W.W. Grainger advertising spend, FY2025

W.W. Grainger (GWW) reported $813M of advertising expense for the fiscal year ended Dec 31, 2025. That is 4.5% of revenue of $17.9B. Up 8.4% from FY2024.

Ad spend, FY2025
$813M
year ended Dec 31, 2025
Change vs prior year
+8.4%
vs FY2024
Share of revenue
4.5%
of $17.9B revenue
Rank by ad spend
#86
of 336 companies

Key facts

  • Ad spend is 4.5x its FY2015 level ($180M), faster than revenue (1.8x).
  • FY2025 is the highest year on file, going back to FY2008.
  • Largest increase +31.1% in FY2019; largest cut -5.1% in FY2014.
  • Ad spend has risen 9 years in a row.
  • Ad spend is 4.5% of revenue, up from 2.7% in FY2020.
  • W.W. Grainger spends more on advertising than 75% of the 336 US-listed companies tracked. Its ad-to-revenue ratio is below the median of 5.2%.

Ad spend by fiscal year

$0 $250M $500M $750M $1B FY2008 (ended 2008-12-31): $121M FY2009 (ended 2009-12-31): $115M FY2010 (ended 2010-12-31): $123M 2010 FY2011 (ended 2011-12-31): $145M FY2012 (ended 2012-12-31): $173M FY2013 (ended 2013-12-31): $178M 2013 FY2014 (ended 2014-12-31): $169M FY2015 (ended 2015-12-31): $180M FY2016 (ended 2016-12-31): $180M 2016 FY2017 (ended 2017-12-31): $187M FY2018 (ended 2018-12-31): $241M FY2019 (ended 2019-12-31): $316M 2019 FY2020 (ended 2020-12-31): $319M FY2021 (ended 2021-12-31): $402M FY2022 (ended 2022-12-31): $519M 2022 FY2023 (ended 2023-12-31): $638M FY2024 (ended 2024-12-31): $750M FY2025 (ended 2025-12-31): $813M 2025 $813M

Ad spend as % of revenue

0% 2% 4% 6% FY2008 (ended 2008-12-31): 1.8% FY2009 (ended 2009-12-31): 1.8% FY2010 (ended 2010-12-31): 1.7% 2010 FY2011 (ended 2011-12-31): 1.8% FY2012 (ended 2012-12-31): 1.9% FY2013 (ended 2013-12-31): 1.9% 2013 FY2014 (ended 2014-12-31): 1.7% FY2015 (ended 2015-12-31): 1.8% FY2016 (ended 2016-12-31): 1.8% 2016 FY2017 (ended 2017-12-31): 1.8% FY2018 (ended 2018-12-31): 2.1% FY2019 (ended 2019-12-31): 2.8% 2019 FY2020 (ended 2020-12-31): 2.7% FY2021 (ended 2021-12-31): 3.1% FY2022 (ended 2022-12-31): 3.4% 2022 FY2023 (ended 2023-12-31): 3.9% FY2024 (ended 2024-12-31): 4.4% FY2025 (ended 2025-12-31): 4.5% 2025 4.5%

History

Download CSV
Fiscal year Period end Ad spend YoY Revenue Ad / revenue Tag Filing
FY2025 Dec 31, 2025 $813M +8.4% $17.9B 4.5% AdvertisingExpense 10-K Feb 19, 2026
FY2024 Dec 31, 2024 $750M +17.6% $17.2B 4.4% AdvertisingExpense 10-K Feb 19, 2026
FY2023 Dec 31, 2023 $638M +22.9% $16.5B 3.9% AdvertisingExpense 10-K Feb 19, 2026
FY2022 Dec 31, 2022 $519M +29.1% $15.2B 3.4% AdvertisingExpense 10-K Feb 20, 2025
FY2021 Dec 31, 2021 $402M +26.0% $13B 3.1% AdvertisingExpense 10-K Feb 22, 2024
FY2020 Dec 31, 2020 $319M +0.9% $11.8B 2.7% AdvertisingExpense 10-K Feb 21, 2023
FY2019 Dec 31, 2019 $316M +31.1% $11.5B 2.8% AdvertisingExpense 10-K Feb 23, 2022
FY2018 Dec 31, 2018 $241M +28.9% $11.2B 2.1% AdvertisingExpense 10-K Feb 24, 2021
FY2017 Dec 31, 2017 $187M +3.9% $10.4B 1.8% AdvertisingExpense 10-K Feb 20, 2020
FY2016 Dec 31, 2016 $180M 0.0% $10.1B 1.8% AdvertisingExpense 10-K Feb 28, 2019
FY2015 Dec 31, 2015 $180M +6.5% $10B 1.8% AdvertisingExpense 10-K Feb 26, 2018
FY2014 Dec 31, 2014 $169M -5.1% $10B 1.7% AdvertisingExpense 10-K Feb 28, 2017
FY2013 Dec 31, 2013 $178M +2.9% $9.4B 1.9% AdvertisingExpense 10-K Feb 29, 2016
FY2012 Dec 31, 2012 $173M +19.3% $9B 1.9% AdvertisingExpense 10-K Feb 27, 2015
FY2011 Dec 31, 2011 $145M +17.9% $8.1B 1.8% AdvertisingExpense 10-K Feb 27, 2014
FY2010 Dec 31, 2010 $123M +7.3% $7.2B 1.7% AdvertisingExpense 10-K Feb 28, 2013
FY2009 Dec 31, 2009 $115M -5.1% $6.2B 1.8% AdvertisingExpense 10-K Feb 28, 2012
FY2008 Dec 31, 2008 $121M n/a $6.9B 1.8% AdvertisingExpense 10-K Feb 28, 2011

What the figure is

Advertising costs as disclosed in the annual report (XBRL tag AdvertisingExpense).

Compared with similar spenders

The 6 companies closest to W.W. Grainger in latest-year ad spend.

Rank Company Ad spend Ad / revenue YoY Fiscal year
83 Airbnb $843M 6.9% -23.4% FY2025
84 CoStar Group $830M 25.6% -1.8% FY2025
85 Chewy $825M 6.5% +2.6% FY2026
86 W.W. Grainger $813M 4.5% +8.4% FY2025
87 Salesforce $800M 1.9% -20.0% FY2026
88 TripAdvisor $791M 41.8% +8.5% FY2025
89 Etsy $791M 27.4% +8.8% FY2025

Full ranking of 336 companies · Biggest increases #143 · Up 5+ years in a row #13

Questions

How much does W.W. Grainger spend on advertising?

W.W. Grainger spent $813M on advertising in fiscal 2025, the year ended Dec 31, 2025, according to its 10-K filed Feb 19, 2026.

What percentage of revenue does W.W. Grainger spend on advertising?

4.5% of revenue in fiscal 2025 ($813M of $17.9B). The median across the 336 companies tracked is 5.2%.

Is W.W. Grainger spending more on advertising?

Yes. Ad spend rose 8.4% in fiscal 2025 from fiscal 2024. It has risen 9 years in a row.

How does W.W. Grainger rank by advertising spend?

#86 of 336 US-listed companies with $100M or more in ad spend, ranked on each company's latest fiscal year.

What does W.W. Grainger's advertising figure include?

Advertising costs as disclosed in the annual report (XBRL tag AdvertisingExpense).

Source

Filing
10-K for FY2025, filed Feb 19, 2026
Accession number
0000277135-26-000011
Company
W.W. GRAINGER, INC., CIK 277135, SIC 5000 (Wholesale-Durable Goods)
Data
SEC EDGAR XBRL company facts, retrieved Nov 4, 2026. Methodology.
Cite
W.W. Grainger advertising spend, FY2008-FY2025. Aleksei Trudov, io.trudov.com, from SEC EDGAR XBRL company facts (latest: 10-K filed Feb 19, 2026), retrieved Nov 4, 2026. https://io.trudov.com/company/w-w-grainger/advertising-spend/
Download
CSV, all years · CSV, all 336 companies