What happened? Rexel''s North American peer, Wesco (NC), has just reported Q4''24 results. Group organic sales were +2.4% YoY (cons: +1.1%) on a comp of -2.6% in Q4''23. Electrical and Electronic Solutions (EES) was +1% YoY (cons: 0%) on a comp of -4.1% in Q4''23. Sequentially, Group org. sales were +1.7% (vs. Q3''24 of -0.6%) while EES was +1% (vs. -2.9%). Wesco''s datacentre business was said to have grown by 70% YoY during Q4''24 and Broadband Solutions by +20% YoY, partially offset by a slowdown with industrial customers and continued weakness in the utility business. Preliminary sales per workday suggest Jan''25 up by 5% YoY. Gross margin was 21.2% (-100bps vs. cons.), down by 20bps YoY. Adj. EBITDA margin was 6.7% (-30bps vs. cons.), down by 30bps YoY. EES adj. EBITDA margin was 8.0% (-50bps vs. cons.), up by 10bps YoY. For FY25, Wesco expects org. sales growth of +2.5% to +6.5% YoY (Cons. +4%) and operating margin ''to expand''. BNPP Exane View: Wesco''s Q4 results have a negative read-x to Rexel (-), as both growth and margin performance failed to inspire. Wesco''s Q4 growth benefited from easy comps, with the 2Y stacked comp worsening from +2% through Q2 and Q3 to 0% in Q4. Specifically, in EES, the 2Y stacked comp stayed at -3%, in line with Q3 - see charts on page 2. As a comparison, Cons. for Rexel expects +1% YoY in Q4 (on a comp of 0% in Q4''23), suggesting a slight underperformance vs. Wesco. We note, however, Rexel''s volumes in North America have stayed flattish during the 9M''24 while Wesco''s declined by -3% on avg. Conversely, Rexel''s non-cable pricing has also been flattish (for 5 quarters in a row) while Wesco has been positive by about +2% on avg. At the margin level, Wesco missed expectations for some improvements. As a comparison, Cons. for Rexel expects North America H2''24 gross margin of 25.0% - which would be +60bps YoY and +90bps HoH - and adj. EBITA margin of 6.8% - which would be -40bps YoY and 0bps HoH. For FY25, Cons. for Rexel...