Grocery & Discount Stores Industry Report
Market Cap: $1.7T
Stocks: 26
Median P/E: 16.0x
Median ROIC: 16.7%
Data sourced from SEC EDGAR filings. Report refreshed weekly.
Part of the Consumer Defensive sector.
Performance Dashboard
| Period | Sector (MCW) | Sector (Median) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Day | -1.1% | -0.7% |
| 1 Week | -3.4% | -0.9% |
| 1 Month | — | — |
| 3 Months | — | — |
| 6 Months | — | — |
| YTD | -3.6% | -2.3% |
| 1 Year | +31.8% | +13.1% |
| 3 Years | +134.3% | +18.1% |
| 5 Years | +177.8% | +42.4% |
Today's Breadth: 6 advancing · 12 declining · 0 flat
Valuation Summary
| Metric | Median | P25 | P75 | vs 5Y Avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| P/E | 16.0x | 12.3x | 19.5x | -3% |
| P/B | 2.6x | 0.9x | 4.8x | -30% |
| P/S | 0.4x | 0.2x | 1.1x | — |
| P/FCF | 20.0x | 9.0x | 36.2x | — |
| EV/EBITDA | 7.8x | 4.9x | 10.7x | — |
| EV/EBIT | 12.7x | 8.6x | 14.7x | — |
Earnings Yield
5.8%
FCF Yield
3.6%
Below Fair Value
40% of stocks
Profitability Profile
Margins
| Metric | Median | 5Y Avg | P25 | P75 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gross Margin | 27.8% | 27.9% | 23.0% | 36.0% |
| Operating Margin | 4.2% | — | 2.8% | 8.2% |
| Net Margin | 2.9% | 2.7% | 1.9% | 5.9% |
| FCF Margin | 2.5% | — | 1.3% | 4.6% |
Returns on Capital
| Metric | Median | 5Y Avg | P25 | P75 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ROE | 23.0% | — | 12.2% | 28.2% |
| ROA | 7.0% | — | 5.2% | 8.5% |
| ROIC | 16.7% | 16.5% | 12.5% | 21.9% |
Growth Metrics
| Metric | 1Y | 3Y CAGR | 5Y CAGR |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | +5.4% | +5.8% | +6.5% |
| EPS | +10.4% | +9.6% | +11.5% |
| Free Cash Flow | -9.9% | +4.6% | -8.3% |
All values represent sector median growth rates.
Balance Sheet Health
Debt / Equity
0.4x
Net Debt / EBITDA
0.4x
Interest Coverage
11.5x
Current Ratio
1.0x
Altman Z-Score
Safe (>3): 14 (67%)
Gray (1.8–3): 5 (24%)
Distress (<1.8): 2 (10%)
Piotroski F-Score
Strong (7–9): 11 (42%)
Moderate (4–6): 12 (46%)
Weak (0–3): 3 (12%)
Top Companies
| Symbol | #▲ | Mkt Cap | P/E | EV/EBITDA | ROIC | Net Mgn | Rev Gr. | Div Yld | YTD | Qual. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WMT | 1 | $999.0B | 42.7x | 22.1x | 18.0% | 3.1% | +4.7% | 0.8% | -5.3% | 3/9 |
| COST | 2 | $436.2B | 51.8x | 32.0x | 38.5% | 2.9% | +8.2% | 0.5% | -0.7% | 4/9 |
| TGT | 3 | $53.7B | — | — | 17.1% | 3.5% | -1.7% | — | +0.9% | 3/9 |
| KR | 4 | $49.4B | 16.0x | 5.0x | 19.5% | 1.8% | -1.9% | 2.1% | -1.1% | 4/9 |
| TSCO-L | 5 | $33.1B | 19.0x | 7.8x | 12.6% | 2.3% | +5.8% | 2.8% | — | 4/9 |
| DG | 6 | $26.3B | 13.9x | 7.7x | 10.4% | 2.8% | +5.0% | 3.3% | -3.7% | 5/9 |
| DLTR | 7 | $21.1B | 19.1x | 13.1x | 16.3% | 6.6% | +10.4% | — | -8.4% | 2/9 |
| EPR-OL | 8 | $15.2B | 13.0x | 5.4x | 22.0% | 6.6% | +32.9% | 4.8% | — | 4/9 |
| BJ | 9 | $12.3B | — | — | — | 2.7% | +4.7% | — | -3.5% | 4/9 |
| FIVE | 10 | $12.2B | 20.8x | 9.7x | — | 6.5% | +8.9% | — | +1.7% | 3/9 |
| CA-PA | 11 | $11.0B | 12.3x | 3.0x | 9.3% | 0.8% | +2.1% | 6.6% | — | 4/9 |
| ACI | 12 | $9.8B | 12.4x | 5.7x | — | 1.2% | +1.5% | 2.5% | +0.1% | 3/9 |
| SBRY-L | 13 | $8.2B | 32.3x | 6.7x | 12.5% | 0.7% | +5.0% | 4.0% | — | 3/9 |
| SFM | 14 | $7.5B | 15.0x | 8.8x | 46.9% | 6.0% | +14.1% | — | +2.8% | 7/9 |
| OLLI | 15 | $5.7B | 35.3x | — | 13.7% | 8.8% | +8.0% | — | -4.7% | 3/9 |
| MNSO | 16 | $4.8B | 19.5x | 13.6x | 71.5% | 15.5% | +45.8% | 2.4% | -7.5% | 4/9 |
| PSMT | 17 | $4.8B | 22.3x | 9.9x | 12.5% | 2.8% | +7.3% | 1.2% | -5.0% | 5/9 |
| DNP-WA | 18 | $3.4B | 3.4x | 2.5x | 27.0% | 5.7% | +29.1% | — | — | 4/9 |
| WMK | 19 | $1.9B | 16.3x | — | 9.5% | 2.3% | +1.6% | 2.0% | -7.8% | 4/9 |
| BME-L | 20 | $1.7B | 5.2x | 4.5x | 27.5% | 5.7% | +4.8% | 9.0% | — | 5/9 |
Industry Composition
| Industry | Stocks | Market Cap | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail-Variety Stores | 10 | $1.6T | 91.5% | |
| Retail-Grocery Stores | 8 | $71.9B | 4.2% | |
| Grocery Stores | 6 | $57.3B | 3.3% | |
| Discount Stores | 2 | $17.0B | 1.0% |
Quality Distribution
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Quality Score (0-9)
High Quality (7+)
4%
Median Piotroski F
6/9
Profitable Years
9 of 10
Dividends & Shareholder Returns
Paying Dividends
65%
Median Div Yield
2.5%
Median Buyback Yield
0.2%
Shareholder Yield
2.4%
Payout Ratio
46.2%
Div Growth (3Y)
7.0%
Div Growth (5Y)
8.1%
Strengths & Weaknesses
Strengths
- +[Profitability]Strong capital efficiency with a median ROIC of 16.7%, indicating durable competitive advantages across the sector.
Weaknesses
- −[Cash Flow]Deteriorating cash flow with a median 5-year FCF CAGR of -8.3%, raising sustainability concerns for capital allocation.
- −[Profitability]Razor-thin net margins at a median of 2.9%, leaving little room for execution error or economic downturn.
- −[Quality]Only 3.8% of companies score 7+ on the quality checklist, reflecting structural challenges in achieving consistent returns across the sector.