W.W. Grainger, Inc. (GWW)

Industrial supplies distribution. Read October 19, 2026 from the annual report for the period ending December 31, 2025, filed February 19, 2026. Ranked 5 of the 85 Industrials companies read so far, by the share within reach now.

A distributor whose filing states its total with its full-time and part-time parts and its regional split, nothing by segment, so one wholesale pattern carries it.

The figures on this page come from the company's own annual report and from BLS staffing patterns for its industries, never from a roster. They are estimates with a stated method. Nothing here says what the company will do: within reach is not a forecast of jobs lost or of savings.

What follows from the reading

Share of working time within reach of AI, on the long-run pace at four in five: 25% now, 35% at the end of 2027, 38% at the end of 2028, 39% at the end of 2030. By the patterns, the work is about 39% desk work, 21% people work and 40% body work. These are the site's industry estimates weighted by the shares below: estimates with a stated method and range, not a forecast of what the company will do. By the same patterns, at the end of 2028 about 59% of the working time stays with people (conversation, in-person and hands-on work), 27% becomes checking a model's work and 12% could be handed over with lighter checks, from the industries' own figures, not the company's roles.

Headcount

25,000 employees as of December 31, 2025 (stated). No count by country is stated; about 90% of team members are in North America and 10% in Asia, and 80% of 2025 revenue was in the United States.

The filing: “Grainger has been consistently recognized for its commitment to its culture, welcoming workplace and team member engagement. 7 Team Member and Workplace Profile As of December 31, 2025 , Grainger had approximately 25,000 team members worldwide, of whom approximately 22,100 were full-time and 2,900 were part-time or temporary.”

The workforce as industry patterns

What the filing says about the workforce: About 25,000 team members, 22,100 full-time and 2,900 part-time or temporary; about 90% in North America and 10% in Asia; about 42% women; the U.S. total recordable incident rate was 1.3 in 2025.

Companies read with the same leading pattern

Other companies whose largest staffing pattern is also Machinery, Equipment, and Supplies Merchant Wholesalers, largest first, each read from its own annual report. Within reach now and at the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.

• Genuine Parts Company (GPC, 65,000 employees)22% now, 32% by 2028
• Fastenal Company (FAST, 24,489 employees)24% now, 38% by 2028

What the filing says about AI

19 sentences in the filing name AI. The filing names practical applications of AI among the operating initiatives it considers to manage cost pressures, and warns that developing and implementing new technologies including AI may require significant investment and raise cybersecurity exposure.

• “Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those presented or implied in the forward-looking statements include, without limitation: inflation, higher product costs or other expenses, including operational and administrative expenses; a major loss of customers; loss or disruption of sources of supply; changes in customer or product mix; increased competitive pri...”
• “To manage these potential pressures, Grainger routinely considers the adoption of new operating initiatives, including new marketing programs, productivity improvements, inventory management and loss prevention initiatives, practical applications of artificial intelligence (AI) and other similar strategies.”
• “Developing, upgrading, managing or implementing new technologies, including AI, business applications, strategies and innovations may require significant investment of resources by Grainger, may result in unexpected costs and disruptions to operations, may take longer than expected, may increase Grainger's vulnerability to cyber security incidents, attacks or intrusions, and may not provide all...”
• “As its eCommerce platforms have grown in recent years, Grainger has increased, and expects to continue to increase, its investments in developing, managing and implementing technology information systems, software development, machine learning and other capabilities to provide simplified customer interactions and to provide high-quality, user-friendly service to its customers and streamline cus...”
• “The proliferation of AI may impact our industry and the markets in which we compete, and the development and use of AI presents competitive, reputational and liability risks.”

Its annual reports, year by year

Sentences naming AI in each annual report, counted by one rule, beside the median report in the Index that year. Each count links its filing. Every company, by year and sector

• Fiscal 20210median 0
• Fiscal 20220median 0
• Fiscal 20231median 1
• Fiscal 202417median 4
• Fiscal 202519median 10

Headcount by filing year

As reported in each year's annual report, with the filing. A year marked not read had no figure the reading could take from the report's text.

Limits of this reading

• One pattern by description (c); the filing counts no employees by segment or kind of work.
• The U.S. share is not stated.

Source: the company's annual report on EDGAR, accession 0000277135-26-000011, the filing. Read by Claude Fable 5.1 under rubric version 1, by the method. A company can write to info@stratussc.com to have its reading checked against its filing.