I am always curious to see how well my favorite tool brands are doing. With publicly traded companies, where anyone can own a share, they have to be completely transparent about things like revenue, expenses, and profit.
I figured that many of you might be interested in seeing some of these numbers as well. Following is a quick look at the 2015 year-end data that’s been released for a number of public tool brands.
I checked and double-checked the numbers for errors, and made a good faith effort to be accurate. Please let me know if you find any errors!
Stanley Black & Decker
You know Stanley Black & Decker for their tool brands – Dewalt, Porter Cable, Stanley, Proto, among others. But SBD also engages in some other markets, such as fasteners and security. And apparently healthcare products too.
- 2015 Revenue: $11.172 billion
- 2015 Revenue from Tools & Storage: $7.141 billion
- 2015 Tool & Storage Profit: $1.170 billion
In other words, in regard to tool sales, Stanley Black & Decker pockets around 16.4 cents for every dollar in sales.
Gross profit margin was 36.4%.
Gross margin, or gross profit margin = (revenue – cost of good sold) / revenue
By sales, keep in mind that Stanley Black & Decker sells to the stores where you buy your tools, they don’t sell directly to consumers. Sales to retailers should be proportional to sales by retailers, but that’s not always the case.
Snap-on (and All Their Brands)
Snap-on makes automotive, aerospace, and industrial tools and storage products, under Snap-on, Williams, and numerous other brands.
See our guide to tool brand corporate affiliations for a look at some of Snap-on’s other brands.
- 2015 Net Sales: $3.353 billion
- 2015 Net Earnings: $478.7 million
Snap-on’s financials are actually quite interesting to look through.
They had net sales of $3.353 billion, with the cost of good sold being $1.705 billion. So that’s a gross profit of $1.648 billion.
But then there are operating costs, which total a little more than $1 billion.
After everything, their net earnings drops to around $479 million. That’s around 14.3%.
As an aside… More About SB&D
Stanley Black & Decker’s earnings ratio is similar – 16.4% profit for the tools & storage segment. Their overall gross profit is a little less, proportionally: $4.072 billion. Without knowing more, it’s impossible to tell whether the ratio of gross profit to net sales is lower more because of tools & storage segment, or their other segments.
I just found it to be interesting.
Snap-on tools are quite pricey, but they’re barely making 50 cents to the dollar in profit. I’m talking about gross sales profits, not net earnings after various expenses. Stanley Black & Decker is making a little less.
Sears
Sears’ Q4 2015 results weren’t all that good.
- Q4 2015 Revenue: $7.303 billion
- Q4 2015 Net Loss: $580 million
- 2015 Revenue: $25.146 billion
- 2015 Net Loss: $1.129 billion
(Sears’ 2015 year ended January 30th, 2016. Q4 2015 for them ended Jan 30th, 2016.)
Sears has billions of dollars in merchandise, and property, and “Trade names and other intangible assets.”
Sears seems to have focused on their “Shop Your Way” membership program, which bugs me in the worst ways.
Here are the subject lines from recent emails:
Yes, EVERYTHING
Up to $10 in points on your March purchases
Ready for a treat? $10 in surprise points
YES!
You’ve scored up to 50% off + $10 in points
☺ Look inside, STUART! We chose you to get SURPRISE POINTS
Unbe-LEAP-able!
HUGE Leap Day savings inside!
✉ Congrats, you’ve earned it! Enjoy these SURPRISE points
Up to $10 in points on your March purchases
You’ve scored up to 50% off + $10 in points
HUGE Leap Day savings inside!I don’t even look at the emails anymore. Wow, $8 in expiring “surprise points” on $100 purchases?
Why not just call it what it is – a coupon! And $8 off $100+ is a lousy one at that.
I did place one order with Sears, during the 2015 holiday season – a small plastic rolling tool box. The box arrived mangled and the item a little beat up, but overall it was okay.
I have stopped shopping at Sears because I stopped having positive shopping experiences.
Still, Sears made a LOT of money – more than $25 BILLION in 2015. It’s just that they spent more than made. They’ve got to make a lot more sales, or spend a lot less.
Home Depot
Home Depot did a little better this year, pulling in more sales and earnings. I suppose this means the housing market and home renovations are up?
- Q4 2015 Revenue: $20.980 billion
- Q4 2015 Net Earnings: $1.471 billion
- 2015 Revenue: $88.519 billion
- 2015 Net Earnings: $7.009 billion
(Home Depot’s 2015 year ended Jan 31, 2016. Q4 consists of the 3 months ending Jan 31, 2016.)
Lowes
- Q4 2015 Revenue: $13.236 billion
- Q4 2015 Net Earnings: $11 million
- 2015 Revenue: $59.074 billion
- 2015 Net Earnings: $2.546 billion
Lowe’s 2015 year ended Jan 29, 2016. Q4 consists of the 3 months ending Jan 29, 2016.)
Is that right? In the 4th quarter they had over $13 billion in sales, but only made $11 million in net earnings?
It appears so. Lowe’s info also shows percentages.
For every $100 dollars in sales in the 4th quarter, Lowes earned $0.09, or 9 cents. 9 cents of net earnings for every $100 in sales.
But, it wasn’t a loss. Their 2015 numbers were a LOT better – $4.80 in net earnings for every $100 in sales.
TTi (Milwaukee, Ryobi Power Tools, Ridgid Power Tools, OEM for some Craftsman)
TTi, Techtronic Industries, owns Milwaukee Tool, and manages Ryobi and Ridgid Power Tool activities in North America.
As mentioned in our tool brand corporate affiliations guide, here are the brands they own or are responsible for:
- AEG
- Empire Level (owned by Milwaukee Tool, as of mid-2014)
- Hart
- Milwaukee Tool
- Ridgid (North America, power tools under licensing agreement)
- Ryobi (North America)
- Stiletto (owned by Milwaukee Tool, as of 2007)
- Dirt Devil
- Homelite
- Hoover
- Vax
TTi has an informal report ready, but the numbers should be good.
Revenue in 2015 increased 10% to a record high. Net profit increases as well, by 16.5%.
I quote:
Our Milwaukee Tool business continues to take substantial market share with a sales increase of 24.4%.
- 2015 Revenue: $2.474 billion
- 2015 Profit: $159 million
TTi is based in Hong Kong.
Power tools and equipment make up around 79.1% of TTi’s revenue, with their floor care and appliance division making up the rest.
What’s interesting is how much of TTi’s sales are in North America – 74.6%. Europe is their second largest market, contributing to 17.8% of sales, and the rest of the world 7.6%.
TTi’s profit is about 6.427% of their revenue. Their gross profit margin was 35.6%, which isn’t too far off from Stanley Black & Decker’s.
I found this part to be interesting:
Investment in product design and development amounted to US$66 million (2014: US$57 million), representing 2.6% of revenue (2014: 2.5%), reflecting our continuous strive for innovation. We will continue to invest to create breakthrough technology and deliver broad base end-user products and categories as these are most critical not only to maintain sales growth momentum but also margin expansions.
So they spent more in 2015 on R&D than in 2014, and they plan to continue the trend.
Danaher (Matco, Fluke, Amprobe, More)
Danaher, which owns Matco, Fluke, Amprobe, Pomona, Keithley, Tektronix, released data for their different divisions.
Matco is still owned by Danaher, but it’s not listed in their business directory. In Danaher’s recent report, perhaps Matco numbers are absorbed into their industrial technologies total? It’s unclear.
- 2015 Test & Measurement Sales: $2.655 billion
- 2015 Test & Measurement Operating Profit: $614 million
- 2015 Total Revenue: $20.563 billion
- 2015 Total Operating Profit: $3.469 billion
- 2015 Net Earnings: $3.357 billion
I’ve spoken to Fluke outreach team a few times this year, and what always amazes me is how they strive to be better. I’ll talk more about this soon, but I’ve become deeply impressed with the brand and the way they approach their tool business.
Don’t forget to check out our Let’s Talk About Fluke post.
Operating Profit is before interest, taxes, and some other stuff.
ITW (Illinois Tool Works)
ITW owns all kinds of brands, check out our guide to tool brand corporate affiliations for a look at their construction industry brands.
Apparently they also have a test & measurement segment, which includes brands such as Buehler (polishing & materials prep), Instron, and Avery Weigh-Tronix. They also own Kester, the solder brand.
I learned something today!
The brands you might be most familiar with include EZ Ancor, Ramset, Paslode, Miller, Hobart, and Tapcon.
- 2015 Construction Products Revenue: $1.587 billion
- 2015 Total Revenue: $13.405 billion
- 2015 Construction Products Operating Income: $316 million
- 2015 Total Operating Income: $2.867 billion
- 2015 Total Net Income: $1.899 billion
Operating Income is before interest, taxes, and some other stuff.
Newell Rubbermaid (Irwin, Vise-Grip, Lenox, More)
Check out our guide to tool brand corporate affiliations for a fuller list of Newell Rubbermaid brands.
- 2015 Tools Revenue: $790 million
- 2015 Total Revenue: $5.916 billion
- 2015 Tools Operating Income: $85.1 million
- 2015 Total Operating Income: $601.4 million
- 2015 Total Net Revenue: $350 million
In 2014, the tools segment saw $852.2 million in sales, meaning that they saw a decrease of $62.2 million.