Quick Pick: WD-40 (WDFC) is the next Procter & Gamble (PG)

I’ve been following WD-40 (WDFC) for a while now. I love their main product and always have a few cans of it in my house, but I was concerned about their diversity. I worried that they relied too much on WD-40 lubricant. But after some due diligence, my mind is changed.

Ten years ago, almost 100% of WDFC’s revenues came from WD-40 lubricant, but since then a lot of things have changed. CEO Garry Ridge has focused on innovation and creating new products and buying new product lines. In addition to WD-40 lubricant, they have products like LAVA Hand Soap, 2000 Flushes, X-14, Carpet Fresh, and tons of other little household products; and they keep buying up more product lines. They’re whole plan is to build up each brand, to get the “mindshare” for each of their products respective niches, and to keep on acquiring more products. Sales have more than doubled since Ridge took over as CEO, and they’re only going to get better.

WDFC is branching out in Europe and China and all the world markets as well, trying to make cans of WD-40 as common in Indian households as they are in US ones. It now markets its products in more than 160 countries around the world.

Management is doing everything right; as of right now, WDFC has solid insider ownership, great management, it pays a dividend, grows every year, and it has lots of cash. I see this as a great long term company that’ll help you retire one day.

also:
the 2000+ uses of WD-40