24
$101.9M
$324.0M
Q3 24
$326.0M
Q2 24
$143.5M
$302.3M
Q1 24
$78.7M
$47.2M
Free Cash Flow
MSM
MSM
OWL
OWL
Q4 25
$7.4M
$359.1M
Q3 25
$422.5M
Q2 25
$100.7M
$412.5M
Q1 25
$4.2M
Q4 24
$81.7M
$310.1M
Q3 24
$314.8M
Q2 24
$114.0M
$269.4M
Q1 24
$53.4M
$41.1M
FCF Margin
MSM
MSM
OWL
OWL
Q4 25
0.8%
47.5%
Q3 25
58.0%
Q2 25
10.4%
58.7%
Q1 25
0.6%
Q4 24
8.8%
49.1%
Q3 24
52.4%
Q2 24
11.6%
49.0%
Q1 24
5.7%
8.0%
Capex Intensity
MSM
MSM
OWL
OWL
Q4 25
2.3%
3.1%
Q3 25
1.5%
Q2 25
5.2%
1.4%
Q1 25
2.0%
Q4 24
2.2%
2.2%
Q3 24
1.9%
Q2 24
3.0%
6.0%
Q1 24
2.7%
1.2%
Cash Conversion
MSM
MSM
OWL
OWL
Q4 25
0.57×
8.03×
Q3 25
68.64×
Q2 25
2.67×
24.25×
Q1 25
2.37×
Q4 24
2.18×
15.62×
Q3 24
10.94×
Q2 24
2.00×
8.91×
Q1 24
1.27×
1.88×

Financial Flow Comparison

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

Revenue Breakdown by Segment

MSM
MSM

Segment breakdown not available.

OWL
OWL

Credit Platform$455.0M60%
GP Strategic Capital Platform$157.0M21%
Administrative Service$87.6M12%
IPI Partners LLC$33.8M4%
Other$22.2M3%

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