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Side-by-side financial comparison of MSC INDUSTRIAL DIRECT CO INC (MSM) and T. Rowe Price (TROW). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

T. Rowe Price is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($1.9B vs $965.7M, roughly 1.9× MSC INDUSTRIAL DIRECT CO INC). T. Rowe Price runs the higher net margin — 26.1% vs 5.4%, a 20.7% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, MSC INDUSTRIAL DIRECT CO INC posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (4.0% vs -4.0%). Over the past eight quarters, T. Rowe Price's revenue compounded faster (3.5% 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.

T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. is an American publicly owned global investment management firm that offers funds, subadvisory services, separate account management, and retirement plans and services for individuals, institutions, and financial intermediaries. The firm has assets under management of more than $1.51 trillion and annual revenues of $6.48 billion as of 2023, placing it 537 on the Fortune 1000 list of the largest U.S. companies.

MSM vs TROW — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
TROW
TROW
1.9× larger
TROW
$1.9B
$965.7M
MSM
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
MSM
MSM
+8.0% gap
MSM
4.0%
-4.0%
TROW
Higher net margin
TROW
TROW
20.7% more per $
TROW
26.1%
5.4%
MSM
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
TROW
TROW
Annualised
TROW
3.5%
-3.4%
MSM

Income Statement — Q1 FY2026 vs Q1 FY2026

Metric
MSM
MSM
TROW
TROW
Revenue
$965.7M
$1.9B
Net Profit
$51.8M
$484.1M
Gross Margin
40.7%
Operating Margin
7.9%
36.6%
Net Margin
5.4%
26.1%
Revenue YoY
4.0%
-4.0%
Net Profit YoY
11.1%
2.7%
EPS (diluted)
$0.93
$2.23

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
TROW
TROW
Q1 26
$1.9B
Q4 25
$965.7M
$1.9B
Q3 25
$978.2M
$1.9B
Q2 25
$971.1M
$1.7B
Q1 25
$1.8B
Q4 24
$928.5M
$1.8B
Q3 24
$1.8B
Q2 24
$979.4M
$1.7B
Net Profit
MSM
MSM
TROW
TROW
Q1 26
$484.1M
Q4 25
$51.8M
$445.3M
Q3 25
$56.5M
$646.1M
Q2 25
$56.8M
$505.2M
Q1 25
$490.5M
Q4 24
$46.6M
$439.9M
Q3 24
$603.0M
Q2 24
$71.7M
$483.4M
Gross Margin
MSM
MSM
TROW
TROW
Q1 26
Q4 25
40.7%
Q3 25
40.4%
Q2 25
41.0%
Q1 25
Q4 24
40.7%
Q3 24
Q2 24
40.9%
Operating Margin
MSM
MSM
TROW
TROW
Q1 26
36.6%
Q4 25
7.9%
24.4%
Q3 25
8.6%
34.0%
Q2 25
8.5%
27.8%
Q1 25
33.8%
Q4 24
7.8%
31.2%
Q3 24
34.4%
Q2 24
10.9%
32.6%
Net Margin
MSM
MSM
TROW
TROW
Q1 26
26.1%
Q4 25
5.4%
23.0%
Q3 25
5.8%
34.1%
Q2 25
5.9%
29.3%
Q1 25
27.8%
Q4 24
5.0%
24.1%
Q3 24
33.8%
Q2 24
7.3%
27.9%
EPS (diluted)
MSM
MSM
TROW
TROW
Q1 26
$2.23
Q4 25
$0.93
$1.98
Q3 25
$1.02
$2.87
Q2 25
$1.02
$2.24
Q1 25
$2.15
Q4 24
$0.83
$1.91
Q3 24
$2.64
Q2 24
$1.27
$2.11

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

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

Metric
MSM
MSM
TROW
TROW
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$40.3M
$3.7B
Total DebtLower is stronger
$214.1M
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$1.4B
$974.7M
Total Assets
$2.5B
$14.4B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
0.16×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
MSM
MSM
TROW
TROW
Q1 26
$3.7B
Q4 25
$40.3M
$3.4B
Q3 25
$56.2M
$3.6B
Q2 25
$71.7M
$3.1B
Q1 25
$2.8B
Q4 24
$57.3M
$2.6B
Q3 24
$3.2B
Q2 24
$25.9M
$2.7B
Total Debt
MSM
MSM
TROW
TROW
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
MSM
MSM
TROW
TROW
Q1 26
$974.7M
Q4 25
$1.4B
$10.9B
Q3 25
$1.4B
$10.8B
Q2 25
$1.4B
$10.6B
Q1 25
$10.4B
Q4 24
$1.4B
$10.3B
Q3 24
$10.2B
Q2 24
$1.4B
$9.9B
Total Assets
MSM
MSM
TROW
TROW
Q1 26
$14.4B
Q4 25
$2.5B
$14.3B
Q3 25
$2.5B
$14.7B
Q2 25
$2.5B
$14.3B
Q1 25
$14.0B
Q4 24
$2.5B
$13.5B
Q3 24
$13.7B
Q2 24
$2.5B
$13.1B
Debt / Equity
MSM
MSM
TROW
TROW
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
MSM
MSM
TROW
TROW
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$29.4M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$7.4M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
0.8%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
2.3%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
0.57×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
MSM
MSM
TROW
TROW
Q1 26
Q4 25
$29.4M
$-18.7M
Q3 25
$609.3M
Q2 25
$151.6M
$529.9M
Q1 25
$632.9M
Q4 24
$101.9M
$-281.9M
Q3 24
$652.5M
Q2 24
$143.5M
$677.7M
Free Cash Flow
MSM
MSM
TROW
TROW
Q1 26
Q4 25
$7.4M
$-85.4M
Q3 25
$546.0M
Q2 25
$100.7M
$467.7M
Q1 25
$550.9M
Q4 24
$81.7M
$-394.9M
Q3 24
$547.9M
Q2 24
$114.0M
$574.4M
FCF Margin
MSM
MSM
TROW
TROW
Q1 26
Q4 25
0.8%
-4.4%
Q3 25
28.8%
Q2 25
10.4%
27.1%
Q1 25
31.2%
Q4 24
8.8%
-21.6%
Q3 24
30.7%
Q2 24
11.6%
33.1%
Capex Intensity
MSM
MSM
TROW
TROW
Q1 26
Q4 25
2.3%
3.4%
Q3 25
3.3%
Q2 25
5.2%
3.6%
Q1 25
4.6%
Q4 24
2.2%
6.2%
Q3 24
5.9%
Q2 24
3.0%
6.0%
Cash Conversion
MSM
MSM
TROW
TROW
Q1 26
Q4 25
0.57×
-0.04×
Q3 25
0.94×
Q2 25
2.67×
1.05×
Q1 25
1.29×
Q4 24
2.18×
-0.64×
Q3 24
1.08×
Q2 24
2.00×
1.40×

Financial Flow Comparison

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

Revenue Breakdown by Segment

MSM
MSM

Segment breakdown not available.

TROW
TROW

Equity$974.7M52%
Multi-asset$509.1M27%
Administrative, distribution, servicing, and other fees$138.4M7%
Fixed income, including money market$111.8M6%
Alternatives$87.4M5%
Capital allocation-based income (1)$28.1M2%
Performance-based advisory fees$7.5M0%

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