Is CDW a subsidiary of a larger company?

No. CDW is the flagship brand of its own public company, CDW Corporation, which trades on Nasdaq under the same ticker, CDW. The brand is the company's primary commercial channel rather than an entity beneath another parent. Its siblings include CDW Government and the Sirius services subsidiary.

When was CDW founded?

CDW was founded in 1984 by Michael Krasny as MPK Computing, operating from his Buffalo Grove, Illinois, home. It was renamed Computer Discount Warehouse as mail-order volume grew, went public in 1993, and is now a $22.4 billion Fortune 500 company.

Michael Krasny founded the company in 1984, building it from a single classified advertisement selling an IBM-compatible computer into one of the largest computer resellers in the country. Krasny is no longer involved with the business.

What is CDW's market position?

CDW is one of the largest IT solutions providers in North America and among the top names in the IT reseller channel, competing with Insight Enterprises publicly and with World Wide Technology and SHI International as larger private rivals. It holds top-tier certifications from every major technology vendor.

What does CDW stand for?

CDW originally stood for Computer Discount Warehouse, the name Michael Krasny adopted after founding the company as MPK Computing in 1984. The company now operates simply as CDW, having dropped the expanded name as the business moved from mail order to enterprise solutions.

Technology & Software

Who Owns CDW?

Q: Is CDW publicly traded?

CDW the brand is not separately traded, but its parent CDW Corporation is, on Nasdaq under ticker CDW as an S&P 500 component. The company has been public twice: a 1993 IPO, a private equity take-private in 2007 for about $7 billion, and a return to Nasdaq in June 2013.

CDW is owned by CDW Corporation, a publicly traded American IT solutions provider listed on Nasdaq under the ticker CDW. Founded by Michael Krasny in 1984 as a mail-order computer reseller, the brand is the company's flagship commercial channel for business customers across the United States. The parent company generated $22.4 billion in net sales for FY2025.

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Parent Company

CDW Corporation

Founded

1984

Status

Publicly Traded

Headquarters

Vernon Hills, Illinois, USA

United StatesOfficial Website

Who Owns CDW?

Parent Company: CDW Corporation
Ownership Type: Brand division
Company Type: Publicly Traded
Stock Ticker: NASDAQ: CDW

Brand	Parent Company	Ownership Type
CDW	CDW Corporation	Brand division

History of CDW

Founded: 1984
Founders: Michael Krasny

Michael Krasny started the business that became CDW in 1984, operating as MPK Computing from his home in Buffalo Grove, Illinois. The founding transaction was famously modest: a classified advertisement offering an IBM-compatible computer for sale. Mail-order volume built quickly, and the company renamed itself Computer Discount Warehouse, selling PCs and peripherals through catalogs and phone sales during the personal computer boom.

The brand's pivotal move came after its June 1993 IPO on Nasdaq: CDW shifted focus from consumer mail order to direct sales to businesses, assigning dedicated account managers to corporate customers, a relationship model that differentiated it from catalog rivals such as PC Connection and Micro Warehouse. CDW-G extended the model into government, education, and healthcare accounts, creating the multi-channel structure the company still runs.

Acquisitions built capability. The 2006 purchase of Berbee Information Networks added storage, networking, and services depth. Madison Dearborn and Providence Equity took the company private for approximately $7 billion in 2007, steering it through the recession, and returned it to Nasdaq in June 2013. The 2015 acquisition of Kelway created CDW UK and internationalized the business.

The services era began in earnest in the 2020s. CDW acquired Sirius Computer Solutions in December 2021 for $2.5 billion, the largest deal in company history, adding deep hybrid infrastructure, security, and managed services capability. AWS specialists Enquizit (2023) and Mission Cloud (2024) followed, folded into CDW Digital Velocity as a dedicated AWS practice.

Through FY2025 the brand navigated tariffs, shifting education and healthcare funding, changing government spending priorities, and the longest federal shutdown on record, and still grew net sales 6.8 percent to $22.4 billion, its strongest year on record.

About CDW Corporation

What does CDW own?

CDW owns the CDW commercial IT brand, CDW Government for public sector customers, CDW Canada and CDW UK international operations, Sirius Computer Solutions acquired for $2.5 billion in 2021, Mission Cloud acquired in 2024, and Enquizit acquired in 2023. Its brands are sales channels and services firms rather than product manufacturers.

Is CDW publicly traded?

Yes. CDW trades on the Nasdaq under ticker CDW and is an S&P 500 component. It has been public twice: an initial 1993 IPO, a 2007 take-private by Madison Dearborn and Providence Equity for about $7 billion, and a return to public markets in 2013.

Who founded CDW?

Michael Krasny founded the company in 1984 as MPK Computing, run from his Buffalo Grove, Illinois, home and built on a single classified ad selling IBM-compatible computers. He renamed it Computer Discount Warehouse as mail-order volume grew. Krasny is no longer involved with the company.

Where is CDW headquartered?

CDW is headquartered in Vernon Hills, Illinois, a Chicago suburb, having moved from nearby Lincolnshire. It maintains additional operations and services centers across the United States, plus UK and Canadian operations under its international business.

How many brands does CDW own?

CDW operates approximately six principal brands and channel names: CDW, CDW Government, CDW Canada, CDW UK, Sirius Computer Solutions, and Mission Cloud, with Enquizit integrated into its AWS practice. Most are sales channels and services firms rather than separately marketed product lines.