Walmart Leads the
World, Annual Revenue at $628 bn more than Combined Revenue of Amazon and
Costco, the Next Two
The
global retail landscape is constantly evolving, driven by shifting consumer habits
and the growing dominance of online sales.
Despite
the rise of e-commerce, many of the top retailers worldwide generate the bulk of
their sales in physical stores. However, as customers prioritize convenience and
a wider selection of goods, e-commerce giants are capturing an increasing share
of the retail market.
This
graphic shows the world’s leading retailers by revenue, based on data from the National
Retail Federation.
The
Methodology
To
be included in the rankings, companies must engage in a goods-for-consumer resale
business accessible to the public. Additionally, they must and have direct selling
operations in a minimum of three companies. The rankings include both public and
private companies, based on the most recent 52-week period ending between January
and March 2024. All revenue figures were converted to U.S. dollars.
Ranked:
The Top 20 Global Retailers
Below,
we show the world’s leading retail giants by revenue:
|
Ranking |
Retailer |
Total
Revenues |
Share
of Domestic Retail Revenue |
Headquarters |
|
1 |
Walmart |
$628.6B |
84.7% |
U.S. |
|
2 |
Amazon.com |
$355.1B |
70.4% |
U.S. |
|
3 |
Costco |
$234.0B |
75.0% |
U.S. |
|
4 |
Schwarz Group |
$176.4B |
32.0% |
Germany |
|
5 |
The Home Depot |
$151.6B |
93.7% |
U.S. |
|
6 |
Aldi |
$145.4B |
25.8% |
Germany |
|
7 |
Walgreens Boots Alliance |
$117.8B |
89.3% |
U.S. |
|
8 |
Ahold Delhaize |
$97.0B |
21.8% |
Netherlands |
|
9 |
Alibaba |
$94.1B |
97.3% |
China |
|
10 |
Carrefour |
$89.7B |
34.3% |
France |
|
11 |
Seven & I |
$85.0B |
62.1% |
Japan |
|
12 |
Apple |
$81.6B |
86.9% |
U.S. |
|
13 |
Rewe |
$73.5B |
75.5% |
Germany |
|
14 |
Aeon |
$68.9B |
93.3% |
Japan |
|
15 |
Tesco |
$61.9B |
85.1% |
UK |
|
16 |
TJX |
$50.4B |
78.9% |
U.S. |
|
17 |
Leclerc |
$50.4B |
95.0% |
France |
|
18 |
IKEA |
$45.6B |
3.4% |
Sweden |
|
19 |
Best Buy |
$44.6B |
92.8% |
U.S. |
|
20 |
Woolworths Limited (Aus) |
$43.5B |
88.2% |
Australia |
As
the largest retailer by sales globally, Walmart raked in $628.6 billion dollars
in revenue, with 84.7% of its revenue being domestic.
Today,
about 90% of Americans are located within 10 miles of a Walmart store, attracting
200 million visitors each month. To gain a greater edge in the market, Walmart is
expanding its advertising business, launching a premium product line, and growing
its digital sales channels.
Additionally,
it is opening 150 stores in the U.S over the next five years, its largest expansion
in almost a decade.
With
$355.1 billion in sales, e-commerce titan Amazon ranks in second. In 2024, the company
is projected to account for 40.4% of U.S. e-commerce sales. Along with this, Amazon
operates physical stores through its Whole Foods subsidiary, Amazon Go, and Amazon
Fresh storefronts, yet these make up a fraction of its total retail sales.
As
Asia’s largest retailer, Alibaba, falls in ninth place, driven by its Taobao and
Tmall online marketplace platforms. While domestic sales
comprise the majority of its retail revenues, the company is increasingly focusing
on its overseas business given sluggish domestic consumption in China. Notably,
retail sales jumped 44% year-over-year across its international retail operations
as of the quarter ending in December 2023.
Despite
regulatory crackdowns in recent years, it is the seventh-largest company by market
cap in the country as of March 2024 across publicly-traded firms.
Retailers With the Highest International
Revenues
Across
the top 20 retailers by revenue, Germany’s Schwarz Group generated the most sales
from international revenues, at $119.9 billion.
As
Europe’s largest retailer, Schwarz Group operates in 30 countries worldwide, with
overseas operations accounting for 68% of all revenues. Overall, the family-owned
multinational serves 7.2 billion customers annually across 14,112 stores.
Swedish
furniture giant, IKEA, generates 96.6% of its retail revenues from international
stores, the highest share overall. Given that Sweden is known for its steep corporate
tax rates, the company strategically expanded its operations worldwide, while retaining
the core essence of its brand.
In
recent years, the company has experimented with creating more compact stores in
urban centers, unlike its traditional suburban warehouses.
Through this strategy, its aiming to drive revenues from higher traffic volume in
malls as opposed to customers who travel to stores less frequently, but buy more
products.
Beyond
these retail giants, a number of European chains generate more than half of their
revenues from international operations, including Germany’s discount grocery company,
Aldi, and France’s Carrefour.