W.W. Grainger has retired 49.9% of its shares since 2000, from 93,922,529 to 47,100,942.
At $1,330.70 a share, a market value of $62.7B. FCF yield 2.4%, P/E 33.5, trailing twelve months to June 2026.
| Fiscal year | Date | Shares outstanding | Filing | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 2000-03-06 | 93,523,827 | 10-K405 | cover page |
| 2000 | 2001-03-05 | 93,922,529 | 10-K405 | cover page |
| 2001 | 2002-03-04 | 93,551,269 | 10-K405 | cover page |
| 2002 | 2003-03-03 | 91,585,616 | 10-K | cover page |
| 2003 | 2004-03-01 | 90,946,878 | 10-K | cover page |
| 2004 | 2005-01-31 | 90,665,414 | 10-K | cover page |
| 2005 | 2006-01-31 | 89,951,935 | 10-K | cover page |
| 2006 | 2007-01-31 | 84,248,635 | 10-K | cover page |
| 2007 | 2008-01-31 | 78,963,866 | 10-K | cover page |
| 2008 | 2009-01-31 | 74,855,074 | 10-K | cover page |
| 2009 | 2010-01-31 | 72,424,927 | 10-K | |
| 2010 | 2010-12-31 | 69,377,802 | 10-K | |
| 2011 | 2011-12-31 | 69,962,852 | 10-K | |
| 2012 | 2013-01-31 | 69,522,640 | 10-K | |
| 2013 | 2014-01-31 | 68,797,706 | 10-K | |
| 2014 | 2015-01-31 | 67,442,179 | 10-K | |
| 2015 | 2016-01-31 | 61,728,599 | 10-K | |
| 2016 | 2017-01-31 | 58,837,353 | 10-K | |
| 2017 | 2018-01-31 | 56,105,411 | 10-K | |
| 2018 | 2019-01-31 | 55,679,223 | 10-K | |
| 2019 | 2020-01-31 | 53,656,306 | 10-K | |
| 2020 | 2021-01-31 | 52,375,717 | 10-K | |
| 2021 | 2022-02-11 | 51,107,898 | 10-K | |
| 2022 | 2023-02-15 | 50,199,270 | 10-K | |
| 2023 | 2024-02-14 | 49,173,357 | 10-K | |
| 2024 | 2025-02-14 | 48,216,708 | 10-K | |
| 2025 | 2026-02-12 | 47,373,024 | 10-K |
Source: all 10-K filings of W.W. Grainger on EDGAR. Download this series as CSV. Licence CC BY 4.0, credit Buyback Radar.
The story
Every Monday we write about one of these companies.
Read the full storyCash spent comes from the cash flow statement. Shares outstanding fell by less than the company bought, because part of every buyback only replaces shares handed to employees. Today’s price is $1,330.70.
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Yes. W.W. Grainger has 0.9% fewer shares outstanding than twelve months ago, 47,100,942 as of July 28, 2026. Over five years the share count is down 8.6%.
Net of every new share it issued, W.W. Grainger has 46.8 million fewer shares than at its 2000 peak. That is 49.9% of the company.
47,100,942 shares, as of July 28, 2026, from the cover page of its latest 10-Q. At the 2000 peak it had 93,922,529.
Each share is a bigger slice of the company. Someone who held W.W. Grainger stock in 2000 owns 2.0 times as much of the business today without buying another share. Whether that was a good use of cash depends on the price paid.
W.W. Grainger ranks No. 96 of 467 companies on Buyback Radar by share of the company retired since its peak. Close to it on the list: Bank of Hawaii (50.5%), Target (50.2%), American Express (49.6%), Lockheed Martin (49.4%).
Every answer is computed from W.W. Grainger's own SEC filings and rebuilt every Monday. Latest count: 10-Q on EDGAR.
From the latest 13F filings. All superinvestors.
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