The Top Retailers With The Most Revenue Last Year (2024)

America is home to several of the largest and most successful retailers in the world. Together, the top ten brought in more than $1.6 trillion in global sales last year.

Walmart and Amazon, the behemoths of the bunch, eclipsed their competition, in part due to their international reach, steadfast customer loyalty and continued investment in popular e-commerce initiatives such as grocery delivery and free one- and two-day shipping. The list also shows the continued dominance of brick-and-mortar stores, with nearly 90% of U.S. retail dollars spent offline in 2019. Grocery and pharmacy companies — businesses that, before the COVID-19 pandemic, did only a fraction of their sales online — account for many of the top slots, with home improvement retailers and value-focused big-box chains rounding out the pack.

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Perhaps unsurprisingly, department stores and clothing and accessories retailers didn’t make the cut. While Macy’s and Kohl’s last year raked in nearly $25 billion and $19 billion, respectively, mid-range department stores have struggled to keep their footing in an increasingly fractured industry. Retailers like Gap, too, face fierce competition from fast-fashion chains, direct-to-consumer brands and online marketplaces.

And though it’s too early to gauge the full impact of the pandemic on the American retail landscape, the past six months suggest that consumers’ changing habits will bolster the grocery and home goods segments while creating new challenges for apparel and accessories (loungewear and Crocs excepted).

Read on for the top 10 U.S. retailers by worldwide retail sales:

1. Walmart, Inc. $523.96 billion

Its rivals may be growing fast, but Walmart’s dominance is still unparalleled: The retailer commands more than half of America’s $900 billion grocery market, and it has invested in curbside pickup and online delivery from stores as shoppers increasingly turn to digital channels to stock their fridges. Walmart’s international presence also puts it ahead of its competition, with 23% of its sales occurring in 26 countries outside of the U.S.

2. Amazon.com Inc. $280.5 billion

The e-commerce giant has seen its sales soar during the pandemic, but even before then, it was set up for success. More than half of all items sold on Amazon.com now come from third-party sellers, and this marketplace business is an increasingly lucrative segment. In 2019, seller fees contributed $53.76 billion to total revenue, up 25.8% year-over-year. Its Amazon Prime subscription service had more than 150 million members worldwide as of January 2020. The company continues to add benefits such as free one-day shipping (rolled out in 2019) to keep customers coming back to the $119-per-year program.

3. Costco $149 billion

Costco’s success can be attributed to customer loyalty: the warehouse club boasts an industry-leading 90% member retention rate, with tens of millions of customers paying between $60 and $120 annually to shop at its stores. Shoppers clearly appreciate getting a good deal, and Costco — with its in-house Kirkland brand and wide range of discounted merchandise — placed first among department and discount stores on this year’s American Customer Satisfaction Index.

4. Walgreens Boots Alliance $136.87 billion

With more than 21,000 stores in 11 countries around the world, Walgreens is an international leader in retail pharmacy. Its retail banners include Walgreens and Duane Reade in the U.S. and Boots in the U.K. and other countries Despite store closures and drastically reduced foot traffic due to COVID-19, the company grew sales to $139.5 billion for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2020.

5. The Kroger Co. $122.28 billion

Cincinnati-based Kroger — which owns chains including Ralphs, Kroger and Fred Meyer — is the nation’s second-largest grocery retailer after Walmart. It has invested heavily in online pickup and delivery in recent years, accelerating these programs during the pandemic to reach 97% its customers with 2,000 pickup locations and 2,400 delivery locations. For the fiscal year ended February 1, 2020, its same-store sales were up 2% year-over-year, while digital sales surged 29% — a number that has only increased in the months since.

6. The Home Depot $110.2 billion

The Home Depot has benefited from 2020’s DIY boom — a result of some Americans moving from cities to suburbs, and of others staying put and having time to work on their decks and lawns. Even last year, though, the retailer captured an estimated 15 percent of the $650 billion U.S. home improvement market — a share it expects to further grow through investments in store design, supply chain and digital capabilities.

7. CVS Health Corporation $86.61 billion

While retail only accounts for about a third of CVS’ total revenue (pharmacy services and health care benefits account for the remaining share), its merchandise and prescription sales still make it the seventh-largest retailer in the country. It has more than 9,900 stores across the U.S. and serves 4.5 million customers daily, putting it ahead of Walgreens in the national market.

8. Target $77.1 billion

Even as more and more of its revenue comes from digital channels each year, Target makes good use of its more than 1,800 stores. The retailer’s ship-from-store option bypasses online distribution center costs, while curbside pickup and buy-online-pick-up-in-store allow shoppers to make their purchases at home or on the go and have their items waiting when they arrive. In-house brands such as A New Day, Ava & Viv and Good & Gather serve as both a draw for customers (since they can’t find the labels anywhere else) and a gross margin booster.

9. Lowe’s Companies $72.1 billion

Across the U.S. and Canada, 18 million customers a week visit Lowe’s for their home-improvement needs. While the company has tough competition in Home Depot, it has made strategic investments in operational efficiency, merchandising, and e-commerce that could give it the push it needs. In the second quarter of 2020, Lowe’s comparable-store sales were up 34% year-over-year (compared with Home Depot’s 23%), while its digital sales surged 130% (to Home Depot’s 100%).

10. Albertsons Companies $62.5 billion

With a portfolio that includes grocery chains such as Safeway, Albertsons and Vons, Albertsons Companies has 2,252 stores across the U.S serving more than 30 million customers per week. Among its biggest investments in recent years has been in growing its array of owned brands, which together accounted for $13.1 billion in sales during fiscal 2019.

The Top Retailers With The Most Revenue Last Year (2024)

FAQs

What retailer has the highest annual revenue? ›

Leading retailers worldwide in 2021, by retail revenue (in billion U.S. dollars)
Company (Country of origin)Retail revenue in billion U.S. dollars
Walmart Inc (United States)572.75
Amazon.com, Inc. (United States)239.15
Costco Wholesale Corporation (United States)195.93
Schwarz Group (Germany)153.75
9 more rows
Mar 22, 2023

Is Walmart one of the largest retailers? ›

The latest data from the National Retail Federation shows that Walmart continues to lead as the top US retailer. In 2021, the company brought in retail sales of $459.51 billion in the US—a 6.6 percent year-over-year increase.

What is Walmart's retail ranking? ›

By revenue
RankNameRetail revenue (US$ millions)
1Walmart559,151
2Amazon213,573
3Costco166,761
4Schwarz Gruppe144,254
65 more rows

What is the biggest retailer? ›

Top 100 Retailers 2022 List
RankCompany2021 U.S. retail sales (billions)
1Walmart$459.51
2Amazon.com$217.79
3Costco Wholesale$140.41
4The Home Depot$140.06
96 more rows

What company has the highest revenue in the US? ›

Walmart

How many of the top 10 retailers in the world as ranked by annual sales revenue by Deloitte are from the United States? ›

The average size of the top 10 retailers exceeded $129 billion according to the Global Powers of Retailing report from Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (DTTL), in conjunction with STORES Media. Half of top 10 retailers are U.S.-based companies.

Who is the largest US retailer? ›

Key Takeaways

Retail sales are part of consumer spending. The biggest retail company, with TTM revenue of $600.1 billion, is Walmart.

Who is the bigger retail Amazon or Walmart? ›

(NYSE:WMT) are the two largest retailers in the world by Market Cap. On a strictly retail revenue basis, Walmart is much bigger than Amazon with retail revenue of $600 billion versus AMZN's $280 billion.

Is Target the largest retailer? ›

As of 2023, Target operates 1,948 stores throughout the United States, and is ranked No. 32 on the 2022 Fortune 500 list of the largest U.S. corporations by total revenue.

What is the 1 seller at Walmart? ›

The Walmart best-seller list can never go without personal care products. Highly recommended items to sell on Walmart, regarding the Personal care category, are shampoo, cleanser, and lotion. Reusable care pads also contribute to the list.

What retailer has the most stores in the US? ›

Dollar General operates the most stores in the United States, with 17,348 currently in operation.

Where is Walmart ranked in the world? ›

Fortune Global 500 of 2021
RankCompanyCountry
1WalmartUnited States
2State GridChina
3AmazonUnited States
4China National PetroleumChina
6 more rows

Why is Walmart so successful? ›

Walmart's success can be attributed to having their own supply chain to streamline fulfillment and cut down on costs. It also provides them with more control over their logistics network. In this article, we take a closer look at the Walmart supply chain and why it continues to be so successful decades later.

What are the big three retailers? ›

The top three global retailers all held on to their spots: Walmart is number one, with US $559.15 billion in retail revenue, followed by Amazon (US$213.57 billion), and Costco ($166.76 billion).

What retail store is doing well? ›

The National Retail Federation has released its annual Top 100 Retailers list, and Walmart remains in the leading spot, complete with 6.6 percent sales growth between 2020 and 2021 (and U.S. retail sales of $459.51 billion).

What company has the most profit? ›

The most profitable company in the U.S. is Apple, with $94.68 billion in profit earned during their 2022 fiscal year, which began on Sept. 26, 2021, and ended on Sept. 24, 2022. Apple's profits during this time were 64.9% higher than the profits earned during the 2021 fiscal year.

What company makes the most money per day? ›

Most Profitable Companies Ranked
CompanyProfit per Day
1Apple$157,290,411
2Microsoft$121,317,808
3Berkshire Hathaway$116,495,890
4Alphabet$110,326,027
6 more rows

What type of company makes the most money? ›

Most Profitable Business Ideas
  • Business Consulting. If you're an expert in your industry and have been working at it for years, you should consider consulting. ...
  • IT Support, Technology Consulting, and Repair. ...
  • Cleaning Services. ...
  • Accounting and Tax Preparation. ...
  • Auto Repair. ...
  • Real Estate. ...
  • Online courses. ...
  • Marketing and PR Services.

Who is the 1st fastest growing retailer in the world? ›

For more than two decades, Walmart has topped the list of the world's Top 250 global retailers. The company's retail sales increased by 1.9% year over year in FY2019, fuelled primarily by increases in comparable stores sales in the US.

What is the most successful online retailer in the world? ›

amazon.com is ranked number 1 as the most popular website in the eCommerce & Shopping category in April 2023. The average amount of time that users spend on the website is 00:07:06 minutes, and they see, on average, 9.21 pages per visit.

What is the fastest growing retailer in 2023? ›

Amazon will once again hold first place by a wide margin in 2023, with 37.6% of US retail ecommerce sales compared with the 6.4% of No. 2 Walmart Inc.

Who is the single largest retailer of its kind in the United States? ›

This ranking depicts the leading 100 American retailers in 2021, based on U.S. retail sales. Once again, Walmart was the leading American retailer. That year, the company accounted for retail sales of about 460 billion U.S. dollars. Walmart was founded by Samuel Moore Walton (1918-1992) in 1962.

Is Costco the largest retailer? ›

Costco has 304,000 employees, with 203,000 of those working in the U.S. Costco generates $222.7 billion of revenue annually. Costco is the sixth-largest retailer in the world and the third-biggest in the US, behind Walmart and Amazon.

Why is Walmart the largest retailer? ›

Focus on providing value to customers

Walmart has always focused on providing value to its customers by offering low prices and a wide variety of products. This has helped it to become the largest retail giant in the world.

Which one is cheaper Costco or Walmart? ›

And overall, while Costco prices are better, Walmart still has very good prices. For me, though, shopping in bulk as Costco allows me to do not only saves money but also time and energy since I can buy cases and big bags all at once!

Will Amazon become bigger than Walmart? ›

Amazon will surpass Walmart as the largest U.S. retailer by 2024, as the online channel ramps up its share of overall retail sales dollars, CPG market researcher Edge by Ascential predicts.

Why does Walmart make more than Target? ›

Walmart Business Model

Walmart also seems more efficient in business operations than Target—this is reflected in its higher inventory and asset turnover, as well as its operational dollar generated per dollar of asset. Walmart commands nearly 20 times the market share of Target.

Is Target more profitable than Walmart? ›

Over the past 10 fiscal years, Target's average annual revenue gain of 4.3% is higher than Walmart's 2.7% average increase.

Where does Target make the most money? ›

Target corporation makes the majority of their revenue through retail merchandise sales. 98.7% of Target's total revenue came from merchandise sales at the end of 2021.

What is the most profitable Walmart store? ›

In fact, the Doral Walmart has the highest sales of any store in the entire country.

Is Walmart's best selling item toilet paper? ›

Toilet Paper (330 million rolls each week)

How much does the average Walmart seller make? ›

Average Walmart Seller yearly pay in the United States is approximately $124,736, which is 102% above the national average.

What's the most popular store in America? ›

Largest U.S. grocers by market share, 2022

Walmart is the most popular grocery store chain nationwide, with 25.2% of the market share as of last year. Costco and Kroger are the second- and third-most-popular grocers, with 7.1% and 5.6% of the market share, respectively.

Which clothing store has the most stores? ›

Ranking of fashion brands with the most stores in the world
StandingsBrandNo. of shops
1H&M5076
2Zara2256
3Uniqlo2249
4Guess1729
17 more rows

Who is the second largest online retailer in the US? ›

Amazon
  • Amazon - Top E-Commerce Retailers in the USA.
  • Market share of leading retail e-commerce companies in the United States as of 2022.
  • Walmart - Top E-Commerce Retailers in the USA.
  • Apple - Top E-Commerce Retailers in the USA.
  • eBay - Top E-Commerce Retailers in the USA.
  • Target - Top E-Commerce Retailers in the USA.
Feb 22, 2023

Who is Walmart biggest competitor? ›

Walmart Competitors: FAQs

As of now, Walmart's biggest competitor by market share is Amazon. Operating over 10,500 stores and clubs worldwide, Walmart has slightly better financial metrics than its rival.

Is Walmart more rich than Amazon? ›

In 2022, Amazon closed its divide in terms of total revenue, as it generated over $513 billion in revenue, compared to over $572 billion in revenue from Walmart.

Is Amazon or Walmart more popular? ›

While Amazon is the clear market leader in ecommerce sales, at $50.9 billion to $19.2 billion in 2022, arch-rival Walmart has been gaining in some respects in their ongoing retail industry cage match, as evidenced in the divergence of the most recent quarterly reports of each.

What are Walmart's weaknesses? ›

Walmart's Weaknesses – Internal Strategic Factors

Low wages, inadequate healthcare, and poor working conditions are few of the issues that have been publically criticized. Large span of control – Its highly extended size and massive span of control could leave Walmart weak in some areas.

Why is Walmart turnover so high? ›

Walmart also is notable for remaining a low-road employer—not following the lead of other retail giants in establishing a higher minimum wage. With low wages and poor job quality, Walmart faces an estimated employee turnover rate of 70 percent per year.

Is Aldi bigger than Walmart? ›

Aldi has more than 1,800 stores in 35 states and is focused on growing in the Midwest, the Mid-Atlantic, Florida and California. It's on track to become America's third largest supermarket chain behind Walmart and Kroger, with 2,500 stores by the end of 2022.

What are the 4 most common ways retailer compete? ›

Here are five things small retailers can learn from Wonder Works in order to compete on something other than price.
  • Provide Incentive. ...
  • Offer Value. ...
  • Differentiate Products. ...
  • Get Online. ...
  • Go Social.
Jan 8, 2013

What percent of retail sales is Walmart? ›

Market Share of Leading Retail Companies in the U.S.
CompanyMarket Share
Amazon37.8%
Walmart6.3%
Apple3.9%
eBay3.5%
9 more rows
May 18, 2023

Who is the #1 retailer? ›

Walmart Inc

What is the future of retail in 2023? ›

And while 2023's growth will be lower than 2022's, the forecast is above the pre-pandemic average annual retail sales growth rate of 3.6%. E-commerce will also have a banner year in 2023, with sales projected to rise 10 to 12% increasing between $1.41 trillion and $1.43 trillion.

What store has the most customers? ›

Walmart is the most popular store in America. More than half of all shoppers in the country visit a Walmart location in a given month. No other U.S. store can claim a majority of Americans as customers.

Is Target the second largest retailer? ›

Target Corporation is an American retail corporation headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the seventh largest retailer in the United States, and a component of the S&P 500 Index. The company is one of the largest American-owned private employers in the United States.

What type of business has the highest revenue? ›

Most Profitable Business Ideas
  1. Business Consulting. If you're an expert in your industry and have been working at it for years, you should consider consulting. ...
  2. IT Support, Technology Consulting, and Repair. ...
  3. Cleaning Services. ...
  4. Accounting and Tax Preparation. ...
  5. Auto Repair. ...
  6. Real Estate.

Is Costco the biggest retailer in the world? ›

Costco has 304,000 employees, with 203,000 of those working in the U.S. Costco generates $222.7 billion of revenue annually. Costco is the sixth-largest retailer in the world and the third-biggest in the US, behind Walmart and Amazon.

What company makes the most revenue per day? ›

Apple is one of the world's most profitable businesses and retains the top spot that it earned in our 2020 study, generating over $157 billion a day, which equates to $1,820 every single second.

Is Walmart or Target a bigger company? ›

Walmart is the world's largest company by revenue, and it is also the largest private employer in the world with 2.2 million employees. Market cap and revenue numbers are accurate as of March 28, 2023.

Who is largest company in the world? ›

Largest Companies by Market Cap
#NameC.
1Apple 1AAPL🇺🇸
2Microsoft 2MSFT🇺🇸
3Saudi Aramco 32222.SR🇸🇦 Arabia
4Alphabet (Google) 4GOOG🇺🇸
56 more rows

What businesses make the most millionaires? ›

What business makes the most millionaires? A few businesses have made more millionaires than any other. These businesses include investment banking, hedge fund management, and private equity. All these belong to the financial sector, the top industry that produces the most millionaires.

Is Walmart or Costco more popular? ›

Walmart is by far the most popular grocery chain - with 25.2% of market share - dwarfing runner-up Costco, which has 7.1%, and upmarket Whole Foods 1.8% slice of market.

Which grocery store makes the most money? ›

Largest Food Retailers Research Summary

The largest food retailer in the world is Walmart, with a revenue of $573 billion and a net income of $13.94 billion. As of 2022, the global food & grocery retail market has a market size of $14.78 trillion.

Is Walmart bigger than Amazon? ›

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) are the two largest retailers in the world by Market Cap. On a strictly retail revenue basis, Walmart is much bigger than Amazon with retail revenue of $600 billion versus AMZN's $280 billion.

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