Basis of Presentation

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2021

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

Basis of Presentation

(1) Basis of Presentation

The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements of Fastenal Company and subsidiaries (collectively referred to as the company, Fastenal, or by terms such as we, our, or us) have been prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) for interim financial information. They do not include all information and footnotes required by U.S. GAAP for complete financial statements. However, except as described herein, there has been no material change in the information disclosed in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in our consolidated financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2020. In the opinion of management, all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring accruals) considered necessary for a fair presentation have been included.

Impact of COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has likely influenced various trends the company is currently experiencing. These include supply chain disruptions and labor shortages, the presence of certain pandemic-specific personal protective equipment (PPE) in our inventory (although certain categories such as 3-ply masks are depleting quickly), and a modest shift in our mix to include more safety products and government customers. Evaluating the third quarter of 2021 is challenging given the dramatic impacts of the pandemic on the company in the year-earlier period. However, in contrast to much of the preceding 12 to 18 months, we are currently seeing a narrower impact on our business related directly to the COVID-19 pandemic, as economic activity has recovered and customer and product mix has reverted back to close to pre-pandemic levels. We believe current financial results are more reflective of traditional economic and marketplace dynamics than of pandemic-related issues such as facility restrictions, labor force illness, and PPE demand. The primary exception to this normalization trend is in the signings of our Onsite and Fastenal Managed Inventory (FMI), which have yet to recover to pre-pandemic levels. To the extent that COVID infections increase, as they did through the third quarter of 2021, this can, and is, either directly impacting or indirectly influencing access to customer facilities and decision-makers, and lengthens the sales cycle for certain of our solutions.

However, it is possible the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in light of variant strains of the virus, could further impact our operations and the operations of our suppliers and vendors as a result of quarantines, facility closures, illnesses, and travel and logistics restrictions. The extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic impacts our business, results of operations, and financial condition will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted, including, but not limited to, the resumption of high levels of infection and hospitalization, the resulting impact on our customers, suppliers, and vendors, the remedial actions and stimulus measures adopted by federal, state, and local governments, and to what extent normal economic and operating conditions are impacted. The Company cannot reasonably estimate the future impact at this time.

Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements

In March 2020, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2020-04, Reference Rate Reform (Topic 848): Facilitation of the Effects of Reference Rate Reform on Financial Reporting, which provides temporary optional expedients and exceptions to U.S. GAAP on contract modifications, hedging relationships, and other transactions affected by reference rate reform to ease entities' financial reporting burdens as the market transitions from the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) and other interbank offered rates to alternative reference rates. The guidance was effective upon issuance and may be applied prospectively to contract modifications made, hedging relationships entered into, and other transactions affected by reference rate reform, evaluated on or before December 31, 2022, beginning during the reporting period in which the guidance has been elected. We are currently evaluating the impact of the new guidance on our condensed consolidated financial statements; however, we have determined that, of our current debt commitments as outlined in detail in Note 6 'Debt Commitments', only the obligations described under Unsecured Revolving Credit Facility in Note 6 would be impacted by ASU 2020-04. Our Senior Unsecured Promissory Notes Payable described in Note 6 each have fixed interest rates.