An industry chapter · Trading Companies & Distributors
Trading Companies & Distributors
52 members, 2768 to ZKH, A to Z by ticker.
Gross profitability
median 31% — gross profit as a share of total assets, each member's median across its readable years; read on 39 of 52 members
Capital intensity
median 1.4% — capital expenditure as a share of revenue, each member's median across its readable years; read on 50 of 52 members
Net cash
7 of the 52 members with a readable debt line hold more cash and short-term investments than total debt
Figures describe the list as a group, from each member's own filed record; they name no
member and form no rank. A member missing an input is absent from that median, never counted
against the others.
From the latest filings · data as of July 9, 2026.
Itochu is one of Japan's large general trading houses — a sogo shosha — that buys, sells, ships, and finances a wide range of goods around the world, and takes ownership stakes in the businesses along those supply chains. Among the majors it tilts more toward consumer-facing trade, with deep roots in textiles and a heavier weighting in food and the distribution that moves everyday goods, and less toward pulling resources out of the ground. It earns its keep two ways: a thin cut on the enormous volume of goods that passes through its hands, and its share of the profits from the many companies it part-owns.
Marubeni is one of Japan's sogo shosha — a general trading house that buys, moves, finances, and resells goods across many industries, and owns stakes in the businesses it trades with. It earns money two ways: thin margins on the enormous flows of goods passing through its hands, and its share of the profits and dividends from a sprawling portfolio of subsidiaries and affiliates. The customer is rarely the public; it sits between producers and industrial buyers, and between capital and projects, taking a cut of the transaction and a piece of the equity.
Mitsui & Co. is one of Japan's general trading houses, a sogo shosha: it buys, sells, ships, and finances raw materials and industrial goods around the world, and it takes ownership stakes in the producers and projects that supply them. So the company earns two ways at once — partly as a middleman taking a margin on what moves through its network, and partly as an owner collecting profits and dividends from a sprawl of businesses it holds. In plain terms, it is a portfolio of commodity and industrial interests wrapped in a trading network, and money comes from both the flow of goods and the returns on the stakes.
Sumitomo is one of Japan's general trading houses — a sprawling collection of businesses that buys, sells, ships and finances goods of nearly every kind, and also takes ownership stakes in the companies that make and move them. It earns two ways: a margin on the trading and logistics it arranges, and its share of the profits from the many operating ventures it part-owns, spanning lines from metals and energy to machinery, chemicals and real estate. In plain terms, it is a diversified portfolio of trading and operating interests under one roof, funded in part with borrowed money.
Mitsubishi Corporation is one of Japan's general trading houses — a sogo shosha — meaning it is less a single business than a sprawling portfolio of them. It buys, sells, ships and finances goods across many industries, and it owns stakes in operating companies whose profits it shares, so its earnings come partly from trading and intermediation and partly from the businesses it has invested in. Think of it as a holding company and a middleman rolled together, spread across commodities, industrial goods, and consumer-facing ventures around the world.
AerCap is the industry leader across all areas of aviation leasing, with a portfolio consisting of 3,500 aircraft, engines and helicopters that were owned, on order or managed as of December 31, 2025.
Arrow Electronics Inc. distributes electronic components to OEMs and EMS providers through its global components segment and provides enterprise computing solutions to VARs and MSPs through its global ECS segment.
Avnet, Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries, is a leading global electronic component technology distributor and solutions provider that has served customers' evolving needs for more than a century.
Boise Cascade is one of the largest U.S. wholesale distributors of building materials and a leading manufacturer of engineered wood products and plywood in North America.
Custom Truck One Source Inc. are engaged in the business of providing a range of services and products to customers through rentals and sales of specialty equipment, rentals and sales of aftermarket parts and services related to the specialty equipment, and repair, maintenance, and customization services related to that equipment.
Owner earnings 2017–2020$17M$40M$16M$42M
Retained capitalPaid out $91M more than it earned over 2017–2020; annual owner earnings grew $8M.
Distribution Solutions Group Inc. is a global specialty distribution company providing value-added distribution solutions to the maintenance, repair and operations, original equipment manufacturer and industrial technology markets.
EquipmentShare is a vertically integrated platform that combines proprietary technology, a connected equipment fleet, and a nationwide footprint to serve the construction industry.
We began with a marketing strategy of supplying threaded fasteners to customers through a branch network in small, medium, and, in subsequent years, large cities.
Ferguson buys plumbing, heating and cooling, and waterworks parts from many makers and resells them to the trade — contractors, builders, and city water departments — out of a wide network of branches and warehouses. It makes nothing itself; it keeps the right pipe, valve, or fitting on the shelf and gets it to a job site fast. The money comes from a markup on each part, multiplied across a deep catalog and a fragmented base of working customers.
Owner earnings 2022–2025$859M$2.3B$1.5B$1.6B
Retained capitalRetained $1.0B of earnings over 2022–2025; annual owner earnings grew $248M, $0.24 per $1 retained.
Balance sheetModest net debt, $3.5B · dividend paid 4 of 4 yrs, cut at least once
L.B. Foster Company is a global technology solutions provider of engineered, manufactured products and services that builds and supports infrastructure.
Our revenues are primarily derived from rental and related charges and consist of: Equipment rental; Sales of rental equipment and sales of new equipment, parts and supplies; and Service and other revenue.
We are a leading water treatment and specialty ingredients company that formulates, manufactures, distributes, and blends products for our Water Treatment, Food and Health Sciences, and Industrial Solutions customers.
We are a leading provider of telematics services, consisting predominantly of stolen vehicle recovery, fleet management services and other tracking services as well as connected car and usage base insurance.
McGrath RentCorp is a diversified business-to-business rental company with three rental divisions: relocatable modular buildings, portable storage containers and electronic test equipment.
NPK International Inc. is a temporary worksite access solutions company that manufactures, sells, and rents recyclable composite matting products, along with a full suite of services, including planning, logistics, and site restoration.
Pool Corporation is the world's largest wholesale distributor of swimming pool supplies, equipment and related leisure products and is one of the leading distributors of irrigation and landscape maintenance products in the United States.
QXO was primarily a technology solutions and professional services company, providing critical software applications, consulting and other professional services, including specialized programming, training and technical support to small and mid-size companies in the manufacturing, distribution and services industries.
These stores market and sell Sherwin-Williams and other controlled brand architectural paint and coatings, protective and marine products, OEM product finishes and related products.
We are the largest and only national full product line wholesale distributor of landscape supplies in the United States and have an established presence in Canada.
Sunbelt Rentals is the second largest equipment rental business in North America and the largest equipment rental company in the United Kingdom, in each case, by rental revenue.
We are a technology and data-driven leader in accessible and inclusive financial solutions that address the evolving needs and aspirations of underserved consumers.
Rentals is the largest equipment rental company in the world, operates throughout the United States and Canada, and has a smaller presence in Europe, Australia and New Zealand.
Wesco provides innovative solutions to meet customer needs across commercial and industrial businesses, technology companies, telecommunications providers, and utilities.
Our diverse product offering includes modular office complexes, mobile offices, classrooms, blast-resistant modules, clearspan structures, sanitation solutions, portable storage containers, and climate-controlled containers and trailers.
Our methodology for estimating whether adjustments are necessary is continually evaluated for factors including significant changes in product demand, market conditions, condition of the inventory, or liquidation value.
The same four lines for every member, in strict ticker order; a figure that could not be read
renders as "not read," never as a mark against the record beside it. The header describes the
list and names no member; the entries carry no ranking and form no score. What a chapter
cannot carry — understanding of the business, and a price — is yours.
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