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Staples Retail

Staples Retail Industry Key Financial Data 2023

The following analysis considers the 117 major publicly listed staples retail companies with a market capitalisation above $1 billion. The numbers in the tables are expressed in millions of dollars except for percentages and ratios.

Number 117
Expected Growth Rate 4,32%
Financials 2023
Total Revenues  $ 3.146.907,00
Operating Income   $    120.276,00
Free Cash Flows Firm  $       63.288,55
Effective Tax Rate  24,05%
10Y Median Operating Ratios
 Revenues Growth  5,5%
 Gross Margin  23,1%
Operating Margin 4,1%
Reinvestment Margin 1,1%
ROIC 10,7%
Sales to IC 3,45
Solvency Ratios
Debt to EV 25,8%
Debt to Equity 81,5%
Interest Coverage  5,81
Rating  A1/A+
Spread 1,23%
Beta
Unlevered Beta 2 y 0,28
Unlevered Beta 5 y 0,28

In 2023 the staples retail industry generated $3’146.9 billion in revenues, an increase of 6.4% from the $2’957.9 billion of 2022.

Over the past 10 years, the median growth rate in revenues has been 5.5%.

Year Total Revenues
2023 3.146.907
2022 2.957.888
2021 2.717.642
2020 2.553.458
2019 2.463.376
2018 2.337.792
2017 2.212.914
2016 2.035.402
2015 1.956.569
2014 1.959.946
2013 1.868.090
2012 1.806.206

Overall, the staples retail industry registered an operating income of $120.2 billion in 2023. Regarding profitability, the 10-year median gross margin is 23.1%, while the 10-year median operating margin is equal to 4.1%.

Year Operating Income 
2023 120.276
2022 127.141
2021 110.506
2020 100.248
2019 97.603
2018 90.913
2017 89.372
2016 86.911
2015 83.628
2014 90.256
2013 91.009
2012 88.192

The total free cash flows to the firm for the staples retail industry instead, were equal to $63.3 billion in 2023.

Moving on to efficiency ratios, the staples retail industry’s 10-year median return on invested capital (ROIC) is 10.7%, while the 10-year median sales to invested capital is equal to 3.45.

The 10-year median reinvestment margin for the staples retail industry – expressed as total reinvestments in net capital expenditures, acquisitions, and R&D divided by total revenues – is 1.1%.

Multiplying the reinvestment margin, which shows how much staples retail companies have invested over the past years, by the sales to invested capital ratio, showing how efficiently staples retail companies have invested, is it possible to calculate the expected growth rate in revenues for the staples retail industry, equal to 4.32%.

Check out this post for a detailed explanation of how to calculate future revenue growth rates.

Median Expected Growth Rate
4,32%
Year Reinvestment Margin Sales To IC
2023 0,96% 3,30
2022 1,14% 3,29
2021 0,07% 3,10
2020 0,09% 3,29
2019 1,13% 3,62
2018 1,21% 3,72
2017 1,15% 3,60
2016 1,40% 3,62
2015 1,37% 3,41
2014 2,17% 3,50
2013 1,91% 3,55

As regards solvency ratios, the debt-to-enterprise value ratio for the staples retail industry is 25.8%, while the debt-to-equity ratio is 81.5%.

The interest coverage ratio instead, showing how much the operating income covers interest expenses, is equal to 5.81, which would translate into a credit rating for the staples retail industry equal to A1/A+ based on Moody’s rating standards.

Finally, the unlevered beta of the staples ratail industry – which is the beta depurated by the debt leverage – has been 0.28, for the past 2 years, and 0.28, for the past 5 years.

However, the beta is only one of the required inputs to calculate the appropriate discount rate for company valuation, check out this page where you can find the equity risk premium for different markets needed to calculate the required cost of equity.